Motherboard is the most important part of your computer system. You can replace HDD, SSD, RAM, GPU, and Processor easily but when it comes to replacing Motherboard, you have to take out everything because this is the board where most of the components are installed, and also everything is connected to it. That means, replacing a motherboard would not be easy; you have to completely dismantle your computer system for it.
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Since Motherboard is so important, you must know how long does it last. Although the lifespan of a motherboard is difficult to gauge, it can be considered that it may last up to 14-15 years, and sometimes even more. However, it completely depends on how you use your computer. A heavy gamer may not expect his motherboard to last this long.
Although Motherboard may last up to 15 years, you might need to upgrade it in 10 years because, after this much time, it won’t be compatible with the latest CPU, RAM, or GPU. That means if some problems happen to your PC, and you may need to replace a few components, then there are very fewer chances that a 10-year-old Motherboard will have compatibility with them. So, generally, people upgrade their motherboard or get a new laptop completely even before the Motherboard stops working.
How Long Does a Laptop Motherboard Last?
When we talk about Motherboard lifespan in general, we refer to the Desktop’s Motherboard. But, when we talk about a laptop’s motherboard, things may be different because laptops are very compact, and due to constant heat exposure, the life of the internal parts of laptops is lesser compared to desktops. Generally, a laptop’s motherboard may last up to 6-8 years or even more if handled and used well.
My experience with laptops is that before your motherboard gives up, other parts like CPUs, GPUs, and fans may give up. And, once a few parts stop working, you end up replacing the whole laptop. It happened to me 2 times when I had some issues with my motherboard, and I got that repaired a few times, and in the end, I had to buy a new one. Thus, I feel once your laptop starts having issues, it is better not to invest much money in repairing it; rather buy a new one.
Do Motherboards Slow Down Over Time?
The motherboard doesn’t slow down over time as there are no moving parts on it. It may crash due to an electric surge or it won’t be compatible when you try to install the latest components. Apart from these, you will hardly get any slow down kind of issue with motherboards. If your computer’s loading time increases the culprit may be your faulty or too-old hard drive or CPU. It cannot be the motherboard.
So, motherboards don’t slow down. If they are faulty, normally they just stop working, and you won’t be able to boot your PC or some different issues you may face. I will discuss this further in this article.
How to Know if Your Motherboard has Issues?
Whenever your PC starts to behave haywire, you generally get the idea that there are some problems with it. But, you don’t know if the problem is with your OS or with some hardware components. Even if you figure out that it is a hardware issue, finding it, maybe tough as to which component is causing the issues. That is when you have to take your PC to a computer shop to find the issue and fix it.
Moreover, having some knowledge about the issue may save you a few bucks for sure because at computer shops, many times they show you the problem as very big and charge more than what is needed to fix your PC.
Here Are A Few Things That May Happen If Motherboard Is Faulty?
- Blue-Screen of Death: When you start your computer and you see the blue screen, it means there might be some issues with some hardware components of your computer such as RAM, HDD, or even the Motherboard.
- Computer is not booting: If your computer is failing to boot, it might mean there may be some issues with your motherboard.
- Computer restarts abnormally: While you are working on something, and your PC just restarts abnormally. If it happens quite often, there might be some issues with the motherboard.
- Computer starts and quickly shuts down: Sometimes the computer just starts well but then quickly shuts down itself. That also indicates a faulty motherboard.
- Repeated Beep sounds from PC: Beep sounds from BIOS are designed well to inform about the various issues. If there is a repeated beep sound coming from your PC, it could mean that the motherboard is behaving haywire.
- Computer Freezes: When the motherboard is going bad, sometimes the computer will just freeze, and you won’t be able to do anything at all.
- Hardware not recognized error: When motherboard has faults, at times multiple hardware won’t be recognized. RAM, CPU, GPU, mouse port, keyboard port, audio port, etc. may show as not recognized hardware.
Causes of Motherboard Failure
- Overhearting: Apply thermal paste in between the CPU and CPU fan. Also, there should be enough fans or better cooling system inside to clear out the heat from the PC. If the cooling system doesn’t work well, motherboard and other components will face overheating which may damage them.
- Dust: Dust is one of the biggest enemies of any computer component. Thus, make a habit of cleaning your PC once in a while. Weekly cleaning is what I would recommend. If too much dust will accumulate in the components and motherboard, there will be again heating issues which may be bad for the motherboard.
- Electric Surge: A sudden spike in electricity connection may damage your motherboard. So, having an electric surge protector is what I would recommend.
- Liquid: For any electronic gadget or system, the liquid is bad. Make sure you don’t spill out water or any liquid inside your computer system. Otherwise, it will damage your motherboard and many other components as well.
How to Make Your Motherboard Last Longer?
Dust and excess heat inside are the enemies of your motherboard. Thus, keep your PC clean and at normal temperature. Use high-quality fans that can take out heat from the system. Cleaning once a week or once per 10 days is required in order to stop the dust to accumulate inside your PC.
Better dust management and cleaning habits may help your motherboard last longer. Also, using an electric surge protector would be a good addition to safeguard your motherboard from voltage spikes.
Keep your computer system away from liquid stuff because the liquid is too bad for almost all the components including the motherboard.
Conclusion
While there is no exact time frame for the lifespan of a motherboard, there are different people quoting different time frames. Looking at all of that, and as per my personal experience, 15 years is an average lifespan of a motherboard if handled well.