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Nature of Goods Why does my SSD storage show up as smaller than advertised?

Nature of Goods

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Last Update 8 months ago

Understanding Computer Hardware Faulty Rate

The first computer made in 1946 was 1500 square feet big. It had 18,000 tubes, 6,000 switches, 7,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, and over 500,000 cables. Nowadays, the computers are much smaller, but they are in fact much more complicated with billons components integrated.


All laptops are assembled by many parts from different manufacturers. Which make laptops' faulty rate much higher than almost any other products. Because any one of these parts (or cable between parts) has problem, it will fail the whole laptop.

Laptop faulty rate = CPU faulty rate + Hard Disk faulty rate + RAM faulty rate + Motherboard faulty rate + Screen faulty rate + Keyboard faulty rate + Touchpad faulty rate + Network Card faulty rate + Speaker faulty rate + Battery faulty rate + Power Adapter faulty rate + Camera faulty rate + USB Port faulty rate + Video Card faulty rate + Sound Card faulty rate + Bluetooth faulty rate + ......

In theory, one device work in day one, it should also work in day two, and work forever, unless something changed or damaged. The reality is we are not living in a perfect world -- high humidity, magnetic, unclear power, dust, impact, high or low temperature etc could all contribute to computer hardware fault. Computers, as the most sophisticated product human have even made, have much higher chance to develop some hardware fault.


According to the research done by SquareTrade Research Report, "1 in 3 laptops fail over 3 years".


Laptop faulty rate is 5% in one year, 13% in two years & 20% in 3 years. Based on today’s technology, this is basically the nature of the goods that, all computers will ship with some flaws, defects, or bugs. If we select 100 exactly same laptops, with exactly same build quality. Some of them (likely to be around 20 units) will suffer from hardware malfunction in 3 years. It’s like most other bad things, we do not want it happen, it should not happen, but it will happen. So, when you have any issue with your computer system, don't panic. Go to Tech Services support, we will help you out.

Understanding Computer System

A “computer system” is more than just hardware. Unlike any other products, it requires firmware/software to run. Computer hardware is like the Engine to provide the power, and firmware/software is like all the mechanical to transfer the power to achieve various tasks.


Software includes: the applications, operating systems, drivers. When you are using an application (e.g. a game or office), the application will talk to the operation system, and operation system talk to the drivers (firmware), and drivers(firmware) talk to hardware to process the tasks accordingly.


Unfortunately, basically all software today have bugs. The chance to have some kind software/firmware fault is basically 100%. “Computer system” is an open system. A software you install, a website you visit, a flash drive you plug in and a printer you connect to might all change the “system”, and trigger some kind of malfunction. The fundamental of computing is to give computer system greater tolerance to malfunction. Fix the problem when discover one. That’s why we often need to “update” the software/firmware to fix the bugs that manufacturers and software vendors discovered. That is also why we need to backup data regularly, and we might require IT support when computing is important.

Understanding a Computer’s Value and Lifespan
Buying a computer is very different from buying furniture. When you purchase a computer, you're investing in technology rather than just a physical product. The value of a computer decreases rapidly as technology evolves. Generally, higher-spec computers depreciate even faster since you pay more for advanced technology.
“… Moore extrapolated that computing would dramatically increase in power and decrease in relative cost at an exponential pace. He predicted the number of transistors on a chip would double roughly every two years, with a minimal increase in cost. This prediction became known as Moore’s Law…”
“… As more transistors are put on a chip, the cost to make each transistor decreases, but the chance that the chip will not work due to a defect increases…” - Gordon E. Moore
Today’s computers have a high fault rate, and repair costs can often exceed the price of a new computer with similar performance. Additionally, older computers typically have higher repair costs due to the limited availability of discontinued or outdated spareparts. Therefore, extending the warranty won’t improve a computer’s quality but will significantly increase its cost.
Retailers may offer discounts, but they cannot change the inherent cost of the product. Considering the rapid depreciation in value, high repair costs, and fault rates, buying a computer with a long warranty might not be the best choice. For the same money, you might prefer a better-performing computer rather than a slower one with a longer warranty. This is why most reputable computer companies offer a standard one-year warranty for their computers globally.
Generally, high-performance computers have shorter lifespans because they often include more components, use more aggressive technologies, and have higher power consumption. We recommend upgrading your performance computer every 1-2 years.
Premium business computers are more focused on reliability, and as a result, they often cost more for the same level of performance. For these, we suggest upgrading every 2-3 years.
It may not be worth repairing a computer that is over three years old.

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