To be honest, the case is still the original one, but almost every other part has since been replaced. Now, I’ve taken it back to the shop where I bought it 20 years ago and asked them to upgrade the motherboard, CPU, and memory - the last of the original parts.
So, is it still the same computer?
I also like that I can just keep replacing parts on an existing product rather than buying an entirely new device each time. That’s exceedingly rare feature these days.
What do we define as “the same computer”? Is it that all of our data is there and it is set up exactly how we like it? Is it the components? Though we never directly interact with them after setup and some maintenance. What makes your PC recognizably your’s?
I want to say no, its not the same computer. But what’s the difference if you boot it up and all your stuff is exactly how you left it?
I feel like the ship of Theseus is almost easier in that the components replaced are exactly the same. Replacing computer parts involve upgrades, unless you really are nuts and want to keep your 20 year old components lol I think once upgraded parts are installed I’d consider it “new” in that it performs completely different.