Comment Conditions of receiving the cash? (Score 1) 395
Several points here...
Clearly establish any conditions that go with accepting the cash. Are they buying any part of ownership, or are they just providing a bonus or reward to help you along? Is there any expectation that your new computer will have 100% up-time, or have a stated life in years?
The common sense approach would be to say that if you have been doing any personal stuff on a company computer, and it has been in your own time, without affecting your work time or your work, then it's OK, and they can only object if what you're doing reduces the life of the computer.
Given that it's a 'personal' computer, not a company computer, then wear and tear would be OK, and we eliminate that objection. They can only object if your personal activities are affecting your work productivity.
Remember, there has to be a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing for them to capture the computer or data on it. Keep your nose clean, and all should be well.
Best of all, in case your computer needs to be inspected for maintenance (probably only applicable to company assets), or put on a company network, keep any personal stuff separable, in known folders, backed up regularly, and if shared then only securely shared(!).