how long do you keep your machines as your mainstay?

[jefhatfield]

our family had an apple IIe for over seven years as our sole computer

we had a performa for nearly five years as the only computer

and we have two laptops, one of which is an ibook, which we will replace at three years

...see a trend here?

our next machine will, with technology's increasing pace, last us only two years before we have to replace it for our current needs for work and home

[Ensign Paris]

I try to replace my conputers every 3 years, although I say replace, when I really mean, buy a new one and put the old one 'in the collection'

My Powermac was replaced last October (Dual-800) and my powerbook (the one I own) was replaced recently (by apple) because of a fault.

Ensign

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Ensign Paris
and put the old one 'in the collection'


Ensign

does that mean you throw it away, or put it away on a shelf somewhere until you have time to either give it away, sell, or toss it?

or do you actually give it second class status and still use it from time to time?

i have an old 1996 pentium 1 with windows nt on it and i boot it up once every three months for kicks, fool with the menus, and shut it back down:p

[Falleron]

I have just got a new Dual Ghz powermac. It replaces an older powermac 8600/200 + a powerbook 1400/117. Both of the computer that it replaced are about 7 years old. However, both are still in working order + still get used on a daily basis!!

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Falleron
I have just got a new Dual Ghz powermac. It replaces an older powermac 8600/200 + a powerbook 1400/117. Both of the computer that it replaced are about 7 years old. However, both are still in working order + still get used on a daily basis!!

seven years old and still working everyday? that is very impressive and a good proof that apple makes tough machines

[Ensign Paris]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


does that mean you throw it away, or put it away on a shelf somewhere until you have time to either give it away, sell, or toss it?

or do you actually give it second class status and still use it from time to time?

i have an old 1996 pentium 1 with windows nt on it and i boot it up once every three months for kicks, fool with the menus, and shut it back down:p

It basicly just gets stashed under my bed (or atleast it did until my compact mac collection got out of hand) now they go into the loft, or more often that not I loan them to family members, more recently they have started to become web/e-mail servers (I have 1 now :))

Ensign

[jelloshotsrule]

my family usually (since the kids have gone to college) takes one of the kids' old computers... we had a g3 266 (or something like that-pre blue and white). then when i went to school i took that and my parents kept something older from my older brother. but recently we got them the imac g4 700. i'd guess that'll last a good long while.

[Falleron]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


seven years old and still working everyday? that is very impressive and a good proof that apple makes tough machines
They sure do! I just hope this new dual Ghz last say 4/5 years! I'll be happy if it does. I have an example, I had a pc (not out of choice) for 2 years + while I had it I needed a new HD, CD drive, fan + replacement monitor! Over the last 18 years I have had various macs + I have yet to have a hardware fault!!!! I think that is impressive. (I am touching lots of wood now, dont want to tempt fate).

[Beej]

Had a Mac Plus for 10 years! After that, probably a new Mac every two years or so.

[iGav]

I only ever have one machine at a time........ I owned a 266 G3 that lasted from December 98 to Feb 01 when I bought my TiBook 500, this machine will be replaced in Jan or Feb 03, with a new TiBook, hopefully be at 1Ghz + speed by then....

I'll also be buying a Powermac next year for rendering and HDTV work that I plan on undertaking, but I'll be waiting for some brutal spec's before I buy one....... :D

[Mr. Anderson]

I'll probably keep my Sawtooth around for a few more years, maybe even give it a CPU upgrade and use it as a backup when I get a G5 next year. Its a great machine and you can do an aweful lot of stuff on it.

[LethalWolfe]

My parents have a 5 year old 233mhz PC w/16megs of RAM running Win95b. But I think it's going to get replaced soon (w/in the next 12 months) 'cause we bought my Dad a digital camera, and, while the software works in Win95, the driver doesn't so he can't hook the camera up to his PC (we use my PC to get the pix, then I send them across the network to his computer).

The PC I built 18 months ago (it was a mid level machine then). Is still running fine. I just need to replace my Matrox G450 and I'll get back to some good gaming. ;)



Lethal

[Ensign Paris]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
I just need to replace my Matrox G450 and I'll get back to some good gaming. ;)

Should that have been 'I just need to replace my PC with a Mac and I'll get back to some good computing.'

Sorry, don't mind me :)

[agreenster]

I buy every two years or so, alternating laptop with desktop. That way, you almost always have a really nice computer, either a desktop and a laptop. Right now I have a 400mHz G4 Desktop and a 550Titanium. The Desktop wants badly to be replaced, but all of my money is getting whisked away by a little thing called: wedding.

[arn]

My computer purchases have been accelerating as well... partially, I think because as you get older, you have some more disposable income and aren't dependant on your parents as much for major purcahses.

Mac IIsi - 1992-1995: 3 yrs
PowerMac 7500 - 1995-1999: 4 yrs
PowerMac G4/350 - 1999-2001: 2 yrs
Dual 800mhz - 2001-current: we'll see... :)

Note the G4/350 was more of a side-step... since it was low end at the time ($1599 powermac). And the 7500 had a G3 in it.

arn

[agreenster]

Wow. An Indiana person. Dont get much of these around here. Im moving soon, but I was born and raised in NorthEastern Indiana. Fort Wayne, ever heard of it?

[Hemingray]

I'd say every three years is just about right for me. I'm still hanging on to a G4/400 PCI, so either this summer (or most likely, next summer) will be my time to upgrade. I'm also sticking to my guns about the G5's, I won't buy until I see a 2nd Rev. G5 so I may be waiting a lot longer than that. :D

[wsteineker]

My G4 450 Cube still gets the job done just fine. I'm sure the 1.5 GB of RAM helps... :) The only upgrade I'm considering is a DP 500 upgrade from Sonnet. It's a $700 investment that will really extend the life of my machine. Between that and the Radeon I just installed, Quartz Extreme will run fine and my OS speed needs will be met. A $ 900 investment literally bought me another year or two. I don't understand why people always junk their old machines in favor of new ones. Upgrades are a great (and cost effective) way to get much more life out of your current mac. Think about it.

[King Cobra]

When I first got the original iMac as my first computer, I used it for about 2 years. So, now, I have spent 10 months using the Cube (that's right, half GHz) and it hasn't been too bad. I did have one problem that even Apple couldn't fix, but eventually I solved that.

I used my dad's old quadra (I guess it was) for a while to pass time for maybe 4 years, then I got the iMac. Before that I was even using an Apple IIse to do some homework. Now that goes back a while for me.
__________________

Any time is a great time for iPod.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by agreenster
Wow. An Indiana person. Dont get much of these around here. Im moving soon, but I was born and raised in NorthEastern Indiana. Fort Wayne, ever heard of it?

Yes, even though I live on the North side of Indy I'm still familiar w/that far distant place called Fort Wayne. ;) We have another Indy person here. I think his/her name is Indygopher or something like that.


Lethal

[AlphaTech]

I used my PowerCenter Pro 210 for just over 3 years before upgrading to a G4 500 (agp). I had that about 2 years before sacrificing it to the great god Harley-Davidson. :D

I picked up a PowerBook G3 Lombard, sold it and got a Pismo, sold that to get the Rev A TiBook and just recently I traded that in to get my rev. C TiBook. I hope to keep the current TiBook for at least a few more years. I will probably get a new tower when they either change case designs to something too cool to avoid, or slip a G5 processor inside of it.

I do agree that towers should be upgraded (where possible) to make them live longer. I did that to both the clone, and G4 500, loaded it with 1.5GB of RAM, added hard drives and upgraded to a Radeon video card. Then I sold it... made a decent amount, but no where near what I had invested in it.

I can't really afford to do another laptop upgrade for the next couple of years. By then, I really do hope to have a tower so that I can game and such on it.

[eyelikeart]

I had my Starmax clone for about 4 years...

my TiBook I've had for just over a year now....and I plan on having it for at least another year before I buy something else....

not sure yet if I'm going to replace it or just add to it though... ;)

can u say "G5?" :D

[Macmaniac]

I had a performa for over 6 years then we got our iMac in December. I hope this one will last for at least 3 years.

[gerror]

I started with a performa 630 and it is still my favorite mac. More because I was used to my brother's pc. The love lasted for about 3 years when I bought a second hand 7100. Finally, a PowePC. Good upgrade. 1 and a half year ago I bought a iMac 400. Probably next year, when I finished school. I'm gonna buy a new one. G5?

Oh yeah, 2 months ago I got a classic from a friend. He got it from his work.

[SPG]

Quadra 660 since it's introduction and used daily until the debut of the G4towers, then a G4 tower until the debut of the G5 tower...that's my setup at home where I cut my personal projects and two to three independent films a year.
At work we've got some relics that I don't even know what you'd call them anymore they've been upgraded so many times, and then some of the newer machines to handle the more intense stuff like MPEG and Dolby encoding. Until next week I will be working in a 100% mac environment, then the first PC rolls in here so the web guy can check his pages on the "other platform".

It's impressive how long a mac can be a viable option. I don't know anyone running six and seven year old PC's and getting email or web access or doing anything signifiacant with them.

[spuncan]

4-5 years for this one currently, it is the original g3 beige desktop 233hhz.