How long do your Macs last?

[ravenvii]

How long do your Macs last between purchases? I don't mean how long it lasted you from start to death/sale, I meant from when you bought it, and when you bought the next machine.

[superbovine]

How long do your Macs last between purchases? I don't mean how long it lasted you from start to death/sale, I meant from when you bought it, and when you bought the next machine.

your question is easy to answer, but is hard for a lot of people to swallow. computers will last as long as you can put up with them and maintain them. most people buy a new computer because they get to slow to run the lastest programs etc. most business/school rotate computers every 3 years. this seems to work to be the most cost effective way. some people do a 2 year cycle, but buy slower computer. i.e. you order 20 imacs instead of 20 pwoermacs then you get a new one in two years. so it really depends on your budget and your needs. if all you do is surf and email, you don't need the lastest a greastest computer to that. however, if you are a gamer and want the play the last games, you have to have to have a reasonable fast computer. maintence and software availblity for a particular OS is also a factor.

[Capt Underpants]

I'm about to acquire an iMac that was introduced in 1999. Six years later, it's a give-away, but it's still running (although its screen only shows blacks, whites, and in betweens).

edit: I didn't even read your post. I couldn't tell you how long between purchases, as this is my first mac. I'm betting 3 years for this puppy, though.

[ravenvii]

Actually this thread is inteded to be a roll call of sorts of how long people usually go between purchases, that's all, I'm not looking for answers for myself.

As for me, I usually go 1-2 years :)

[MacFan26]

I had my PowerBook G3 Lombard for 4 years. I used it all through high school :). It still works now, but I really needed a performance boost going into college. I probably won't be able to wait four years to get another new computer, but of course that all depends on my funds at the time. :rolleyes:

[chv400]

What ever the time period was between the 8500 and B&W
I still have the B&W as my main comp and wont be getting a new one for a while. A 600mhz G4, 640 RAm and 130 gigs of storage meet my needs pretty well everyuthing except for the gaming needs

[Grimace]

I prefer to have a desktop and a laptop (yes, a big luxury.)

So, I stagger the purchases about 1.5-2 years apart. That way, every 1.5-2 years, I get a computer with the latest and greatest technology. According to my schedule, I am *due* for a new Powermac now! (bought PB 18 months ago) I think I'll buy in 6-7 months with the next PM update. That will quench my thirst for super power; then in 18-24 more months, I'll be wowed by my RevC G5 Powerbook! :D

[jimjiminyjim]

As you may be able to guess from my signature - about 5 years between computers. My parents now use the 580 in the barn, my iMac is my work computer, and my eMac is my work computer. All are still in use.

[jimjiminyjim]

Although I sure would like to get a portable and stagger new purchases a little more (as per carletonmusic's post).

[j_appel]

I used to get a new computer every 4 years or so, but that was when I was using PCs. Now that I have a Mac, I'll probably go a little longer than 4 years. My iMac just turned three a couple months ago, and it still seems to be working as fast as it did brand new. I'll keep it for at least another 2-3 years. I also have an iBook G4. It'll be around for at least another 2-3 years as well. :)

[Horrortaxi]

At home we're running a Cube and a Sawtooth, which are 4 and 5 years old respectively. They both still run great. However, my MDD is my main computer and I do a lot of work on that (mainly video & DVD authoring) that would be painful on either of the others. So if I had to rely on the Cube I'd probably be planning for a new PowerMac about now. So mark me down in the 4-5 year category I guess.

If you're not doing processor intensive tasks you can get a lot more useful life out of a Mac. I also have a G3 AIO (1998) and PowerMac 7600 (1996) which both make fine web/email/word processing computers. The 7600 is a little long in the tooth because of the ancient connections--and the power is a bit lacking. The G3 takes a lot of RAM, can take Firewire and USB PCI cards, and runs OS X up to 10.2.8. It's still a very functional machine.

[JohnsonMac]

Normally I buy a fairly 'top of the line' machine every five years, then don't spend any money on it for the next five years. The money I used to spend upgrading them all the time, I now see, can be better spent on a new machine.

[jywv8]

I typically go about 3 years in between purchases.

[quagmire]

Powermac 6100 lasted me for 6 years then it was struck by lighting.

Powermac G4 400 Mhz 4 years and running

Powerbook G4 1 Ghz 4 years. Then I plan to buy Powerbook G5 or Powermac G6 for college. Old powerbook G4 will be a backup.

[virividox]

i have a usual 4 year cycle between upgrades, but by no means have i had a mac die on me, all the macs i have ever used are still running to this day.

[7on]

I'm hoping mine will last 4 years. I'll probably get a new Powerbook after college. So far it's been over a year and nothing wrong.

[MoparShaha]

I generally go five years between Macs. In my opinion, Macs last much longer than Wintel PC's. I mean this in respect to both hardware and useablility. I have a six year old iMac I have loaded full of RAM, and it's running very smoothly. My mom uses it daily. Sometimes when I use it, I'm amazed at how fast and well it runs. Also, this machine has been on constantly for about three years now, still no problems.

I've owned five Macs from 1994 to present, and only one has given me a hardware problem. My old Power Mac 7100 (~1995) has a dead hard drive, but it lasted quite a while.

In my opinion, a Wintel PC will generally last about three to four years before either something dies, or it just can't handle current software. A Mac can last a good five to six years, perhaps even longer, without problems.

[rendezvouscp]

I had my 8500 for 8 years before upgrading to a G5, and before that I had a LC III for two years, but that doesn't really count because I was just 4. My 8500 actually did die, so sad to say. It is no longer with us.

So, 8 years.
–Chase

[Timelessblur]

I generally go five years between Macs. In my opinion, Macs last much longer than Wintel PC's. I mean this in respect to both hardware and useablility. I have a six year old iMac I have loaded full of RAM, and it's running very smoothly. My mom uses it daily. Sometimes when I use it, I'm amazed at how fast and well it runs. Also, this machine has been on constantly for about three years now, still no problems.

I've owned five Macs from 1994 to present, and only one has given me a hardware problem. My old Power Mac 7100 (~1995) has a dead hard drive, but it lasted quite a while.

In my opinion, a Wintel PC will generally last about three to four years before either something dies, or it just can't handle current software. A Mac can last a good five to six years, perhaps even longer, without problems.

Well to counter point the macs last longer than Windows based computers (sorry I perfter AMD over intel). I might like our last computer was about 5 years old when we upgraded 99-2000. The curret computer is over 4 years old and still has a few years left in her. Yeah it did need a few upgrades and still needs a few. The upgrades have been going up to XP. Upgrading the ram. The upgrades it currently needs. another boost of ram to get it up to 512 megs and another Hard drive since it 40 gig is getting quite full and we are worried that it may fail since it is about 5 years old. A hard drive life span is 4-5 years accross the board. I dont care what you say mac hard drive are the same hard drive that windows uses and go though the same things. That and out computer has been working it hard drive pretty hard the past few years.
My grandparents computer is I think coming up on 7-8 years old and still running strong. (slow as hell but still running really well). Just if you go bottom of the line the lifespan is weaker and if you start doing some hi end stuff you shorten it even more.

If there is only thing about nice about PC is it a lot easier to lenghten there lifespan that is it on macs since software is Just starting to catch up to our home computer to where there is some stuff it can not run (1ghz amd chip). Processor can be used a lot longer than the other hardware (graphic card hard drive and ram) that can be upgraded over time

[MacinDoc]

1st Mac: Mac II, 1987 (1st color Mac) (still works) :)
2nd Mac: Power Mac 6100/60, 1994 (1st PowerPC based Mac) (HD failed) :(
3rd Mac: Power Mac G3 233 Beige Desktop, 1998 (1st G3 Mac) (current Mac) :rolleyes:

So, in the past 17 years, I have had 3 Macs. That's an average of almost 6 years each! (by the time I finally get a G5, it probably will be...)

[Falleron]

My main computer about every 4 years. However, I have some Macs that are about 8 years old + are still in daily use.

[JFreak]

my three apples are 2.5 years of age on average, but i have bought an apple every 18 months. go figure ;)

[dobbin]

I bought a Performa 6200CDTV at Christmas 1995 and that saw me through University and for a couple of years after that (5 years in total).

I then had a lapse of sanity and bought a Tiny PC (Athlon 1GHz) in January 2001 but it was hopeless so I returned it for a full refund (that only lasted 3 months!).

I bought my Cube in April 2001 and that is still going strong after 3 years - I have added an external 80Gb drive and also an external CDRW.

I am hoping to buy a Powerbook in about 6 months to replace it as I’d sometimes like to be able to take my photo collection around with me. If Apple made some sort of tablet or photo iPod (?) then I would probably buy that and stick with the cube for a few more years. But as that is unlikely, I’ll probably switch to a 12” Powerbook when the cube is 3 1/2 years old.

[caveman_uk]

I'm still on my first macs :D My MDD is 16 months old and my G3 ibook 20 months. The ibook does feel pretty sluggish but the MDD still feels pretty zippy. Although I lust after a 17" powerbook I can't really justify buying a new mac until at least the end of next year. Maybe a revB G5 powerbook with Tiger on it ;)

[JFreak]

Maybe a revB G5 powerbook with Tiger on it ;)

tell me about it :)

i now have a 1.25GHz 15-incher so i will have to wait for the G5 powerbook to reach 2.5GHz before i can justify the purchase. i mean... double the clock frequency and you'll notice a difference, but jump from 1.25 to 1.5 and you wonder where the money went.

revA will most definetely not be that fast (2.5G) but i somehow fear that the revB will not be either. revC should, however. oh well - if the revB reaches 2.0 i might have to buy it anyway. protoos eats cpu for breakfast ;)

[Savage Henry]

1st 1gen mid range iMac - 5 years old, gave it away and apparently still works

2nd mid range iBook, 3 years old - still working like a dream

3rd 2gen iMac top range, 2 years - looking and working like a dream; will only change if G5 iMac looks as good this.

(I'm so superficial)

[ewinemiller]

For desktops, I got 3 1/2 years out of my iMac 233, but it was completely unusable at that point. I've got a dual 800 powermac now at the 2 1/2 year mark and it's spent too. Functionally it's fine, it's just not fast enough for when I want to get serious work done and we'll obviously it's not portable so it spends most of it's time just being a file server. Since I have faster options for rendering and I can compile and test stuff with the wife's iBook on the couch, I'll probably keep it in it's fileserver duties until I need 64-bit support for something.

The wife has a G4 iBook we bought back at the beginning of the year so I can't really say anything about it's longevity yet.

[caveman_uk]

i now have a 1.25GHz 15-incher so i will have to wait for the G5 powerbook to reach 2.5GHz before i can justify the purchase. i mean... double the clock frequency and you'll notice a difference, but jump from 1.25 to 1.5 and you wonder where the money went.

I could double the clock frequency on both my laptop and desktop today but I think I'm likely to go to just a laptop next time round. Although a 1.5GHz powerbook has a faster processor than my dual 1GHz MDD, I don't think it'd feel much faster because the harddrive etc are slower. So I'm waiting for a laptop that'll kick my laptop's AND my desktop's ass ;)

[gwuMACaddict]

well i still use my IIe for games when i'm *really* bored... and i've got old address contacts saved on my performa...

i think about 3 years is a decent lifespan for any computer- any longer than that and you're kinda pushing it with respect to video capabilities and processor speed.

[Jo-Kun]

2002 Performa 5200 (2nd hand) lasted 3months before I gave it to a friend

Dec 2002 B&W G3 (2nd hand) six months later Ti-Pb (2nd hand) B&W sold, Ti-Pb got stolen

April 2004 new PM G5 dual 1.8 wich stays here and need to last for at least 4 years before being replaced by a new desktop

June 2004 received a Classic, iMac DV400, iBook SE

July 2004 classic is still here, iMac=Sold, iBook leaves tonight...

2005 -> probably a new Laptop iBook or PB according to my fundings...

PS: as far as I know all of them are still working because except for the Ti-Pb I know what happened with them... B&W is now 5Y old iMac & iBook are both 4Y Ti-Pb 3,5Y Classic: dunno...

[wordmunger]

My TiBook is now three and a half years old (I ordered it about 30 minutes after Steve announced it), and I'm holding out for a G5 powerbook. I have upgraded the hard drive and RAM and replaced the battery and power supply, and it's holding up well. Even when the G5 is finally released, I expect there'll still be a lot of life in my Ti400, and I'll keep it around as a secondary computer. I also have several older computers: a Rev A iMac, a Rev A iBook, and two Cubes -- but these aren't my primary computer -- for the primary computer, the cycle is 3-4 years.

[robbieduncan]

Around 18 months!

I bought my first ever Mac (clamshell 466Mhz iBook) in the Autum of 2000. In 2002 I bought an 800Mhz (G3) iBook. Last November/December (2003) I bought my 15" Powerbook. I think that this one will be kept until at least 2005 (I won't upgrade till a G5 now). I have sold on both of the iBooks, at least one of which (the 800) is still getting regular use.

Reasons for sale: first iBook: wanted a better screen resolution, better Quartz capabilities, CD burner and all in a smaller size! second iBook: wanted more speed for video editing and a DVD burner.

[michaelrjohnson]

On average, 3.5-4yrs.

However, if you take into account my recent silliness, it's only about 2yrs (averaged). I bought an iMac DV in Feb 2000, used that until March 2004 when I bought a 12" iBook. I just sold that computer yesterday, and will buy a new PowerBook within the next few days.

I kindaa like getting a new computer every couple months, however, I don't think my budget will support this trend! :eek: :D

[DrBoar]

LC II with Extreme impact 32 MHz upgrade 3 years 1992-95 dumped it last month.

7200/90 up and runnning after 9 years! Well it got a 7500 MB and a 200 MHz 604E from a 7300. At least it run SETI...

G4/400 4 years and running with a ATI 8500 and a 1.2GHz G4 I expect it to serve me well into 2005 and perhaps even longer :)

[krimson]

I used my Powerbase/200 up until i got my quicksilver in 2002..
i dont even know how long that is.. but it's at least 6 years.

[mactastic]

Bout 5 years between purchases, but that was when funds were slim and I was using desktops. Now I have a PB (TiBook, 1Ghz) that's about 18 months old, and I'm pretty sure it will be working good for me for another 18 months at least before I start to think about upgrading. By then hopefully I'll be looking at a 3Ghz PB and comparing it to the 2Ghz iBook. :D

[latergator116]

I bought a 500mhz iBook in july 2001. That computer lasted about two years when it died in 2003. Now I have a 700mhz iBook. If that first one hadn't died, I would still be using it today.

[slipper]

i was using a G3 350mhz iMac that i purchased in 99 until december last year because something went wrong with the iMac. It was the first major problem with it and since it was so old i decided to upgrade. If it didnt break down, i would probably still be using it.

[whooleytoo]

About every 2 years, but I'm hoping to buck that trend and buy a 2GHz or greater PowerMac later this year, and keep it for 2-4 years. It'll probably work out cheaper in the long run.

[keysersoze]

:) PowerMac 8500 ~3 years
:) iMac 266 (lime!) ~3 years
:) iBook G3 600 ~2 years
:mad: iBook G4 800 = 5 months and after replacing the HD, RAM and Logic Board gave up on it.
:) PowerBook G4 1.33 = 2 months and counting.... hopefully 3 years.

[Ugg]

G3 iMacDV purchased new in Oct. 99. It's still going strong and will last until the next generation Powerbooks come out. G5 PB, Steve?!?!

[slughead]

How long do your Macs last between purchases? I don't mean how long it lasted you from start to death/sale, I meant from when you bought it, and when you bought the next machine.

I've had my Dual G4 800 since august of 2001 (bought it in june). It was probably the fastest desktop at the time, or at least comparable. It also came with a GeForce3 (the latest Generation vid card).

I'll supposedly be getting my dual G5 2.5 in august of this year. So that's almost exactly 3 years.

Since I bought it, I've gone from 256mb to 1GB RAM, added a TV tuner card, added a PCI Radeon 7000 (for a 2nd monitor + TV), and I've taken out the 27 gig it came with and replaced it with two 80 GBs (purchased two years apart).

However, my Dual G4 has done just fine up until now. I started to notice my computing needs were a little too much for this machine a year ago, and now I figure it's about time to upgrade.

My Performa 6300/100, Performa 6400/200, my Beige G3/333, my G4/450, and my current G4/DP800 were all purchased one to two years apart, as the demand for my "leftover" computers rose in my household (they would buy them off me as I bought my new ones). So as you can see, my Latest mac (G4/DP800) has lasted much longer due to the downfall of moore's law and the fact that it was the first mac in years that was actually comparable to industry top of the line computers.

EDIT: I also inherited an LCIII, but I was too young to remember when that was.

[gbruner]

PowerComputing PowerTowerPro 250 I still use as my scanning station. About 7 years old.

iMac SE 600Mhz G3, Graphite, 3 years last month. It's still plugging along, albeit slowly, in Flash, Photoshop and Painter.

Next purchase: either a 15" Powerbook or the new iMac G5. I'll wait and see.

[wdlove]

I purchased my dual 450 PM September 1st 2000. It is still running strong. Currently running 24/7 folding for Stamford. I'm dreaming about a G5 though.

[tjwett]

personally i try to stick with the motto of "sell it while it's still worth something". i'll usually try to get rid of it after a year or so.