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conch575

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2009
399
1
Sydney, Australia
I've had my White MacBook for almost 3 years now. I just got the RAM and HDD upgraded to 4GB and 500GB respectively. It's working pretty awesome, but I'm going to give it to my younger brother as I'm upgrading to a high end 15" MBP next year for University :)

I don't really want to give away my MacBook but I'm happy to be keeping it "in the family"
 

zioxide

macrumors 603
Dec 11, 2006
5,737
3,726
I've had my MBP for about 3.5 years. It feels like it's about to **** the bed any day.. battery lasts ~15 min, one of the fans doesn't work right, it overheats badly, and the dvd drive is dead.

I don't see myself being able to afford a new one any time soon. I think this is going to be relegated to desktop duty and I'm going to get iPad 2 when it comes out to act as my "laptop" until I can afford a new MBP.
 

senseless

macrumors 68000
Apr 23, 2008
1,885
257
Pennsylvania, USA
I don't see the dramatic year to year performance changes, like the 90's or early 2000's were. I'm planning on a 5 year Mac replacement cycle, at this point.
 

AlphaDogg

macrumors 68040
May 20, 2010
3,417
7
Ypsilanti, MI
I only get laptops (as opposed to desktops). I upgrade on a 3-4 year cycle. I need to keep my current MBP until the end of high school, and I am a freshman :). I will upgrade when it comes time for college, but that is far away from now. ;)
 
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Tomorrow

macrumors 604
Mar 2, 2008
7,160
1,364
Always a day away
I replace mine when one of two things happens:

(1) It no longer does what I want or need it to do,
(2) I decide on a new task I want it to perform, and it can't perform it.

In my PC days, this was about every 18-24 months; my current MacBook is over 4 years old and my iMac is over 2 1/2 years old, and neither is up for replacement. :cool:
 

Capt Underpants

macrumors 68030
Jul 23, 2003
2,862
3
Austin, Texas
Purchased my macbook in October 2007. I normally upgrade every 3-4 years, but my 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo still holds its own compared to Apple's current lineup.

I'm hoping to get 6 years out of this computer. Just purchased a 256 GB SSD and put my 320 GB HD in optical slot. This puppy unofficially supports 6 GB of RAM, so I may go that route and run her 'til she dies.
 

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
Well, I'm using a 6 year old Mac, and an 8 year old PC. So a long time I suppose. :p

Well, I do have a year old netbook, but it didn't replace anything. And I hardly ever use it (Learned my lesson; only desktops from now on, notebooks are a waste of money.)
 

NickZac

macrumors 68000
Dec 11, 2010
1,758
8
Previously I would upgrade my laptop every 6 months and I do not own my own desktop. I am on a year and a half on my current MBP and it has not given me a single reason to doubt its reliability or capability. At this point, I feel no reason to buy another laptop until at least Ivy Bridge, or maybe even Haswell/Rockwell is featured in the MBP.
 

Rapmastac1

macrumors 65816
Aug 5, 2006
1,120
47
In the Depths of the SLC!
I replace mine every three years, I'm currently finishing up the third year of having my current Mac so I'm looking into a new Mac in mid 2011. I just got a netbook last February but that doesn't count, seeing as I mostly use it for work.

Trying to decide if I should just upgrade the ram on my current machine (it meets my needs, nothing is wrong with it, it's still quite fast) and get a 2nd Gen iPad or just get a newer desktop.

There are only a few reasons I see to upgrade a computer, for new software that won't run on your current hardware, for newer connectivity, or something is broken or botched.
 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
I would say 3-5 years but it really depends. As long as it does what I want it to do, I won't upgrade. My iMac will soon be 2-year-old and it's still going strong, I might pop in an SSD when the prices are reasonable and it's out of warranty. My MBA is still a freshman since it's less than one month old but I would like to keep it for at least 3 years.

If I'm going to replace something, it's going to be my iMac. I'm sure it will be fine for me for years but for some reason, I miss having a tower PC with all that upgradeability. Might sell my iMac in a year or two and build a Hackintosh
 

wvuwhat

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2007
1,157
37
Before I switched to Mac, about every 2 years, because the pc's would get so slowed up.

Once I found Mac in college, 5 years ago, I haven't "upgraded." Had a Macbook that I just sold a few months back and don't see the need to buy another one at the moment. I did buy an iMac 2 years ago and don't see me upgrading for awhile.

I am toying with the idea of selling the iMac and picking up a new 13" mbp when they're refreshed and a display, but that's in the future.

So, I guess you could call it upgrading, but I'm not really replacing a laptop with another laptop or a desktop with another desktop.
 

DoFoT9

macrumors P6
Jun 11, 2007
17,586
99
London, United Kingdom
My MBA is still a freshman since it's less than one month old but I would like to keep it for at least 3 years.
even though its fairly low end, i think that the fast on board SSD and whatnot will give it a good lifetime - possibly 5years +. make a great downloading machine down the track!

If I'm going to replace something, it's going to be my iMac. I'm sure it will be fine for me for years but for some reason, I miss having a tower PC with all that upgradeability. Might sell my iMac in a year or two and build a Hackintosh

probably a good idea, dont forget the screen though - the iMac screens are pretty good (even your 24" ;) ).
 

Merthyrboy

macrumors 6502
Jul 21, 2008
490
3
I had a pc for about 4 years until I switched to mac about 3 months ago. I'm hoping that my iMac will last me through uni which I start in 2 years and the course so I hope it lasts 3 years. Then I may get a MacBook pro for like the portable aspect if I need it, otherwise I'm fine with an iMac.
 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
even though its fairly low end, i think that the fast on board SSD and whatnot will give it a good lifetime - possibly 5years +. make a great downloading machine down the track!

I would fill that 128GB overnight! :p I know it lacks CPU power but as you might know, my computing needs aren't very heavy. As long as MR works I'll be happy :D

probably a good idea, dont forget the screen though - the iMac screens are pretty good (even your 24" ;) ).

I would probably get dual 24"s ;) I'm fine with TN panels since I don't do photo editing or stuff like that.
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Well my desk top was 6.5 years old when I replaced it with my new laptop. I plan on turning it into a Linux box at some point and play around in it for a little while. When I built it in 2004 I planned on it only lasted 3-4 years and I was going to replace it when I got out of school. That changed and I just used it until it was push beyond it's limits and I need more horse power.

I learned having the newest and the greatest in computers is not worth the money. I replace mine when they can not longer meet my needs.
 

plumosa

macrumors regular
Mar 17, 2007
178
9
Australia
Well, my imac is from August 2007 and my powerbook is from July 2004. The pb is still working fine, just a bit slow/hot, but it never leaves the house since it's so heavy.

I'll be picking up an ipad2 as soon as it comes out, but I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with the powerbook...


The imac is still going strong and I have no plans to replace it for several more years. Even when I do, it will rotate into the bedroom instead of the office!


I had been looking at mbp's but with the advent of mba/ipads, I realised I just don't have a need for that much portable power when my imac can do so much.
 
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