Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

jetlagged

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 6, 2012
478
141
In 2006 I bought a low end basic HP notebook ($1000) Played World of Warcraft heavily on that until it broke down in February 2008. The screen wouldn't turn on, I couldn't even see the Windows is starting screen etc etc. I was able to press the power and hear the notebook turning on, but the screen was completely black.

Then in March 2008 I bought a Dell xps 1530 laptop ($1500). It was a big upgrade for me and definitely a step up over my Hp notebook. I played WoW for 2 years before quitting in late 2009.

Since then I've been using the computer to stream movies online, download stuff, browse online, and do basic lightroom and video editing for upload to youtube.

Now this morning my dell won't turn on anymore, the same exact symptoms as my HP notebook I press the power button, hear the fan and harddrive noise, but the screen is completely black. HP lasted me a good 18 months. Dell lasted me a good 4 years and 10 months. I could have use Dell for 2 more years if it didnt break down on me.

What could have caused that? does anyone know? Now the reason why I'm posting this is because I bought a Macbook air 2012 (i5/8/256) 2 months ago and it cost me ($1706) exactly. I'm hoping this computer doesnt experience what happned to the above 2 computer I've owned in the past. My goal for this computer is for it to last 6 years maximum, hoping to keep it for that amount of time, and its my only computer that I will be using in that span.

has anyone experienced this problem with macbook computers?
 

Stewart21

macrumors regular
Dec 9, 2011
187
0
South Yorkshire
Some people are just unlucky, you may be one of those people. Apple hardware will break down sometimes just like everyone else's hardware. It doesn't really matter how much you pay. Did you not take your laptops to a repair centre to find out what the problem was and how much it would cost to fix? Most of the parts that can go wrong can be repaired or replaced although sometimes it's more cost effective to buy a new machine.

Stewart
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
My Sony lasted 10 years, people were laughing at my 4:3 screen. Screen super-dim, palm rests all worn. No game, wonder if them stress laptops too much.
 

robvas

macrumors 68040
Mar 29, 2009
3,240
629
USA
All laptops have parts that randomly die. My boss has a 2011 Air that the screen went out on. Replacement was like $300 or so.

Dell screens are sometimes very cheap if it's a popular model, if that's all that's wrong with yours you could have it fixed for $100-$200.
 

Saturn1217

macrumors 65816
Apr 28, 2008
1,264
834
I think it is pretty random.

My personal completely anecdotal evidence:

My 3.5 year old 2009 MBP is still going strong runs almost exactly like the day I bought it and never had any problems. But obviously hasn't reached the 6 yr mark yet.

My boyfriend's 2 year old cheap HP laptop is having issues with charging after only 2 years (won't even turn on sometimes) and he is not very happy with it.

My sister's 6 year old equally cheap Dell inspirion is still running (miraculously) even though the backlighting is starting to fail and it gives her the blue screen of death occasionally.

My theory: Externally Macs are more likely to hold up than cheaper laptops (the same can probably also be said of more expensive PC laptops). Things like the power port dying or the display giving out or the hinge crapping out are less likely to happen on a mac. But having the motherboard die etc. is probably likely to happen to a small percentage of all computers and you just can't predict it most of the time.
 

kage207

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2008
971
56
There is so much quality control you can do over products but things just happen. AppleCare for Mac is the only thing I recommend. This does come from a former Apple Specialist who worked there for 3 years. I did a lot more than just Specialist as were had to move around the store.

I bought a MacBook 5 years ago and it's still going strong. Most of my friends computer are still going strong after 10, 4, 5, 3 and 5 years. My family has one still going after 4 years.

These are man made products. Get AppleCare, it will pay for itself. The awesome thing is that you are new to Apple and if you call them, they will teach you anything Apple. Best over the phone service ever.

Anyways, no one can predict. These are just toys, they are tools. Treat it with respect and do your best to protect these devices. Make sure it gets good ventilation when you are doing intensive tasks.

No, I don't when your computer will die it will just happen.

Did you ever connect any of these old PCs (your Dell or HP) to any external monitor to see what it was? A loose cable can happen.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.