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Can a MacBook last for 10 years?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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I'm still using my Macbook 2008 Aluminium Unibody. I've upgraded to 8GB RAM and 1TBSSD but now the computer is slowing down, one USB port is not working, the speakers are making distorted sounds, with headphones they only play in one ear. Battery life is about 75 minutes.
I can't wait to upgrade to a new Macbook - probably the new Retina Pro when they are released but I'll need to get many adaptors. I do like the current Macbook Pro Retina which I might consider while I wait for the rest of the world to adopt USB-C for everything as it seem those are the ports on the new rMBP.
I can't wait to upgrade to a new Macbook - probably the new Retina Pro when they are released but I'll need to get many adaptors. I do like the current Macbook Pro Retina which I might consider while I wait for the rest of the world to adopt USB-C for everything as it seem those are the ports on the new rMBP.
Normally they last any where from 6 to 8 years. Some people get lucky and it last 10 years.
There is some confusion here among some people here that SSD last longer than hard-drive. Some people seem thing if you have SSD it will last longer than a hard-drive. And opt to get Macbook pro that has SSD not hard-drive.
I still have my Black MacBook 2006 Intel Core Duo model and it works perfectly fine! Runs safari quite fast & adobe cs6 good as well.
I'm still using my 2007 15" MBP on a daily basis. When I got it had 2GB memory and 120GB hard disk, over the years I've upgraded a few bits and pieces and now it has 4GB and a 1TB SSD. I could upgrade it to 6GB if RAM if I could find an affordable 4GB dimm. It's on it's second battery and third power supply (the cable next to the magsafe seems to be a real weakness), and the graphics chip was replaced under warranty.
The point of the post, is that it's only usable today because I could upgrade it, otherwise I would have run out of disk space and 2GB memory would make it feels a little slow.
I could replace it, but to match the specs (1TB disk space), would cost me £1,989 and for that I only get a 13" screen and the CPU is a dual-core 2.0GHz, whereas my current one is a dual-core 2.2Ghz (yes I know the new one is faster), so it doesn't seem a very compelling deal.
In five years time, when each photo I take is a lot bigger, and videos are all 4K HDR then I suspect 1TB won't be enough. Yes, I could use an external drive and shuffle things around, but it's a compromise and at almost £2k not one I'm willing to take.
For me that's the problem with non-upgradeable computers.
The point of the post, is that it's only usable today because I could upgrade it, otherwise I would have run out of disk space and 2GB memory would make it feels a little slow.
I could replace it, but to match the specs (1TB disk space), would cost me £1,989 and for that I only get a 13" screen and the CPU is a dual-core 2.0GHz, whereas my current one is a dual-core 2.2Ghz (yes I know the new one is faster), so it doesn't seem a very compelling deal.
In five years time, when each photo I take is a lot bigger, and videos are all 4K HDR then I suspect 1TB won't be enough. Yes, I could use an external drive and shuffle things around, but it's a compromise and at almost £2k not one I'm willing to take.
For me that's the problem with non-upgradeable computers.
I have several Mac's and my old MBP 2008 runs fine in one of my rooms running Logic Pro. Sure it doesn't match the modern machines but it does a simple job well. Only replaced the battery, upgraded ram and put a 1TB 7200rpm in it.
I guess it depends what you want to do with it but well treated I would say 95% of MBP's make the decade.
I guess it depends what you want to do with it but well treated I would say 95% of MBP's make the decade.
2004 iBook G4 running an iTunes Home Server on OSX 10.5.8. 12 years old, over 2000 battery cycles and still holds an hours charge!
I'm expecting my current 2015 13'' Macbook Pro to last the same, if Apple keep making decisions like they have with the 2016 model then it may have to last another 50 years
I'm expecting my current 2015 13'' Macbook Pro to last the same, if Apple keep making decisions like they have with the 2016 model then it may have to last another 50 years
I still have my 2008 black MacBook. It never suffered the case cracking that many of them had. The battery swelled several years ago so I was using it without a battery in it the last few years that I did still use it. Now it's just collecting dust because it's too slow compared to my 2012 and 2015 MBPs.
I think there's a big machine between a 2016 laptop in 2026 and a 2006 laptop in 2016.
The 2006 laptop is absolutely useful today. Truth be told, there's nothing it can do that an iPad can't do; but nonetheless, it's far from useless. At least if it was a premium laptop like the MacBook or MacBook Pro. Now if you go one year prior you're running into PowerPC which is a little more obsolete; but not at all useless. It's just harder to find software because nobody has been developing on that platform for many years.
You're running an older OS, you have way less performance, etc, but you can still do a lot.
1975 to 1985? Might as well be 100 years. In 1985, a computer made in 1975 is useless. In 1995? That 1985 commodore is absolute garbage. But things have slowed down since then. And I don't think that trend is going to stop. The push is towards mobility is big. Heck, in the last three years, there haven't been significant advances in CPU technology. They've just gotten cooler and more efficient, but not really faster. A 2016 MacBook Pro in 2026? It'll probably not run the latest version of MacOS and there may be some breakthroughs that it'll miss out on (for example, that 2006 MacBook is going to lack a 64-bit CPU, thus be permanently limited to 4GB of RAM no matter what, be limited on what software it can run, and generally perform much slower than the 64-bit CPU's). But for basic productivity, it'll almost certainly still be useful.
Honestly, sometimes I fire up my really old stuff just for fun. There are people on this forum (scroll down!) still using OLD PowerPC stuff. Sub-500MHz stuff. Still useful for certain tasks. Everything I've done this morning (replied to threads on this forum, answered e-mails, etc.), save for the HD YouTube video I watched, could still be done on that G3 Power Macintosh I had in the 90's running OS9. Wouldn't be done very fast! But it could be done. I've got the 2016 MBP 15" on order though for Photoshop, Final Cut Pro X, and similar tasks. Which certainly can not be effectively accomplished on a 10 year old laptop. Thus, "useful" is really relative.
The 2006 laptop is absolutely useful today. Truth be told, there's nothing it can do that an iPad can't do; but nonetheless, it's far from useless. At least if it was a premium laptop like the MacBook or MacBook Pro. Now if you go one year prior you're running into PowerPC which is a little more obsolete; but not at all useless. It's just harder to find software because nobody has been developing on that platform for many years.
You're running an older OS, you have way less performance, etc, but you can still do a lot.
1975 to 1985? Might as well be 100 years. In 1985, a computer made in 1975 is useless. In 1995? That 1985 commodore is absolute garbage. But things have slowed down since then. And I don't think that trend is going to stop. The push is towards mobility is big. Heck, in the last three years, there haven't been significant advances in CPU technology. They've just gotten cooler and more efficient, but not really faster. A 2016 MacBook Pro in 2026? It'll probably not run the latest version of MacOS and there may be some breakthroughs that it'll miss out on (for example, that 2006 MacBook is going to lack a 64-bit CPU, thus be permanently limited to 4GB of RAM no matter what, be limited on what software it can run, and generally perform much slower than the 64-bit CPU's). But for basic productivity, it'll almost certainly still be useful.
Honestly, sometimes I fire up my really old stuff just for fun. There are people on this forum (scroll down!) still using OLD PowerPC stuff. Sub-500MHz stuff. Still useful for certain tasks. Everything I've done this morning (replied to threads on this forum, answered e-mails, etc.), save for the HD YouTube video I watched, could still be done on that G3 Power Macintosh I had in the 90's running OS9. Wouldn't be done very fast! But it could be done. I've got the 2016 MBP 15" on order though for Photoshop, Final Cut Pro X, and similar tasks. Which certainly can not be effectively accomplished on a 10 year old laptop. Thus, "useful" is really relative.
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I was all ready to order a new skylake based Macbook Pro. It would replace my Macbook Unibody which recently had its 8th birthday. It's birthday presents in previous years have included 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD and replacement batteries.
It still works for my light workload of script writing, email, office/pages and general web use. The battery is less than 90 minutes now despite being replaced three times so my Macbook is almost exclusively a desktop now. The speakers are near bust but I can use bluetooth for external ones and one USB port has stopped working. Sometimes I hook it up to an external IPS monitor and an external keyboard.
I know I can't do any further upgrades to my Macbook unibody but until Apple releases a laptop which suits my needs at a familiar price point and not $500 increase I won't buy a replacement.
I wish now I had purchased a previous iteration of the MBP retina with HDMI and USB-A ports. But the prices are still high for this model and its over 18 months old. I can't see the value in buying this model while the prices are still very high.
I have the money put aside to buy a new Macbook Pro but it doesn't massively appeal. The touch bar might be useful in time but it seems like a gimmick at the moment. I don't particularly have a problem with USB-C, clearly it seems to be the future but if it is then why isn't it on the iPhone or Beats headphones?
In the review by The Verge there was a good line about the new MBP models and it was that Apple had professionalised the Retina Macbook. I think this is very true. Apple has gone for thinness and lighter weight while removing the ports and limiting the RAM have stopped their new flagship laptop from being a Pro machine.
It still works for my light workload of script writing, email, office/pages and general web use. The battery is less than 90 minutes now despite being replaced three times so my Macbook is almost exclusively a desktop now. The speakers are near bust but I can use bluetooth for external ones and one USB port has stopped working. Sometimes I hook it up to an external IPS monitor and an external keyboard.
I know I can't do any further upgrades to my Macbook unibody but until Apple releases a laptop which suits my needs at a familiar price point and not $500 increase I won't buy a replacement.
I wish now I had purchased a previous iteration of the MBP retina with HDMI and USB-A ports. But the prices are still high for this model and its over 18 months old. I can't see the value in buying this model while the prices are still very high.
I have the money put aside to buy a new Macbook Pro but it doesn't massively appeal. The touch bar might be useful in time but it seems like a gimmick at the moment. I don't particularly have a problem with USB-C, clearly it seems to be the future but if it is then why isn't it on the iPhone or Beats headphones?
In the review by The Verge there was a good line about the new MBP models and it was that Apple had professionalised the Retina Macbook. I think this is very true. Apple has gone for thinness and lighter weight while removing the ports and limiting the RAM have stopped their new flagship laptop from being a Pro machine.
I am, my late 2008 MacBook is still working (albeit at reduced battery life) and I expect it to reach 10 years.
I, too, am running an early '08 MBP but only with Yosemite. How did you get Sierra to run on it? It is not supported by Apple on that machine. Actually, even El Cap is a no go on my machine because of the freezing mouse problem; did you not experience this issue with El Cap?
I have the original Titanium 15" Macbook that's still running along with a 2004 15" model. Both run great. But, I've experienced shorter life cycles, around 5-6 years on later models. I've used every Macbook the same way - 8 hours a day and to me the newer models just don't hold up as well as the older ones. Which seems odd, because the build quality of the newer ones seem better. So, whether you'll get ten years out of yours is a question only time will answer. Your biggest problem will be whether you'll be able to get a new enough OS that will run the apps you need and have current security certificates to let you web browse.
13" MacBook Pro 2.4/4/250 (Mid-2010)
I've upgraded this machine to 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD Sata2. My battery capacity is down to 78% and I once had to replace a noisy fan with a €4 part from eBay. Now with the SSD the laptop runs absolutely silent, when it was new you could here the HDD and ever flash website made the fans run at full speed. As you've probably found out by now, newer OS X versions make older Macs run faster and snappier. The quality of software actually increases over time at Apple. They are not just adding features which slow everything down like Windows.
I have a feeling that 64-bit computing has reached a plateau beyond which bigger numbers will never be needed.
With the same bit-ness and instruction set old 64-bit Core2Duo's will remain compatible with the newest Intel CPUs and be able to run the same code just fine. I have installed macOS Sierra and can use all the new features like asking Siri how late it is in Cupertino. Nonetheless, I'm starting to use my 64-bit iPad Air 2 more and more. It's now two years old, let's see how long it will receive updates?
i've got an early 2008 MBP and after the announcement i'm considering dropping an SSD in it, some additional RAM and getting a new battery to serve as my home-based back up machine (work provided me with a 2015 15' model but i'd like to keep my business and personal mostly separate). I was fully prepared to pony up for a new 13" but not for 2500$+ CDN with the specs I want...
Apple products in general built very well and it should stay 10 years maybe more. but the specs and the support from apps and OS is what hold these back. I know some people who still own the vintage iBook from 1999 and it still works but its just impossible to accomplish anything with it.
I'm writing this on a 2008 Macbook aluminium body.
I inherited this particular machine a couple of years ago. All I have done is upgrade to 4Gb.
It works fine for basic browsing, video playing and stuff like poker games - which is what I mainly use it for as a 'kitchen table' machine. It does slow down and get the spinning beach ball a lot when Chrome as been running for any time, but a re-boot usually fixes that.
It's not my only Mac, as I have an iMac for music production, but I'd reckon for it's basic tasks it could easily go on another year or two. Problem was, a few months ago I tipped a glass of diet coke over it and now the keyboard isn't working and I'm using a BT Magic Keyboard instead.
I'm imagining that the 13" touchbar (base spec) when it arrives, will seem massively fast in comparison though!
I inherited this particular machine a couple of years ago. All I have done is upgrade to 4Gb.
It works fine for basic browsing, video playing and stuff like poker games - which is what I mainly use it for as a 'kitchen table' machine. It does slow down and get the spinning beach ball a lot when Chrome as been running for any time, but a re-boot usually fixes that.
It's not my only Mac, as I have an iMac for music production, but I'd reckon for it's basic tasks it could easily go on another year or two. Problem was, a few months ago I tipped a glass of diet coke over it and now the keyboard isn't working and I'm using a BT Magic Keyboard instead.
I'm imagining that the 13" touchbar (base spec) when it arrives, will seem massively fast in comparison though!
It all depends what you do.
I still have my original 1984 Mac. Upgraded to a 512 KB (fat Mac). I start if up every once and a while and it still fires up. It nice for nostalgia, but really anything older than a rMBP is pretty old.
I gave away my 2011 MBP 13 with 500 GB SSD and 16 GB of Ram because it was too slow for my workload. Again, it all depends what you use your system for.
I still have my original 1984 Mac. Upgraded to a 512 KB (fat Mac). I start if up every once and a while and it still fires up. It nice for nostalgia, but really anything older than a rMBP is pretty old.
I gave away my 2011 MBP 13 with 500 GB SSD and 16 GB of Ram because it was too slow for my workload. Again, it all depends what you use your system for.
I have an Apple II C that works that I bought new in 1984, but more to your point...I also have a 2006 Black MacBook a 2008 iMac that still work and a 2009 13" MBP and a 2009 iMac that still work. Trying to keep the early retinas going your self for 10 years is questionable at best, possible but a lot more expensive to do since they made them hard to service without ruining parts you (normally wouldn't have to replace) but have to take out (and you break them) getting to the parts you actually went in to service. Between peeling retina displays keyboards and track pads ruined by swelling batteries and overheated dGPUs soldered on ram and SSDs, you'd be better off with the last 2012 cMBPs if you want something to service your self, to last 10 years.
i have two mid 2009 macbooks (one extra) but i only need one of them to work. i need for it to work the rest of my life because occasionally i need a portable dvd recorder and the new ones just won't do that. i'm retired and not in the best of health so it's possible. and i know that a lot of people have moved beyond dvd's these days. other than that i really don't need a laptop at all. i actually prefer a desktop setup.
I have a 2008 unibody macbook with 8GB ram, ssd, and on its third battery. I'm a pro user (engineering) and the machine is still completely useable. It's on the last supported OS (El Cap) and so I'm looking to upgrade to a MBP non-TB or a new mini in the next year. In order to get another long life out of a new computer I'll be getting 16GB ram and support for a 5k monitor.
YES.....here are some examples of old Macs for me:
- 2010 MacBook Pro (wife's old one, now my 9 year old son's), just updated it to an SSD drive, running like a champ at 6+ years old.
- 2012 MacMini i7 quad core, still running as my home server at almost 5 years old
- 2012 Macbook Air 13" (now my wife's main Mac)
- 2008 iMac 24" (son's old Mac, moved out to give him more desk space with the 2010 MBP) but still runs well on Yosemite.
- 2005 G4 Mac: Still have it and spin it up once and a while for fun. Still runs HDD should fail any day now LOL
- 2008 MacBook (white) is father in-laws Mac and it's still running too