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Can a MacBook last for 10 years?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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I don't think there is any research or study saying SSD last longer than hard-drive.
Thinking if you get Macbook pro with SSD over say hard-drive it will last longer.
These computers can definitely run for a decade if you take care of them, even without upgrading the specs to some extent. My primary laptop is a: 2007 15-inch MacBook Pro
- 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- 2GB 667MHz memory
- 120GB SATA 5400rpm
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB memory
Still on my mid 2009 MacBook Pro with a dGPU in there, and honestly, I probably can go another year or two. That would make it 8-9 years old. I did swap out the HDD for an SSD, and had to replace the battery at about 900~ cycles. I do want a new MBP for more speed, especially since USB 2.0 is slooooooow, but I feel like I should get more than doubling my RAM after 8 years. I'm going to wait for at least 32GB, maybe 64GB...
I enjoyed reading your entire post. It's hard to believe, but one day, 1 TB of RAM will be standard.
I have a mid 2010 13" MBP that I've upgraded a few times - 4GB then 8GB of RAM, 320GB then 500GB hybrid drive, and a new battery. It runs the lastest macOS fine, but idles with the fan on, lol. Safari and Finder are still an uncompromised experience, but anything beyond that is very slow, launches the fan into full blast and is hard to read on the screen. And at 4.5 lbs it's like moving around a chunk of the great pyramid.
It's difficult to say goodbye because it was so well made, it still looks great, the everything still functions. But just because it functions doesn't mean I need to deal with waiting for photos to load in the photos app. I've totally abandoned GarageBand and iMovie.
When I went to BestBuy this past Friday to check out the new machine, I thought "It's either the MacBook or the new MacBook Pro" I saw the space gray MacBook and scurried over because no one was there to harass me from the store. Only a couple minutes into playing with it I realized it was the new MacBook Pro!! Holy cow is it small, but just as solid as my 2010. Then I went over to the MacBook and well maybe it was because they were on display for 7 months, but it felt less solid. I can see why it's popular to traveling pros though.
So I think While I could get another three years out of my 2010 (especially with how easily replaceable some parts are), it's time so I went home and ordered a non touch bar 13" with 512GB and 16GB of RAM. Yeasterday I ordered a USB dongle, the Sandisk card reader and the LaCie 4TB mobile drive since they are all on sale and picked them up in store since the mobile drive is back ordered for weeks online. I only do this kind of thing every five years or so, so I go all in and take care of it and keep my fingers crossed
It's difficult to say goodbye because it was so well made, it still looks great, the everything still functions. But just because it functions doesn't mean I need to deal with waiting for photos to load in the photos app. I've totally abandoned GarageBand and iMovie.
When I went to BestBuy this past Friday to check out the new machine, I thought "It's either the MacBook or the new MacBook Pro" I saw the space gray MacBook and scurried over because no one was there to harass me from the store. Only a couple minutes into playing with it I realized it was the new MacBook Pro!! Holy cow is it small, but just as solid as my 2010. Then I went over to the MacBook and well maybe it was because they were on display for 7 months, but it felt less solid. I can see why it's popular to traveling pros though.
So I think While I could get another three years out of my 2010 (especially with how easily replaceable some parts are), it's time so I went home and ordered a non touch bar 13" with 512GB and 16GB of RAM. Yeasterday I ordered a USB dongle, the Sandisk card reader and the LaCie 4TB mobile drive since they are all on sale and picked them up in store since the mobile drive is back ordered for weeks online. I only do this kind of thing every five years or so, so I go all in and take care of it and keep my fingers crossed
I wasn't implying it would make his computer last longer, but that by adding a SSD drive it will make it feel much faster. It really helps with older, slower processors. I should have been more specific in my post as to what I meant. My bad.
I have a 2009 iMac and 17 mbp which will outlast my 2012 retina or newer macs, as they can actually be repaired.
So to answer your question, newer macs lack the ability for repairs , so in my opinion they are actually worse , single thing goes wrong you are up for a new logic board, in which case it's almost clearer to buy a new one . Beware.
So to answer your question, newer macs lack the ability for repairs , so in my opinion they are actually worse , single thing goes wrong you are up for a new logic board, in which case it's almost clearer to buy a new one . Beware.
there's never been a time in the past when a laptop could realistically be good for 10 years.
however ! now with speeds plateauing, with most improvements focused on heat & battery life, and various industries coalescing around durable standards like 4K video, i wouldn't be surprised if this was the time to start thinking about adding a few years to the life expectancy of laptops.
maybe instead of them being good for 3-5 years, the newer models might last, say 5-7 years. or longer !
no one can predict the future, but the conditions appear better for it than previously, at least
however ! now with speeds plateauing, with most improvements focused on heat & battery life, and various industries coalescing around durable standards like 4K video, i wouldn't be surprised if this was the time to start thinking about adding a few years to the life expectancy of laptops.
maybe instead of them being good for 3-5 years, the newer models might last, say 5-7 years. or longer !
no one can predict the future, but the conditions appear better for it than previously, at least
It's the battery that will wear out before anything else and Apple is making it harder and harder to replace it.
I had the same machine for a good 5 years. Apple gave me a new motherboard because of the Nvidia chip recall. A year later it still died.
of course you can. but you may not be able to get one six years from now when the old battery finally wears out.
oh yah i see
how far back do they replace them now ?
i just tried to find that on their site but i wasn't successful
id think worst case there would be 3rd party places that do it for you,
I can't imagine retina line (first series of retina line up from 2012-2015) will be abandoned any time soon support wise
Any premium computer can last 10 years, bar the battery and perhaps the SSD, if it spends its life on a desk and doesn't get dumped in a bag every day. I know people with 10 year old MBPs and Sonys (which outlived the company division that made them...).
Performance-wise, it's perfectly possible to be "good enough" if you're cutting edge on Day 1 (So the 2016 MBPs are not going to have anything like they shelf-life of 2006 MBPs... they have mid-level specs right at the end of 3rd party release cycles)
Performance-wise, it's perfectly possible to be "good enough" if you're cutting edge on Day 1 (So the 2016 MBPs are not going to have anything like they shelf-life of 2006 MBPs... they have mid-level specs right at the end of 3rd party release cycles)
New MacBooks won't last 2 years, considering Apple's policy of soldering everything. Get a thinkpad if you need a long lasting machine. People literally still buy old ThinkPad to this day and age because they are cheap and deliver awesome performance.
my first (white plastic) macbook still works fine. bought in early 2008, long passed on to the parents. it gets used daily and the battery still holds up for a few hours even. we have 5 or 6 macs in the family, starting with one from 2005. no hardware failures apart from a radeongate incident on my current MBP (which was repair-able). so far no need to buy a new battery either.
Okay, practical answer: Not really.
Yes, you can in general have a machine that old still be useful. I have used my 2001 ThinkPad in the last couple of years, maybe twice.
But in practice, by 3-5 years, a laptop will not have the specs to handle modern workloads. The reason I'm still running OS 10.10 on my laptop is many people reporting performance issues with 10.11 and later on 8GB machines.
Yes, you can in general have a machine that old still be useful. I have used my 2001 ThinkPad in the last couple of years, maybe twice.
But in practice, by 3-5 years, a laptop will not have the specs to handle modern workloads. The reason I'm still running OS 10.10 on my laptop is many people reporting performance issues with 10.11 and later on 8GB machines.
Can you clarify this 8gb for 10.11 onward?
Something doesn't seem right since they ship 8gb base models in 2016 still
It about use-case though really. A lot of people - especially management type positions - require a good word processor, Excel, Powerpoint, email etc. The incremental grunt-requirements of these things is pretty small. Sometimes older hardware and updated software is even better: it's not unusual at all for bespoke software most corporations work on to not play nice with upgrades. It's why Lotus 3.1 is still used in the bowels of corporations.
If you're doing CAD, gaming, etc, the grunt requirements hike-up quickly, and massively, to use modern software.