Do MacBook Pro's last longer than a standard PC laptop?

[happyfrappy]

VanillaCracker, you're forgetting even though HP/Dell have high complaints on their consumer systems they use generic Asian reference motherboard designs vs their USA designs for business class PCs. Dell & HP have a belief of throw-away-PCs provide customer buying cycles, $300-350 PC every 2yrs=stable profit margins.

Asian companies on the other hand such as Acer, Samsung & Lenovo adopted the Apple R&D attitude, build a solid product you'll gain brand loyalty.

SSD or not, why do they think they don't need a backup? I guess that people always need to learn the hard way!

Many have the belief since SSD is no longer a spinning platter it'll be failure resistant, heck at Apple Retail Stores their Genius Bar video monitors brag about reliability of SSD and employees rarely suggest "you should have a backup plan".

 

[kelon111]

VanillaCracker, you're forgetting even though HP/Dell have high complaints on their consumer systems they use generic Asian reference motherboard designs vs their USA designs for business class PCs. Dell & HP have a belief of throw-away-PCs provide customer buying cycles, $300-350 PC every 2yrs=stable profit margins.

Asian companies on the other hand such as Acer, Samsung & Lenovo adopted the Apple R&D attitude, build a solid product you'll gain brand loyalty.



Many have the belief since SSD is no longer a spinning platter it'll be failure resistant, heck at Apple Retail Stores their Genius Bar video monitors brag about reliability of SSD and employees rarely suggest "you should have a backup plan".

Acer and Lenovo aren't in the same category. Lenovo has the ThinkPad line , what does Acer have?

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***Personal opinion*** I've heard the most complaints about people who own computers by the brands HP and Dell. Not to be a hater here but those two are also the american companies. Wish it wasn't like that but I'd stick with Japanese stuff or Apple hah.

HP and Dell make budget products and premium products.

Many professionals prefer having an Elitebook with the high end DreamColor screen over any Mac laptop.

 

[eljanitor]

The older Mac's the Powerbook line lasted a long time. I still have one here works great its about a decade old. It's always a hit or miss thing really, you get 3 years of Applecare and it's best to buy the 3 year plan. Some laptops crap out in less then a year some a little later, and some several years later. Apple still makes better computers then most PC manufacturers, and most people seem to get more life from their Mac then a Windows/ DOS box.

Its all made in China, and its all mass produced Apple and all the rest of them.

 

[galaksy]

Upgradeable Macs used to last longer. In the Retina era, I don't know.

There are early Mac Mini models that allowed upgrading the CPU and some of them are running modern versions of OSX like Snow Leopard or even Lion (with some tricks) today. My late-2009 Macbook is running Mavericks smooth after I have installed more RAM and a SSD.

My current early-2013 rMBP has only room for upgrading its storage. Maybe in two or three years we'll have options that fills up the entire SATAIII bandwidth, so I'll get an extra I/O speed of about 100MB/s and that's all -- a 20% bump on I/O.

I also have a 2009 MacBook, but one RAM slot is dead so I can only put in 4GB. Do you think it would be worth it to stick an SSD in there to upgrade?

 

[Abacus2039]

I have bought nothing but high end HPs for the past 15 years. I generally have 3 in use and a couple of spares. I buy one every 12-18 months. At the moment I have an NX7010, a 2530p, a 2540p, an 8460p and a 2170p.

I'm about to buy a MBP 13 as a trial unit simply because HP only make 16:9 screens now, and the last 2 HPs (the 8460p and 2170p) have been PITAs because of that.

My primary reservation about trying the MBP is hardware quality. I have handled the MBP and it is clearly built to a lower price than the HPs. That in itself is to be expected as the MBP is a less expensive unit.

0ver 15 years of use I have had only one HP hardware fail - the 2530p needed a replacement screen inverter a few years ago. I also had to replace the screen on that machine because I put my fist through it - having been frustrated by the intermittent inverter fault.

RAM and hard drives have been updated from time to time. Batteries get replaced as and when required.

No other repairs or replacements have been required.

So, over 15 years my experience with HP has been excellent.

 

[kelon111]

I have bought nothing but high end HPs for the past 15 years. I generally have 3 in use and a couple of spares. I buy one every 12-18 months. At the moment I have an NX7010, a 2530p, a 2540p, an 8460p and a 2170p.

I'm about to buy a MBP 13 as a trial unit simply because HP only make 16:9 screens now, and the last 2 HPs (the 8460p and 2170p) have been PITAs because of that.

My primary reservation about trying the MBP is hardware quality. I have handled the MBP and it is clearly built to a lower price than the HPs. That in itself is to be expected as the MBP is a less expensive unit.

0ver 15 years of use I have had only one HP hardware fail - the 2530p needed a replacement screen inverter a few years ago. I also had to replace the screen on that machine because I put my fist through it - having been frustrated by the intermittent inverter fault.

RAM and hard drives have been updated from time to time. Batteries get replaced as and when required.

No other repairs or replacements have been required.

So, over 15 years my experience with HP has been excellent.

Keep in mind that most people who buy HP machines buy budget models.

They seem to think it's fair to compare a $400 HP to a $1000+ Mac laptop.

 

[LostSoul80]

Any decent laptop can last for years.
The question is pointless, and can only raise utterly useless debates on Mac vs PC, as most of these forums are filled with.

 

[happyfrappy]

Acer and Lenovo aren't in the same category. Lenovo has the ThinkPad line , what does Acer have?

My post above was about consumer grade notebooks, not business like an earlier post. In 2011 when the former CEO of HP hinted at ditching their PC division, it gave every other PC maker more incentive to boost design/quality. I want to know what kool aid you're drinking to ignore Lenovo's pre-Thinkpad history and ignoring how well Acer bounced back from buying the bag of hurt called Gateway.

Lenovo has been making consumer computers in Asia-Pacific market well before buying IBM's Thinkpad/ThinkCentre divsion, they were the Chinese "Apple" in terms of R&D which is why IBM was willing to sell their computer division to them at a lower "market price" with the condition IBM handles all the "tech support/service side" of the Think division. Do your research before being clouded by the "Think" division having any role in Lenovo growth/quality--they were already on par with Toshiba. Lenovo "consumer" notebooks Y/G series have won many editors choice & low-repair rankings.

Acer had been building higher end notebooks under the "TimeLineX" series which I think is now the "V" series, failure rates are within Toshiba range and for the past few years they've been eating away at HPs consumer market. I've known many classmates who've bought Acer notebooks as they've lasted well for home/work.

I've known friends/relatives who've hopped from PC notebook maker to notebook maker, two years later my cousins mum is still happy with a Lenovo(non-Thinkpad), another cousin has a problem free 3yr old Acer...

 

[AndyK]

I replaced my 2006 Macbook at the end of last year with the new 13" rMBP, not because it was worn out / broken but simply because I decided it was time for a power boost.

 

[Barney63]

I only have experience of the lower end laptops as I have always bought on a budget.
I have had quite a few Acers, some HP and a Hewlet Packard.
The chargers and batteries on the Acers have always been quite poor and replaced several times. The HP's and PB have stood up quite well.
The OH is still using a 6 year old Acer (3rd battery and 3rd charger), it is slow but still functional for browsing and email.


Barney

 

[dw3bb10]

In my experience, YES.

 

[biscuitsxluv]

Before I got MBPs, I was using an HP, Fujitsu, and Dell. They all died on me within 2-3 years. The screen goes out or the machine just stopped working. I'd considered the Fujitsu a well-made laptop and I was surprised and disappointed that it would die on me so fast.

We still have a MBP 2009-2010, we use it everyday and still good as new. However, we need to upgrade it because it's a little outdated and want to get something newer, other than that we would still keep it. I have a rMBP mid 2012 and it looks brand new and works like it's brand new.

 

[kelon111]

Before I got MBPs, I was using an HP, Fujitsu, and Dell. They all died on me within 2-3 years. The screen goes out or the machine just stopped working. I'd considered the Fujitsu a well-made laptop and I was surprised and disappointed that it would die on me so fast.

We still have a MBP 2009-2010, we use it everyday and still good as new. However, we need to upgrade it because it's a little outdated and want to get something newer, other than that we would still keep it. I have a rMBP mid 2012 and it looks brand new and works like it's brand new.

I still have a 2008 Fujitsu Lifebook T5010 that works better than the day I bought it.
Some upgrades I did: Replaced HDD with an SSD , upgraded the RAM to 4 GB , replaced WiFi card with a faster one , installed Windows 7 for awhile and then moved to Windows 8

IIRC , the Fujitsu laptops made in Japan are the good ones , the rest (made in China?) are junk.

 

[biscuitsxluv]

I still have a 2008 Fujitsu Lifebook T5010 that works better than the day I bought it.
Some upgrades I did: Replaced HDD with an SSD , upgraded the RAM to 4 GB , replaced WiFi card with a faster one , installed Windows 7 for awhile and then moved to Windows 8

IIRC , the Fujitsu laptops made in Japan are the good ones , the rest (made in China?) are junk.

I wonder where mine was made. I bought it around 2003? It was a 17inch lifebook. The screen was stunning! ☺️

 

[Abacus2039]

Keep in mind that most people who buy HP machines buy budget models.

They seem to think it's fair to compare a $400 HP to a $1000+ Mac laptop.

Yes. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for.

AFAIK the HP Elitebooks are made by Foxconn. The price premium over the MBPs goes into things like the solid metal chassis, full width steel hinges, keyboard drip tray, hot swappable 2nd SATA bay and so forth, MIL dust/damage resistance and so forth.

There are HPs and then there are HPs. The consumer lines are nothing like the professional lines.

Apple seem to take the middle ground.

 

[coldwaves]

Is it reasonable to expect 5-6 years off a new macbook pro?

I think this is generally true. Apple products are well made and durable. But there are a couple bad models. I have a early 2011 15 inch Macbook Pro and it died from the discrete GPU around three years. The GPU issues in the 2011 models seem to be a wide spread issue. If you don't have the problematic models, using it for 5-6 years is totally feasible. My friend has a 2008 13 inch Macbook Pro and it is still running strong.

PC varies a lot in its quality. So it is hard to say how long it lasts without specifically mention a model. I have had a few Thinkpad and they are all very durable. There are definitely good PC there that can last you the same amount of time.

 

[galaksy]

Is there a place where you can test out the elite books and see for yourself what they are like? You can do that with MacBooks in apple stores but why aren't there stores where you can try them out?

 

[sprezz]

I still have my 5 year old 17 inch Macbook pro which i use every day when not on my bigger machine... works like a charm, only thing i notice is the HDD, definitely not up to the speed SSD's are delivering... but again, 5 years ago SSD's were virtually unheard of.

my guess is, yes, a metal cased computer will last longer than a flimsy plastic laptop any day. from apple or not.

 

[2984839]

I have never had a laptop cease working or break, whether from Apple or not. My everyday, main computer is a 9 year old PowerBook. I also have a 7 year old Gateway that works fine too. If you aren't tossing them into backpacks, knocking them off tables, etc., there should be no real difference in longevity between an Apple laptop and one by a different manufacturer.

 

[kelon111]

Is there a place where you can test out the elite books and see for yourself what they are like? You can do that with MacBooks in apple stores but why aren't there stores where you can try them out?

It's rare to see normal stores sell them since businesses normally order them directly from the company for their employees. Remember that Elitebooks (now Zbooks) are considered professional class machines and along with that you can get special service especially if your business orders it for you.

MacBooks (Pro , Air , etc.) are all consumer class machines so they are easier to find.

Sometimes you can find Elitebooks and similar notebooks at a university bookstore.

 

[Freyqq]

Is it reasonable to expect 5-6 years off a new macbook pro?

The case, keyboard, etc will probably last that long. The insides, though, will still be as slow as a pc would in 5-6 years...as they use the same parts from intel, etc.

The best part about macs too is that, if it breaks, you can just take it to an apple store and the the part replaced. Not as simple for a PC, unless you build a desktop PC.

 

[kelon111]

The case, keyboard, etc will probably last that long. The insides, though, will still be as slow as a pc would in 5-6 years...as they use the same parts from intel, etc.

The best part about macs too is that, if it breaks, you can just take it to an apple store and the the part replaced. Not as simple for a PC, unless you build a desktop PC.

When you buy Windows laptops with a proper warranty from a premium PC maker , you get parts shipped via next day air to you or a technician comes to your workplace , home ,etc. the NEXT BUSINESS DAY and fixes your laptop for you. I don't have to drive to the equivalent of an Apple store. The technicians come to me unless I just request the user replaceable part(s) to be shipped to me only.

 

[NT1440]

Many have the belief since SSD is no longer a spinning platter it'll be failure resistant, heck at Apple Retail Stores their Genius Bar video monitors brag about reliability of SSD and employees rarely suggest "you should have a backup plan".

Riiiiiight.

That's why Time Machine was never introduced, and apple store employees don't make it a point to try and add on to their sale with an external hard drive to backup to.

 

[Abacus2039]

Exactly. If you don't have a backup you deserve what's coming your way.

I dare say that most disasters are operator related, rather than hardware related. Files and folders get accidentally deleted, databases get corrupted, stuff just happens.

In any event there are enough SSD failure stories around to ensure you take the same precautions you would with spinning rust.

Sometimes machines get stolen or broken. My worst personal example came the day I reversed my car over my travel bag, inside of which was my laptop. If I mention that it was a 386DX Toshiba Tecra I am probably giving my age away.

In those cases a backup is your best friend.

Last night my daughter asked me how often she should back up her pc. I told her that the time between backups should be no longer than the time she's prepared to spend retyping her work.

I do believe that behind her brown eyes I saw a distinct illumination. A true light bulb moment.

 

[happyfrappy]

Riiiiiight.

That's why Time Machine was never introduced, and apple store employees don't make it a point to try and add on to their sale with an external hard drive to backup to.

In my experience Apple Store employees I've seen doing a sales pitches never talk about or demo Time Machine via USB HDD/Time Capsule, the only time I ever seen a sales floor person showing it off was at Best Buy of all places...

Store training varies from market to market. The average person usually doesn't think or plan for backups. My cousin recently had a PC fail, without any backups... some people don't know or don't care.