Buying (or adding, in the old days) max available RAM has been a smart choice for almost 40 years now.
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How long are you keeping your machines for?
- Thread starter Al Rukh
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2016 was my first mac, replaced with a new M1 Air in 2023. Will probably use it until close to 2030.
I am very stingy ….
Desktops (dates of purchase);
2008 Mac Pro in fairly regular use until 2016 or so; scrapped last year
2014 Mac Pro still working fine (GPU code prototyping & LINUX VM hosting)
Laptops:
2012 15” retina MBPro very heavily used until dGPU failed in May 2019
2019 16” MBPro still in constant use
I have been very happy with the first three. Slightly less so with the 2019 16“ MBP (Intel, of course), because of how easily it gets hot and spins up the fans. That is perhaps to be expected when pushing the dGPU hard, but it’s a tiny bit unimpressive that fairly light use of Lightroom can have the same effect.
Because of this, I may give in and buy an M3 laptop soon, in which case the four years I’ll have used the 16” will be disappointingly short. But if the (more than likely) M3 machine proves to be reliable, I’ll aim to use it for 5+ years, at a minimum.
My view in a nutshell: no need to replace a machine if it still does what I need it to and it’s reliable and secure. Equally, if some bit of new technology would be useful and is reasonable value, buy it.
(Better not mention my 12 year old, 170,000 mile Volvo, though ….
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Desktops (dates of purchase);
2008 Mac Pro in fairly regular use until 2016 or so; scrapped last year
2014 Mac Pro still working fine (GPU code prototyping & LINUX VM hosting)
Laptops:
2012 15” retina MBPro very heavily used until dGPU failed in May 2019
2019 16” MBPro still in constant use
I have been very happy with the first three. Slightly less so with the 2019 16“ MBP (Intel, of course), because of how easily it gets hot and spins up the fans. That is perhaps to be expected when pushing the dGPU hard, but it’s a tiny bit unimpressive that fairly light use of Lightroom can have the same effect.
Because of this, I may give in and buy an M3 laptop soon, in which case the four years I’ll have used the 16” will be disappointingly short. But if the (more than likely) M3 machine proves to be reliable, I’ll aim to use it for 5+ years, at a minimum.
My view in a nutshell: no need to replace a machine if it still does what I need it to and it’s reliable and secure. Equally, if some bit of new technology would be useful and is reasonable value, buy it.
(Better not mention my 12 year old, 170,000 mile Volvo, though ….
)My recent history goes like this, I got the M1 Air just after launch when the reviews came in, to replace my 2017 15" MBP, I intended to keep that 15" for longer, but the AS Macs sideswiped my plans.
Traded the Air for a M1 14" Pro since I really like the screen, the 14" size is just right and of course the better quality and refresh rate, and I somewhat benefit from the extra power for light editing, but to be honest the M1 Air was enough for my personal needs. I intend to keep my current 14" for several more years.
At work (where I'm in a position to make my own decisions around my work IT purchases) I just upgraded my M1 Air to a M2 15" Air, just because of the screen size, and I'm glad I did. Will probably keep my work Mac for at least three years. My original plan was to stick with the M1 Air for several years, but the 15" size changed that.
Traded the Air for a M1 14" Pro since I really like the screen, the 14" size is just right and of course the better quality and refresh rate, and I somewhat benefit from the extra power for light editing, but to be honest the M1 Air was enough for my personal needs. I intend to keep my current 14" for several more years.
At work (where I'm in a position to make my own decisions around my work IT purchases) I just upgraded my M1 Air to a M2 15" Air, just because of the screen size, and I'm glad I did. Will probably keep my work Mac for at least three years. My original plan was to stick with the M1 Air for several years, but the 15" size changed that.
Yep I basically just factor the cost in as an essential part of the hardware - these machines are essentially all one very expensive unrepairable part these days.
$399 is quite steep for M3-based Macs but it saved me on my M1 Max that got a tiny bit of liquid damage earlier this year.
I usually get a baseline MacBook every 2-3 years, that way the whole system stays relevant and powerful, I don't miss out on newer features, and thru things like trade ins and what not it stays on the cheap side.
I don't even need more power than the M1 it's still beefy for most things I do. Just never got comfortable with this small screen size, I need at least the 14" if not a 16"...and for movies/editing I could use that contrast as well.
I don't even need more power than the M1 it's still beefy for most things I do. Just never got comfortable with this small screen size, I need at least the 14" if not a 16"...and for movies/editing I could use that contrast as well.
I Just bought a M2 Max, 64 GB ram, 2 TB hard drive this past January. It is my work computer. I bought it with high specs, so that it would still be a very capable machine for many years to come. I do not anticipate upgrading anytime soon. But I do have to say, if enough new technology comes along that makes sense to upgrade, then who knows.
I'm doing the same, going from 14" M1 Max to 16" M1 Max because I've felt relatively cramped for the last 2 years after being on 15-16" MBPs since as long as I can remember. The 14 is almost perfect especially up against the increased weight of the Apple Silicon 16s but I just feel like my productivity took a hit overall.
It really depends on what's available. I had a 2016 MBP, then went to the 2019 16" MBP. Then to the M1 Pro as soon as it was available. Now I'm considering an M3 Max because I would like something with a better GPU.
I'm never of the mind of "I need to keep this for x years" and also never of the mind of upgrading annually. I'm going to upgrade exactly when it makes sense to for my use case and workflow. Even a small improvement in that is a reason for me to upgrade.
That said, I am unlikely to keep a Mac longer than 2-3 years because I want maximum value when selling/trading in my previous machine.
I'm planning to keep my 2012 MBP for as long as possible. Silicon isn't in my future, and I like what I can do on my vintage macs. I'll be seeing how long I can keep my macbook repaired instead.
15" really does seem like the perfect size, sucks they shoved the Air into that spot, makes sense to stack sizes I suppose but just wish the Pros landed there and we had 13/16" Airs and 14/15" Pros...tho not sure the thinness of the Airs could handle that size lol
Yeah, I guess that's it for me. I buy something with the "I'll replace it in 2, 3 years mindset". If it turns out that it can last me longer (and my M1 Max MBP would've been good for another couple of years if I hadn't cheapened out on disk space. 64 GB Ram but only the 512 GB disk....), it's all good. But if I notice that there's something significantly better out there after that time frame, I can purchase it with a clean conscience because I planned for it.
Initial several macs each lasted about 4 years.
First 27” imac kept for 8 years but added memory and replaced the hard disk with a SSD.
Current 27” imac is 6 years old but added memory at the 3 year mark performance is still good for photo editing.
First 27” imac kept for 8 years but added memory and replaced the hard disk with a SSD.
Current 27” imac is 6 years old but added memory at the 3 year mark performance is still good for photo editing.
I just upgraded from Intel after 4.5 years.
I typically kept my Intel machines for 5-6 years but wanted to jump to AS.
I'm planning to keep my M3 Max 16/40 with 64GB RAM until around 2030, so 6-7 years.
I typically kept my Intel machines for 5-6 years but wanted to jump to AS.
I'm planning to keep my M3 Max 16/40 with 64GB RAM until around 2030, so 6-7 years.
- iPhone: until my SE 3 stops receiving updates, not only iOS updates but security updates as well; unless Apple releases another compact (between 5.4” and 6.1”) phone with an LCD display, which is near impossible. I estimate 8 more years, being optimistic.
- iPad: if the 128GB of my 11” M2 iPad Pro becomes too small for my needs, I’ll try to sell it and get another 11” M2 iPad Pro this time in 256GB. But I don’t plan on getting an OLED iPad, the current LCD screen of the iPad Pro is gorgeous. So another 8 years, being optimistic.
- Mac: I still don’t know if I’ll get a Mac mini or an hypothetical 12” MacBook. I’ll wait one more year, and if Apple doesn’t release a 12” MacBook, I’ll get a Mac mini. If I find a good deal on an M2 Pro Mac mini, great, if not, I’ll probably wait until an M4 Mac mini, because my 2014 Mac mini is still strong with its 1TB SSD running Monterey. Really, it runs surprisingly well for a 2cores/4threads machine with just -yes, just- 8GB of RAM. Once I buy it, either an M2 Pro or an M4 Mac, I expect a minimum of 8 years of service, probably a bit more.
Maybe you think I’m overly optimistic, but 1) I can’t stand OLED displays, 2) I expect a long support out of this expensive machines, because Apple operating systems are traditionally known for the little resources they need, and my machines are/will all be hexa/octa-core with 4GB of RAM for iOS, 8GB of RAM for iPadOS, and at least 16GB (probably 24GB) of RAM for macOS. I mean, it’s not like we’re in the era of the dual cores, and like somebody said on another thread, there’s a limit to code parallelisation to take advantage of all six/eight/twelve CPU cores. So I really expect today’s hardware to last longer.
With all that gear, I expect to be well served until 2030.
- iPad: if the 128GB of my 11” M2 iPad Pro becomes too small for my needs, I’ll try to sell it and get another 11” M2 iPad Pro this time in 256GB. But I don’t plan on getting an OLED iPad, the current LCD screen of the iPad Pro is gorgeous. So another 8 years, being optimistic.
- Mac: I still don’t know if I’ll get a Mac mini or an hypothetical 12” MacBook. I’ll wait one more year, and if Apple doesn’t release a 12” MacBook, I’ll get a Mac mini. If I find a good deal on an M2 Pro Mac mini, great, if not, I’ll probably wait until an M4 Mac mini, because my 2014 Mac mini is still strong with its 1TB SSD running Monterey. Really, it runs surprisingly well for a 2cores/4threads machine with just -yes, just- 8GB of RAM. Once I buy it, either an M2 Pro or an M4 Mac, I expect a minimum of 8 years of service, probably a bit more.
Maybe you think I’m overly optimistic, but 1) I can’t stand OLED displays, 2) I expect a long support out of this expensive machines, because Apple operating systems are traditionally known for the little resources they need, and my machines are/will all be hexa/octa-core with 4GB of RAM for iOS, 8GB of RAM for iPadOS, and at least 16GB (probably 24GB) of RAM for macOS. I mean, it’s not like we’re in the era of the dual cores, and like somebody said on another thread, there’s a limit to code parallelisation to take advantage of all six/eight/twelve CPU cores. So I really expect today’s hardware to last longer.
With all that gear, I expect to be well served until 2030.
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You should try M2 Air. The screen is more comfortable for eyes than new MBP or previous gen MBA. Some people said, it’s due to lack of PWM.
Yeah, if there’s a new 12” MacBook, I don’t expect it to have a mini-LED display but rather a regular LCD. And if I finally settle for another Mac mini, I’m strongly considering an Apple Studio Display, although it is expensive…
At my institution, my department doesn’t upgrade our machines until they no longer are functioning well or aren’t supported by current OS. Some of us have computers that are over 6 years old.
I upgrade every 2 to 3 years. I'll be waiting for the M4 chips. My M1 Air has treated me well, but I'm going with the Max next time.
I plan to keep my incoming M3 Max until the redesign, which I'm guessing is probably going to be the M6 release, hopefully with OLED, 2nm fab, etc.
My one somewhat regret with my 14" M1 Pro was getting the base model. For about a year I also had a 16" M1 Pro supplied by work, and although it was only about 20% faster I definitely noticed it doing similar tasks. As a software dev I remember running a test suite about a dozen times a day that took a minute and a half on the 14" that did a minute ten on the 16". Every time I pulled down and built a new package you could definitely tell it was faster. It made it just a bit more enjoyable to use.
That said, my general rule is getting at least 50% improvement to justify an upgrade. So having the option to get a machine that's literally twice as fast is something I'm very much looking forward to, and I imagine we won't see quite as much of a bump until we're at 2nm. But who knows.
My one somewhat regret with my 14" M1 Pro was getting the base model. For about a year I also had a 16" M1 Pro supplied by work, and although it was only about 20% faster I definitely noticed it doing similar tasks. As a software dev I remember running a test suite about a dozen times a day that took a minute and a half on the 14" that did a minute ten on the 16". Every time I pulled down and built a new package you could definitely tell it was faster. It made it just a bit more enjoyable to use.
That said, my general rule is getting at least 50% improvement to justify an upgrade. So having the option to get a machine that's literally twice as fast is something I'm very much looking forward to, and I imagine we won't see quite as much of a bump until we're at 2nm. But who knows.
