How long did you use your Mac?

[MrCheeto]

When I bought my MacBook Air, I repeatedly told everybody "this is my Mac for the next 10-years".

Turns out, this month marks year 10!

We made it! Just in time, as the Mac I've been waiting for is now here. When Apple introduced the A4 mobile chip, I thought to myself how great it would be if one day Apple made their own CPU's and even dreamt that one day there would be a Mac with no fan. Do I even need to explain that my dreams are a reality now?

Since the M1 Air has been out for nearly 2-years, I feel the kinks are worked out and we know what we're getting. So as I'm preparing to pull the trigger and finally retire my trusty old friend, I wonder what stories the MacRumors clan has about long-hauling their main machine. What was the longest span of time that you used a machine as your main? Did you intend to hold onto it for so long? Did you get rid of it when it was replaced or did you want to hold on?

Looking forward to a lot of sentimental reads here. I didn't have any particular emotions about this farewell until writing this just now. Dang. 😢

 

[Alpha Centauri]

What I'm typing on now, almost 13yr Mid 2009 MBP15# 3,06GHz BTO on 10.15.7. On its 2nd SSD, majority (except k/board & trackpad) parts repaired/ replaced. dGPU power supply failed so that's next.

Been meaning to upgrade last 6 yrs, yet due to financial constraints always some higher priority that sneaks in, especially now in the EU. Second screen dimming, colour inaccuracy has put photog on hold, well just the PP side really.

In 2018 briefly flirted with entirely switching to iPadPro but didn't want to lose macOS and go exclusive touchscreen+peripherals and this C2D was even then seriously bottle necking. In a way wanting all data on the internal drive I'm pricing myself out of purchases every time.

Once it happens, I'll go specced MBP16. As my only comp the screen size/ portability remains an important criteria. For now though I get to post about my legacy antiquated HW...so that's something.

Congrats on the MBA M1 btw.

 

[Herdfan]

Got an iMac in 2011 just after a refresh. Lasted 5 years but when the video card went bad the second time, I got a Late 2015 refurb in the summer of 2016 and so far it is still going.

Will upgrade to an M? chip one when they come out with a 27".

 

[Pilot Jones]

My Early 2015 13" Retina MacBook Pro is still running strong over 7 years later after very rigorous daily use and regular globetrotting.

It's definitely lost a lot of its graphical horsepower over time, but as a day to day laptop it continues to serve me beautifully. I can still manage a ton of photoshop, web design and graphic design on it. Can't do any significant video editing on it anymore, though as long as the timelines are light, projects aren't 4K and I'm avoiding the Adobe Suite even that can be done with relative ease.

Had my first and only battery change last year since the capacity had taken a steep nosedive, but other than that no major repairs or replacements.

Don't intend on pushing it any longer than another year though since I definitely need a lot more power more regularly nowadays. It's served me beautifully through some very crucial moments in my life though and it really is a wonder how much endurance this device has shown. Truly built to last! 💪

 

[MrCheeto]

What I'm typing on now, almost 13yr Mid 2009 MBP15

GEEZ. Having anything from that Core Intel era is both impressive and almost sad. I remember I couldn't wait to get my 2008 13" MBP, but as soon as these i-series Intel MacBook's came out, I felt like things got a fresh shot of grease. That's why I was comfortable switching to the Air from the Pro. I don't care who you are, the C2D's were HOT and didn't seem to do multimedia tasks nearly as well in every case.

Every now and then, I get the chance to use a Core Intel Mac and grit my teeth. They just haven't aged well at all. On the other hand, I have the last 17" MacBook Pro from 2011 and the i7 is faithfully grinding away at Adobe CS.

It still amazes me how much mileage people can get out of these. In 2011, I was asked to repair a Macintosh (can't remember which, but an AIO) for a company that makes circuit boards. They said they need it to output the circuit diagrams to CAM. Why a Macintosh? Because the computer running their machines...was an Apple II.

On that 16" MBP, I can't recommend it enough. I have never wielded anything with more power. Just moving the cursor and interacting with simple UI feels SLIPPERY. The thing is so fast at every export, conversion, compression and live editing that my habit of finding a machine's limits has been stunted. I really can't push it hard enough! There has yet to be any task I've undertaken where I had any doubt that it would perform faster than I can. M1 Max. The screen is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and bright. The battery has lasted days and days at a time. Yeh it's a chunk, but thinner and lighter than the old 17" by far. Speakers will make it hard to want to use headphones. Keyboard...it's aight. Better than the MBA chiclets but...it's aight. I don't think the display has any calibration/color standard rating, but every photo I print from it looks exactly like what is on the screen. In fact, the screen makes my photos look far better than I'm actually capable of. I'm telling you, the screen is THAT good. Coming from a trash can Mac Pro, this MBP would slaughter it. That's why I know the M1 MBA will give me all I need for another 10-years.

Sounds confusing, but I float around an inventory of 10-15 Macs at any one time.

 

[eyoungren]

When I bought my MacBook Air, I repeatedly told everybody "this is my Mac for the next 10-years".

Turns out, this month marks year 10!

We made it! Just in time, as the Mac I've been waiting for is now here. When Apple introduced the A4 mobile chip, I thought to myself how great it would be if one day Apple made their own CPU's and even dreamt that one day there would be a Mac with no fan. Do I even need to explain that my dreams are a reality now?

Since the M1 Air has been out for nearly 2-years, I feel the kinks are worked out and we know what we're getting. So as I'm preparing to pull the trigger and finally retire my trusty old friend, I wonder what stories the MacRumors clan has about long-hauling their main machine. What was the longest span of time that you used a machine as your main? Did you intend to hold onto it for so long? Did you get rid of it when it was replaced or did you want to hold on?

Looking forward to a lot of sentimental reads here. I didn't have any particular emotions about this farewell until writing this just now. Dang. 😢

Uhhhhhh…yeah. OK. Congrats. I mean that.

My first fully mine Mac was a Christmas gift in 2001. A TiBook 400mhz. Lasted until late 2009 when the logicboard failed. Was replaced with a 2003 17" PowerBook G4. I replaced the LB on the TiBook and it lasted until around 2014 I think when I sent the parts off to someone else.

My primary Mac was a 2001 G4 Quicksilver (1.8Ghz Sonnet Duet dual processor upgrade) from around 2013 to 2017. At that time I 'upgraded' to a 2.3DC PowerMac G5 and shortly after that a 2.5Ghz PowerMac G4 Quad. In May 2020, I 'upgraded' to a 2009 Mac Pro 4,1. That's been upgraded to a 5,1 and I am typing this message on it. Running Mojave.

Let's see…my primary server is a 1999 PowerMac G3 B&W with 1GB RAM and a 2TB RAID (via a SATA PCI card). It has two Gigabit NICs. I also have a 500mhz PowerMac G4 being used for filesharing. It's got one Gigabit NIC and two internal 3TB hard drives (PCI SATA card).

I have an Early 2009 Mac Mini running Mojave, a Late 2009 Mac Mini running Mojave and a 2006 Mini running Snow Leopard. There's also a 2006 17" MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard as well as my 2003 17" PowerBook G4 running Leopard.

And then I have a 2008 MBP running Catalina.

My work Mac is a 2015 MBP running - High Sierra.

I'm just going to put some links down here. You and I aren't the only people around this forum who use old Macs.

MacRumors PowerPC Mac forum

PowerPC Macs

Power Mac, PowerBook, iMac Gx, iBook, etc...

forums.macrumors.com

MacRumors Early Intel Mac forum

Early Intel Macs

Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, Core Solo machines

forums.macrumors.com

MacRumors Apple Collectors forum

Apple Collectors

older and collectible Apple products: 680x0 Macs, Apple II, Newton, System 7, etc.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[MrCheeto]

In May 2019, I 'upgraded' to a 2009 Mac Pro 4,1. That's been upgraded to a 5,1 and I am typing this message on it. Running Mojave.

More and more I am impressed with how hard a bunch of nerds are working to drag these Mac Pro's along. I've seen that they've worked out Thunderbolt, USB-C, running the latest OS, and the things had so much power and capability built in that they carry on with today's needs after even 14-years!

Unfortunately, for me, I have a choice when I get my 4,1 of either keeping it Leopard capable or bringing it into the current year. Why would I buy such an old system to do today's job worse than today's computer? So I've settled on the 4,1 dual CPU running 4,1 firmware so it will always boot Leopard and all the software from that era. I may want to dual boot for certain compatibility concerns, but whatever I boot to will not require modifying anything that would break Leopard. So I'll be stuck with Nehalem CPU's and non-Metal GPU's. No biggie, since that's why I'm buying the Pro in the first place.

But this question has more to do with how long you relied on a certain machine, not so much using old machines. No need to bring my pizza box Mac into this convo, since I have never relied on it as my main for anything. That company that was making PCB's for at least 30-years on the same Apple II, now that's impressive.

 

[eyoungren]

But this question has more to do with how long you relied on a certain machine, not so much using old machines. No need to bring my pizza box Mac into this convo, since I have never relied on it as my main for anything. That company that was making PCB's for at least 30-years on the same Apple II, now that's impressive.

Gotcha.

I can't say I've been on any specific computer for more than eight years. Even looking back to my teen years, I wasn't using my C64 for more than four or five years before I got a C128. I've always upgraded at some point - it's just been to another old computer.

I feel like my old TiBook was the longest. That's possibly because from 2001 to 2009 it was the only usable computer I owned. Other usable computers didn't start coming back in to the house until after 2009. And I could progressively see that TiBook's deterioration over time I guess.

So 10 years is pretty good then. I've never reached that as there's always been some new (old) computer before then.

 

[padams35]

My first two macs (a late 2006 15" MBP and a mid 2011 21.5" iMac) only lasted 6 years before I had to replace them for primary mobile/desktop use. (The 2011 iMac still powers up and sees sporadic use as a secondary computer at age 10, but I don't rely on it for anything.)

Next up for replacement is my 2015 MBA, purchased mid 2016. That's been my first Mac to hit 6-years and still keep up with its original purpose. (The midlife DIY 128GB->500GB SSD upgrade helped). I bet it will last at least 7 if not 8 years. The only question is if that is long enough for M3 laptops to be released or if I should go ahead and get an M2 as soon as those are available as refurbs.

 

[DotCom2]

Got an iMac in 2011 just after a refresh. Lasted 5 years but when the video card went bad the second time, I got a Late 2015 refurb in the summer of 2016 and so far it is still going.

Will upgrade to an M? chip one when they come out with a 27".

Same.
Waiting for an M iMac 27ish
On a late 2014 here and still going but getting a lil slow.

 

[XboxEvolved]

When I bought my MacBook Air, I repeatedly told everybody "this is my Mac for the next 10-years".

Turns out, this month marks year 10!

We made it! Just in time, as the Mac I've been waiting for is now here. When Apple introduced the A4 mobile chip, I thought to myself how great it would be if one day Apple made their own CPU's and even dreamt that one day there would be a Mac with no fan. Do I even need to explain that my dreams are a reality now?

Since the M1 Air has been out for nearly 2-years, I feel the kinks are worked out and we know what we're getting. So as I'm preparing to pull the trigger and finally retire my trusty old friend, I wonder what stories the MacRumors clan has about long-hauling their main machine. What was the longest span of time that you used a machine as your main? Did you intend to hold onto it for so long? Did you get rid of it when it was replaced or did you want to hold on?

Looking forward to a lot of sentimental reads here. I didn't have any particular emotions about this farewell until writing this just now. Dang. 😢

My first Mac I bought in 2003 from a guy that was helping me on my website for $300 an incredible price at the time. It was 2001 533 Mhz G4 Digital Audio with 512RAM and a GeForce 3. It lasted me quite a while I used a PC I built in conjunction with it but sold the PC and continued using the computer until 2010 so it lasted quite a while. Was pretty slow and rickety but it worked still towards the end of use.

My second also bought used forget for how much but it was a BTO 24' Early 2009 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with 8GB ram. I bought that around 2011. It lasted me at least until 2018 then I gave it away to someone and bought a 2017 Core i5 Macbook Pro brand new it was cool but I definitely hit its limits very quick, so last year I bought an M1 MBP, and gave the Intel MBP to my daughter which she loves. I love the M1 MBP and it reminds me of when I got my first Mac for some reason. Love it.

I took was waiting all these years for Apple to make their own chips. Around the A4 is when I started predicting they would make their own eventually also. I would have people that "knew" about computers always telling me how there's no way it would ever happen and here we are now.

 

[MrCheeto]

Around the A4 is when I started predicting they would make their own eventually also. I would have people that "knew" about computers always telling me how there's no way it would ever happen and here we are now.

Right. When the iPad was unveiled, it was a new level of what a small, efficient, fanless device could do. So I made the logical conclusion that this is where Mac’s were headed. People that weren’t there might not know how jaw-dropping the abilities of the iPad were right from the start.

I’m shocked the G4 worked for you as long as it did. I had a MDD for a short time in 2009 and it was truly decrepit.

 

[StellarVixen]

Last Mac I had was mid 2012 cMBP, 13".

I used it all the way until 2019, when i built a Hackintosh desktop.

Time is approaching to get a new Mac. Will it be desktop or laptop, we will see.

 

[AeroEngineer]

Still holding onto my 2012 rMBP, which I was told by the Apple store employees was one of the 50 first retina MBPs in The Netherlands. I‘ve used it as my main machine up until I got a new 15” MBP in 2018, running both MacOS and Windows. Maaaan I loved that computer and its keyboard (compared to the new keyboard…).

Last major work I did with it was designing a wind tunnel model for my thesis last year in CATIA V5 (using Windows with Bootcamp) and it still works fine. The screen is completely messed up though, I think it is delaminating. Wondering if I can still get parts for it and replace it myself. Other than that, yes, it’s not the fastest machine any more, but it still gets the job done with Python, MATLAB or Excel when the main machine is busy running some other work.

 

[rocketbuc]

Still using my beloved MacBook Pro 15" from mid-2012. Got the high-res matt display and looks brand new!
With upgraded 16GB of RAM and a SSD, it is still flying on Catalina. Even the battery is still great, at 1'400 cycles.

Planning an upgrade to a MacBook Air M2 in the coming months, however, I doubt that the new computers will last that long.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

GEEZ. Having anything from that Core Intel era is both impressive and almost sad. I remember I couldn't wait to get my 2008 13" MBP, but as soon as these i-series Intel MacBook's came out, I felt like things got a fresh shot of grease. That's why I was comfortable switching to the Air from the Pro. I don't care who you are, the C2D's were HOT and didn't seem to do multimedia tasks nearly as well in every case.

Every now and then, I get the chance to use a Core Intel Mac and grit my teeth. They just haven't aged well at all. On the other hand, I have the last 17" MacBook Pro from 2011 and the i7 is faithfully grinding away at Adobe CS.

It still amazes me how much mileage people can get out of these. In 2011, I was asked to repair a Macintosh (can't remember which, but an AIO) for a company that makes circuit boards. They said they need it to output the circuit diagrams to CAM. Why a Macintosh? Because the computer running their machines...was an Apple II.

On that 16" MBP, I can't recommend it enough. I have never wielded anything with more power. Just moving the cursor and interacting with simple UI feels SLIPPERY. The thing is so fast at every export, conversion, compression and live editing that my habit of finding a machine's limits has been stunted. I really can't push it hard enough! There has yet to be any task I've undertaken where I had any doubt that it would perform faster than I can. M1 Max. The screen is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and bright. The battery has lasted days and days at a time. Yeh it's a chunk, but thinner and lighter than the old 17" by far. Speakers will make it hard to want to use headphones. Keyboard...it's aight. Better than the MBA chiclets but...it's aight. I don't think the display has any calibration/color standard rating, but every photo I print from it looks exactly like what is on the screen. In fact, the screen makes my photos look far better than I'm actually capable of. I'm telling you, the screen is THAT good. Coming from a trash can Mac Pro, this MBP would slaughter it. That's why I know the M1 MBA will give me all I need for another 10-years.

Sounds confusing, but I float around an inventory of 10-15 Macs at any one time.

Oh yes, you're right. Impressively sad or sadly impressive springs to mind. I've become rather an expert on all that can fail (and has) on this C2D. Heck, even the i3 following had much more oomph. Yet coming from a 2006 20#G5 iMac (my first mac) it was night & day back then, especially at the end under Rosetta.

Off course once stuff like Capture1 becomes unusable, only interweb and email function well enough and 8GB constantly pegged with almost 1GB swap..it was time some time ago. Especially noticeable how under-utilised the C2D actually is and the Graphics Dep struggles to fill the void with pumping extra heat.

So I've passed the point long ago where HW and SW maintenance has become the focal point of any positive computing experience, especially with a patched OS. When that new MBP16# comes along I won't know what hit me!!!

For now it's repairing the dGPU for more pleasantries with YT...cough cough.

 

[MajorFubar]

My 2010 Mini is still used intermittently, but until I bought my Mac Studio in April, my daily workhorse was a fully loaded 2011 27" i7 3.4GHz iMac that I bought nearly new from the Refurb Store in November 2011. It was brickwalled to High Sierra, which eventually became a big stumbling block for me because I wanted access to newer versions of certain productivity apps that High Sierra would not run. With an SSD in it I was however perfectly happy with its speed. Is my Studio faster than an 11 year old i7 iMac? Yes. Is it two and a half grand faster? No.

 

[dmr727]

7 years seems to be the average for me. My hardware upgrades are usually inspired by choosing to make an OS update, and then finding the new OS to not be as responsive as I'd like. When I upgraded my 2015 MBP to Big Sur, it was the first time the machine felt 'slow' to me. Thus my M1 MBA.

 

[MajorFubar]

7 years seems to be the average for me. My hardware upgrades are usually inspired by choosing to make an OS update, and then finding the new OS to not be as responsive as I'd like. When I upgraded my 2015 MBP to Big Sur, it was the first time the machine felt 'slow' to me. Thus my M1 MBA.

When I upgraded my 2011 iMac to SSD storage in late 2017, its recovery tool installed Snow Leopard on it: the computer's original OS. Until that point I had been running High Sierra from its 1TB hard drive. Snow Leopard - seven generations older than High Sierra - was meant to run from hard drives at 1/10th of the speed of an SSD. I will never ever again be able to buy a new Mac that feels as snappy as that new install of Snow Leopard on an SSD.

It kinda grieves me that new OS's are basically just so bloated and sluggish, only masked by even crazier SSD speeds. And each new OS demands more.

 

[MrCheeto]

I will never ever again be able to buy a new Mac that felt as snappy as that, and that kinda grieves me that new OS's are basically just so bloated and sluggish, which is only hidden because of crazy SSD speeds.

I doubt you will call your new M1 Mac sluggish. I can’t describe M1 performance any other way than slippery. It’s like when you are used to an old door being hard to open, but one day somebody greases it and you go to open it and it just FLIES wide open and smacks into the wall.

This freaking thing flies. It can’t be bogged down. It feels like the old days of like OS 9 on a PowerMac G4 MDD. It might be “bloated” in the sense that it is using the hardware to its max, but I can’t fault using what you’ve got if you got it. It would be like complaining that your GPU doesn’t render smoothly until you install the acceleration driver. You will feel like the newest OS’ are perfectly paired with the hardware and I can’t say it enough.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

When I upgraded my 2011 iMac to SSD storage in 2017, its recovery tool installed Snow Leopard on it: the computer's original OS. Until that point I had been running High Sieera from its 1TB hard drive. Snow Leopard - seven generations younger than High Sierra - was meant to run from hard drives at 1/10th of the speed of an SSD. I will never ever again be able to buy a new Mac that feels as snappy as that new install of Snow Leopard on an SSD. And it kinda grieves me that new OS's are basically just so bloated and sluggish, only masked by even crazier SSD speeds. And each new OS demands more.

I hear ya. Still got the original HD2,5@7200 spinner with SL on it. Folks hate hearing it, accusation of nostalgia but to me this OS was the pinnacle of fast and lean. Caveat: in fairness up until supported ElCapitan. Experience on very old HW with a patched OS doesn't count.

 

[MajorFubar]

I doubt you will call your new M1 Mac sluggish. I can’t describe M1 performance any other way than slippery. It’s like when you are used to an old door being hard to open, but one day somebody greases it and you go to open it and it just FLIES wide open and smacks into the wall.

Correct of course but only because of the insanely fast SSD speeds. Ask me in five years time when it's running MacOS18. My 2011 fully-loaded iMac with its fresh install of Snow Leopard on a Samsung Evo SSD could boot to the desktop in six seconds flat from first appearance of the Apple logo. Apps opened more or less instantly.

 

[dmr727]

Correct of course but only because of the insanely fast SSD speeds. Ask me in five years time when it's running MacOS18. My 2011 fully-loaded iMac with its fresh install of Snow Leopard on a Samsung Evo SSD could boot to the desktop in six seconds flat from first appearance of the Apple logo. Apps opened more or less instantly.

A 50MHz Mac IIci running System 6 from a RAM disk is about as responsive as I have in this household.

 

[MrCheeto]

Correct of course but only because of the insanely fast SSD speeds. Ask me in five years time when it's running MacOS18. My 2011 fully-loaded iMac with its fresh install of Snow Leopard on a Samsung Evo SSD could boot to the desktop in six seconds flat from first appearance of the Apple logo. Apps opened more or less instantly.

I doubt it’s just data speeds. Lack of bloat has a lot to do with it. Are today’s OS’ bloated? Of course. Chasidy has to have all of her social apps pinging her every minute of the day while streaming on Twitch while getting in multiple wars on Facebook and editing her face until it’s an amorphous blob with two eyes so she can get the likes on insta, all while ingesting the makeup influencer channel dramas.

However, I can say that marrying the hardware and software to one source has lead to in-built optimization. It’s like a SNES game programmed by Nintendo, they use every trick the hardware has and leads to a seamless experience.

Apps opening instantly? Sounds like an M1. Slipperyyyy.

I don’t have to convince you, though. You’ll be pleased when you try for yourself. I really believe the M1 is as future proof as when Apple got the Core 2 series after the PowerPC. Not the Core or Core Solo, mind you. The G5 was outdated in no time, but there were Core 2 machines that really could handle daily work for as much as 10 years. I remember many a customer with a G4 in 2008 where the poor thing was barely 3-5-years old and hanging by a thread. They just weren’t looking to the future of multimedia and hardware acceleration.

I have no doubt when I get the M1 MBA it will last me until 2030, though my needs may change and at some point I may need a feature the MBA doesn’t offer. There’s no telling but at this rate I believe it will do it.

Meanwhile, here I am looking for a 2009 Mac Pro so I can “freeze” it in the Leopard days so I can use Aperture and other apps without ever needing change or finding things unexpectedly broken by updates. If I want to play my SNES, it will be literally no different today than it was in the 90’s. That’s because there is literally no software update for SNES. In the same way, I want my Mac Pro to give me the 2009 Leopard experience every day, reliably, consistently for as long as it lives. NO exceptions, NO forced updates, NO compromising what I want for what the “next step” demands. Sacrifices must be made in the name of progress, but who says everybody wants progress?

Edit: posting this at work while listening to my 2nd Gen iPod Touch on my Bluetooth headphones. Funny, this old thing works as well as it did when I got it in 2008. Hmm...

 

[Rafterman]

Geez, my MacBook Pro was only three years old and I just upgraded to a 16" Pro M1 Max/32GB RAM/1TB. My 16" Intel Mac was still perfectly good, but I see Apple is making more and more features M1-only and the writing is on the wall.