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How long do you keep your laptops

Ann P said:
Until it dies. :eek:
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This.

Except my first laptop, a Toshia Satellite running Windows ME :p I had that for about two years, still worked fine, but I sold it.

Then I bought an HP Pavillion and used that for a very hard 4.5 years, LAN parties and mega gaming sessions. Eventually burned out the screen, so I used an external monitor for a bit before replacing it.

March 2007 bought my still current laptop, the Late 2006 MacBook. The palm rest cracked twice (Apple default, fixed for free) and the battery swelled twice (first replaced by Apple Care, second sitting in my desk unused). It currently runs only on the MagSafe and basic things like video streaming sometimes make it 'skip' and stutter.

However, I returned to school part time while working full time, so I kind of want to hold off until Back to School deals this summer/early fall. Probably be Haswell refreshes by then (though not Broadwell until after B2S sales), plus I'm open to any brand. Sony/MS might offer a free/next to free console like they have in the past or just some great price slashing. As long as my little laptop can keep chugging that much longer.
 
egy195 said:
so why wouldn't you put an SSD into it ? just curious :)
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I tried a 13" rMBP :p

It would be cheaper to get my MBP up and running again, but after buying everything, I'd still have a heavy machine with a 2 hour battery.
 
Ill upgrade once my Mid 2012 MBP is no longer able to run the newest version of OSX. So hopefully it'll get at least 3 more years.
 
My Asus G50V (I think) has been going on strong for 4 years so far. I don't plan to replace until this sucker doesn't work anymore.
 
Tsuchiya said:
I tried a 13" rMBP :p

It would be cheaper to get my MBP up and running again, but after buying everything, I'd still have a heavy machine with a 2 hour battery.
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well you're right, from what i hear once you try retina you can't go back ;)
 
6.5 years and counting.
I still use my 2007 BlackBook. I did cheat a bit though by building a Hackintosh at the end of 2010 and I bought a 2009 MacMini in 2012 to use as a Media Server. I just bought a RMBP to replace the tower.
The BlackBook is still used on nearly a daily basis (3gb ram upgrade and ssd make it still quite capable).
 
Vader said:
6.5 years and counting.
I still use my 2007 BlackBook. I did cheat a bit though by building a Hackintosh at the end of 2010 and I bought a 2009 MacMini in 2012 to use as a Media Server. I just bought a RMBP to replace the tower.
The BlackBook is still used on nearly a daily basis (3gb ram upgrade and ssd make it still quite capable).
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nice, i had that blackbook for about a day and returned it, didn't understand anything about os x back then, idiot :eek:
 
Looks like 29 months on average here. I got more service life out of my first notebook, a Dell, than any of my Macs. The notebook computers I've owned:

  1. Dell Inspiron 8200 7/02, 2 years 10 months. Wanted Apple.
  2. Apple iBook 5/05, 2 years 7 months too slow for photography after camera upgrade.
  3. White MacBook 1/08, 1 year 5 months water damage, later repaired
  4. Aluminum MacBook 6/09 2 years 9 months, daughter needed computer, so I bought a new one for myself and gave her this.
  5. 15" MacBook Pro 3/12 Still in use. No plan to replace.

For comparison, here's my desktop history:
  1. TRS-80 1979 3 years, needed more performance.
  2. Lobo Max-80 1982 3 years, plus some overlap with Tandy 1000. Needed a PC compatible.
  3. Tandy 1000 1985 5 years, but supplemented with computers brought home from work. Needed more power.
  4. "White Box" computer 1990 11+ years, with everything but case upgraded. I got sick of upgrading problems, so--
  5. Dell Dimension 8200 3/02 1 year, 10 months. Needed more performance for major audio processing task. This one became a server and used for an additional 6 years, 2 months.
  6. Dell Dimension 8300 2/04 2 years, 9 months got iMac when Apple finally went to Intel processors, allowing Windows virtual machine for windows-only software.
  7. Apple 20" iMac Core 2 Duo 11/06. I couldn't resist the 27" display.
  8. Apple 27" iMac i7 11/09. Still happy with this after 4+ years.

35 years, 8 computers, that would be 4 years 4 months, so I do much better with desktops.
 
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I treat my laptops the same as any other computer - when it no longer does what I want or need it to, I upgrade. No reason to do it before, as far as I'm concerned.
 
talmy said:
Looks like 29 months on average here. I got more service life out of my first notebook, a Dell, than any of my Macs. The notebook computers I've owned:

  1. Dell Inspiron 8200 7/02, 2 years 10 months. Wanted Apple.
  2. Apple iBook 5/05, 2 years 7 months too slow for photography after camera upgrade.
  3. White MacBook 1/08, 1 year 5 months water damage, later repaired
  4. Aluminum MacBook 6/09 2 years 9 months, daughter needed computer, so I bought a new one for myself and gave her this.
  5. 15" MacBook Pro 3/12 Still in use. No plan to replace.

For comparison, here's my desktop history:
  1. TRS-80 1979 3 years, needed more performance.
  2. Lobo Max-80 1982 2 years, plus some overlap with Tandy 1000. Needed a PC compatible.
  3. Tandy 1000 1984 6 years, but supplemented with computers brought home from work. Needed more power.
  4. "White Box" computer 1990 11+ years, with everything but case upgraded. I got sick of upgrading problems, so--
  5. Dell Dimension 8200 3/02 1 year, 10 months. Needed more performance for major audio processing task. This one became a server and used for an additional 6 years, 2 months.
  6. Dell Dimension 8300 2/04 2 years, 9 months got iMac when Apple finally went to Intel processors, allowing Windows virtual machine for windows-only software.
  7. Apple 20" iMac Core 2 Duo 11/06. I couldn't resist the 27" display.
  8. Apple 27" iMac i7 11/09. Still happy with this after 4+ years.

35 years, 8 computers, that would be 4 years 4 months, so I do much better with desktops.
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i think desktops tend to last much longer than any laptop, easy to open and repair and most of the times remain untouched under the desk
 
I had my hp laptop for 6 years and gave it to my mum last year. Its still working fine.

I bought myself a lenovo g780 to replace my hp. Its been a year with the lenovo and im hoping that it will last for the next 2,3 years.
 
I've still got my late 2009 MacBook Pro. I maxed out the RAM after a year and popped in an SSD 2 years ago and it still does everything I ask of it.
All my heavy duty stuff is done at home on my iMac, but the MBP serves all my mobile needs flawlessly and efficiently.
I do a lot of photography so I use Photoshop and Aperture at home, and Photoshop Elements 9 on the go. I've also got the LED Cinema Screen for the MBP, which is great for watching films and reviewing photos when I get home.

I'll keep it until it dies, and if that's another 5 years, then I'll still be as happy with it.
 
I am nearly at 4 years with my MacBook Pro and it's still going strong...updated to 8 gigs of rams and got an SSD hard drive.
 
Parkin Pig said:
I do a lot of photography so I use Photoshop and Aperture at home, and Photoshop Elements 9 on the go.
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Ever consider using Aperture on the go, and then importing the "travel library" into your main Aperture library when you return? I've been doing that the past couple of years and find it nice in that if I decide to do some adjustments on the road, I've got it preserved when I get home.
 
talmy said:
Ever consider using Aperture on the go, and then importing the "travel library" into your main Aperture library when you return? I've been doing that the past couple of years and find it nice in that if I decide to do some adjustments on the road, I've got it preserved when I get home.
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Never even thought about that - good call - I will definitely give that a try - thanks for the suggestion!
 
I've had my late 2008 MBP for 5 years now...I honestly never thought I would keep it for so long but there's absolutely no reason for me to upgrade or get a new one (as much as I try to justify it). I've upgraded ram to 8gb and I'm looking to upgrade the HDD to SSD. I'm just scared the HDD will die sometime (I have a time machine backup on an external).
 
from what i read here it's 2 or 3 years then upgrade the ram and put an ssd and it's good as new.. i think i'll be doing that and keep using my toshiba laptop before diving into the mac world:apple:
 
I keep my laptop for as long as...Well, I'm not sure. I usually upgrade whenever I need better hardware and cannot upgrade any more than RAM, if it's a laptop. I got this laptop because it was time for a new computer. My old computer is from 2006-2007 and has 3 blown capacitors because I overclocked it way too high. It still works, but it has issues when playing games because of the blown caps. I could've made it last much longer by upgrading everything, if I hadn't blown the caps.

This ENVY I have is a one year old laptop. Works great and haven't had issues with it, except for overheating, which I fixed by cleaning it up for the first time ever. Yeah I know, you're supposed to clean out a computer every 3 months or so.

With a laptop you'll probably need to get a new one more often because you can't upgrade it they way you could with a desktop.
 
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