How long do you keep your Mac for?

[throAU]

2 things I will add:

- extended warranty is good for 3 years
- tax law in my country means i can depreciate a new machine at 33% per year and claim the cost pre-tax.


those two factors also tend to steer people here towards "new machine every 3 years" depending on your taxable income... you can often get one fairly cheap - because it is coming out of your pay pre-tax, it is essentially anywhere between 30-40%+ off for many people here.


(which means we're back to paying close to US price instead of AU, lol)

 

[GoCubsGo]

My MP is from 2008; purchased May 2008, my PowerBook was purchased 2/2005, and my Mini was purchased May 2009. They're all alive and well.

 

[KPOM]

what he said

Visa Signature doubles my warranty to 2 years, and $249 isn't worth it for the third year of coverage for me, especially considering I've yet to make it to that third year. The closest I got was with that late 2008 MacBook Air that served me well until December 2010. I have told myself that this late-2012 13" rMBP will be a "keeper."

 

[calpolygraduate]

3 years

 

[el-John-o]

I will NEVER buy another computer for myself without SSD)

I agree. I finally got around to my first SSD setup ever, in my 2012 MBP bought just a couple weeks ago. This is also my first Mac in a long time. It did two things to me.

1) Nothing but an SSD from now on, just can't go back. I find myself getting frustrated with my other machines, they'll be upgraded soon.

2) I think more Macs are in my future. I don't think I could pull myself to spend money on a PC again. My gaming PC should be good for a couple more years with upgrades here and there. My 'dream' replacement (though it's a costly one) to my desktop, which has always been my 'workhorse' machine for when I need to push the envelope with performance, and for gaming, would be a new Mac Pro, and hoping Apple (in this dream scenario) adds OSX compatibility for the latest (whatever they may be at the time) cards. Boot camp into Windows for gaming, and OSX for everything else.

 

[jkeating2005]

I usually upgrade my Macbook Pro and iMac every 2.5 years (alternating). i bought a rMBP when they were first released and I just brought it to my office and hardly use it.

I have an Early 2011 MBP so i will be upgrading when the late 2013 models are released.

My iMac is late 2011 so it will probably get held off until the later 2014 models are released.

----------

I agree. I finally got around to my first SSD setup ever, in my 2012 MBP bought just a couple weeks ago. This is also my first Mac in a long time. It did two things to me.

1) Nothing but an SSD from now on, just can't go back. I find myself getting frustrated with my other machines, they'll be upgraded soon.

2) I think more Macs are in my future. I don't think I could pull myself to spend money on a PC again. My gaming PC should be good for a couple more years with upgrades here and there. My 'dream' replacement (though it's a costly one) to my desktop, which has always been my 'workhorse' machine for when I need to push the envelope with performance, and for gaming, would be a new Mac Pro, and hoping Apple (in this dream scenario) adds OSX compatibility for the latest (whatever they may be at the time) cards. Boot camp into Windows for gaming, and OSX for everything else.

I completely agree. I upgraded my MBP to an SSD and have trouble using my iMac. It gets frustrating.

 

[Hexley]

I run them into the ground... or until someone offers me a good price for it.

 

[trikky]

...And what are your reasons for upgrading?

I switch every 4-5 years, depending on when I've paid off the interest-free computer loan my company provides.

 

[adam044]

My last laptop (Windows) I had for about 4-5 years and it was my first. Now that I'm older I have a mac because who doesnt want a mac? I dont see needing to upgrade anytime soon, maybe 6-8 years technology moves so fast and with the prices of macs its impossible to keep up.. the iphone/ipad is one thing. Ive upgraded the ram and harddrive to a seagate hybrid. Had it for almost a year now.