Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

251920

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 17, 2008
86
3
I mean, I love my Macbook Pro and every time a new one comes out I want to get it.
And new ones come out every 4-5 moths...))

So how long do you keep your Macbook Pro for?
 
i still use my first gen macbook

buying computers is an expensive hobby for not much performance benefit i have realized

id rather be hit with a suer WOW by waiting a few years than by a little "wow" by waiting 6 months

in fact, i still cant justify upgrading my mb from coming on 4 years ago in terms of performance
 
Have mine (classic MBP) now for 10 months and it still feels like new. I guess it will last me at least another 2-3 years. Maybe a RAM and/or HDD upgrade in the future.
 
I mean, I love my Macbook Pro and every time a new one comes out I want to get it.
And new ones come out every 4-5 moths...))

So how long do you keep your Macbook Pro for?

More like 6.66666 months (200 days is the average update cycle) and I keep my MBP as long as it works.
 
typical upgrade cycle for laptop computers is 3 years per IRS rules :) As an individual I've kept the same laptop for as long as 5 years and as little as 2. It really depends on how powerful the machine is when you buy it and how fast tech moves on you.

Buy something high end and in 2-3 years it's still equivalent to a low end machine and in 4-5 years its obsolete. Buy something low end now and you might find yourself wanting more in just a year or two. I think that's the place many netbook buyers are going to find themselves in soon.
 
I mean, I love my Macbook Pro and every time a new one comes out I want to get it.
And new ones come out every 4-5 moths...))

So how long do you keep your Macbook Pro for?

My last laptop, a Thinkpad (IBM - not Lenovo) lasted 7 years, I'll be lucky to get that out of this uMBP but I was thinking about 5 years?
 
Well, I try to get about 4 years out of my laptop and about 5 out of my desktop. I usually spend 2k + for each machine when I buy them so I can easily get 4 or more years of of them.
 
12 - 18 months depending on what I can get for the old one. For about $40/ month I can get a fairly current laptop (I buy the refurbs) every year or so.

Cheers,
 
I like to keep my computers until it is not worth repairing them. I have an early 2008 mbp purchased early 2009 will be replaced early 2010. 2 nvidea failures and showing symptoms of a 3rd.
 
Only every other update is usually significant. I normally switch computers for financial reasons (upgrade, downgrade) rather than because of desire. I don't think that I've purchased a freshly released MacBook since the original whitebook around 4 years ago.

It took me until last week to buy my 13" MBP --when I saw the deal, I could not pass it up.
 
After two years the clock starts ticking on a new purchase. But as far as how long I keep systems, that tends to be a long time because most older systems are useful for something.

Does your Quicksilver still serve as a Halo gaming machine? :p
 
Oh how fun...this is an interesting thread.

I typically wait until a new model of MBP comes out, then I upgrade.

I reluctantly admit that my OCD gets the best of me sometimes. I recently sold my MBP 5,3 for a new one because of an unsightly scratch on the palm rest. lol
 
I mean, I love my Macbook Pro and every time a new one comes out I want to get it.
And new ones come out every 4-5 moths...))

So how long do you keep your Macbook Pro for?

I have had mine for about a year. I bought a 27" i7 and I was going to sell the mbp but I couldn't get an i7 that didn't have issues so I have kind of decided to keep with laptops and externals. I will probably get a new one next year maybe?
 
I mean, I love my Macbook Pro and every time a new one comes out I want to get it.
And new ones come out every 4-5 moths...))

So how long do you keep your Macbook Pro for?

Agreed, notebook collecting is indeed an expensive hobby. However, I am always intrigued by performance upgrades, but my inner-miser kicks in and I purchase a new Mac every 2 years or so.

Habitus
 
the one I currently have is the best spec'd 15" they made before the unibody and it's 17 months old. I'll probably keep running it for another year or so before trading up.
 
I do agree on the point that buying computers is an expensive hobby. I bought my first mac, my uMBP back in August 09. A whole month of salary's worth, but I knew it from the get go.

However ever since 05, I did have 3 different laptops: Fujitsu Siemens/HP/Acer. It wasn't performance related but rather opportunity related, and wanting something new.

If the guy I have now performs well, there is no reason for me to buy another one in the future. I'll use it until it dies on me...
 
It really depends on the intended use. The primary machine runs WMware and some simulation s/w, so I'll expect a decent level of performance from it. Thus I may want to upgrade it every 18-24 months. Macs do age quite gracefully, and so anything that is used as a secondary computer can easily be 24+ months old.

I did enjoy the posts about living behind the curve. That's where the pot of gold lies. If only one could always resist the temptation. But then again, depends on one's priorities.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.