How long do your Macs last?

[Savage Henry]

1st 1gen mid range iMac - 5 years old, gave it away and apparently still works

2nd mid range iBook, 3 years old - still working like a dream

3rd 2gen iMac top range, 2 years - looking and working like a dream; will only change if G5 iMac looks as good this.

(I'm so superficial)

 

[ewinemiller]

For desktops, I got 3 1/2 years out of my iMac 233, but it was completely unusable at that point. I've got a dual 800 powermac now at the 2 1/2 year mark and it's spent too. Functionally it's fine, it's just not fast enough for when I want to get serious work done and we'll obviously it's not portable so it spends most of it's time just being a file server. Since I have faster options for rendering and I can compile and test stuff with the wife's iBook on the couch, I'll probably keep it in it's fileserver duties until I need 64-bit support for something.

The wife has a G4 iBook we bought back at the beginning of the year so I can't really say anything about it's longevity yet.

 

[caveman_uk]

i now have a 1.25GHz 15-incher so i will have to wait for the G5 powerbook to reach 2.5GHz before i can justify the purchase. i mean... double the clock frequency and you'll notice a difference, but jump from 1.25 to 1.5 and you wonder where the money went.

I could double the clock frequency on both my laptop and desktop today but I think I'm likely to go to just a laptop next time round. Although a 1.5GHz powerbook has a faster processor than my dual 1GHz MDD, I don't think it'd feel much faster because the harddrive etc are slower. So I'm waiting for a laptop that'll kick my laptop's AND my desktop's ass

 

[gwuMACaddict]

well i still use my IIe for games when i'm *really* bored... and i've got old address contacts saved on my performa...

i think about 3 years is a decent lifespan for any computer- any longer than that and you're kinda pushing it with respect to video capabilities and processor speed.

 

[Jo-Kun]

2002 Performa 5200 (2nd hand) lasted 3months before I gave it to a friend

Dec 2002 B&W G3 (2nd hand) six months later Ti-Pb (2nd hand) B&W sold, Ti-Pb got stolen

April 2004 new PM G5 dual 1.8 wich stays here and need to last for at least 4 years before being replaced by a new desktop

June 2004 received a Classic, iMac DV400, iBook SE

July 2004 classic is still here, iMac=Sold, iBook leaves tonight...

2005 -> probably a new Laptop iBook or PB according to my fundings...

PS: as far as I know all of them are still working because except for the Ti-Pb I know what happened with them... B&W is now 5Y old iMac & iBook are both 4Y Ti-Pb 3,5Y Classic: dunno...

 

[wordmunger]

My TiBook is now three and a half years old (I ordered it about 30 minutes after Steve announced it), and I'm holding out for a G5 powerbook. I have upgraded the hard drive and RAM and replaced the battery and power supply, and it's holding up well. Even when the G5 is finally released, I expect there'll still be a lot of life in my Ti400, and I'll keep it around as a secondary computer. I also have several older computers: a Rev A iMac, a Rev A iBook, and two Cubes -- but these aren't my primary computer -- for the primary computer, the cycle is 3-4 years.

 

[robbieduncan]

Around 18 months!

I bought my first ever Mac (clamshell 466Mhz iBook) in the Autum of 2000. In 2002 I bought an 800Mhz (G3) iBook. Last November/December (2003) I bought my 15" Powerbook. I think that this one will be kept until at least 2005 (I won't upgrade till a G5 now). I have sold on both of the iBooks, at least one of which (the 800) is still getting regular use.

Reasons for sale: first iBook: wanted a better screen resolution, better Quartz capabilities, CD burner and all in a smaller size! second iBook: wanted more speed for video editing and a DVD burner.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

On average, 3.5-4yrs.

However, if you take into account my recent silliness, it's only about 2yrs (averaged). I bought an iMac DV in Feb 2000, used that until March 2004 when I bought a 12" iBook. I just sold that computer yesterday, and will buy a new PowerBook within the next few days.

I kindaa like getting a new computer every couple months, however, I don't think my budget will support this trend!

 

[DrBoar]

LC II with Extreme impact 32 MHz upgrade 3 years 1992-95 dumped it last month.

7200/90 up and runnning after 9 years! Well it got a 7500 MB and a 200 MHz 604E from a 7300. At least it run SETI...

G4/400 4 years and running with a ATI 8500 and a 1.2GHz G4 I expect it to serve me well into 2005 and perhaps even longer

 

[krimson]

I used my Powerbase/200 up until i got my quicksilver in 2002..
i dont even know how long that is.. but it's at least 6 years.

 

[mactastic]

Bout 5 years between purchases, but that was when funds were slim and I was using desktops. Now I have a PB (TiBook, 1Ghz) that's about 18 months old, and I'm pretty sure it will be working good for me for another 18 months at least before I start to think about upgrading. By then hopefully I'll be looking at a 3Ghz PB and comparing it to the 2Ghz iBook.

 

[latergator116]

I bought a 500mhz iBook in july 2001. That computer lasted about two years when it died in 2003. Now I have a 700mhz iBook. If that first one hadn't died, I would still be using it today.

 

[slipper]

i was using a G3 350mhz iMac that i purchased in 99 until december last year because something went wrong with the iMac. It was the first major problem with it and since it was so old i decided to upgrade. If it didnt break down, i would probably still be using it.

 

[whooleytoo]

About every 2 years, but I'm hoping to buck that trend and buy a 2GHz or greater PowerMac later this year, and keep it for 2-4 years. It'll probably work out cheaper in the long run.

 

[keysersoze]

PowerMac 8500 ~3 years
iMac 266 (lime!) ~3 years
iBook G3 600 ~2 years
iBook G4 800 = 5 months and after replacing the HD, RAM and Logic Board gave up on it.
PowerBook G4 1.33 = 2 months and counting.... hopefully 3 years.

 

[Ugg]

G3 iMacDV purchased new in Oct. 99. It's still going strong and will last until the next generation Powerbooks come out. G5 PB, Steve?!?!

 

[slughead]

How long do your Macs last between purchases? I don't mean how long it lasted you from start to death/sale, I meant from when you bought it, and when you bought the next machine.

I've had my Dual G4 800 since august of 2001 (bought it in june). It was probably the fastest desktop at the time, or at least comparable. It also came with a GeForce3 (the latest Generation vid card).

I'll supposedly be getting my dual G5 2.5 in august of this year. So that's almost exactly 3 years.

Since I bought it, I've gone from 256mb to 1GB RAM, added a TV tuner card, added a PCI Radeon 7000 (for a 2nd monitor + TV), and I've taken out the 27 gig it came with and replaced it with two 80 GBs (purchased two years apart).

However, my Dual G4 has done just fine up until now. I started to notice my computing needs were a little too much for this machine a year ago, and now I figure it's about time to upgrade.

My Performa 6300/100, Performa 6400/200, my Beige G3/333, my G4/450, and my current G4/DP800 were all purchased one to two years apart, as the demand for my "leftover" computers rose in my household (they would buy them off me as I bought my new ones). So as you can see, my Latest mac (G4/DP800) has lasted much longer due to the downfall of moore's law and the fact that it was the first mac in years that was actually comparable to industry top of the line computers.

EDIT: I also inherited an LCIII, but I was too young to remember when that was.

 

[gbruner]

PowerComputing PowerTowerPro 250 I still use as my scanning station. About 7 years old.

iMac SE 600Mhz G3, Graphite, 3 years last month. It's still plugging along, albeit slowly, in Flash, Photoshop and Painter.

Next purchase: either a 15" Powerbook or the new iMac G5. I'll wait and see.

 

[wdlove]

I purchased my dual 450 PM September 1st 2000. It is still running strong. Currently running 24/7 folding for Stamford. I'm dreaming about a G5 though.

 

[tjwett]

personally i try to stick with the motto of "sell it while it's still worth something". i'll usually try to get rid of it after a year or so.