Just simply happy i have a mac, and im happy had the macbook 2.26 C2D for 3 days now. Its wonderful
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How long does a MacBook/MacBook Pro last?
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Although I typically upgrade to the latest 15" rMBP at each refresh, it's mainly because of the resource intense demands of the work I do.
Once in a while I'll keep one of my favorites. I have my original fully loaded 2002 Titanium G4 PowerBook. Bought in November from the Apple Store in Palo Alto, it was the last of the Ti's.
Due to the fact that I carefully care for my gear, it looks like new and functions like it as well. That despite the fact it's traveled internationally. Nothing beats a well made highly protective laptop bag to protect the computer I rely on.
Being all original, the only replacements it had are it's battery. About once a month I use it for writing, surfing and the fun of it.
Once in a while I'll keep one of my favorites. I have my original fully loaded 2002 Titanium G4 PowerBook. Bought in November from the Apple Store in Palo Alto, it was the last of the Ti's.
Due to the fact that I carefully care for my gear, it looks like new and functions like it as well. That despite the fact it's traveled internationally. Nothing beats a well made highly protective laptop bag to protect the computer I rely on.
Being all original, the only replacements it had are it's battery. About once a month I use it for writing, surfing and the fun of it.
Zombie thread but what the hell - was just thinking tonight about how well my 2009 MBP 13" is still
running. It's the 2.26ghz model with 4Gb installed - which was plenty when it was new but probably overdue for a cheap upgrade to 8GB now. Anyway it's still in great shape, runs mavericks very well, and is just a really good machine.
The only sign of ageing is some degradation of the battery as you'd expect - but it still manages 3-4 hours general use between charges.
running. It's the 2.26ghz model with 4Gb installed - which was plenty when it was new but probably overdue for a cheap upgrade to 8GB now. Anyway it's still in great shape, runs mavericks very well, and is just a really good machine.
The only sign of ageing is some degradation of the battery as you'd expect - but it still manages 3-4 hours general use between charges.
Who are you?
Programmer - You'll get at most, 2 years out of it. Maybe 3 if you're really upgraded and if you don't do stuff like gaming or intensive rendering.
Photo Editing Designer - You can probably get 4 years out of it as a full time, primary machine. Even though Photoshop layers and rendering is heavily memory intensive, the processors on these things are pretty powerful. My friend in computer science (software engineering) is using a Dell XPS M1530 from 2008 and that thing is nowhere near as good as the MacBook Pro from that year. It was just a superior machine.
Engineer (Matlab, AutoCAD) - You want to upgrade every other year, similar to a cell phone but you can squeeze 2 years out just like a programmer can. It all depends on the build you pick at the time of purchase.
Web developer - You have a lifelong partner! It will easily last 6 or 7 years. OSX, unlike Windows in my experience, is very sustainable over the years.
Programmer - You'll get at most, 2 years out of it. Maybe 3 if you're really upgraded and if you don't do stuff like gaming or intensive rendering.
Photo Editing Designer - You can probably get 4 years out of it as a full time, primary machine. Even though Photoshop layers and rendering is heavily memory intensive, the processors on these things are pretty powerful. My friend in computer science (software engineering) is using a Dell XPS M1530 from 2008 and that thing is nowhere near as good as the MacBook Pro from that year. It was just a superior machine.
Engineer (Matlab, AutoCAD) - You want to upgrade every other year, similar to a cell phone but you can squeeze 2 years out just like a programmer can. It all depends on the build you pick at the time of purchase.
Web developer - You have a lifelong partner! It will easily last 6 or 7 years. OSX, unlike Windows in my experience, is very sustainable over the years.
6 years
I've had my MBP for almost 6 years now - got it in the beginning of the 10th grade, used it through high school every day and brought it over into university. I now run AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, and have 5,600 some odd songs on it and it treats me well.
That being said.... apple care saved me on several occasions. In the first 3 years of its lifespan, I had to replace the ethernet drive, battery twice, optical drive, and they recalibrated a couple of other things also.
I use a hard case - I have a Speck hard shell - and carry it around with me in a backpack with a special neoprene slot for it.
Bottom line: I still used my computer every day, run tons of programs on it and it works fine! I just purchased an external hard drive in case anything happens to it.
I've had my MBP for almost 6 years now - got it in the beginning of the 10th grade, used it through high school every day and brought it over into university. I now run AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, and have 5,600 some odd songs on it and it treats me well.
That being said.... apple care saved me on several occasions. In the first 3 years of its lifespan, I had to replace the ethernet drive, battery twice, optical drive, and they recalibrated a couple of other things also.
I use a hard case - I have a Speck hard shell - and carry it around with me in a backpack with a special neoprene slot for it.
Bottom line: I still used my computer every day, run tons of programs on it and it works fine! I just purchased an external hard drive in case anything happens to it.
early 2008 MBP ...yes the one with the 8600GT...
still going strong and all it needs is ssd+battery...
still going strong and all it needs is ssd+battery...
I just replaced my 7 1/2 year old 17" MBP yesterday. It was used from 8 to 14 hours per day. Replaced the battery twice. It was starting to have some issues. Take care of it and keep current backups. After around 5 years (?) Apple considers their computers to be "vintage" and parts may not be available unless you get lucky. I usually keep my computers for a long time, up to 9 - 10 years and parts are always near impossible to get. Doesn't matter what brand you buy (PC or MAC). Another big consideration is how long you will be able to upgrade operating systems and software. Enjoy whatever you purchase and don't fear the MAC. It will treat you well.
+1. The time flies by. Gee, didn't I just buy the dang thing
Yeah. And suddenly you are old but still got a mac.
I can tell you that there is *indeed* a life on these things, disregarding the battery. I own two Macintosh Portables, which I have fully rebuilt batteries for, and now I cannot get either one to boot and they are experiencing various problems.
These were produced in 1989 and 1990 and the first "luggable" Apple Portable made which would run the Mac System.
I am guessing the capacitors have finally gone bad or gone leaky on these, and the only solution will be to have a professional recap the boards.
So yes, they do have a life. I've seen PowerBook 170s from 1991 exhibit boot problems as well. I would say they have about a 20 year lifespan if you take care of them....and after that, you may be looking at board failures and such.
These were produced in 1989 and 1990 and the first "luggable" Apple Portable made which would run the Mac System.
I am guessing the capacitors have finally gone bad or gone leaky on these, and the only solution will be to have a professional recap the boards.
So yes, they do have a life. I've seen PowerBook 170s from 1991 exhibit boot problems as well. I would say they have about a 20 year lifespan if you take care of them....and after that, you may be looking at board failures and such.
My 2008 aluminum MacBook is still going strong, as is my "new" 2010 15" MBP. Neither shows signs of wearing out or slowing down, though the newer machines sure show them up.
I have a PB 1400 and a Wallstreet G3 still going strong (wore out a few hard drives along the way). Both like OS9. Neither one will run Mavericks. The useful life for you, I think, is more of a function of when the OS does not support some new software application you want, or the OS doesn't have a feature you need. And the machine can't support the newer OS well. So what is the oldest MacBook Mavericks will run on, and that will give you an idea of the useful life.. at least 6 years right?
Sometimes they are just too slow or the screens so poor, but you wouldn't notice it if you never sat down with a newer Model
Sometimes they are just too slow or the screens so poor, but you wouldn't notice it if you never sat down with a newer Model
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Mid 2010 MBP 13" still going strong.
Upgrades:
* RAM: 4gb to 8gb
* HD: 256gb to 512gb SSD
* OS: Snow Leopard to Mavericks
Upgrades:
* RAM: 4gb to 8gb
* HD: 256gb to 512gb SSD
* OS: Snow Leopard to Mavericks
Depends on what you are programming. With a quad core i7 and 16gigs of ram, you could easily get more that 2 years. My 15" mid-2012 cMBP is still going strong. With an SSD, I don't see what I am missing out on, over a 2014 offering.
Indeed, I don't see why someone needs to upgrade with 10% performance increments.
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Let's be frank - going from my engineering experience, allot of REAL projects are being on windows crap ALLOT older and slower than a modern Macbook Pro. Also, like I stated above, I don't see any reason to upgrade in 10% performance increments.
I have seen companies give out quite a few high end business laptops, but that's about it.
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Was looking for a thread like this to chime in on. Typing this on my 2007 Macbook Pro (2.2Ghz, 128mb GeForce 8600M). So...7 years old now.
Does it last?
Yeah, for the most part. There were some major and minor issues I've had with the thing, with varying replacement experiences. The graphics chip and CD drive both failed, but were both replaced by Apple free of charge.
Can you extend the life of it?
Models 2011 and earlier, I think so. The new Retina models are really ditching the DIY model. Mine's had a memory upgrade to 4GB, a HDD upgrade to 320GB, and a 48Gb solid-state ExpressCard added to it. Also on my third battery, which sometimes lasts awhile and sometimes doesn't.
Is it still useable?
I'd say so. There are definitely lighter options out there now with the Retina models and the Airs, both with godlike battery life compared to this thing, but I'm from an era where we toted our power bricks with us everywhere just in case. And to be honest, the display on this is still really nice. It's an LED-backed LCD, and 1440x900 is still a decent resolution/desktop space. That said, I would say I'm stuck with 10.6 Snow Leopard. This thing choked on Mavericks like it was a concrete pacifier.
To be honest (and this has been said numerous times by many people), most machines in the past 10 years have been "good enough" for most uses. Mine's used mostly for Photoshop and Illustrator work, with some web development at times.
You can still pretend you're living with the Apple of the 2000's if you still want to. Feels like I do.
Does it last?
Yeah, for the most part. There were some major and minor issues I've had with the thing, with varying replacement experiences. The graphics chip and CD drive both failed, but were both replaced by Apple free of charge.
Can you extend the life of it?
Models 2011 and earlier, I think so. The new Retina models are really ditching the DIY model. Mine's had a memory upgrade to 4GB, a HDD upgrade to 320GB, and a 48Gb solid-state ExpressCard added to it. Also on my third battery, which sometimes lasts awhile and sometimes doesn't.
Is it still useable?
I'd say so. There are definitely lighter options out there now with the Retina models and the Airs, both with godlike battery life compared to this thing, but I'm from an era where we toted our power bricks with us everywhere just in case. And to be honest, the display on this is still really nice. It's an LED-backed LCD, and 1440x900 is still a decent resolution/desktop space. That said, I would say I'm stuck with 10.6 Snow Leopard. This thing choked on Mavericks like it was a concrete pacifier.
To be honest (and this has been said numerous times by many people), most machines in the past 10 years have been "good enough" for most uses. Mine's used mostly for Photoshop and Illustrator work, with some web development at times.
You can still pretend you're living with the Apple of the 2000's if you still want to. Feels like I do.
Mid-2009 13" MBP. Been great. HDD died earlier in May. Eventually will upgrade to an SSD, and put the HD in the optical drive. Battery needs to be replaced. Upgraded RAM to 8GB. Hope to keep the laptop for a while longer.