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How long has your MBP lasted you?

O

outsidethebox

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 10, 2008
90
27
I really want to get either a) an iPhone 4, or b) sell my MBP and get the newest model. Currently I still have my first ever MBP (late 2006, 2.16) and it seems like I've held onto this for far longer than what most people do -- it's coming on 5 years now! (Of course I have heard about the diehard Powermac G4 users still using theirs as well).

I'm wondering how long I can expect my MBP to run for? I upgraded the HD last year, and while the battery unfortunately never holds more than 2 hours anymore (even after several replacements), and the fan get's loud as a s### a lot of the time, the computer still runs everything perfectly, and I could probably put it in a box and sell it as new since I have taken such good care of it.

I'm just worried that one of these days it will just completely tank on me, which is why I'm trying to decide what to do.
 
i think it depends on how well you have taken care of it. i bought mine in 2007 and it still looks and operates like new (except for the damn battery of course.) i plan to run mine till it dies.
 
I'd say it actually depends on what iPhone you have now (if you have one). I've only had my MBP for a year but I've never looked back and it still runs as well as when I first got it. As long as it does everything you need it to do, there's certainly no absolute need to upgrade. Computer parts do wear over time though, and you will eventually need to get a new system.

On the other hand, the iPhone is something that is significantly improved over the original and 3G versions, and you would see significant increases in usability and performance. SO:

If you have a iPhone 3GS I'd consider getting a new MBP

If you don't have an iPhone and really want one, or you have an old model that you badly want to upgrade, I'd say go for it and run your Mac as long as possible.
 
mikethebigo said:
I'd say it actually depends on what iPhone you have now (if you have one). I've only had my MBP for a year but I've never looked back and it still runs as well as when I first got it. As long as it does everything you need it to do, there's certainly no absolute need to upgrade. Computer parts do wear over time though, and you will eventually need to get a new system.

On the other hand, the iPhone is something that is significantly improved over the original and 3G versions, and you would see significant increases in usability and performance. SO:

If you have a iPhone 3GS I'd consider getting a new MBP

If you don't have an iPhone and really want one, or you have an old model that you badly want to upgrade, I'd say go for it and run your Mac as long as possible.
Click to expand...

I have never had a smartphone, let along an iPhone before, which is why I am kind of excited about that. The reason I'm worried that my MBP might tank is because I use it everyday for university, and I'll be heading to expensive grad school next year, and if something happened to it (and I couldn't afford a new one) then I would be totally screwed.

But if I take care of it like I have been doing, then from what it sounds, it should just keep running fine?
 
outsidethebox said:
But if I take care of it like I have been doing, then from what it sounds, it should just keep running fine?
Click to expand...

Should is definitely the operative word there. I mean, there aren't even any guarantees that a new system would not break down on you. I wouldn't purchase a brand new computer solely based on the fear of your current system having a problem. I've only bought a new system when the one I had broke beyond repair or there were significant benefits from the newer technology.

If I were you, I'd go for the iPhone, I think you'll see a significant improvement in your daily living from that, versus a relatively minor improvement with a new (much more expensive) macbook pro.
 
My MBP is older than yours (mid 2006) and it seems pretty strong. I've tried to take care of it, but my palm rest is corroded and I have a dent on the side of the case from something, but it's been okay. People's Powerbooks have lasted forever as well as you have said. Go for the iPhone
 
i'm running an powerbook g4. it works like a champ, but the battery only last about a half hour off the power cord. i'm going to get a new macbook pro soon.
 
They last to long. Lots of time I want to buy a new one, but can't justify the purchase cause the "old one" still runs strong!:apple:
 
I'm still rockin' my 06 mbp, with no problems. No, it doesn't play the latest games (not very well anyway...), but it functions very well as a secondary to my Mac Pro. I'll run it till it dies, it's been a great laptop.
 
I still have the original MacBook Pro from 2006. Core Duo, 2GB of ram and the ATI Radeon X1600 Mobility.

Flies with an Solid State Disk though.
 
Still using my MBP from March 06 with only one problem. The GPU went out last weekend, BUT the first MBPs with ATI or NVIDIA GPUs are covered and known to be faulty so I got new logic board for free. Still use my G4 powerbook for surfing/email/itunes.
 
My experience is the same as the guy that wrote in "i think it depends on how well you have taken care of it. i bought mine in 2007 and it still looks and operates like new (except for the damn battery of course.)".

Of course I yearn for SSD and i7 but you can scarcely fault the current
(June 2007) MBP for MY tech lust.... I will say the MBP battery thing is
a bummer but there is the hyperMac "brick" for that.... also iPad reduces
greatly the use of my MBP for quick jaunts. Do not go small with iPad
because once you see a movie on it you will want the space for video.

VBrown
15" MBP 2.4 Core2Duo 4Mb RAM 320Gb HD @7200rpm
24" iMac 3.06 Core2 Duo 4Mb RAM 1Tb HD @7200rpm
iPhone 4 32Gb
current gen Nano 16Gb; 1st Gen Nano 8Gb (dying from daily use)
previous gen Touch 64Gb
iPad 64Gb WiFi + 3G
MobileMe "...one cloud to sync them ALL"
 
My Powerbook G4 1.25Ghz is still going after 7yrs. I know that's not a lot but considering I'm on it atleast 10-12hrs a day. It still runs. I recently used it while my MBP was in the shop (replaced LCD Screen).

IMO if you take care of you computer, you should be fine.
 
mikethebigo said:
With enough RAM... I'm pretty sure a Pentium II could run Win 7.
Click to expand...

In my experience, Windows 7 runs great on anything recent but its performance drops sharply if you try to run it on anything pre-Core Duo. Pentium 4s run it slower than they do XP, and I'm sure a P3 would be absolutely miserable but maybe barely usable. I don't think you could quite make it as low as a P2.

It definitely runs best on a dual core or recent single core machine though (e.g. the Intel Atom); it takes advantage of the hardware better than XP so it ends up running faster than XP on that system. It's pretty interesting.
 
my 07 santa rosa mbp croaked on me after 2 years and 10 months. Thank goodness for applecare. (got a new i5 replacement). The battery life on the new machines is crazy awesome compared to the hour or so i got from batteries that were only 6 months old with my old machine.
 
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