My mum's early 2008 iMac is still running as it was new. Just put Mavericks on it and runs super well haha. It has 6GB of OWC 800Mhz memory also. Not a bad little machine, I can see it lasting quite a few more years yet as a word processor, web browser and occasional photo edit machine. Look after things and they last a very long time and pair that with iMac build quality and you have yourself a good companion.
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How long will iMac last?
- Thread starter Cyborg21
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I will look into that further nice. It looks like its probably best to occasionally let it run a week or so without shutdown. Do you personally let your mac sleep for long periods of time or just shutdown and run manual scripts via that widget?
I just let my MBP sleep, only shutting it down when traveling, and even that's not necessary. I only shut down my desktop Mac when I'm going to be out of town for a while.
My iMac G4 and G5 are still going strong, as is my 2011 base model. The G5 is still in daily use on my desk; it's a great little (big, it's the 20"!) machine!
My 2007, 24" iMac is still going strong! I will admit that it runs a little slow these days though. Particularly after the Mountain Lion upgrade. I should have stayed with Snow Leopard. Otherwise, it has been a great machine!
Hi Cyborg21,
The shelf-life of a computer is dependent upon what type of work you do, but I can almost guarantee that the iMac will last you longer than a laptop, just considering the amount of wear you will get on a desktop vs laptop. If you do photo and video editing, the 4-5 year range will be pushing your boundaries, but for day to day word documents, web browsing, occasional gaming, and some video editing, even a baseline iMac should survive for a long time. If you are doing professional work on your computer I would recommend that you get the i7 processor, and definitely the 27" monitor because you will want to upgrade your ram later on. I have a 2012 iMac with fusion drive and my cousin has the 2012 iMac with the HDD. My computer feels like it is 3 years newer than his. If there is one upgrade that will make your computer worth having for 4-5 years, it will be the fusion drive. The computer is so much quicker, and it will be the best investment for you in the long run. Go in to an apple store and see if they have a system with a fusion drive and one without. Try restarting the computers, opening up programs, and using programs. Don't take my word for it, try it out!
Best,
Matt
Same, I still have an iMac G4 (Yeah 10 yrs old) and it's running great, I only changed out the stock HDD to a Velociraptor a little over a year ago just because I wanted a little more space and had that drive lying around. Stock 80GB HDD still works.
So I say these things will last as long as you want it to, until you decide to drop another couple grand on a new model.
I have a Mid 2007 iMac and still runs great. Would love to upgrade it, but have not found a reason to do so. Never an issue of any kind with it.
As long as you take it for daily walks,feed it nothing but the best,give it plenty of love,a good tummy rub every now and then,should be good for years!
My mother in law does NOT take care of her computer very well at all - cosmetically her 2007 iMac now looks pretty bad after having dogs jumping on it for the last 6 years, but technically it still runs perfect, and is even quite fast (running snow leopard).
Our own 2009 MacBook Pro is holding it's own too (but I do baby it)..
Our own 2009 MacBook Pro is holding it's own too (but I do baby it)..
My 2009 iMac has had no repairs other than the hard drive replaced under a recall (and it was working fine when it was replaced).
My wife's early 2009 iMac has had no repairs.
Our daughter is using the 2008 iMac that was my father's prior to his death. It had a hard drive fail earlier this year, which she brought in for a $200 repair at the Apple store.
At least my wife's and my iMacs use sleep and are never turned off. They both are also behind UPSes.
We had two older iMacs as well that we have given away but are still in service, the oldest being a G5 iMac which is now 9 years old.
My wife's early 2009 iMac has had no repairs.
Our daughter is using the 2008 iMac that was my father's prior to his death. It had a hard drive fail earlier this year, which she brought in for a $200 repair at the Apple store.
At least my wife's and my iMacs use sleep and are never turned off. They both are also behind UPSes.
We had two older iMacs as well that we have given away but are still in service, the oldest being a G5 iMac which is now 9 years old.
I hope to get 10 years out my late 2013 iMac. I went for the 1Tb HDD instead of the FD or SSD as flash storage (even though is more robust) has a shorter life span that a HDD.
I've had my 2010 27" iMac 3 years. Unfortunately I've had various display issues. First display had black "spots"/"shadows" randomly spread over the display. It wa swapped the first year. The second display had streaming light parts from top to bottom. I procrastinated that repair until this summer right before my Apple Care expired.
I'm now on my third display and no Apple Care. So far so good... but I've had some anxiety over this display.
Apart from that issue it's a great machine. It's still very fast, although an SSD is a must. I've also upgraded the RAM and have room for another upgrade if needed (up to 32 GB).
I expect to keep this iMac for another two years or so. Hopefully to be replaced by a retina iMac or perhaps only a retina Thunderbolt display to go with a new Macbook.
I would expect about 5-8 years of service from a new Mac, but please buy one with an SSD. It will be dog slow with an HDD and you will get some perks as the software is optimized for all SSD storage that's being pushed out.
I'm now on my third display and no Apple Care. So far so good... but I've had some anxiety over this display.
Apart from that issue it's a great machine. It's still very fast, although an SSD is a must. I've also upgraded the RAM and have room for another upgrade if needed (up to 32 GB).
I expect to keep this iMac for another two years or so. Hopefully to be replaced by a retina iMac or perhaps only a retina Thunderbolt display to go with a new Macbook.
I would expect about 5-8 years of service from a new Mac, but please buy one with an SSD. It will be dog slow with an HDD and you will get some perks as the software is optimized for all SSD storage that's being pushed out.
Late 2009 27" core i5. Still doing good in a dusty and heavy smoking environment. GPU failed last month and replaced ( overheating ).
Powered on 24/7 since 3 years, it still works fine but the screen has a bunch of smudges ( common issue experienced by many users )
Powered on 24/7 since 3 years, it still works fine but the screen has a bunch of smudges ( common issue experienced by many users )
Computers like life are unpredictable !
Your use of English if lots better than some on the forum who profess to have it mastered along with superior knowledge of the Apple world.
Come on now, your questions of things lasting without any problems, will programs keep running, or should you buy a different model. All that kind of thinking is not in line with the society we live in. Everything is designed as a throw-away-product. Even things that are supposed to last a life time, like a new knee joint can fail.
It might help if you take excellent care of it, but there are things in a computer or any electronic product that just die. Die when they are brand new, or a week after you boot them up. Thats why warranty sales are in order, but Apple only wants to put your worry to ease for 3 years. I am not sure if extended warranties are offered or not.
Good luck or bad luck is mostly a crap shoot, hope for the best and dont be surprised if what ever computer you buy goes out now and then, it keeps repairs in order.
Just my take, the times I have not purchased an extended warranty, the darn stuff goes bad, when I buy extended warranty, it is never needed until about a week after it expires. Such is life, very unpredictable to say the least.
Your use of English if lots better than some on the forum who profess to have it mastered along with superior knowledge of the Apple world.
Come on now, your questions of things lasting without any problems, will programs keep running, or should you buy a different model. All that kind of thinking is not in line with the society we live in. Everything is designed as a throw-away-product. Even things that are supposed to last a life time, like a new knee joint can fail.
It might help if you take excellent care of it, but there are things in a computer or any electronic product that just die. Die when they are brand new, or a week after you boot them up. Thats why warranty sales are in order, but Apple only wants to put your worry to ease for 3 years. I am not sure if extended warranties are offered or not.
Good luck or bad luck is mostly a crap shoot, hope for the best and dont be surprised if what ever computer you buy goes out now and then, it keeps repairs in order.
Just my take, the times I have not purchased an extended warranty, the darn stuff goes bad, when I buy extended warranty, it is never needed until about a week after it expires. Such is life, very unpredictable to say the least.
How long does an iMac last?
I have a 2009 imac 27" , works great, however right now December 2014 the hard drive failed and wen to apple to get it replaced for $228 (Cad) including tax. It's a 1tb hard drive. That's the only thing that failed after 5 years of use. I have used it significantly for the past 3 years.
So they last a long time. Only had to replace hard drive that failed so far. The new hard drive will have 90 day warranty from apple
I have a 2009 imac 27" , works great, however right now December 2014 the hard drive failed and wen to apple to get it replaced for $228 (Cad) including tax. It's a 1tb hard drive. That's the only thing that failed after 5 years of use. I have used it significantly for the past 3 years.
So they last a long time. Only had to replace hard drive that failed so far. The new hard drive will have 90 day warranty from apple
2008 iMac still running fine
I have a 2008 iMac that has been on pretty much 24/7 since I bought it. It is not as fast as my 2013 rMBP, but it is fast enough for me.
I do regular clone backups and rotate the external backups for safety.
If the iMac dies I can easily use the clone backup to get going on a newer iMac.
I have a 2008 iMac that has been on pretty much 24/7 since I bought it. It is not as fast as my 2013 rMBP, but it is fast enough for me.
I do regular clone backups and rotate the external backups for safety.
If the iMac dies I can easily use the clone backup to get going on a newer iMac.
Have a 2008 iMac that looks brand new and is on 24/7 as only the screen turns off on a certain time frame. Smooth as butter running Yosemite, the OS is actually faster than my 2012 dual core Mac Mini.