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How many Years

  • <1

    Votes: 3 1.8%
  • 1-2

    Votes: 6 3.7%
  • 2-3

    Votes: 33 20.1%
  • 3-4

    Votes: 39 23.8%
  • 4-5

    Votes: 40 24.4%
  • more than 5

    Votes: 43 26.2%

  • Total voters
    164
My daughters uses my previous laptop (PC) which is now almost 7 years old. This 15" 2010 MBP is running very fast in 2013 with a 500 gb SSD, so this one will do 7 years also atleast.
 
historically windows laptops I have bought in the past have lasted anywhere from 1-2 years.

bought a macbook alu 2.4 13" c2d 9400m just over 4 years ago and upgraded about 8 months ago to a rmbp 15"

biggest bonus for me is the build quality strength, hard wearing etc.
second is the fact I have spent so much money on a laptop I want my moneys worth before I mothball it.

sold the old macbook to the mrs and it's still going strong albeit with a strip down clean, 128GB M4 SSD & 8GB ram lol
 
I've had my 2011 Vaio Z for just about 2 years now. Works great. SSD is fast as hell. It pretty much works exactly as it did new. The media dock thing is cool and I use it a lot.

I'm getting a 15 Haswell Retina as soon as it's out. Not because I "need" it or because my current machine isn't fast enough. Just because I wanna make the switch to OSX before college next year, and use some Mac apps like Final Cut and Logic Pro.

But I think anyone who buys a laptop with an ssd in it should have no problems using it for 2 or 3 years before noticing the slightest slowdown.
 
Apples planned obsolescence will force you to replace it prematurely.

That's because they will stop supporting it when they feel like it. Usually after a few years.

Conversely if you don't mind not being supported or running the most current OS, the computer is long lasting. I still use my pristine 2002 PowerBook G4 for writing and research on the web. Other than replacing the battery, nothing's gone wrong with it. That's how long they last with proper care and good computing practices.

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You must have had cheap notebooks.

My ThinkPads last just as long as my Macs.

Thinkpads used to be the strongest laptops (had over 20 laptops) but since the IBM engineers left Lenovo design it has gone downhill. The last Thinkpad designed under IBM engineers was the T61(p) - I had the last T61p that came out of the factory. It is still running and so are some A31's, Z61m, T21 that I had. (know the new owners - I normally -had- to upgrade due to performance requirements. A change in software changed all that and due to deteriorating eyesight now use the Mac mini rather than a laptop.
 
Usually a Windows laptop would last me for about 2 years. But only for about 1.5 years as a laptop, since battery would be dead by then. Here's the story of my last Toshiba's Satellite:

2 months: sound stops working. Unable to get into warranty since the coverage is not global.
1.5 years: Battery dies.
2 years: LCD cracked spontaneously. I was surfing the web, when suddenly an ink-like stain covered the entire screen... forever.

Repairing it was as expensive as getting a new laptop, therefore I bought an MBP. I teared the old toshiba down, drilled it to a side of my desk and plugged it to the AC and to an external monitor. It worked for 3 more years. The HDD failed, and I don't see a reason to get a new one.


This MBP is more than 2 years old, and it still is going strong as day 1. It's pretty impressive how even today still delivers solid battery performance. The history goes as follow:

1 month: Keyboard was making a nasty sound, Apple changed it without asking a single question.
3 months: Sound stop working. Apple changed the logic board without asking anything.
15 months: Dropped it while on Europe. 5 days later the HDD fails and Apple repaired it without a single question.
23 months: Dropped it again in the same exact corner. Nothing so far....

I'm more than impressed. Not only by the global coverage of Applecare, but because the computer has endured two drops, with only a minor dent.
 
I usually get a new (well, sometimes used) laptop about every two or three years, but tend to keep the old one on the side. Most of my laptops have been well over five years old when I've sold them or given them away. The only laptop to ever fail me before that mark was an LG T1 that I spilled coffee on.

I've had laptops from HP, IBM, Lenovo, Toshiba, LG and Fujitsu-Siemens. I have high hopes, that my current (and first) Apple laptop serves me as well as those did.
 
Thinkpads used to be the strongest laptops (had over 20 laptops) but since the IBM engineers left Lenovo design it has gone downhill. The last Thinkpad designed under IBM engineers was the T61(p) - I had the last T61p that came out of the factory. It is still running and so are some A31's, Z61m, T21 that I had. (know the new owners - I normally -had- to upgrade due to performance requirements. A change in software changed all that and due to deteriorating eyesight now use the Mac mini rather than a laptop.

My first ThinkPad was a 701. Then I bought a T20, 30, several in the 40 series and up. The story you tell is a popular refrain from those who had a problem with IBM's sale to Lenovo, the sole manufacturer since the very beginning. I'm not disputing the purists right to their own opinion, yet as one who relied on the newest most powerful ThinkPad each year, due to the nature of my work, I've had great performance and reliability from the W series workstations I used until last year.
 
I am still using my 2006 mbp. I have upgraded the ram to 3GB and the hd to 750GB. I also changed the battery once but it is again dead. One fan is not working even though I replaced it and once smoke was coming out of it (about 3 years ago) but I did nothing and it still works. It is my main and only computer. I am waiting for the new mbps to upgrade but the lack of dedicated graphics card has upset me...
 
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