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Life expectancy of rMBP?

M

M14762

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2014
3
0
Finally had it with windows based machines and went out and picked up a rMBP (base model) yesterday. In the past, I've found that windows based computers probably last about a year before I need to go through and reformat the hard drive to get rid of deeply embedded malware...and in some cases I've needed to replace the computer entirely after two years.

I did a ton of research on this forum, and think that this model will suit my needs well (general use such as web browsing, MS office, photoshop, aperture, etc).

One thing I am wondering though, what is the average life expectancy of a rMBP ?
 
M14762 said:
One thing I am wondering though, what is the average life expectancy of a rMBP ?
Click to expand...

Im no expert but from what Ive seen here people are upgrading thier '08-'10 mbps. Id say its life expectancy is as long as someone finds them sufficient enough or till they break. But you can assume it would be a minimu 3+ yrs.

Btw what spec are you getting?
 
M14762 said:
Finally had it with windows based machines and went out and picked up a rMBP (base model) yesterday. In the past, I've found that windows based computers probably last about a year before I need to go through and reformat the hard drive to get rid of deeply embedded malware...and in some cases I've needed to replace the computer entirely after two years.

I did a ton of research on this forum, and think that this model will suit my needs well (general use such as web browsing, MS office, photoshop, aperture, etc).

One thing I am wondering though, what is the average life expectancy of a rMBP ?
Click to expand...

Well, I have a powerbook G4 17" which is about 8 years I think and still up and running. Except for OS upgrades there's been no formats. None of this is actually relevant because it all depends on how you treat your computer and what software you decide to install ... Macs are well known to be very stable but anything can be torn down.
 
I used to reformat my Windows PCs around every 9 months, and they'd be completely replaced at least every 18 months. But, to be fair, I used to sell computers in the 80s and 90s, so I was used to regular upgrades and always having the latest tech.

This rMBP is still running perfectly, no need for a reformat, 18 months later. I have no intention of changing it for a while now. The thing that might make me would be if good 30+" 4k monitors start appearing, at which point I'll need a TB2 port. But I'd just sell this second-hand and upgrade to a similar spec one. I might be able to wait until the 2014 refresh to see whether there are some more significant speed bumps to be had.
 
That's when the battery will fail and you probably won't be able to replace it very easily at all since it's glued in. We have very little data on how the PCI SSD holds up with re-writes for a main drive. Screen reliability is not promising and nor is the dGPU longevity.

Around 2 years, but you may have problems eBaying it or even handing it down. These machines are no longer built to last or maintain.

Software wise, you might get away with a full backup and restore during every Mac OSX release. If you phone tech support - first you will be asked to repair disk via Disk Utility and then Scrap the entire OS and start from scratch.
 
That's a straight up-and-down troll. The battery can be replaced at an Apple store for $199. It will probably be necessary at between 3-5 years, depending on how hard you use it (and how much capacity you are happy to continue with). Modern SSDs have an expected life of at least 10 years even under heavy use. They can also be replaced fairly easily -- rMBP SSD drives are always available on ebay. There's no reason to believe the screen or GPU or any other component wouldn't last at least this long -- the backlight on the screen is probably the most likely thing to die first.

Second-hand rMBPs and MBAs fetch exceptionally good prices. Well above the second-hand value of any other computer of the same age.

To answer OP's question, you will have a superb computer for three years, and it will easily last you five if you're not too desperate to be at the cutting edge towards the end.
 
The pure power of the machines today is probably enough to get them to 2020, because the increases in (for example) CPU performance are getting smaller. (and let's be honest, who really needs all that power).

For example the 08, 09 and (as I own one) 10 models still work fine for normal work (all the basic stuff like browsing, mailing, office work, doing a bit of photoshop, even light video editing) in a pure performance view. However they muss some features the new ones have, which are nice to have. For example all pre 11 models do not support airplay, thunderbolt also came with 11, USB 3 with the 12 models ....

And for the battery, my MBP is now 3.5 years old, the battery has around 500 cicles and the health is around 85%. This is enough to do 4.5 hours of typing (with low display brightness).
Oh and I never reinstalled anything - upgraded the OS (on this machine) without a clear install and it is still perfectly fine and incredibly fast for normal use.
 
My goal is to get 3+ years out of the old girl :D I have a 2012 rMBP and so far I have no concerns I'll meet that goal.
 
maflynn said:
My goal is to get 3+ years out of the old girl :D I have a 2012 rMBP and so far I have no concerns I'll meet that goal.
Click to expand...

My girlfriend wanted to keep her 2011 for 5 years or longer. It was fine in the beginning, but then started to have a few issues (mainboard), so Apple exchanged it for a late 2013 rMBP - damn it, now the 5 years start all over again :eek::D
 
There are no statistics on that, so everything people tell you here is pointless. Around 4 years seems good estimate
 
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