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Performance Decay in Macs?

D

dingdongbubble

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2007
538
0
Hi

I have been a PC user since ...... for ever I guess. My next machine will definitely be a Mac. PCs are known for having this 'decay'in performance starting right after say 1 week of purchase and in no time [1-2 years] you feel that the performance is not good enough and a new PC seems to be a compelling choice.:mad:

Does this performance decay affect Macs or is it way slower [3-4] years?
 
It is way slower if it happens at all.
The Mac doesn't get bogged down with fragmenting and a bloated registry (cause there isn't one). My 2 year old iBook and 5 year old G4 sawtooth still run OS X really great (both have plenty of RAM which is necessary). And my Mac Mini G4 blazes through whatever I throw at it (video mainly). The decay of the Mac is dependent on software outdating it with higher requirements. And this will take around 3 to 4 years for that to begin to really be noticeable.

I think with PC's the decay time is probably the same, but PC's require more maintenance to achieve it.
 
Software Updates

So lets say if I dont update my software, which runs great on my Mac, unless it has a performance boost, then will I notice ANY decay at all?
 
First of all you will want to do all the system updates. They help the system run better.

An example of software requirements becoming too great for the hardware would be like using an old G3 computer (1999-ish) to try and run the upcoming Leopard OS. It will likely work, but its just going to be noticeable chugging along. A new Mac today will easily last as a useable computer for up to 5 years.

Overall, the decay in performance of a Mac is highly dependent on the RAM you have and an every once in a while repair of permissions (takes about 3 minutes) and verifying your Startup hard drive is ok (takes about 10-15 minutes).
 
Thanks

Lets say for example I buy a new Mac in November with the latest 2Ghz+ procs, 2 GB RAM etc etc.

I want to only do basic movies, audio and web browsing, chatting and documents.
Apart from this the only other program that I use will be say Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Fireworks CS3. All these work great on the Mac and I am satisfied with the programs as they can grow with me.

Now I dont do any uprades of software whatsoever except system updates. What in your opinion would stop my Mac from running top notch for say upto 10 years. I have not added any other software. Only lets say after 4 years I want a specific program that is kind of pro level. So I search for which application would be best for me from the market. When I do that, I look for an older version of the same program and install that. Again my Mac run that program easily because its old and of my Macs age or generation.

e.g Today I have a P4 PC and I wanted to install Dreamweaver. So because my PC was old, I got Dreamweaver 8 and not CS3 but on another recent gen latop I put CS3. Likewise if I keep up this practice and keep my Mac maintained and take great care of it then plz tell me what might cause the 'decay'?

I am sorry for the long post and so many questions.
 
Ten years is a long time to expect any computer to last. Not that it can't be done.

When you hear about performance hits occurring on a Mac, more often than not, it's a result of the Mac not being rebooted often enough (once a week, if you don't have a lot of RAM installed is a good rule of thumb). Otherwise, OSX is not prone to degrading performance, at least not in the way Windows gets grunged up in normal use.
 
So would clearing the PRAM and clean installing the OS fix the problems?

This might sound vague and a bit weird but in general can you tell me in an undetailed manner as to why I would want to upgrade software like form Dreamweaver 8 to CS3 [aprat from UB]?
 
I still use all 9 of my macs, from a late model performa through G3 imacs and ibooks, G4 towers and ibooks, and a dual G5. They all work surprisingly well.
 
Right......

I guess I can buy a Mac, take good care of it, and stick to old programs and then I can make it work for quite a long time until I need to use some other advanced program.:)

Thanks everyone. That was quite exciting.
 
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