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Do you think your MBP is a 'five year machine'?


  • Total voters
    139
  • Poll closed .
I still use my Titanium Powerbook every day. That makes it what, about eight or nine years old?
 
Errr I guess I agree. My PowerBook lasted me 5 years (of course it was not my main computer once it got older), but I personally believe that a computer should be replaced after around 3.
 
I had a powerbook g4 and it still gets used daily..not by me but by my girlfriend,(after i upgraded to my new MBP)she loves it and it was sad, it was older but worked better than her old pc laptop she was using thats in a box now. It may not be 5 years old yet but its getting there and other than adding 1gb of ram its unchanged from when i got it and she still gets a good 2 hours out of the battery. I plan on keeping my macbook pro for a while at least 3 years and after that if everything is still chugging along give it to someone in the family that doesnt need heavy computing needs. i do wonder what i will replace it with though......:rolleyes:
 
A five-year-old laptop has seven-year-old performance, which historically has not been useful for anything more than the most basic use cases.

Well, I do think you do have a point here for some users – but as I’ve said above, I don’t think Yager was saying that a new MBP would last every type of user for five years (and I would say that he was speaking figuratively, that if the average laptop is seen as a two-year machine, the new MBP must surely be a five-year one in comparison).

In the case of a good number of business users (as we should keep in mind that InfoWorld that is aimed at that sector), there isn’t going to be a massive advantage of running the type of apps they need on a desktop, rather than a laptop.

I wouldn’t say a particular friend of mine is a typical business user as she’s more of a creative, but she’s been using an iBook for approaching eight years, which is merely a business tool to her. As long as it can run Final Draft and Office, can connect to the Internet and can be hooked up to a display when she wants, the machine is enough for her to pay the bills. I’ve talked to her (or nagged as she calls it) about upgrading, but her attitude is that the machine was bought for specific work purposes, which it’s still able to perform well.
 
Well, I don't know about resale values, but I do think the MBP is good for 5 years. The spec and build quality gives them an excellent chance of having a useful life of around that length.

Mine's 2 years old. I don't think it'll be my primary machine when it hits the big 5, but I don't doubt it'll still be going strong. I don't know, though, I mean I'd love a new MBP just because I think they look great and are well spec'd, but this one is so incredible I can't imagine ever replacing it.
 
For light users like me who basically use a computer to get online, I think it would definitely be usable in 5 years. I sold my main laptop 2 months ago (planning to get a 13" MBP) and since then I've been using a netbook with a Atom processor, 1 gb ram and GMA950 graphics. Believe it or not, the netbook does everything I need - a 5 yr old mac couldn't perform much worse.
 
A lot has been said but instead of addressing other points ill just add my 2 cents on my macbook pro...

My 13" uMBP I think IS a 5 year machine for the following reasons:

Its still too expensive to upgrade the ram fully (8GB) and 8 gigs isn't even supported by 32 but OS's right now. That adds a few years just there.

SATAII and the 3.0 gbit interface will ensure that eventually when the price of SSD's come down to my level I will be able to add a very well performing one and drastically increase the performance not only of writing and reading (and thus launching and running apps) but also the virtual memory will be extremely fast compared to the virtual memory the OS allocates in my 5400 rpm drive.


I think between the possibility of drastic RAM upgrades and SSD utilization that my new MBP IS a 5 year machine, though I doubt I'll wait that long to buy another :D Couple those upgrades with the fact that the battery lasts 3 times longer than the previous generation and you've got one happy customer here.

One of the most significant reasons I went with the new MBP was its longevity.
 
Depends on what you want to do with your machine. If you want to use CS7, Final Cut 20, Flash Bloat 15 or whatever at a reasonable speed, probably not. The basics, easily, providing no major hardware faults.
 
Mine would have been

I picked up a 2.16ghz C2Duo back in 2006. I am getting close to the 4 year mark and is running fine. Only things I have done is a HDD and RAM upgrade. My battery is getting to the end of its life and will most likely need an upgrade next year.

All this is well and good and my MBP was looking as if it was a 5 year machine untill yesterday while visiting my girlfriends family her moms cat knocked my MBP off a table and into a hardwood floor. Big dents and some overheating as of today lets see what the future brings. Goodspeed my MBP you were one of the best!
 
Ummm... 5 years of solid use with just a 9400M? I predict in a year to a year and a half, that integrated GPU is going to be the Achilles' heel for many buyers.

Those who opted for the 9600GT will likely get a very good run with their Macbook Pro.
 
Five years? I'm lucky if I can get two. I'm too much of a geek, i'm always craving the newest.:rolleyes:
 
If you have applecare then you're protected for 3 years, and if your laptop survives its first three years without problems it will probably last for five years, since it means that it has no faults and you treat it decently.
 
If you have applecare then you're protected for 3 years, and if your laptop survives its first three years without problems it will probably last for five years, since it means that it has no faults and you treat it decently.

I agree, with apple care you are covered for 3 years, and it will probably be fine for another 2. Unless you're like me, 3 year rotation!
 
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