Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Will this MBP2015 future proof me for next 10 years?

F

freddisier

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 11, 2016
29
27
MBP has gotten so expensive now, I can't justify spending 3k on high spec laptop anymore because of budget issues. I'm without a laptop at the moment, my 2011 MBA has just died on me. So I'm looking for an affordable replacement that can also future proof me for maybe the next 10 years.

I mostly just consume media on my laptop, and maybe do some light web/mobile development here and there. I might also start learning some data science/analytics stuffs on it as well (just studying, nothing serious). Do you guys think this refurbed 2015 MBP will fit? I like that it has USB A and the magsafe. To be honest, this is still slightly out of my budget now, but if it can last me well for the next 10 years, I can throw some extra dollars at it.

May 2015 MBP 15"
2.2Ghz quad core i7
16GB RAM
 
IMO, you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you're going to expect a new system to last 10 years, given that your Air died after ~6 years.

Plan for 5 years, and don't rely on anything more than 3 (with AppleCare+.) Any extra years beyond that is merely a bonus.
 
William Payne said:
Honestly, any computer you buy today made by anyone. Will be ancient in 10 years. Things are just moving very fast and honestly even 5 years is old.
Click to expand...

really? i thought between 2015 and 2016 was an incremental update (benchmark performance increased like 3-5%), and between Skylake 2016 and Kaby Lake 2017 was even more minimal update? perhaps we're at the time and age where Moore's law doesn't apply anymore and all upgrades now are just incremental. Of course after 10 years all incremental updates will add up to a significant one but I guess it also depends on what you use it for, and in my case I think it's quite a lightweight use, so I was hoping it can last for long.
 
freddisier said:
really? i thought between 2015 and 2016 was an incremental update (benchmark performance increased like 3-5%), and between Skylake 2016 and Kaby Lake 2017 was even more minimal update? perhaps we're at the time and age where Moore's law doesn't apply anymore and all upgrades now are just incremental. Of course after 10 years all incremental updates will add up to a significant one but I guess it also depends on what you use it for, and in my case I think it's quite a lightweight use, so I was hoping it can last for long.
Click to expand...

It's not so much the hardware capability. But the lifespan. After 5 years it is borrowed time. But older Apple machines do tend to keep going. Like my 09 Mac Pro.
 
duervo said:
IMO, you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you're going to expect a new system to last 10 years, given that your Air died after ~6 years.

Plan for 5 years, and don't rely on anything more than 3 (with AppleCare+.) Any extra years beyond that is merely a bonus.
Click to expand...

my Air was a low end one, and I was quite abusive towards it. many of my friends are still using their macbook bought in 2011. it runs a little slow, of course, but it's working. That's why I was hoping a top end 2015 MBP would make a difference.
[doublepost=1496808848][/doublepost]
vipergts2207 said:
Chances are a critical component will go bad before 10 years. I'd expect 6 or 7 years of near daily use tops.
Click to expand...

yep that's what i'm worried about :( My 2011 Air died because of RAM failure, and the cost to replace the motherboard was too much.
 
If you absolutely need a computer that will last for 10 years, I suggest purchasing a workstation that is built for long-term, mission-critical usage. Mac Pros can do a decade+ pretty easily. With a MacBook Pro, 4-7 years is probably a reasonable expectation. However, by that time, USB-C will have likely replaced USB-A and you may need to buy a dock that offers USB-C (because USB-A devices/accessories may be difficult to find by then.) Further, after a certain point, when a component fails it often is not economical to fix since the logic board puts so many individual components on a single circuit board.

Another option is to buy a less expensive machine and replace it more frequently? A 13-inch MacBook Pro would meet your needs, and at half the price, you could replace it much sooner.
 
One decade is an extremely long time in terms of computing. Generally speaking, some components will age faster than others (for example, CPU upgrades these days are pretty much incremental), but after 5-6 years pretty much every piece of hardware in your laptop will be outdated.

Macs are very solid machines, and it's entirely possible that you are lucky and your new computer actually lasts 10 years. However, it's not guaranteed and in any case anything you buy now will be a dinosaur after so much time (unless we are talking about a modular high-end workstation). Bottom line, you will likely need/want to upgrade much sooner than that.

As other people have pointed out, a 4-7 years upgrade cycle is what you should realistically expect from a MBP.
 
Where does the 10 years come from? How did you pick this number?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back