1. How Long Does A Mac Laptop Last

I bought a Macbook Pro in April 2010 and just found out that I need to have the logic board replaced. This computer cost me almost $3000 when I bought it and is now going to cost me another $700 to fix.I am not happy about this. When you buy a $3000 piece of computer equipment, you expect it to last, at the very least, until it's obsolete. My wife has a 3 yr old DELL laptop that is still functioning perfectly well. My 6yr PC is still going as well as when I bought it, and it is powered on 24/7.I guess what bothers me the most about this is that this is my first apple mac and I expected it to be of superior quality to its competitors.

If you want a desktop that can last 10+ years, buy a PC and learn to upgrade, or buy a Mac which has to be replaced every 5–10 years to prevent full obsolescence. Apple tends to make your Mac obsolete within about 3 years, and generally only goes through 5 system upgrades over 5 years. Over the past 10 years, computer technology has reached a point that upgrading before 5 years isn’t necessary. For the average users – someone who surfs the Web, checks e-mail, or uses office products – a new computer can last them probably 10 years or more.

And for apple to be a superior company in terms of customer support. I was clearly wrong.How long do you expect your mac to last? Well I feel bad that you have to replace your logic board, but anything could have caused it to fail. All computers are prone to breaking down here and there. Though your computer is already two years old I use an iMac bought in 2008 and it is going strong with zero problems. Though I do not use PC's, I must say that for every Mac that breaks down I have heard of countless PC's breaking down, and I'm not saying that as a jab. I have been using Apples since 1984, and out of the 12 computers and more iOS devices I have owned, only once did I have to repair anything, and it was something that I did, and not the computers fault.

Most of my friends that were strictly PC users switched to Mac because they were constantly dealing with broken computers, they haven't looked back since. But like I said a logic board problem could have been caused by anything. You were not clearly wrong because you had ONE problem with a two year old laptop that gets carried here and there. Also, it is a smart investment to get the 3 year apple care plan just in case, of you had gotten it the logic board would have been $0.

Good luck with the new logic board, keep your computer clean and I'm sure you will be happy. How long do you expect your mac to last?1987 SE/30 still cute, still works.1995 Performa 6300. Works.1999 iMac.

Runs Panther.2000 iMac. More tasteful color.2001 DV SE. Made many iMovies. Recently retired.2002 Powerbook G42003 Powerbook G4 17' - still in daily use2004 iMac (brother's)2005 iMac (other brother's)2005 iMac (sister - in law's) (they're becoming converts all at once)2007 iMac (Dad's - couldn't stand that tangerine color any longer)2011 MacBook Pro (maybe John's right about Macs after all)2011 iMac (this one)2011 MacBook Air (2011 was a good year)Oh yes, an original 1984 Macintosh. Given to brother, who sold it.

Worth thousands today. Not giving him any more.Numerous Apple printers, iPads, iPods, iPhones, other stuff.Not a single problem with any of the above. I expect the more recent of them to become functionally obsolete long before anything breaks.Perhaps it's you?I have also had two Windows PCs since 2007. One died after three years, the other was in warranty repair four times. It never worked right anyway. I turn it on now and then to remind myself how bad things could be. I've considered all my Macs bought this century, which have always had the AppleCare 2-year warranty extension, to have a minimum 3-year lifetime thanks to it.

On the 4th year, I wing it coverage-free, expecting to replace them sometime in that period, waiting for the release of the next hardware update. It has worked fine in 3 of the 4 Mac portables I have owned since 2000. Like yours, my Early 2008 MBP had a logic board failure last December and I replaced it with the current one.In the 90's I had 3 Mac portables, none with AC, but none had catastropic failures. Each lasted at least 3 years apiece in daily use. Of all 7, all but the one that fried still work.

Yeah, the attic is filling up. 1987 SE/30 still cute, still works.1995 Performa 6300. Works.1999 iMac.

Runs Panther.2000 iMac. More tasteful color.2001 DV SE. Made many iMovies. Recently retired.2002 Powerbook G42003 Powerbook G4 17' - still in daily use2004 iMac (brother's)2005 iMac (other brother's)2005 iMac (sister - in law's) (they're becoming converts all at once)2007 iMac (Dad's - couldn't stand that tangerine color any longer)2011 MacBook Pro (maybe John's right about Macs after all)2011 iMac (this one)2011 MacBook Air (2011 was a good year)Well I hope you are getting a nice dividend for your commitment 🙂Perhaps it's you?I did press control-alt-delete one day, just to see what would happen 😉 Are macs really that fragile? There is a bit of a contradiction here. The general consesus is, albeit by only a handful of people, that macs are pretty reliable. But at the same time you are all buying AppleCare.Can no one else see the irony here?

Apple has built its brand on quality, reliablity and beauty, but at the same time only offer a 1yr warranty on their hardware. It's because we're suckers.If macs are SO reliable, include a decent warranty period!Anyway, this has become a bit of a rant, so I'll sign off. Steve and Steve (Jobs and Wozniak) were the first to offer a one-year warranty on a computer. I'm not sure what PC vendors offer - I think that Dell offers a one-year warranty, as well, though. AppleCare is great - it's much cheaper, for obvious reasons, for desktops like the iMac than it is for notebooks. A three-year warranty, without additional service agreements, is difficult, if not impossible, to find on any notebook I would think.Let me know if I'm wrong, though.With Apple, you pay for innovation - not really the cost of parts plus markup.

Take Thunderbolt - it's just now finding it's way onto PC laptops. Apple innovates, everyone else plays catch-up. And that's what you pay for. It's always been that way with Apple which is probably why the Apple 'fans' take the company to heart.There's no contradiction that I see.Regards,Clinton. Knowledgeable people typically don't buy AppleCare. It's just another extended warranty, which in the long run will not pay off. (If an extended warranty on any device paid off for the customer, the company selling it would be losing money on it, and would not sell it.) The only way AppleCare may pay off, barring unforeseen but rare failures, would be the free tech support calls.

Someone who needs a lot of hand-holding from Apple and doesn't live near an Apple Store could really get a lot out of that.As to the 1 year warranty, most consumer electronics in the US have 1 year warranties. It's fairly standard. It would be nice if Apple gave a longer warranty, but discussing Apple policy is not what these forums are for, and in fact is specifically forbidden by the.I can chime in that I've been using Macs since 1984 and have only had one hardware failure in all that time (not counting the Mac I dropped on a concrete floor or hard drive failures). But I get the idea that you are more interested in complaining than in getting actual feedback, since you seem uninterested in hearing that Macs are actually quite reliable. If all you want to do is complain about Apple, you'll find this is not a place where you will find much sympathy. Apple Mac's are no better then any other computer on the market. In fact IMHO they aren't as good as most other brands.The only real difference between an Apple Mac and any other computer is they cost more.

You get nothing extra for that extra cost. In fact most PC notebooks come with a better warranty and in most cases include some type of Accidental Damage warranty and if they don't come with it it can be purchased for a small amount. Apple does not offer any type of Accidental damage warranty.Simply never buy another Apple product. You will be better off in the long run.

I know I said I would sign off on the topic, but people keep fuelling it.It would be nice if Apple gave a longer warranty, but discussing Apple policy is not what these forums are for, and in fact is specifically forbidden by the.Are you serious? We aren't allowed to discuss Apple policy on their forum?

That seems a little censored. What are they scared of? Maybe they might learn something.But I get the idea that you are more interested in complaining than in getting actual feedback, since you seem uninterested in hearing that Macs are actually quite reliable. If all you want to do is complain about Apple, you'll find this is not a place where you will find much sympathy.I am genuinely interested in how long people believe their mac should last. If everyone says that I shouldn't expect my laptop - built by Apple, a $400b company - to last 2yrs, then I will happily give them my money. I'll feel stupid for doing it since I expected more, but I'll do it. If on the other hand the majority say they expect their macs to last, say, 5 yrs, then I will go in asking them to repair it at a discount.

Having said all that, a little sympathy on the side would also be nice😉I am not out to bash Apple. My household has more than enough Apple products to make us look like fanboy house. I just want to know what people expect from such a prestigious brand. Apple Footer.This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.

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Are you wondering how long your Mac will last or how frequently you’ll need to replace it? This is a very difficult question to answer, since many factors can affect the durability, longevity and compatibility of a computer. I’ll do my best to provide some concise and useful guidance.My shortest answer is that many of my clients replace their computer about every 5 years. Some clients who have high-end needs might replace their computer every 3-4 years, and it’s worthwhile for them to migrate to Apple’s latest and fastest hardware more often. I have many clients who have been able to stretch their computers to last 7 years.

However, when one tries to get 7 years of use out of a computer one faces an uphill battle in terms of both security and compatibility. Apple tends to update and patch security holes found in only the most current version of the Mac operating system and the 2 previous versions. Thus, if one want to keep an older Mac in use, one should at least make sure it’s operating system is updated to one of the 3 most recent versions of macOS.Often customers will replace their computers because their previous computer’s compatibility or performance is no longer adequate.

Macs will typically function for many more than 5 years, but if it breaks after 5 years it’s not always cost-effective to repair. The need to make significant upgrades to a Mac’s hardware can also be cause for replacement. The most common upgrades needed are adding memory, installing a larger hard drive or installing a newer version of macOS. These upgrades can be cost-effective if you are able to do the work yourself. If you have to hire somebody to do the work, the labor charge alone can negate cost-effectiveness.In recent years, I’ve found that web browser compatibility often drives customers to replace their computer. The two most common uses of a computer are sending emails and viewing web sites.

How Long Does A Mac Laptop Last

The people who make web sites, like banks, often employ ever newer web site technologies to keep their web sites current and secure. These changes often require ever newer versions of web browsers like Safari, Firefox and Chrome. As these web browsers get upgraded, it becomes necessary for their developers to occasionally drop support for older versions of macOS as well as older or slower processors.I don’t have any specific data to support the following claim, but I think the rate of replacing computers is increasing. I think that customers used to replace their computers less frequently then every 5 years. These days, a new Mac has a minimum cost of about $1000, so it’s not easy for many people to replace their computer that often. With the recent advent of the less expensive tablet computers like the iPad, I find some hope.

These devices and their capabilities are rapidly evolving. I think that in the coming years many casual computer users will be able to use an iPad for their email and web browsing needs. Thus, when you next replace your Mac, it is reasonable to consider if the computer could be replaced with an iPad. If you were to need to replace your iPad every 4-5 years, it would be a less expensive proposition.Read more about,.Was this tip helpful?