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Computer lifespan question/s

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DeadlyAkkuret

DeadlyAkkuret

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I was having a discussion with my gf today about mac computers (exciting, no?) and she told me that someone she knew said that a mac will probably last up to 5 years. I've never had an Apple computer but thought 5 years was pretty impressive, as I thought the standard life of most computers would be around 3.

My gf disagreed with me and said that her current computer, which is pretty average, has lasted her close to 5 years already so would be better value than a mac. I don't really care about who's right or wrong, but I genuinely always thought that 2-3 years would be about the max you'd get out of any computer (on average).

My main questions are, how many years do you expect to get from a new computer and which computer brands/models generally have the longest lifespan?
 
There is no definitive answer from my perspective.

I mean I bought a shiny new macbook pro a couple of years ago and the hard drive died after about three days. My desktop I bought all the parts & assembled myself, its about 3 years old and the graphics card died a couple of weeks ago.

It is a coin flip, most hardware is pretty good and will last for a long long time, but there is always that one little thing which stuffs up and brings down the whole system eventually. But this one thing can be replaced easily.

Although one thing I can say, the death rate of laptops seems to be much higher than desktops.
 

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Are you defining "lifespan" in terms of software or hardware?

Re hardware, sadly Apple's build quality has probably declined, although you can't really blame them for third party hard drive failures.

Re software, my 8 year old G4 running Tiger was still pretty good when retired a few months ago. Did most things I wanted it to. I'd hope to get at least 5 years good service out of my new iMac.

I know things have changed with Windows 7, but before that AFAIK you needed new hardware when MS brought out a new OS. Apple has a better history with accommodating older machines in that respect IMO.
 
I have extended the usability lifespan of a couple PCs by installing Ubuntu as the OS.

Of course, if you were a hard core gamer, anything a year old would be considered obsolete. ;)

Here is a recent article quoting statistics from a warranty firm.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10400447-1.html
by-manf.jpg

The HP failure rate surprised me the most.

When I was supplying IT equipment to corporate clients, Toshiba was my number one brand recommendation.
 
I've got an Asus and have it since June last year. I've had a few minor problems with it and once I turned it on, logged in and no files or anything was there - I freaked out so much. Then I restarted it and everything as there - was so wierd.
 
diablo14 said:
I reckon all malfunction issues aside, you need a new PC every 18 months.

The specs just don't keep up.
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Only if you play games. I only use mine for the internet and work so I'd expect 4-5 years before I'd have to replace it at least.

Most of the people that I know who are into playing games build their own computers, that way when something fails they just replace it and they seem to get a good 2-3 years out of theirs as well.
 
lions_den said:
lol, everyone I've known that has had an Asus laptop it has failed within 6 months.
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Agree with that too :) In the early days there were infamous for poor build quality, although I believe they've lifted their game (or have the rest just stooped down to their level?)
 
DeadlyAkkuret said:
That's a really good link. Thank you :thumbsu:
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No Probs.

lions_den said:
lol, everyone I've known that has had an Asus laptop it has failed within 6 months.
Click to expand...


I've also known a couple of people who have Asus laptops and they have had not one issue. I have one my self and the only issue I have had was a cracked LCD which was a fault of mine.
 

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I lease mine on 3 year leases. After about 2.5 years, I am ready for a new one. But on my new lease I got a macbook and so far it has been heaps better, nearly 12 months old now and still as good as new, so maybe it will be better than the other laptops I have had.
 
I don't game on PC so my home laptop is four years old. Does what I need for MS office\Internet etc
 
hamG said:
It is a coin flip, most hardware is pretty good and will last for a long long time, but there is always that one little thing which stuffs up and brings down the whole system eventually. But this one thing can be replaced easily.

Although one thing I can say, the death rate of laptops seems to be much higher than desktops.
Click to expand...

I've had two HP pc's over the last 10 years, first one lasted 5 years before i shelved it and moved on to HP pc number 2. The first pc ran well over 3 years, but i started having videocard issues after 3 years - the onboard card failed. Had to get a replacement pci videocard which were hard to track down at the time (my pc's motherboard would have cooked itself had i have got a super dooper one). I purchased one, but the fan on it gave out after a few months, got a second one and that held off well for the following few months.

What made me get a second pc, was when the monitor fried itself (i used it in very hot and humid conditions). I had done so over the course of a few hot days in October/November the previous year, and it started playing up then (would crackle and the picture would take awhile to center + stop fizzing after being turned on), the second time this occured in Feb '04 - it actually died. I looked at prices of new monitors, and figured at the price range i saw.... i could get a new computer for virtually the same amount (and i did just that).

The second HP pc has been going ok, however it lost some port functionality about 2 and a bit years after buying it (thus i've been relying on USB to connect the mouse and keyboard - luckily i have 4 other spare usb ports for other stuff, like usb modem and portable hdds :D :thumbsu:).

The original cd-dvd combo drive died last year, but that didn't really matter as i had only been using it to read discs, i've been alternating dvd burners as my second drive a few months after initially buying the pc. Funnily enough my first dvd burner (trusty pioneer unit) lasted close to 3 years. But over the last 2 years, i've gone through quite a few burners.... they seem to fail within a few months (and i don't do THAT much cd/dvd copying).


It's funny, i got the first HP pc in '99, and caught up on 3+ years of gaming (prior to that i was stuck with a 486 DX /33mhz from '94 - '99). With my second pc i caught up on 5+ years of gaming, and stayed with new games as they were coming out.... until late 2006, when games started to require more than what my pc could handle (including after upgrading it as far as i could). I'll be on the hunt for a new pc in the next few months, which will be good enough for current games and games i've missed out on since 2007 :p.

----

In terms of HP laptops i havn't heard them to be as reliable as their pcs, i know a lot of people who have had their HP laptops fail within 2 years (and it's usually a visual display issue).
 
Anthony_ said:
I don't game on PC so my home laptop is four years old. Does what I need for MS office\Internet etc
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Me neither. My Dell is 2 years old now. 6 months ago I was thinking I might need a new one but Win 7 has given it a new lease of life. Would expect to use it for another 3 years with no problems. Last 2 years will be as a 2nd laptop for the home.
 

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