I just got a new laptop to replace my clunky, broken 3 year old laptop. I am hoping this one lasts longer.
So how long do your computers usually last?
I’m on my third computer in about 10 years. The current one is a year or so old. So something like 4-5 years on average.
Hard to say coz I replace componants as they need it. I’ve not bought a whole new system for about eight years.
Average life of a componant is about eighteen months, so that’d average out to a new system at the same speed.
My current home computer is 5 years old, and about to get a new monitor. We’re not power-users or game-players, so there is little need to upgrade quite adequate hardware.
I’ve had three computers since 1999. This one is over two years old. My wife used our 1998 Sony VAIO until last year. I buy barebones sytems and transfer the components over. I’ve only had two hard drives and a motherboard fail.
I’ve been on the same laptop since 2003. It’s perfectly adequate for me, I’m running Windows XP and see no need to upgrade just because Vista is out. I may upgrade the RAM from 512 to 1024 MB, but otherwise, I’ll keep this computer until it craps out.
I’ve been running the same Compaq Presario desktop since 2002. I’ve added an additional hard drive, maxed out memory (2 GB) and added a graphics card. For the most part I have no reason to upgrade other than playing games. And I’m not such a game player that I want to spend that kind of money right now.
Like essell, I’m in a perpetual state of upgrades on an approximate 18-24 month cycle. With very few exceptions when I was a kid, I’ve never had an off-the-shelf OEM desktop computer, and have opted to assemble my own since I was about 14 (that would be about 1994). I have only had three towers to serve as the chassis for all my systems through the years, basically swapping out the motherboard, processor and memory with every new chipset or substantial leap in processing power, which tends to occur every 18 months. Video card upgrades take place about every two years or so. But then, I’m a bit of an enthusiast as well as a gamer, and while I’m certainly not on the cutting edge, I don’t like to be at the tail end of the technology curve either. Usually somewhere in the mid range. I don’t ever spend more than $1,000 for a solid upgrade, but I get a hell of a lot of bang for my buck by only getting what I need. Case in point: I am not stupid enough to spend $700 on quad-core processor just for the sake of having it when very little software can actually take advantage of it. I also have yet to invest in another video card to create an SLI setup because even though the price of the DirectX9 cards is coming down to the point where it’s reasonable to do so, the next generation of expensive DirectX10 cards with incredible new features will soon be more affordable, thereby invalidating any investment in a dated pair of DirectX9 cards … but that’s just how the cookie crumbles with this stuff. Generally though, I think off-the-shelf systems have a useable lifespan of around three years, four maximum, and they are much harder to upgrade. In the end, you’ll end up spending more and getting less for your dollar buying off-the-shelf.
Laptops are a different story since you can’t build, modify, or easily upgrade them beyond simple (and often marginally useful) memory upgrades. Some folks will do processor swaps on laptops, but I think the damn things run hot enough with the processors and heat sinks they already come equipped with. I’ve had several laptops though, and my first was a Compaq Presario that did pretty well for about five years, excluding a power supply/battery issue and eventually hard drive failure. I sold off several older laptops to raise funds for a higher-end Dell XPS and I think it will last me a very long time given its superior build quality. It plays the latest high end 3D games without struggling, just as fast as a good desktop system can do, but that’s really just one reason I got it. It chews through virtually anything I throw at it where most laptops struggle to chug along. The Compaq was middle-of-the-heap even when it was new, but this Dell is top spec and combined with its rock-solidness compared to most notebooks, I like to think it’ll last me considerably longer than 5 or 6 years. I just decided to go all-in and get the best I could rather than get something that would need replacing or upgrading within five years.
I just realized a couple of weeks ago that the computer I’m typing this on is almost five years old, and was a bit surprised. It feels a lot newer than my old PC did at 5 years.
I did get another computer a couple of years ago, but that was for home, to replace the afore-said PC which finally died (after about ten years). I’m not one to discard a perfectly functional (or even imperfectly functional) computer just because it’s old. I wouldn’t be surprised if both of my current computers hit 15 years.
In fact, I just bought a new one this past weekend, when the hard drive on my old one (bought 12/02) crashed. The computer before that one we bought in… 12/98. And the one before that was our first computer, bought in 1993, I believe. So every 4 - 5 years, it looks like.
My laptop is approaching 3 years old, and I’d like it to survive at least another year (until I graduate from college). Then I’ll probably get a new one if I can afford it.
My wife’s laptop lasted 4 years. My collection of PCs were all built by me and get periodic major upgrades, so exact age of most of them is difficult.
I still have a Windows 98 PC running for the kids to beat up on. That one is largely the same as it was in 2000.
My PC which is have heat problems with some games, is roughly 4 years old, but has had several upgrades, especially drives, video and memory. Only the Processor, Board and Case are 4 years old at this point.
The Media PC has been massively upgraded over the last 6 years and probably only has the Floppy, case and ethernet card left.
My guest PC, I just did a major upgrade to and is really a new PC with recycled drives.
Jim
I just bought a computer last month. My old one came with Windows 98, so I’m thinking it was at least 8 years old. I did have to install a new hard drive, a CD writer, and a NIC along the way.
My laptop is now 3 years old, and should last for another year at least. Before that my Win 98 desktop was about 6 years old. It still runs, but the USB ports are flaky and my USB wireless receiver is not working so well. I set it up for my FIL to use last Christmas, because his music composing software is on it, and we can plug organ keyboard into the game port. Still, it was about a year beyond its useful life when I switched.
If I consider just the motherboard and CPU as the computer, I’ve had maybe 6 computers in about 17 years:
386SX-16 (IBM/PS2)
486DX-33 (Gateway)
Pentium ? (Quantum)
Pentium 733 (Homebuilt)
AMD-2100 (Homebuilt (divorced it, not driven by performance issues))
AMD-X2-4600 (Homebuilt just this spring)
There’s been memory additions, hard drive replacements, etc. in between that but that’s the basic path since I consider the computer’s core to be the CPU/memory/MB combination. That’s about 3 to 3 1/2 years per computer. About average in my experience.
My last laptop I got in 99, it lasted till 2006, dying because of a a video cable broke at the hinge and that piece is $100. Over the years the CPU was upgraded to about 2x the speed, memory went from 64mb to 320mb, harddrive went from 4 to perhaps 20gb. It went from Win 98 to XP up to XP sp2, which was too much, then I reinstalled 98, then got 98SE running so I could go wifi. If it wasn’t for that part I would still be using it.
Now that I use laptops, I average between 2 and 3 years between computers. I buy Apples and get the 3-year warranty, then usually upgrade/sell the old one when there are a few months left on the warranty (it’s much easier to sell a laptop with warranty than one without). I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well they tend to hold their value. My annual hardware budget is about $300, including the warranty, and I get a nice new laptop every few years, with a new OS and all the associated stuff.
I’ll probably keep this one longer, though. I’ve had it a year now, and I have no need for anything newer.
The graphite iMac DV SE 500 Mhz I bought in 2000 I am still using. I plan to get a new one this summer.
Laptops: Roughly 3.5 years
Desktop computers: Roughly 4.5 years – probably longer nowadays.
My current laptop is 3.25 years old. I’d like to replace it, but I don’t want to deal with Windows Vista hassles – at least, not until the first service pack, at the earliest. (I’d rather wait until SP2, but that wouldn’t be realistic.)
About 2 years between systems. I’ve replaced the power supply on this machine twice, the last time as recently as last week and upgraded RAM and video last year.
I’m very conscious of the fact that I’ll need a new system to run Spore sigh.
I’m getting my own laptop this summer though. Husband’s HP is going on 3 and still goes strong, but we’ll likely not be commuting together next term so it complicates sharing. I think I am going to get a MacBook.