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How long are you keeping your machines for?
- Thread starter Al Rukh
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As long as possible if the machine works! I'm currently still using my LAte 2013 MBP. It still does everything I need, but has finally dropped out of being able to run some of the software I needed. The Versions I'm on still work flawlessly, but there are new features I want that tax the system too much now.
Oh please! Macs are made of recycled aluminum. We are actually helping the planet…… right? 🤔
For myself, there are always niggling issues that need resolving, even on my Mac mini with Studio Display, that never reared their heads on my iMacs. My 2014 iMac 5K is the first computer I kept for its entire OS cycle lifetime because it was the first computer that felt great to use every day for nearly eight years. Its EOL macOS support and feeling a bit sluggish arrived around the same time…
That said, I have moved on; it’s technology, I need it, I bought it. I won’t need an upgrade the next time I do so, but then I will wait for certain features to be available (I spout it everywhere else, might as well continue the trend here: Thunderbolt 5 is my sticking point). If a 32” iMac is available at that time, it will be on my shortlist… assuming it has the MxMax chip and/or better.
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3-5 years is my usual target as well. 3 if there's something amazing I want. 4 years in normal times. 5 years if I'm waiting for something.
I also don't enjoy the upgrade process. By the time I own my machine for 3 years, I have everything exactly the way I want it and I know something obscure will break in the process and I'll have to deal with mundane but detailed stuff that I can't remember because I only do it once every 3-4 years.
The one exception to my 3-5 year rule is if my laptop needs service. If I gotta give my daily driver to Apple for repairs I usually pick-up an equivalent spec MBP and test drive it for the 2 week return window. If I'm in love with it, I keep the test drive and sell my old one when it returns from Apple.
Sometimes the laptop that returns back to me is fully reset and I have all the headaches of an upgrade so I might as well just upgrade to a newer machine and push my upgrade window out by a full 3 to 4 years.
What I have learnt from this thread. Many Apple users upgrade every cycle and wear that like a badge of honour. The reality is they only use their device for Netflix and porn.
With the M3 Apple made it more difficult to upgrade the RAM as you only can upgrade certain chip variants to certain RAM sizes. Upgrading the RAM now requires upgrading the chip variant before just to unlock the upgrade option making it very costly. Say going above 36 megs on the MBP.
To use your machine for longer you'd need the RAM size to be right for later use from the beginning because it is not upgradeable later on. The M3 standard RAM being on the small side is creating some hardware configuration bottleneck that will work against longer time use.
To use your machine for longer you'd need the RAM size to be right for later use from the beginning because it is not upgradeable later on. The M3 standard RAM being on the small side is creating some hardware configuration bottleneck that will work against longer time use.
Every 3 to 5 years for laptops unless there is a specific issue with the configuration I purchased (not enough RAM, SSD too small, performance) in which case I trade it out and buy whatever is current at the time. Desktops last up to 7 years, or did when I could upgrade RAM and/or open it up and swap disks for SSDs etc. These days not so sure and am contemplating moving back to Windows for my desktops again after a 20 year absence from using Windows as my main stream desktop. (I always have a fairly current Windows desktop around but they are not my main workhorse or have not been).
I still have a top spec late 2013 15” MacBook Pro, and I won’t be upgrading anytime soon. Works extremely well. Use Opencore legacy patcher.
Of course internal storage has its own advantages that external cannot match. However it requires good planning (and $$) when buying a new box. If one failed to put sufficient internal storage (I recommend 2x what one needs initially) into a box, the short term solution is to offload least-used files to external drives. The internal boot drive should be maintained at no more than ~80% full.
Or upgrade to a new box with lots of RAM and adequate SSD size if finances allow. I have always bought max available RAM and have always outgrown the RAM during the life cycle of every new laptop. Perhaps the 96 GB RAM in my M2 MBP will be the exception, but I would not bet on it. RAM usage is a superb way to make operations faster, so OS designers and devs tend to build to take advantage of more and more RAM.
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Yup. My 2016 MBP still works fine except that a full workload overdrives the RAM, so I got an M2 MBP with 96 GB RAM. I still use the 2016 box for casual web surfing.
I went backward. I have an M2-Pro Mini. But I just bought a 2014 Intel Mini. I run it headless (no keyboard or monitor) and it runs some lightweight servers 24x7. It is so much better for that use case then using an old PC Tower with Linux. Aple's screen sharing works very well between the older 2014 and my new Mini.
I also have a 2011 MBP I gave to my daughter to use for the very few things her iPad will not do. She is a student just graduated biochem major. She is still using it for some remote work that doesn't work well on iPad (MS Word). The 2011 MBP has been refitted with SSD and the RAM is maxed out at 8GB. The thing is built like a tank. And if all you do is write papers with Word and do web browsing it is more than fast enough.
That said, those older Macs are just plain horrible at the things I do, robotics development, 3D CAD and simulations, hence the new M2-Pro
I currently run a 2011 mini that can no longer be updated and will soon be moving to server duty and a final run 27” iMac which I love. I need a laptop and am considering a preloved 16” mbp due to cost and boot camp. I want to be able to run PowerBI and some design apps natively on my machine that I’m not sure the soc models can do. That said, I’m concerned about the heat and the fact that I’d be buying something already way outdated…..
Between the box upgrade, the “short term“ solution can end up being more permanent than it looks. I used to think 1TB internal was more than enough compared to my old 128GB, but nope. And I find myself needing to have 8TB internal storage but no immediate need for powerful processor Or substantially more RAM, yet got dragged on anyways Because it’s Apple. At this rate, I could need some 32TB of internal storage that can cost 10 grand a decade down the line, which is just absurd. Offloading least-used files to external is certainly a good idea and I have been doing for some time, but still, the demand projection is not looking great For my wallet.
Pretty much bang on.
I managed to avoid the butterfly debacle by pushing my 2015 13" to 2020. It's still doing duty as a secondary machine around the house I don't need to care too much about. So glad I avoided the butterfly keyboards though, a friend returned 4 12" MacBooks due to keyboard problems before giving up and going back to a 13" Pro before they got ruined with it too.
My shortest upgrade was 12 months - I handed off the early 2020 intel 13" air (massive disappointment that thing on paper, quad core vs. dual core and 16GB ram vs. 8 GB but was meh "upgrade") that replaced my 2015 13" Pro during covid to the gf to upgrade to apple silicon.
Although this is a little off topic, butterfly keyboards were never an issue for us. I had a 12" which I gave to my daughter and which still functions today as a grand daughter plaything and my wife and I both had 2017 15" MBPros which never failed us (they were replaced in 2019). I did not like the short key stroke but otherwise they worked fine and travelled around the world with us. It would seem that most of the people who post on this site and a good portion of the buying public do not share this experience which I find intriguing, however it remains to me that the butterfly design was a poor keyboard, not because of its failure rate but because of its the poor feel.
Let’s see for me it’s been
PowerMac G4 Digital Audio used (2004)
24’ iMac 3.06ghz (2010)
MacBook Pro (2017)(still in use by my daughter)
M1 MBP (2021)
And I don’t plan on upgrading until probably late 2026.
PowerMac G4 Digital Audio used (2004)
24’ iMac 3.06ghz (2010)
MacBook Pro (2017)(still in use by my daughter)
M1 MBP (2021)
And I don’t plan on upgrading until probably late 2026.
Fair question, to be sure. And your excellent and thoughtful suggestion may be the path for me going forward. I like AIO computers as they are an easy buy. One box, does everything, and does it very, very well. No cables for the ”computer” itself, one electrical plug, known experience (my 2017 iMac is my 3rd), easy configuration, one warranty, one AppleCare charge, small desktop footprint, and lower overall cost. At a desired config for the mini, it is $1500, plus $1600 for the display so $3100 plus taxes, AppleCare X2 ($150 + $99) for another $250.
Yeah, the 24” (actually 23.5”) iMac AIO eliminates a lot of these issues but the difference in screen size is for me significant, far beyond just a 3” diagonal change. On the other hand, a well-configured one costs $2100 plus tax plus AppleCare for $170, so major savings over the mini/studio display combo. If I can learn to live with the 23.5” display, the savings will buy a lot of nice wine to help me transition more easily.
All of this is after at least another year or so with my 2017 unless it goes chips-up. Product options could be different then.
Is a third party display out of the question? I get it can be nice to buy straight from Apple, but there are a few 5K 27" displays available from LG (the UltraFine) and Samsung (ViewFinity S9) that are around $975 and $1200, respectively. That's at least $400 in savings right there - although admittedly still several hundred more than the ideal iMac.
I do get the value of a bigger screen. I'm mostly a laptop guy, but 11" would be too small for me while 13" feels like a ton more space.
I've been trying to keep devices for 7 years (alternating laptop/desktop purchases every 3-4), but somehow my laptops have inexplicably lasted longer.
My L2006 15" MBP was worthless junk three years in. I gave up trying to make the 7y goal 6y in and tried replacing it with an android tablet. Two years later I realized I was still lugging the underpowered half dead 8yo MBP around when traveling.
My E2015 13" MBA was the exact opposite. 128GB was a mistake but thankfully upgradable. Zero mechanical issues. Battery still holds a charge. CPU/GPU are finally showing age but nothing urgent. I'm happy waiting another year into 2024 for M3 MBA models to replace it as my primary travel laptop, and even then I've never had a computer so old still be so usable. I'm going to have to find something to keep using it for.
My L2006 15" MBP was worthless junk three years in. I gave up trying to make the 7y goal 6y in and tried replacing it with an android tablet. Two years later I realized I was still lugging the underpowered half dead 8yo MBP around when traveling.
My E2015 13" MBA was the exact opposite. 128GB was a mistake but thankfully upgradable. Zero mechanical issues. Battery still holds a charge. CPU/GPU are finally showing age but nothing urgent. I'm happy waiting another year into 2024 for M3 MBA models to replace it as my primary travel laptop, and even then I've never had a computer so old still be so usable. I'm going to have to find something to keep using it for.
Don't have personal experience with the machines as I never owned one, but this friend of mine (not internet friend, friend I've known and see regularly for the past 20 years) went through 5 machines in like 3 months. The shortest time to replacement was about a week.
Never had any problems with the 13" replacement or prior machines...
That was enough of a red flag for me to avoid that entire keyboard line.
No, it isn’t, and thanks for suggesting this with on-target options. It then becomes a question of AIO vs. size. If size wins, 3rd-party display plus mini could win out. If AIO wins, the 23.5” iMac could be the choice. I’m obviously conflicted, but postponing any decision for as long as I’m still comfortable with my 2017 iMac, and it continues to function.