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How long do you keep your Mac?

How long do you keep your Mac?

  • 2-3 years

    Votes: 18 11.9%

  • 4-5 years

    Votes: 39 25.8%

  • 6-7 years

    Votes: 37 24.5%

  • 8-9 years

    Votes: 27 17.9%

  • 10+ years

    Votes: 29 19.2%

  • I don't have a Mac.

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Total voters
    151
I've purchased two absolutely great computers in the last 17 years. In 2000, I bought a Dell Inspiron Notebook that I was able to get 7 years out of. It was maxed out and cost me a cool 3k for hardware that is laughable by today's standards. In the last couple of years it REALLY started to show it's age and I was forced to upgrade. I bought a couple more Dells and tried a few other brands through the years. The last straw for me was 3 PC's in 5 years. Notebooks really came down in price. One was $800, one $600, one $350. They all sucked and I was tired of buying junk. That's when I finally went Mac and haven't regretted my decision.

I'm using a MBP 13 Mid 2012. I7, upgraded RAM from 8 to 16 and upgraded the 750GB drive to a 1TB SSD. This computer has been one of the best I've owned. I did have to sink money into it a few months back. The keyboard was absolutely shot. Sent off to Apple via phone support, shipped me a box and had a working computer back within 3.5 days. I'll stick with this as long as I can, the upgrades made this feel like a completely different computer. It runs as good today as the day I bought it and likely much better given the upgrades.

Sure we all pay the "Apple Tax" at the onset, but assuming your computer works well, performs to your needs and liking, they're going to last. If you hang onto them for a while, the "Apple Tax" doesn't seem so bad.

So yeah, not sure how to answer the poll.
 
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I've been averaging about 7 years of regular use before I need to upgrade. Even after upgrading, the older machines still get occasional use. I have the following machines which still work: Mac SE (System 6), Gigabit PowerMac G4 (Mac OS 9, 10.3 and 10.4), 2003 PowerBook G4 (Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5), 2007 MacBook Pro (Mac OS X 10.5 through 10.11), 2007 iMac (Mac OS X 10.6). The PM G4 and MBP have especially been great machines which have supported a good number of the Mac OS. The MBP started getting really sluggish starting with Mavericks, but it still runs Snow Leopard fine.
 
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My two oldest Macs are from 2012. One is a non retina MBP that I gave to a family member. It works great still, but I upgraded it with a 500 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM. Previously with 4 GB RAM and the stock 5400 RPM spinner, it was getting tough to use. But with the upgrades it's awesome. My 2012 Mac Mini is only a dual core, but with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD, it flies for my usage. Eventually I'll upgrade it to 16 GB of RAM. I'll use it for many more years. Then I have a 2015 rMBP which is my main computer. I love it and I still use all of the ports, etc. so I'll be keeping it a while longer, too.

So, for Macs in my case, at least five years and ideally even longer.
 
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Got a 27-inch, Late 2009 2.66 Ghz i5 that I'm FINALLY going to replace this upcoming week (just bought a brand-new, 27-inch Retina 5K 3.8Ghz i5). Had to replace the graphics card (under warranty) and the HDD (not under warranty) along the way, but it's been a solid workhorse for the 8-or-so years I've owned it. NEVER going back to a PC...
 
PowerMac G4, 2004-2008
iMac G5, 2008-2011
iMac 21.5”, 2011-2015
iMac 27”, 2015-present

So around 3-4 years.
 
I started my journey with Apple in 2008 when I have been given white MacBook and the white iPhone 3G.
I upgraded the MacBook with 64GB OCZ SSD and 4GB of DDR2 RAM.

Then, the MacBook had a motherboard failure and the cost of repair was to high. I took the RAM and SSD out and put it in my "new" machine, used 2007 Mac mini.

After a gap years with the following PCs: Asus, Sony Vaio, Asus K-series, in February 2017 I bought MacBook Pro 2016 model and than the iMac 2017 which I'm typing now.

Also, I replaced my old 2007 Mac mini with used 2012 i5 Mac mini. I upgraded the RAM to 8GB from my dead Sony Vaio and I bought Kingston 120GB SSD and put it inside. The mini is a spare computer in my house in Poland. Don't use it often but sometimes it is a need.
 
been using mine for 8 years now, got it 2009, 13" and about a year ago, i put in a 1tb hard drive into it and 8gig of ram. only issue is the hinge on the screen is wobbly but thats pretty much it, minor scratches here and there from traveling around.
 
I have a late 2012 27" iMac. I loaded it up so it would last. It still works perfectly well.

I use it for photo editing, playing Cities Skylines, and programming (VPN+RDP to work PC) mostly.

I do not foresee an upgrade for some time yet.


My husband has a 2009 MacBook Pro. He emails and browses, so it is still working perfectly well for his purposes and won't be replaced until it dies.

We also have also have two of the latest (whenever they were last updated) Mac Minis we use as media machines in the living room and bedroom. Those we will also keep until they die.
 
15" 2008 Macbook Pro, upgraded to 6GB RAM and SSD. (works great, was almost useless with 4GB RAM and hard drive). El Capitan, as Apple won't update Wifi drivers. :(

2010 "Hack". Core i7 870, 16GB RAM, upgraded with SSD, and Radeon 7750 (2012). High Sierra.

Computers last long these days, PC or Mac.
 
I have been buying both MacBooks and iMacs every 3-4 years. The latest combo is an early 2015 MacBook (upgraded CPU and SSD) and the high end mid 2017 iMac.

This time I am planning on keeping both for at least five years or more. Some features that could possibly pull me away earlier are FaceID, new form factor and a significant performance improvement.
 
I still have my original IIe if that counts...LOL (it's in a box somewhere in the garage)
but generally I keep my macs around 5 years or so, depends on when i get a case of the 'ooowww shiny...or when they eventually die.
 
My late 2014 5K iMac (fairly loaded) will be 3 years old tomorrow from date of order iirc. It's still going strong so as much as I'd like to get a completely unnecessary iMac Pro, I just can't justify it.

Typically I go 5 - 7 years. Usually, once or twice during that period some weird memory leak or similar issue happens that makes things really bog down. I once spent way too many hours trying to diagnose and remedy with no luck. What I do now is just create another admin-level user with full permissions to access all files, etc. It's like getting a new computer - whatever memory leak or whatever it is seems contained to the original user account.
 
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anthonymoody said:
Typically I go 5 - 7 years. Usually, once or twice during that period some weird memory leak or similar issue happens that makes things really bog down. I once spent way too many hours trying to diagnose and remedy with no luck. What I do now is just create another admin-level user with full permissions to access all files, etc. It's like getting a new computer - whatever memory leak or whatever it is seems contained to the original user account.
Click to expand...

That'll be the special Apple algorithm that kicks in at a couple of years and gradually grinds your Mac to a complete halt at which point some genius in the bar sucks through his teeth and advises you to buy a new one...:)
 
My oldest Mac Pro is from early 2008. Not only is it an eye sore, it won't run the latest OS, so now I think it's time to put it out to pasture.
 
PowerMac G4 466: 2001-2002
PowerMac G4 Dual 1Ghz: 2002-2006
iMac Core Duo: 2006-2008
MacBook Pro 15": 2008-2010
Mac Pro: 2010-current
 
I bought the first 17" MBP right after it was released in 2006 and got over 6 years out of it before it died and I sold it off for parts. That said, it spent its last 2 years as a desktop when the screen started degrading and I bought an external monitor for it. Replacing the spinner with an SSD breathed new life into it too.

I replaced it with a 2010 21.5" iMac and moved the SSD into it as well. It's still running strong and quicker than my work Dell laptop (2014 model but with an HD). I'll probably look to replace the iMac when it can no longer update to the newest OS.
 
My first Mac was a 2010 11” MacBook Air after a terrible experience with an Alienware M11X. It was a fantastic computer and I’ve been Mac only since.

2010 - 2012: 2010 11” MacBook Air (max config at the time)

2012 - 2016: 2012 15” retina MBP (base CPU, 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM)

2014 - present: 2012 i5 mini (Apple refurb, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)

2014 - present: 2014 i5 mini (2.8, 8GB RAM, 1TB fusion drive)

2016 - present: 2016 13” MBP (2.0, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, without touch bar)

2014 - present: Apple Thunderbolt Display

All of my Macs have really held up well. My 2014 mini is hooked up to my Thunderbolt Display and a Radeon RX 580 8GB eGPU (to another Display) and is my main machine at home. My MBP is my office and traveling computer. The 2012 mini is an iTunes server.

The current combination works great and while newer Macs can always be appealing, I think I’ll stick with this setup for a while. Haven’t had one problem in over three years with either mini and the 2016 MBP hasn’t had any problems either.
 
my laptop is a 2012 rMBP that will be (hopefully) replaced in 2018, and my iMac is considered a baby at only 2 years old ;) I hope to keep this a lot longer in all honesty.
 
I have a feeling I may have to replace my iMac for school...but I am hoping this one can hang on until I am almost done with uni. A bit slow, but otherwise it is okay. I may have to look into creating another admin user with full access as @anthonymoody mentioned above. Thanks for that.
 
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MjWoNeR said:
I got mine as soon the slim models got released. 27" Late '12.
My very first Mac really, and coming from building PCs I maxed it for future proofing.
3.4GHz i7
GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB
3TB Fusion drive
And upgraded the RAM to 32gigs of Corsair memory.

It's been holding out well, considering I had to use the warranty twice. Once for a failing hard drive and once for screen smudges, but it is turned on 24/7, year round, as my PCs were. Other than that it's solid.

Since it's still quite fast for day to day use, I'm thinking of keeping it at least as long as Apple supports it with newer OSes. The day a new MacOS is not compatible, I'll start considering a new machine.

How about you?
Click to expand...
Same machine here, but with SSD.

Longest I’ve ever used the same computer.
 
just 2017 imac basic ..
** mac mini 2014 base model
** previously more on windows server laptop
 
My dad’s 21.5” late 2009 iMac is still working fine. It’s getting slow of course, but it’s still doing good enough.

My MacBook Air is now 5 years old, but with its i7 and 8gb of ram it's still performing great as well.

I am waiting for an iMac refresh though, just so I can work better at home, and use my Air at university
 
Mid-2011 iMac 21.5 with 2.5ghz i5 & 8gb Ram.

Works as well today as it ever did...on High Sierra and is on 24/7 without any hitches.

I got this as it was the last of the fatties with a DVD slot.
Haven’t been disappointed.
Prior to this I had a new PC every 2 years as they rapidly slowed to a crawl and died.
 
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