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How often do you see yourself upgrade/update your MacBook (Pro)?

R

Ryuukumori

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 18, 2008
467
0
Just a simple question. I am more interested in the frequency of users who find themselves upgrading often. Maybe a college student between undergrad and grad school? Or somewhere else? What about older users who have a continuous trend of upgrade?

You can also include any modifications (hard drives, RAM, etc).

This would make a good survey to test!
 
I usually update about ever 2 years but I went from a unibody macbook to the new unibody mbp. So that was like 6 months lol.
 
It will only be my second mac, but I'm upgrading to a new MBP 15" after two years with the current one. It will be here thursday.

I upgraded RAM 5 months after purchasing the current one (2 -> 4) and the hard drive a year after purchase (120 -> 320).

---In 07' bought 2.2 MBP, 2GB, 120, 8800m GT 128MB.

---Last Thursday bought MBP 15" 3.06, 4GB, 500@7200, 9400M&9600GT 512mb.

Went from lowest end to highest end MBP two years later, and paying just about the same as the total cost of this machine+upgrades. Very happy prices were cut this summer.

I'm starting my 3rd year in College - fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to buy a new machine, but also get the full use out of it (programming, video editing, web dev, managing 4 windows servers & 4 offices in the US with 30 users - yes, I do this from my mac and wouldn't have it any other way - RDP for mac rules).

I hope to get 3 years out of this new machine as my primary computer. I'll probably get a new one before grad school (taking the 5 year undergrad route with a double major).
 
I had an iBook back in the day. It had the logic board fault, was fixed once, came back. I then went to the Windows side of things. Had a ton of Windows laptops...Averatec 12", HP 12.1" tablet, Compaq laptop, Eee 1000H, Acer Aspire One, Fujitsu T2010, Fujitsu T5010.

I'm really hoping my June 17" uMPB will last me over 4 years. Based on the cost, it'll just about have to to make sense.

I'm optimistic.
 
Got my first Mac (MBP 15" 2.16 GHz) May 2006 and just bought a new one because I wanted an upgrade (and I found myself drooling over the new unibody Macbook Pro's)... so 3 years.

I did upgrade my RAM on the "old" MBP but still wanted more. So new compy I got!
(And I've never been happier...!)
 
Stretch It Out

I like to get the most bang for my buck, so I like to keep my Apple computers for as long as possible, and I don't upgrade until I absolutely need to upgrade because of hardware limitations (software compatibility, speed, storage, etc.)

I had my Powerbook 15" 1.25 GHz for almost 4 years, before the screen went out and I had to upgrade to a Macbook Pro (Aluminum).. 17" 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo two years ago.

I'm really tempted to upgrade, but don't see a real need yet... Instead of upgrading right now, I just paid for an Apple Authorized reseller to upgrade my hard drive to a 7200 RPM 500GB drive, and so now I think I'm set for a while..As long as I can run the apps I need without any problems, I don't usually upgrade..
 
You guys are insane(ly rich). I got a iMac 333 MHz in 1999, a 1.25 GHz G4 Powerbook in 2004, and a MacBook Pro in 2009 - yep, every 5 years is when I do upgrade my computer....

Of course, if your income is based on processing/editing video/ HD content I fully understand that it matters but really why upgrade every 2 years??
:eek:
 
I usually upgrade every 4-5 years and only then because something usually breaks and is not economical to replace. I use my computers primarily for word processing with internet thrown in so don't really need much power.
 
Well considering I've tried nearly every size/style of UMB/MBP/MBA in the past 2 years... umm I think I've found the one I like and probably will upgrade after a year, 2 years max. Considering I've basically broke even less taxes after some nice Craigslist/Ebay sales I've landed on a 13" MBP and iMac for the house. I don't see upgrading the iMac anytime soon but if history holds true probably upgrade the laptop if the processor jumps or some new tech hits it in a year.

I'd have to say 1 to 2 year max on upgrading.
 
I got my first mac then got a second one one year after that. The current machine i'm working on was the top of the line 15" (early 2008) with 512 vram and 6mb l2 cache and i've added the x25-m so its still faster than some of the recent unibodies. I'll definately keep it for three years total (once applecare runs out). If I don't have enough cash or if I feel an upgrade is coming down the pipeline in the immediate future i'll keep it till it dies. Otherwise i'll upgrade to a completely new system (new keyboard/mouse/macbook pro, largest matching cinema display and a harddrive offering the fastest interface available, which should be eSATA or FW3200 in 3-4 years). I'll really impress myself if I'm able to skip the whole Unibody generation like some of the Powerbook users were able to skip the 1st Macbook Pro revision.
 
When I used Windows notebooks, I upgraded/replaced every year. I did this because in all honesty those notebook didn't hold up.

I bought a Powerbook and it lasted 4 years.

I figure this new Macbook Pro will be good for at least 3-5 years.





.
 
Aside from the survey... but I have a question here that some of you are consistently saying...

To all former PC notebook owners, what makes the notebook not last so long? One year, and then an upgrade? Was it the OS, or hardware giving out?
 
rtcruz1 said:
I like to get the most bang for my buck, so I like to keep my Apple computers for as long as possible, and I don't upgrade until I absolutely need to upgrade because of hardware limitations (software compatibility, speed, storage, etc.)

I had my Powerbook 15" 1.25 GHz for almost 4 years, before the screen went out and I had to upgrade to a Macbook Pro (Aluminum).. 17" 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo two years ago.

I'm really tempted to upgrade, but don't see a real need yet... Instead of upgrading right now, I just paid for an Apple Authorized reseller to upgrade my hard drive to a 7200 RPM 500GB drive, and so now I think I'm set for a while..As long as I can run the apps I need without any problems, I don't usually upgrade..
Click to expand...

I have a 2.0 Ghz first generation MBP and did almost the exact same thing you did. I recently replaced the small stock drive with the 500GB 7200rpm Seagate Momentus. However, I don't think I'll be putting any more money into it since Applecare expired in April.

I might jump into the next revision in 6 months or so.
 
Summer 2006: Intel iMac 20-inch
Fall 2007: Alum iMac 24-inch
Summer 2008: MacBook White
Summer 2009: MacBook Pro 15-inch

I guess every nine months?
 
Every 2 years...I don't have a Mac though. (Waiting to switch)

I think this time around I'll wait longer though (got it in December '07)...this laptop still fires on most cylinders, then again I don't usually experience problems until close to the 2 year mark. My biggest mistake was installing the Windows 7 RC that starts going haywire in April, so I'll be forced to get a new laptop no matter what (it beats spending $100+ for a new OS).
 
October 2004 - iBook G4
October 2007 - iMac C2D, iBook still in use
August 2008 - MacBook to replace the iBook
December 2008 - MacBook Pro 15" to replace/complement the MacBook
July 2009 - MacBook Pro 17" to replace stolen MBP 15"

Now all four Macs are in use, the 17" and 13" are at work, almost 24/7, digitizing hundreds of DV tapes, the iMac sitting at home for the times I'm at home and the iBook currently sits on the toilet for short breaks.

So there is no real upgrade pattern for me at least.
 
I usually upgrade when its worthwhile to upgrade or Apple releases a serious update, generally every 3-4 years. Although I am interested in seeing how long my Santa Rosa or any of the intels last considering the number of issues I have had and the stories I have read.
 
3 to 4 years. I normally don't upgrade my software until I get a new machine as well. Think it makes more sense that way so you get a double whammy of newness.
 
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