How often do you upgrade your Mac(s)?

[Brien]

I can't really figure out what forum would make the most sense, so I put it here considering that 50% of all of Apple's models are now MBP's, thus this forum would be correct for 50% of people... I know, I know, terrible logic. If a mod can find a better home for this thread, please do.


As the thread says, how long will you keep a computer before you upgrade? I seem to upgrade, whether I like it or not, every other year for notebooks, and every 8-10 years for desktops (although my current PowerMac is going on 12 years old).

 

[uiop.]

Well I had a penryn MBP that I got in July of last year (2008). I intended on keeping it for four+ years. But then the Unibody came out shortly after and I had to have it. So that's what I have now. I plan on keeping it until I go to college which will be in about three years.

 

[RKpro]

I've been consistently upgrading my laptop every 12-14 months for the past 5 years.

But now that I'm a mac user it depends on Apple's timing of hardware upgrades. I've had my current machine since October-08 and it still feels brand new, and this month's spec bump isn't tempting me to upgrade.

Maybe same time next year there will be a significant bump, and I'll upgrade then.

 

[zw-gator]

~3 years

But I'm constantly upgrading other things (HD, RAM, OS, monitors etc etc)

 

[sam10685]

I get my money's worth... 5 years+.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

When it needs it. I kept my last laptop for 4 years, until it finally died on me one weekend, and I have had 3 desktops in 6 years (desktops never cost me more then $500 though)

So that's like a new computer every year or so... and I just built my PC, so I guess I'll get a new laptop next year sometime?

 

[Warranty Voider]

I plan on keeping my MBP for the next 4+ years. Laptops aren't fashion accessories, they are machines. You don't need to get a new one just because it's the new trend. Plus, who really has the money to upgrade every time a new model comes out?

 

[jakerules133]

I bought the white 13.3 inch macbook 2.4ghz 2 gigs of ram in July 2008. I plan on keeping this for 2-3 years. The only reason I would upgrade would be ram. 8 gigs of ram in the new 13 inch macbook pros is awesome.

 

[Kirbdog]

My desktop usually gets upgraded about every two years, I usually get a good resale price for it after 2 years.
For my laptop it varies. I ran a G4 Powerbook for 3+ years, I only upgraded because I needed to run windows when I was out in the field.
My current MBP is only a year old but I bought a refurbished santa rosa so its a 2 year old model, I am really considering a new 15" MBP because of the battery life and the new processor.

 

[MultiFinder17]

Let's see here...

My last desktop was a 9-year-old Power Mac G4, and was just upgraded this March to one of the new minis. I got it used around 2004, so it served me for a good five years, and was retired when it was nine. I fully expect my mini to serve my needs for at least 4-5 years before I bother to upgrade again.

My laptop is a 4-year-old PowerBook G4. It handles Leopard extremely well, and fully expect it to last me at least another year or two as my main road warrior machine unless my needs while out and about drastically change sometime soon.

So yeah, somewhere in the range of every five years or so. I usually try not to be on the cutting edge of technology; it allows me to tiptoe around issues others have with being early adopters, and still gets me a machine that's not only proven, but will probably still work for just as long as the latest stuff.

Remember, just because a machine doesn't run the latest and greatest software doesn't mean it's suddenly worthless; my little PowerBook still has plenty of useful life left in it