I’m still using my 17-inch 2007 MacBook Pro.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How often do you upgrade your MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter CoffeeMacBook
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I came from a 2011 MacBook Pro. iPhones however, every year lol.
The last decade has been a bit of an anomaly due to intel stagnation for the entire industry. Prior to that 10-15% gains per year were considered small. Double the performance inside of a few years was normal back in the mid-90s to early 2000s (I remember we went from say 233 mhz to 1.1 ghz - with architectural improvements on top - inside of 6 years!).
I suspect with the resurgence of AMD and Apple's Silicon developments the next decade is going to be a lot more progress than the past decade.
The current Apple silicon machines and progress made by Ryzen since 2016 are only the beginning. Expect the next decade to focus on specialist compute blocks for things like AR/VR/ML to become ever more significant.
So what I'm saying is, do not expect a machine from today to remain as viable in 2031 as one from 2011 is today. We're seeing a new performance push.
I used to do every 3 years (it was unplanned, and paid by work), but I future proofed my 16" m1 by choosing the 1tb option and hoping to keep it for 5 years.
My 2018 15" was problematic hence the 3 year upgrade, otherwise I would've kept it till the keyboard warranty ended.
My 2018 15" was problematic hence the 3 year upgrade, otherwise I would've kept it till the keyboard warranty ended.
That's definitely about right. In 1998, I went from using a Pentium 100 to an AMD K6-II 333Mhz. By 2000, I had built an Athlon XP for my Linux box, and a Duron for my Windows box, both hitting 1GHz Now, granted that Pentium 100 was out in 1995/1996, we effectively went from 100MHz to 1GHz in a 5 year period.
BL.
Yeah in 1998 I had a new p2-350 after a Cyrix P200+ in 1996, and a 486-33 before that in 1992.
By about 2000 I had upgraded it to a p3-700E in the same board, and 3-4 years after that ended up with a pentium 4 2.4 Ghz. But I do remember in 2001 the pentium 4 was available in at least 1.6 ghz models.
So if you want to measure the improvement I saw between say, 1992 and 2001 it was from 33 to 1600 mhz. Plus architecture improvements in the form of IPC improvements, MMX instructions, SSE instructions, etc.
The decade between 2001-2011 was all about adding cores, tripling clock speeds and multi-threading software.
The past decade from 2011 to 2021 has been rather slow progress by that standard; with the moves by Apple and the other ARM Cpu vendors, I really don't think we're going to see another slow decade like that coming up.
The jump in performance between say, an i7 or i9 and M1-Pro/Max is just the beginning.
By about 2000 I had upgraded it to a p3-700E in the same board, and 3-4 years after that ended up with a pentium 4 2.4 Ghz. But I do remember in 2001 the pentium 4 was available in at least 1.6 ghz models.
So if you want to measure the improvement I saw between say, 1992 and 2001 it was from 33 to 1600 mhz. Plus architecture improvements in the form of IPC improvements, MMX instructions, SSE instructions, etc.
The decade between 2001-2011 was all about adding cores, tripling clock speeds and multi-threading software.
The past decade from 2011 to 2021 has been rather slow progress by that standard; with the moves by Apple and the other ARM Cpu vendors, I really don't think we're going to see another slow decade like that coming up.
The jump in performance between say, an i7 or i9 and M1-Pro/Max is just the beginning.
Last edited:
I typically upgrade every 4 years, but it's been every 2.5 lately because my MBP ends up getting service from Apple and I can't go without a laptop for a week so I upgrade, get my old one repaired, and sell it when it comes back.
This almost argues against your claim!
If a jump in performance between a Core i7 to M1 Pro is just the beginning, and relatively speaking my Core i5 Sandy Bridge is relatively holding its own against my wife's Core i7 in her 2019 15" MBP, then a 10 year plan between Sandy Bridge and M1 Pro should have the M1 Pro hold its own when it comes anything else over the next 10 years!
Conversely, that says a lot about Intel (and not in a good way) if Sandy Bridge can hold its own against Sky/Cascade/Ice/Kaby/Coffee/Whiskey/Gemini/Tiger Lake.
Granted, my benchmark for those has been compiles of the Linux kernel, but even measuring the times for those the are still relatively close.
BL.
Just upgraded to a 14" M1 max
Previous was a late 2016 13" TB
Previous I forgot (but a big one still with a CD/DVD slot), must have kept it 5 or six years
Previous were PCs.
And desktop macs much before.
So around 5 years, and in synch with apple redesigns on the last two iterations !
Previous was a late 2016 13" TB
Previous I forgot (but a big one still with a CD/DVD slot), must have kept it 5 or six years
Previous were PCs.
And desktop macs much before.
So around 5 years, and in synch with apple redesigns on the last two iterations !
Early 2005 iBook G4
Late 2007 Macbook Pro
2012 Current MacBook Pro
2022 is when I plan to buy the new MacBook Pro
Based on this geometric progression, this next computer will last me 20 years and the next till I die.
Late 2007 Macbook Pro
2012 Current MacBook Pro
2022 is when I plan to buy the new MacBook Pro
Based on this geometric progression, this next computer will last me 20 years and the next till I die.
that's almost entirely CPU cache and IO throughput dependent; maybe try benchmarking something that's not just grinding through a compiler workload
At the long end of the spectrum.
Usually when OS updates are no longer provided.
Sometimes when prompted by form factor changes.
Over the decades have gone from home use of:
- desktop all-in-one to
- headless + monitor to
- 17" laptop, then added 11" laptop for travel use (loved that featherlight MBA after initial scepticism about screen size) to
- 13" (both home & travel use) + monitor.
About to dump the Intel 13" early to move to a M1 14" in quest of silence.
Laptops usually pass on to family or friends. The others nobody wants so still have a number of computers and peripherals to recycle or to find a new home for. I haven't had the heart to throw them away but I really should free the space they're occupying!
Usually when OS updates are no longer provided.
Sometimes when prompted by form factor changes.
Over the decades have gone from home use of:
- desktop all-in-one to
- headless + monitor to
- 17" laptop, then added 11" laptop for travel use (loved that featherlight MBA after initial scepticism about screen size) to
- 13" (both home & travel use) + monitor.
About to dump the Intel 13" early to move to a M1 14" in quest of silence.
Laptops usually pass on to family or friends. The others nobody wants so still have a number of computers and peripherals to recycle or to find a new home for. I haven't had the heart to throw them away but I really should free the space they're occupying!
I got my first MacBook Pro in 2015. Since then, I have only skipped the 2016 one.
My notebook path the last 11 years. I would shoot for 5 years but the last 6 years of Apple were a mess.
2010 MBP -> gpu fault -> 2017 MBP -> fear of keyboard timebomb -> 2020 Macbook Air -> missed boot camp -> 2019 MBP
2010 MBP -> gpu fault -> 2017 MBP -> fear of keyboard timebomb -> 2020 Macbook Air -> missed boot camp -> 2019 MBP
went from a Powerbook 12" 2007 to a MacBook air 2010 11" and stopped.
i might get a MacBook from 2012 with an i7 intel soon to avoid of the repair horror stories from that year on.
in 2019 i was ready to purchase a new MacBook air 13, but selected the Dell XPS instead
due to 's MacBook failures and personal store service at the time.
OOOPs misread the PRO in the topic, dangs
i might get a MacBook from 2012 with an i7 intel soon to avoid of the repair horror stories from that year on.
in 2019 i was ready to purchase a new MacBook air 13, but selected the Dell XPS instead
due to 's MacBook failures and personal store service at the time.
OOOPs misread the PRO in the topic, dangs
I only replace it when it breaks, which has historically been about 5 years. As a side note, my Dell pc,s have lasted much longer.
I have purchased one a year for the last three years, but I think my M1 Max will likely be around for 3-4 years.
Tim
Tim
5+ years works for me.
Currently have a 2015 MPB 13". It's doing fine, and I would keep it, but my sister's old 2010 white MacBook isn't doing as well as it once did, so I'll be looking to get a base model MBP 14" and then "move her over" to the 2015 once I make the transfer.
Currently have a 2015 MPB 13". It's doing fine, and I would keep it, but my sister's old 2010 white MacBook isn't doing as well as it once did, so I'll be looking to get a base model MBP 14" and then "move her over" to the 2015 once I make the transfer.
Long as possible. At least 5 years. New mbp means new macOS which is usually undesired because it usually means problems and breaks things.
At least 5-8 years for me.
Apple Computers are the last vestiges of the 'high end' computer product - where you really got your 4 figures worth in terms of a 'machine'.
Apple Computers are the last vestiges of the 'high end' computer product - where you really got your 4 figures worth in terms of a 'machine'.
That's the funny thing. When it comes to the PCs I've built, I've normally seen the upgrade path being around a 2-year period. You could see the technology starting to slow down around that 24-26 month period. Funnily enough, with most major brand PCs (for example, my wife's Dell Inspiron laptop), it's right around that 25-27 month timeframe where it breaks and breaks badly; in my wife's case, it broke a week after the standard 2-year warranty expired. Similar happened with the Thinkpad she had 2 years prior to that. That was the reason why she went to a Mac. Her 2008 15" MBP lasted her 7 years before she picked up the 12" MacBook. She only traded that in because she needed the larger screen.
Durability as far as laptops go has always been one of the biggest bars for us, and for hers lasting 7 and my MBA hitting 10 1/2 years, I can't find anything else at the consumer level outside of Apple desktops that have lasted longer that I didn't build myself.
BL.
I only upgraded my MBP 13" (bought in 2014) after 6 years because I suddenly needed to run VMs. Otherwise, it was running fine. I just cleaned it up for resale and it's still running fine. That first retina generation was brilliant. But I answered "3+ years" because this 16" Intel will leave the house after only 1,5 years. HeatGate, is that a word? Aiming to keep the 14" for 5+ years as well. It's arriving day after tomorrow!
I think these are interesting times for processing speed. It's clear that the focus on a single processor architecture was detrimental for the industry. So it's nice to see ARM and RISC-V getting more attention. But since the clock speed can't go up (wattage goes up square with the clock speed), they need to find other ways to increase speed. Suppose they increase bus speeds... the limit there is the same bus speed as the processor speed, in which case we don't need cache anymore (like in the good old days). Aside from that, there's only architecture improvements and process improvements. With process improvements, there are obvious limitations (1 silicon atom ~= 0,1nm). With architecture improvements, who knows? There will be improvements for two decades at least, I'd say. After that, it's the world of current research
I think these are interesting times for processing speed. It's clear that the focus on a single processor architecture was detrimental for the industry. So it's nice to see ARM and RISC-V getting more attention. But since the clock speed can't go up (wattage goes up square with the clock speed), they need to find other ways to increase speed. Suppose they increase bus speeds... the limit there is the same bus speed as the processor speed, in which case we don't need cache anymore (like in the good old days). Aside from that, there's only architecture improvements and process improvements. With process improvements, there are obvious limitations (1 silicon atom ~= 0,1nm). With architecture improvements, who knows? There will be improvements for two decades at least, I'd say. After that, it's the world of current research
I had my late 2013 15" MBP until mid 2020, then I added a 16" I9. A year later, I picked up a 13" M1 MBP. I think the 16" and 13" will be my daily drivers for at least the next 3-4 years because I like the touch bar.