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Most reliable Mac ever?

2004 PowerMac G5 (still in use)
2007 iMac C2D (typing on this right now)
2001 PowerMac G4 (retired)

All these desktops work great with only ram/HD replacements. G4 only retired due to being slow.

I would vote for G5 as it still gets a decent amount of adobe CS2 and Final cut pro use. Has original FX card and still going strong. It helps that I clean it out the internals from time to time. I actually wish it would die so I can have an excuse to get a newer Intel Mac Pro but it just keeps chugging along :)
 
I have an Early 2009 Mac Pro. The only upgrade I've done is a DIY fusion drive setup.. This is my primary work machine, and it's responsible for at least 80% of my income. Still rock solid. Still running the latest OS updates. Still the best purchase I've ever made. I push it hard with 3d rendering in Cinema4D, and it performs great.

I also have a totally stock Mid-2010 Macbook Air, which is responsible for the remaining 20% of my work (but I don't do 3d work on my laptop). It has more surface ware from travel and job sites, but it's still cooking right along. Even the battery is fine. I think Apple really turned a corner when the current MBA design came out.

Mine aren't as old as some of the others in this thread, but I do use them for much, much more than web browsing. I think that's the true test.
 
I'm typing this response on my late 2006 white MacBook. It still works quite well. Upgraded to SSD and max'ed the RAM (4GB although due to hardware limitation, the system only uses 3GB).

Before that, I had a Power Mac 9500. This was quite a remarkable machine for its day. Its removable CPU daughtercard made it very upgradeable. It originally came with a PowerPC cpu running at 132 mhz running up to OS 9.1. I upgraded it to a 900 mhz G4 processor and via XPostFacto, was able to install and run OS 10.3 quite reliably. Was also able to install 1.5GB of RAM (12 x 128MB sticks) which was quite good considering the machine came out in 1995.
http://lowendmac.com/1995/power-mac-9500/
 
Les Kern said:
Well, my original 1984 128k Macintosh still works great. I think that's a hard question because of the 30 Macs I've had over the years from the 128k to the LCII to the Macbook Airs, I have yet to have one fail. Luck I guess, and happy for that. SO to answer your question: All of them?
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Do you leave them on for days at a time? Every Mac I've owned has died within 5 years. I usually leave them on 24/7 and wonder if I would get longer life if I turned them off at night.
 
velocityg4 said:
Not a Mac. But the Apple IIe was an incredibly reliable computer. Many were still in service in schools 20 years after they came out. Just think of the abuse they took from all those students and kept on chugging. Heck they may still be in use. That's just the last I've seen of them.
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I want to know if you have that Commodore PET in your picture. That was the first computer I ever used back in 1980 at Parkway Jr. High School in El Cajon, CA.
 
JeffyTheQuik said:
I want to know if you have that Commodore PET in your picture. That was the first computer I ever used back in 1980 at Parkway Jr. High School in El Cajon, CA.
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No, I just like the looks of it. I've never used a Commodore. Except perhaps screwing around with one at some computer store or show in the 80's. I learned on DOS at home and the Apple IIe at school.
 
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My late 2009 27" iMac i7 16Gb sucks! My PowerBook was better than this thing.
 
Our mid 2007 20 inch iMac is in service daily currently running El Capitan, also Windows 7 with boot camp. Original HD. Purchased from Apple as a refurb. Our 2006 mini is still in service with our theater group too, A 1.66 core duo.

I think that cleaning them out periodically is critical to long life for these machines.
 
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MacBook Air late 2010. Changed the battery once after four years of usage. Cleaned the trackpad. Now being abused by my kids. Running El Capitan like an "old champ".
 
I got 22 years out of my SE/30. Had to replace the floppy drive, though. Best computer Apple ever made!
 
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My Macintosh Classic (bought in 1991) was used for years...then stored in a dark, humid,
Florida garage for years....gave it away in 2004....it still functioned fine.

Yep, those Apple IIe computers were tanks, too.

Is there any reason to believe that the current MBPr and iMacs won't perform similarly? They have fewer moving parts!
 
I'll tell you what is not the most reliable Mac ever: 2001-2003 white iBooks.
"Absolute ****" is an euphemism.
With the money I have spent on repairing mine I could buy three nMPs.
Graphics chip, display bezel and PMU being particularly sore spots.

Which is a pity because thy were absolutely delicious machines when working properly, and oh, the battery life!

OTOH, 2nd gen CRT iMacs were, in my experience, pretty solid, we still have one at the office we occasionally boot up just for fun.
 
villicodelirant said:
Meh, 6 years from a desktop computer, barring hard drive mechanical issues, doesn't seem that amazing to me.
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6 years without showing its age. That *is* amazing, especially when compared to the PC world where typically an off-the-shelf PC is bumping into obsolescence within a couple years.
 
velocityg4 said:
Not a Mac. But the Apple IIe was an incredibly reliable computer. Many were still in service in schools 20 years after they came out. Just think of the abuse they took from all those students and kept on chugging. Heck they may still be in use. That's just the last I've seen of them.
Click to expand...


I STILL have a working Apple II!

My main machine is a 2006 Mac Pro 1.1 upgraded to 8 cores with 32gb ram and an SSD running El Capitan as fast as modern machine!

Doubles as a space heater too! (Actually I'm sure that's why it still works; the room gets hot but the computer doesn't, i.e. it has proper cooling!
 
Hi!

Was looking for this kind of info and found this old thread. After having read it, with much interest, I really feel that it should be woken up again, since it is obvious (after reading this thread) that basically every computer "need" can be satisfied with an (often surprisingly) old Mac. I hope more people can add their experiences with Mac models from around 2010-2013 since they are starting to turn old (I guess that some are more reliable than others, and I would like to know :)).


I want to add some love for the 2010 13" MacBook, the last of the white plastic laptops. I own four, all upgraded to 8 Gig of RAM. Three of them are used almost daily (I use one and my kids have one each). I also have a MBP15 late-13, but I almost only use it when I have a specific reason to (serious Excel and some gaming), rest of the time it just easier/feels better to pick up the white 13".

So whats good about the 2010 white Macbook?
- It just works. Have bought all of them second hand, one has a glitchy backspace-key, one has a loose rubber backplate, they are all worn, but all works without any issues. I got a sneaky feeling that they will still work in 5+ years. (Will try to remember to check back to this thread then... :)).
- It is surprisingly capable! It runs High Sierra (10.13)(cannot update to higher OSX). It can basically function as your only computer if you don't have any specific needs for power, and can be a little patient with heavy webpages. Me and my kids play lots of Minecraft on them. I can even play Heroes of the Storm on it (or could last year at least when I last tried it, only real issue was with the mouse driver that for some reason had problems when moving the cursor in one specific direction)(it should be noted that HotS seems to be exceptionally well programmed because similar games does not work half as well).
- It is so silent! I recently played Minecraft with my brother, who has a MBP13 late-13 (or early-14?), and his fans were all over the place while none of my white MacBooks spinns up doing the same thing. Same when I play HotS - more noise from my MBP15 (late-13).
- Its cheap. It was a budget model when it came (no firewire, no SD...) so it has never been expensive I guess. The last ~five years the second hand price has been around 1000-2500SEK (~$US150-300), but if it does not have 8 Gig of RAM then you really should buy that as well.

Downsides?
- You really should/need to install 8 gig of RAM, otherwise it will have a hard time in my experience. But the change is easy enough for most people (tiny screwdriver/pocket knife point). I guess it would be nice to install an SSD, but I have not felt the need to spend time/money on it because it works very well with the standard 5200rpm HDD (true, I avoid running many applications at the same time, and I choose to live with the startup times).
- No firewire or SD-slot (but the MBP13 2010 has them, and I guess that model is equal to the white macbook in all other aspects since they have the exact same stats, appart from the aluminium casing which I think hinders the wifi signal more than the plastic (or so I have read) but of course no more than on all other aluminium MacBooks).
- Be patient when it updates to a higher OSX...
- Don't confuse this model with the 2009 model... they are more or less identical, appart from the graphics card, but where the 2010 GeForce 320M seems to be the reason for many of the qualities of this model.
 
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My iMac g3, Powermac g4 and Mac Pro 2010 are all still sailing along fine. In fact the 2010 Mac Pro has been my main machine all this time as only this autumn will there be possible replacement for it.
 
I had a 6115(?) that I replaced with the armed iMac, then got a Mac Pro 3,1, replaced two years ago by a used 5,1, and had a couple Mac Minis as well. The only ones that ever have been a problem are the minis. The first one had to have its motherboard replaced after a year, that may have been my fault as it was placed on a flat surface, but once fixed, I got a cradle and it was a workhorse until late last year when the video chip died. I have heard of more problems with Mac Minis I think than any other Apple computer, but it seems rather clear that putting that one down flat just does not serve it well if it sees a lot of service. Long live Mac.
 
I still run a 2004 G5 power mac as a secondary to my 2010 Mac Pro. Granted they both have newer ram, HDDs and graphics cards, but no problems otherwise. They were both bought used so i didnt pay that much either.

One thing that i do is clean out all the dust from the inside every year. Some forget to do so.
 
velocityg4 said:
Not a Mac. But the Apple IIe was an incredibly reliable computer. Many were still in service in schools 20 years after they came out. Just think of the abuse they took from all those students and kept on chugging. Heck they may still be in use. That's just the last I've seen of them.
Click to expand...
 
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that has been running 24/7 since the day it was unboxed. It has only had two boot drive replacements and one third party RAM stick died a few years in which I replaced under warranty.

Loaded with the X1900 card and Apple Raid card and 16GB of RAM.

Other than keeping it in a temperature controlled and low dust environment, on a UPS and scheduled cleanings of the insides and fans it's been absolutely rock solid machine.

13 years of constant powered on duty with no failures other than what I mentioned. I think that is pretty amazing.
 
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