i know everyone says macs last forever compared to windows systems. does that mean my new santa rosa 2.4 ghz 2 gig mbp will last me all 4 years of college if im majoring in graphic design? thanks
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.
will my mbp last 4 years?
- Thread starter greenbreadmmm
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you take care of it, it should last you for four years. Many people still have older PowerBooks that haven't broken yet. If you're planning on keeping it that long, you should buy AppleCare.
but speed wise, i hear they dont get as bogged down as quick, so like will it be super slow by my 4th year? i dont know if this is making sense, but i heard macs wont feel as old as they are with osx compared to windows
You're correct. I still end up wiping my machines routinely on an annual basis, but that's always been something I've done. OS X is built to know how to maintain itself.
A word of advice, though: I would suggest staying away from theming, Unsanity hacks, etc., as those tend to bog a system down. They're no different to some other monstrosity like WindowBlinds on lolwindows, and Aqua is more beautiful than any theme. ;p I speak from experience.
A word of advice, though: I would suggest staying away from theming, Unsanity hacks, etc., as those tend to bog a system down. They're no different to some other monstrosity like WindowBlinds on lolwindows, and Aqua is more beautiful than any theme. ;p I speak from experience.
You know, I still have my PBG4 1.5 Gh from 2004, and it's running fine. I dropped it a couple of times and had to replace the power cord; it's been very resilient; once I sent it back to Apple b/c it kept on eating CDs and wouldn't spit them out.
Other than that, no problems. I bought a Mac Pro to run Logic efficiently (it was slow on the PB), but I anticipate still having the PB for several more years, hopefully. I can still run Photoshop and work with PDF documents in Adobe 8, do standard Word procerssing, web surfing, etc.
When OSX 10.5 comes out, I'll buy a family pack, so I can put it on both computers. I think the tell-tale time to get another laptop is when you runout of room to add the new iteration of OSX.
Other than that, no problems. I bought a Mac Pro to run Logic efficiently (it was slow on the PB), but I anticipate still having the PB for several more years, hopefully. I can still run Photoshop and work with PDF documents in Adobe 8, do standard Word procerssing, web surfing, etc.
When OSX 10.5 comes out, I'll buy a family pack, so I can put it on both computers. I think the tell-tale time to get another laptop is when you runout of room to add the new iteration of OSX.
I'm beginning to see now what these folks are talking about. I have a new sr mbp and I've thrown some processor and graphic intensive apps at it and it's chewin' them up. Granted, some apps run a bit slower, i.e. Final Cut Pro 2, but that expected when you consider this notebook isn't a workstation like the Mac Pros. But for an extremely mobile and powerful piece of kit, I have no fears that this mbp will be totally obsolete anytime soon.
I guess it was hungry.
Anyway, I've had my MBP for a year and if it continues like it has, I should be able to get another 3-4 years out of it.
Of course it won't be the latest and greatest available. Computer technology changes so quickly these days. However, if you take care of it, the MBP will last you for many years.
My PowerBook is almost 4 years old. I still expect to be using it a few more years.
Technology moves forward at the same speed no matter which brand your computer has, so it will be slower.
Stuff which rely on heavy calculation such as graphics, animation, games will get the same performance hit no matter what OS they run under.
Where people say macs work better are with older/new os revisions on old hardware, but then you can run Win98 on a say Pentium 233 just fine aswell but do people? And everyone and there dog seems to suggest that a mac gets "so much faster" with more ram, so obviously it's not low on ram resources either, it might work but you will prefer to use it with more.
Anyway I would have no troubles using a four year old machines except for games, so I don't see any problems with it aslong as it still functions.
Almost. It will last you 3 years and 201 days. You're going to drop it on the way to class one morning.
But that's OK since there will be something even better to replace it.
My 1G mac mini is still working after almost 4 years, and it is the bottom line mac that has been opened up and moved from place to place by a clumsy teenage boy!
I am running Win98 on a Pentium 633 as my main and do not recomend it! 9 years is pushing it for a PC. A ten minute start up time and being limited to word processing and internet is not good. I am guessing Macs are not this bad.
get insurance also
Applecare won't cover accidents, theft, etc. If you get insurance from someplace like Safeware, you'll be covered for losses or damage that might otherwise end your MBP's life earlier than expected...
I always insure laptops for the first couple of years, though I've never had to make a claim. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. Last time I checked, Safeware had a pretty good reputation.
Applecare won't cover accidents, theft, etc. If you get insurance from someplace like Safeware, you'll be covered for losses or damage that might otherwise end your MBP's life earlier than expected...
I always insure laptops for the first couple of years, though I've never had to make a claim. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. Last time I checked, Safeware had a pretty good reputation.