How long do laptops last?

[woo me with science]

We're leaning toward a desktop because of concerns about the longevity of laptops. We really can't afford to buy a new computer every couple of years.

How long did your laptop last, what went wrong finally, and what brand was it?

[Earth Bound Misfit]

1. A laptop could last a few months or 10 years.

The average life of a well-maintained laptop is about three to five years, IMO. There are several factors including the quality of the hardware, and the type, care and usage of the laptop. Cheaper models are built with cheaper materials, so if you're looking for a computer that will last three to five years or longer, invest in a laptop with quality hardware. Some manufacturers use the cheapest hardware for the cheapest laptops. It is all replaceable, but at what cost? If your motherboard fails in two years, do you really want to spend $200-400 on a new one for outdated equipment? Most people would just buy a new laptop. Parts like the battery and graphics card can be overused, and the warranty won't cover anything that stops working from normal use.

Regular care will help your laptop last longer. Regularly clean it or take it in to have the dust removed from the fan, keep liquids away from it, keep the monitor clean. Never set your computer on soft surfaces like your bed, overheating will cause laptop performance to quickly deteriorate. Don't set it on a carpet, the fibers will work their way into the case and degrade the performance and life of the laptop. Be careful with the cord that charges the computer: they can easily wear out when bent beside the laptop's plug-in slot.

Computers used for gaming wear out the hardware faster than those used for simple office work/ and or/ browsing. Try not to overwork the computer -- the parts can burn out. Also make sure you do not leave it running constantly, and avoid running it from the battery to get a longer lifespan. With great care, a laptop can easily last three years, and in some cases can last 10 years or more. It all depends on how well you protect it.

I'm posting this message on a 5yr old Dell 2200 (Win XP Home) laptop and the original hard drive just crapped out on me about 2 months ago. I replaced the HDD with this one, cost me only 50 bucks and it runs like new, Other than that, I've had no problems with it, but then again I'm a bit fanatical about it's maintenance. I have a second laptop (Gateway NV59C, Win 7 64 bit, 320 GB HDD) that I use for all my "heavy lifting" (gaming, etc.)

Macs seem to last longer than PCs, but cost more upfront. I can't speak from experience, since I've never owned a Mac. I have a friend who has a Mac that's 10 years old.

Hope this helps!

[woo me with science]

4. Lots of great information here.

I really appreciate it, especially the tips on care. I have never really "maintained" my desktops in a physical way beyond making sure the external cases aren't dusty and clogged with animal hair.

I am bookmarking this - thanks.

[DainBramaged]

8. There are so any falsehoods in your OP it's hard to dispute them all

This was the funniest of the worst:

Computers used for gaming wear out the hardware faster than those used for simple office work/ and or/ browsing.

I have an 11 year old Gateway desktop that I use for WEEKLY forays back to the days of DOS gaming. Original PIII processor, a 20GB hard drive I UPGRADED to in 2003 in another computer and moved to that system because it was 5200 RPM rather than 4500, and an ancient GForce 200 AGP video card. What happens to gaming computers is the demands laid on them by newer games forces hardware upgrades to keep up with the software technology advances. I have computers at work that blow up after a couple of years because they run 24/7 365 without ever being turned off.

And for the record, I have a 10 year old Compaq PIII 400 laptop I JUST found memory for on EBay that I upgraded and gave to my sweetie's God son who is six to learn about computers. And the ORIGINAL BATTERY still lasts about 45 minutes.

People replace computers because they either are no longer functioning due to software pollution (malware and spam, trojans etc) or they want, just like cars, the newest and fastest, even though ALL they need is an internet appliance. And $250 netbooks solved that need for millions.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

9. Meh!

I have computers at work that blow up after a couple of years because they run 24/7 365 without ever being turned off...I have a 10 year old Compaq PIII 400 laptop...


Try not to overwork the computer -- the parts can burn out. Also make sure you do not leave it running constantly....With great care, a laptop can easily last three years, and in some cases can last 10 years or more.

Is there an echo in here? Welcome to

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[hobbit709]

10. I have 4 systems here that run 24/7 without any problems.

Occasionally one freezes due to the typical glitch but works fine after a reset. The only time they have been shut down in the last couple of years is when there was a power failure. I have one other system and a laptop that I occasionally leave on because I got distracted and forgot to shut it down. My main system has a 3.2GHz Phenom II BE X4 overclocked to 4 GHz-idle temp stays at about 30°C and when I'm working it might climb to 35°

"I need a new computer because mine just slows down and won't run fast anymore" is what I hear from people all the time. so I pull all the data to an external drive, do a wipe and clean reinstall of Windows. Tweak the settings after doing SP and selective updates and people are amazed. They tell me it wasn't that fast when they first got it-which is because all the prebuilt ones are bogged down with crap.

My first laptop had a 60 gig hard drive with only 32 gigs free space right out of the box. By the time I finished decrapifying it and tweaking settings it had 50 gigs of free space.

[woo me with science]

18. That's good to know.

It's important to me to be able to run the computer a lot, rather than only occasionally.

We actually decrapify pretty obsessively, so crapware isn't the issue here. I want to be able to run some programs that my limited RAM won't currently allow.

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I appreciate it very much.

[DaveJ]

2. No issues so far

I have a 5 year old Dell latitude still running strong, and replaced it for a new Dell Inspiron. We'll see if the consumer model lasts as long as the Latitude.

I will keep the warranty going no matter what. Even a high quality machine can have a defect (or can be dropped -- not sure if that's covered). IMO, the warranty is a MUST and should be factored in with the cost.

[woo me with science]

5. I have never purchased a computer warranty.

Interesting to hear that you have found them helpful. We've always had desktops, and none of them have had significant hardware problems.

With a laptop, I might have to be more cautious.

Thank you.

[canetoad]

7. Me neither

there's something about those little factory sealed tabs that drive me nuts :rofl:

[hobbit709]

3. I've seen quite a few that are pushing 10 and still working.

I know one person that has an old IBM with a 366 MHz Pentium II and 160 Mb RAM. It has Windows 2000 on it and does what he wants. He's a musician and takes it on the road with him to check email and write songs on the word processor. His attitude is that if it gets lost, broken or stolen on the road, he's out $50. He has a fancy laptop that he uses when he's in town.

Most people start thinking they need a new computer because the old one has gotten slow. It hasn't slowed down from the hardware slowing down. It's slowed down because Windows inherently crapifies itself and gets bogged down.

[woo me with science]

6. I do like a bare bones computer.

I think your friend's approach is great. I'm obsessive about malware, so I like to have a pared down, quiet system. If anything is going through my firewall, I like to notice it.

This one was purchased years ago, refurbished, so it's old as computers go. It probably could survive a while longer for things like email, but some new projects of mine are making me eager to get something a little faster and more powerful.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

[RoyGBiv]

12. I still have mine ...

... bought it in 1998. It works. I mean, it's a really old processer with 64MB of RAM running Windows 98, but it works. It was a Compaq.

Don't get bogged down in brands. They're all made by a very few companies. You want to look at specifications and not go cheap if you want it to last awhile.

I did have to replace the keyboard after dropping some crap on it that screwed it up, and I replaced the hard drive at some point because 1GB was just too small.

What Earth Bound Misfit said is pretty much on target. As he implies, heat is a major problem with laptops, and heat kills the parts over time, which is why you don't want to leave them on all the time. Running modern games that tax the processor and graphics chip draw more power, thus generate more heat. This is one reason a gaming laptop tends not to last as long.

In my experience, most people I've run across with dead laptops had them die due to dropping them and cracking the mobo or monitor, or they spilled something on the keyboard.

[woo me with science]

15. Thanks.

This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I appreciate it. :)

[hunter]

13. I'm posting this on a ten year old DELL laptop.

It's got a windows 98 license sticker, but I'm running linux.

Some damage has been repaired with duct tape and hot glue. Otherwise it's solid.

I've added memory and a wireless card.

[woo me with science]

16. Very nice.

Maybe I will head over to Computer Renaissance.

[blogslut]

14. I'm a huge fan of old IBM machines

My first laptop, I bought used. It is a Thinkpad 560X - released in 1998. It still works like a charm. I did have to replace the keyboard after about three years of use. The only reason I don't use it now is because it just got to be too slow with 65MB max RAM and a 133MGHZ chip.

My desktop is a NetVista All-In-One - released in 2002. I use it as my media center, meaning I stream live feeds and watch Netflix Instant on it. It's still a nice little workhorse but prefer to do that stuff on my laptop.

I had a couple of A-Model Thinkpads and each one did fine for a couple of years but I stopped using them because the hardware components that crapped out cost more than just getting another Thinkpad from EBay.

My current laptop is a Thinkpad T23 - released in 2001. I got it (sans OS) from an online dealer for $75.00. I love, love, love it. I've had it for almost a year and not one single problem. It runs XP and with a PCMCIA card, connects to my wireless router like a dream. I need to bump the RAM up to its max 1GB, which will be ironic because the RAM will probably cost me as much as the machine did.

[woo me with science]

17. Wow.

I never thought of buying a computer without an OS. If they can be had for 75 bucks, that would be a pretty good deal.

It seems a lot of people are replacing laptop keyboards.

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.

[CabalPowered]

21. T23 is a classic

Spare parts are still readily available. It's a keeper. :thumbsup:

[blogslut]

23. I simply adore it

:hi:

[canetoad]

19. FWIW, here's what I think

First, consider your habits and lifestyle. Are you happy sitting at a desk, machine permanently in one spot? If so, go for a desktop. If you feel that you would like more mobility, the ability to move the machine around, take it out with you - well it's obvious, you should go for a laptop.

Although I have a laptop, it's rarely used - only if I need to take some work to show, or amuse myself while waiting. The bulk of the work is done at the desk so I have room for plates, glasses, ashtrays, calculators and all the other crap you need when you work on a computer.

When purchasing a desktop, I go for not the highest-end, but close to it, gaming machine; not because I play many games, but because I need good graphics and a gutsy machine for handling them. I plan on the machine lasting 5 or 6 years, so it's worth spending a bit of money.

I never buy package deals ie: system, monitor, speakers, desktop, OS as a bundle. Shop around for a 'box only' deal. Add your own monitor and gadgets. You may feel like building your own but the cost savings are less than $100 (AuD) and the build charges are the same if you buy an El-Cheapo or a top end machine.

I think the case is very important and needs to be reasonable quality with plenty of cooling and a layout that lets you get to the innards easily if you need to replace a part. You'll have to live with it for several years too. It should be easy on the eye.

I already own 3 copies of Win XP so I load it up and ring Microsoft for activation. I put on my old-and-in-the-way voice, tell them that I can't understand why my computer is giving me this activation message after my nephew fixed it. They are always happy to give me a new activation number.

I rarely turn my machines off - less stress on the drives, less aggravation waiting for boot. I doubt if I'd do this with a laptop and risk the chance of overheating. IMO leaving a desktop running extends it's life, the opposite for a laptop.

In conclusion Woo Me, I'd say your main decision is lifestyle. What breed of computing machine best fits in with the way you live.

[Betty88]

20. I have a 6 year old laptop works great

If you buy well made products and take care with them they can last quite a while. The only reason I ever have had to buy a new laptop or desktop for that matter is when the hardware can no longer keep up with the software I'm using. Mostly its gaming that makes me upgrade. Sooner or later the old processor just cant keep up with the requirements of what ever I'm playing.

Lately I have found that my old laptop is beginning to show its age. The graphics cant keep up with some of the streaming, things get jerky or pages with bunches of adds slow it down. With a little tweeking I will get another year or two from it. At this point its just a web/email/light office machine.

The nice thing about a desk top is that the parts are much simpler to upgrade. So memory can be added, new hard drive, better video card so in that respect you can get more life out of a well built desktop. I find that once the processor is outdated its time for a new system, money wise its not worth it to me anyway to upgrade the processor.

[pokerfan]

22. It's hard to say

but I will say this: it's a lot easier to fix a desktop, usually by swapping out the broken component. And desktops are cheaper: for the price of a decent laptop, you could buy a desktop and a netbook (or possibly a tablet). Then if/when the netbook dies down the road, you're only out a couple hundred bucks or so.