Longest you've had a "daily/heavy use" laptop? (1 Viewer)

[[icon]]

Was just running some tests on my trusty MacBook Pro and realized it's 5 and a half years old. It has been seeing probably an average of 4-5 hours a day of use over that window (~10,000 hours of use) including full time duty for the last two years as my primary work computer as well as travel/home machine.

I've had to replace the battery, swapped in a SSD (solid state hard drive) and bumped up the memory a bit, but otherwise it's still the same old machine. Processor is slow by today's standards (2.53 Ghz Core 2 Duo) but this thing is still snappy as hell with some pretty intensive use (2-3 GB photoshop files, usually have 8-10 applications running on 4 screens, etc).

Aluminum shell is dented / dinged in many of locations. One screw holding the base in is stripped and MIA. One of the rubber feet has fallen off along the way... but as a guy who used to need a new plastic Dell Craptop every 18-24 months, I can't believe how well this thing has held up.

Anyone else out there have a warhorse of a laptop that's been to hell and back and is still trucking?

 

[fantasycurse42]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

 

[Spin]

My Lenovo is on it's last leg. It's at a little over 3 years now. The hinge is breaking on it. Once it goes I'll trade it in for one of the fancy Dell's that my company is giving the new hires.

 

[[icon]]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

I used to buy cheapest Dell I could find (~$500-600ea) and always had issues with cases breaking, power jacks failing, keyboards dying, etc. One or two drops or trips over the power cord while getting up and the thing was done. Used to do a low level format and re-install OS/APPS once every 12 months or so to freshen it up. To be fair I was buying cheap and I'm pretty certain many other manufacturers have stepped up their game with better quality machines these days.

 

[Fat Nick]

Almost 7 years. Got a mid-level Dell Laptop for graduate school in 2007. Gave me tons of problems at first. 2 failed motherboards due to overheating. Replaced under extended warrantee that was part of the purchase program I used to get it for school.

Almost replaced it in 2010, but decided to just put in a new HD, Windows 7, and a new N-wireless card. Windows 7 was so much lighter than the previous OS. Ran great. STILL runs great. Amazingly, the battery will still hold a charge for a little over an hour. I still use it for all my PC-specific software (car tuning software, various terminal based programs, etc...)

Replaced it with an iMac desktop mid-way through 2014 simply because the wife wanted a bigger screen to deal with pictures of our new son. iMac has a beautiful display, but it's my 1st Mac, and I feel completely incompetent in that OS.

 

[[icon]]

I've had my work laptop for 5 years. It was a year old when I got it. Still running XP.

It's my "desktop" computer though. I don't take it mobile anymore.

ETA: Still runs great, but I'm the IT guy.

This is a big factor.

I've had friends who have brought machines to me that are 9 months old that are running like they swapped in a 486 processor. It's amazing how stupid the average user is when it comes to gunking up the works (software wise) of a machine.

Curious about physical durability as well... road warrior machines.

 

[Gawain]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

I used to buy cheapest Dell I could find (~$500-600ea) and always had issues with cases breaking, power jacks failing, keyboards dying, etc. One or two drops or trips over the power cord while getting up and the thing was done. Used to do a low level format and re-install OS/APPS once every 12 months or so to freshen it up. To be fair I was buying cheap and I'm pretty certain many other manufacturers have stepped up their game with better quality machines these days.

But I can buy 3 to 5 crappy laptops for the same price as the Macbook. Sure the first one won't compare, but the one I buy in 18 months will be speced close to the Mac and the next couple will be more powerful.

And if I get three years out of one of them I'm a few hundred to the good.

 

[urbanhack]

i'm going on 5 years with a Dell that has multiple batteries and a new hard drive. This is with 8 to 9 hours of use per day and commuting in a back pack either on public transportation or biking.

I should be getting a brand new by the end of the month.

 

[Slapdash]

The longest any Windows laptop made it was 3 years. These manufactures just make such ####ty parts for the power jack, screen, and keyboards. Went with a MacBook Air last time, but the new models are not upgradable. OSX is a pain, but so is having a laptop die every 18 months.

 

[[icon]]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

I used to buy cheapest Dell I could find (~$500-600ea) and always had issues with cases breaking, power jacks failing, keyboards dying, etc. One or two drops or trips over the power cord while getting up and the thing was done. Used to do a low level format and re-install OS/APPS once every 12 months or so to freshen it up. To be fair I was buying cheap and I'm pretty certain many other manufacturers have stepped up their game with better quality machines these days.

But I can buy 3 to 5 crappy laptops for the same price as the Macbook. Sure the first one won't compare, but the one I buy in 18 months will be speced close to the Mac and the next couple will be more powerful.

And if I get three years out of one of them I'm a few hundred to the good.

I'd like this to not turn into the usual PC/MAC flame war as I've been on both sides (used to build my own PCs), but my GF paid $1300 for this machine 5.5 years ago. I'm sorry but you're not getting 3-5 of anything that will run anywhere close to this machine even 5.5 years later.... 5 mins on this lowly 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo would convince anyone that processor speed isn't the only factor in machine performance

Anyways... I don't fault anyone who prefers the disposable machine path. Just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

I used to buy cheapest Dell I could find (~$500-600ea) and always had issues with cases breaking, power jacks failing, keyboards dying, etc. One or two drops or trips over the power cord while getting up and the thing was done. Used to do a low level format and re-install OS/APPS once every 12 months or so to freshen it up. To be fair I was buying cheap and I'm pretty certain many other manufacturers have stepped up their game with better quality machines these days.

But I can buy 3 to 5 crappy laptops for the same price as the Macbook. Sure the first one won't compare, but the one I buy in 18 months will be speced close to the Mac and the next couple will be more powerful.

And if I get three years out of one of them I'm a few hundred to the good.

Sadly I agree...

Company gave me a fully loaded Macbook Pro in the summer of 13. It is already on the slight decline. Longer loads and freezes on occasion. It is a work computer, so outside of some basic surfing and picture storage (and obviously work), I don't use it for anything else either.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Buying cheap definitely has an effect. Of course the $300 Walmart special laptop is going to fall apart after 18 months. I used to tell people to stop buying the cheap consumer grade Dells and get the business class line. The old IBM Thinkpads were great workhorses that could last you 5 years easily. Of course, they'd be slow by the current standards, but they generally had good build quality and wouldn't be falling apart if they were taken care of.

 

[Gawain]

Never had a daily use laptop go more than 3-3.5 years before turning to such #### it needed to be replaced.

I used to buy cheapest Dell I could find (~$500-600ea) and always had issues with cases breaking, power jacks failing, keyboards dying, etc. One or two drops or trips over the power cord while getting up and the thing was done. Used to do a low level format and re-install OS/APPS once every 12 months or so to freshen it up. To be fair I was buying cheap and I'm pretty certain many other manufacturers have stepped up their game with better quality machines these days.

But I can buy 3 to 5 crappy laptops for the same price as the Macbook. Sure the first one won't compare, but the one I buy in 18 months will be speced close to the Mac and the next couple will be more powerful.

And if I get three years out of one of them I'm a few hundred to the good.

I'd like this to not turn into the usual PC/MAC flame war as I've been on both sides (used to build my own PCs), but my GF paid $1300 for this machine 5.5 years ago. I'm sorry but you're not getting 3-5 of anything that will run anywhere close to this machine even 5.5 years later.... 5 mins on this lowly 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo would convince anyone that processor speed isn't the only factor in machine performance

Anyways... I don't fault anyone who prefers the disposable machine path. Just wanted to throw that out there.

If you're good with computers you can probably keep just about anything going for much longer than I can.

For me though, the most I want to do is download a decent ant-virus and maybe replace a battery. If I have to unscrew anything I'm paralyzed by indecision. For that, the two years I get out of a $400 Toshiba is just about perfect.

I did use the wife's Macbook Pro for a while after my previous PC died because she got an Air and it was a nice machine.

 

[[icon]]

Buying cheap definitely has an effect. Of course the $300 Walmart special laptop is going to fall apart after 18 months. I used to tell people to stop buying the cheap consumer grade Dells and get the business class line. The old IBM Thinkpads were great workhorses that could last you 5 years easily. Of course, they'd be slow by the current standards, but they generally had good build quality and wouldn't be falling apart if they were taken care of.

Agreed here... on both the Consumer grade Dells and the old IBM Thinkpads being pretty damn robust machines. I have no frame of reference on quality since Lenovo took over, though.

 

[Gachi]

I've had my 15 inch MacBook pro almost 5 years. The battery is basically nonexistent at this point and sometimes it lags but other than that it's in great condition.

I've known people to shell out hundreds of dollars getting their macs fixed, but I've been lucky I guess. And it still looks brand new, not a scratch on it.

In the future I want a windows desktop.

 

[Steve Tasker]

My daily-use MacBook is just over 7 years now....got it in December 2007. Used to use it heavily in college through 2009, and it's been used a little less since then. Mostly some home Microsoft Office functions, music, and internet browsing now. It's gotten a little slower over the years but still runs okay. Never had a virus/security problem that I know of. The wireless stopped working about 3 years ago...I used to be able to jump-start it by resetting the PRAM but that stopped working, so now it's a wired machine only. Physically it's okay...some nicks and scratches, some of the letter keys are chipped to where you can't read the letter anymore, I've had the battery warp a little bit on the bottom but it still runs fine.

I've been saying I am going to get a new one for about a year now, but just haven't really had the urgent "need" to replace it yet. I fell behind on software updates many years ago and am now starting to get into the "your operating system is not supported" problems...that's my fault though, not the machine's fault.

 

[[icon]]

For me though, the most I want to do is download a decent ant-virus and maybe replace a battery.

One perk of Mac... haven't ever run antivirus, anti-spyware software on this or my MacPro workstation at home. Combination of running OSX and a little common sense when it comes to opening attachments / clicking links diminishes a lot of the BS thank harms/slows computers, thankfully.

 

[[icon]]

I've had my 15 inch MacBook pro almost 5 years. The battery is basically nonexistent at this point and sometimes it lags but other than that it's in great condition.

Check out coconut battery to check capacity. Swapping the battery is actually really easy if you can use a screwdriver. Just FYI.

 

[SacramentoBob]

The wireless stopped working about 3 years ago..

This is probably a part you can replace to get working again. They aren't very expensive, and not much harder than replacing RAM.

 

[beer 30]

I've had my work laptop for 5 years. It was a year old when I got it. Still running XP.

It's my "desktop" computer though. I don't take it mobile anymore.

ETA: Still runs great, but I'm the IT guy.

This is kinda funny

 

[Fat Nick]

The wireless stopped working about 3 years ago..

This is probably a part you can replace to get working again. They aren't very expensive, and not much harder than replacing RAM.

On most systems, you can replace the wireless...even if it's internal. My Dell had the card as a little add-on that plugged into the mother board. The hardest part was finding a compatible card when I upgraded from G to N as they aren't all standard. Worst case, just get a USB wireless stick.

 

[Mr. Ected]

I've had my work laptop for 5 years. It was a year old when I got it. Still running XP.

It's my "desktop" computer though. I don't take it mobile anymore.

ETA: Still runs great, but I'm the IT guy.

This is kinda funny

It's similar to the huge list of DIY projects at the homes of construction contractors.

 

[The Commish]

We just put my wife's MacBook to rest after 3 years. It couldn't run all the things she wanted to run. She's switched over to the HP laptop that I bought a month before buying her MacBook. It seems to me that if you're simply running word processing, graphic design types of software, the MacBooks will last forever. It becomes a problem (in terms of processing it seems) when you want to do a little bit of everything where those things struggle. Of course, I generally keep a laptop from 5-7 years with no problems. Over that time, I MIGHT have to reformat once because of some new virus or some such. I really don't understand what people do to their machines that they are turning them over every 18 months. Stick with HP or IBM (shocking I know) and you'll have a machine that lasts a long time.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I have an early 2008 MBP I still use as my daily machine. I recently bought it a new OEM battery, over-RAM'd it and upgraded to an SSD (I figured this was a good $300 bandaid that may get me another year out of this thing).

It occurred to me a couple nights ago that this thing was creeping up on 7 years old.

 

[TheAristocrat]

Current laptop is 18 months old. I use it everyday for work whether I'm in the office or not.

 

[[icon]]

We just put my wife's MacBook to rest after 3 years. It couldn't run all the things she wanted to run. She's switched over to the HP laptop that I bought a month before buying her MacBook. It seems to me that if you're simply running word processing, graphic design types of software, the MacBooks will last forever. It becomes a problem (in terms of processing it seems) when you want to do a little bit of everything where those things struggle.

This is an odd (and IMO Incorrect) perception. Not just coming to defense of Macs here... just wanted to address the myth in general.

A processor itself simply does work.. doesn't matter if it's running powerpoint, processing an graphics file, using Office, browsing the web, etc. There's not really any software types that will "wear out" a processor more quickly. This is particularly of note now given that Mac's use the same Intel-based processors that PC's use (and have for the better part of a decade).

The older perception that mac's were "better" for graphic design extended (I believe) from the old PowerPC processors being slightly quicker with floating point type calculations that are more common with graphics software. (keep in mind these calculations being slightly different doesn't make them induce more wear on processors per previous point).

IMO that had LESS of an impact than two other factors:

1) Mac's OS has traditionally been more optimized for a lot of the file-management and system tasks associated with design.

2) Adobe's development for Mac's OS traditionally was ahead of the PC development. That's no longer true IMO.

These days, both Mac and WinTel machines make excellent "Graphics" machines. OS preference is the primary factor.

With regards to the "little bit of everything"... multitasking shouldn't slow down any machine (aside from short term resource limitations). Running a mix of Office, Design, Music, Image, Web applications will have no structural / long term impact on the performance of the system.

NOt sure what your wife did to the machine to cause latency/slowdown issues... and I don't doubt that some surfaced. Just that it wasn't because of not running graphics applications only.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

We just put my wife's MacBook to rest after 3 years. It couldn't run all the things she wanted to run. She's switched over to the HP laptop that I bought a month before buying her MacBook. It seems to me that if you're simply running word processing, graphic design types of software, the MacBooks will last forever. It becomes a problem (in terms of processing it seems) when you want to do a little bit of everything where those things struggle. Of course, I generally keep a laptop from 5-7 years with no problems. Over that time, I MIGHT have to reformat once because of some new virus or some such. I really don't understand what people do to their machines that they are turning them over every 18 months. Stick with HP or IBM (shocking I know) and you'll have a machine that lasts a long time.

This is because apple stupidly/smartly ramps up each OSX release for new hardware. If you still used Snow Leopard, you'd see better performance.

 

[The Commish]

We just put my wife's MacBook to rest after 3 years. It couldn't run all the things she wanted to run. She's switched over to the HP laptop that I bought a month before buying her MacBook. It seems to me that if you're simply running word processing, graphic design types of software, the MacBooks will last forever. It becomes a problem (in terms of processing it seems) when you want to do a little bit of everything where those things struggle.

This is an odd (and IMO Incorrect) perception. Not just coming to defense of Macs here... just wanted to address the myth in general.

A processor itself simply does work.. doesn't matter if it's running powerpoint, processing an graphics file, using Office, browsing the web, etc. There's not really any software types that will "wear out" a processor more quickly. This is particularly of note now given that Mac's use the same Intel-based processors that PC's use (and have for the better part of a decade).

The older perception that mac's were "better" for graphic design extended (I believe) from the old PowerPC processors being slightly quicker with floating point type calculations that are more common with graphics software. (keep in mind these calculations being slightly different doesn't make them induce more wear on processors per previous point).

IMO that had LESS of an impact than two other factors:

1) Mac's OS has traditionally been more optimized for a lot of the file-management and system tasks associated with design.

2) Adobe's development for Mac's OS traditionally was ahead of the PC development. That's no longer true IMO.

These days, both Mac and WinTel machines make excellent "Graphics" machines. OS preference is the primary factor.

With regards to the "little bit of everything"... multitasking shouldn't slow down any machine (aside from short term resource limitations). Running a mix of Office, Design, Music, Image, Web applications will have no structural / long term impact on the performance of the system.

NOt sure what your wife did to the machine to cause latency/slowdown issues... and I don't doubt that some surfaced. Just that it wasn't because of not running graphics applications only.

I didn't say the processor itself was the problem. I am fully aware of all the junk that applications leave behind and put on hard drives that slow down the processing. Lots of junk gets put out there. In all honesty, it's my belief that her always upgrading OS versions was a significant part of the problem. It's no secret that the further Apple goes with their OS versions, the more bloated they are getting

 

[DocHolliday]

My work laptop is an almost 7-year old HP. It goes home every night as well as on my travels. Each month it takes the beating of airport travel. I cannot believe it is still working. The battery is shot but other than that it is is working order.

I have been due an upgrade since the 5 year mark but I am no hurry to give up old reliable.

 

[[icon]]

I didn't say the processor itself was the problem. I am fully aware of all the junk that applications leave behind and put on hard drives that slow down the processing. Lots of junk gets put out there. In all honesty, it's my belief that her always upgrading OS versions was a significant part of the problem. It's no secret that the further Apple goes with their OS versions, the more bloated they are getting

Actually i'm fairly certain a lot of the crap that slows down Windows machines (registry writes, etc) simply doesn't exist with OSX from what I understand. Generally speaking a "normal" uninstall of an application on Mac is much cleaner than with Windows, which can still leave behind lots of stray files, registry entries, etc.

Regarding bloated OS's.... OSX Mavericks is about half that of WIndows 8 from what I understand. That said generally speaking any OS designed for 2009 hardware will run smoother on a 2009 machine than an OS designed for 2014 hardware. That much is definitely true.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an IT guy, but have been buiding/maintaining own PC systems (mid 80s till current...limited capacity after mid 2000s, though) and Mac systems (mid 90s through current). Some of my notions may not be 100% accurate anymore.

 

[[icon]]

My work laptop is an almost 7-year old HP. It goes home every night as well as on my travels. Each month it takes the beating of airport travel. I cannot believe it is still working. The battery is shot but other than that it is is working order.

I have been due an upgrade since the 5 year mark but I am no hurry to give up old reliable.

I have a buddy who has an old HP workhorse that he loves. Thing has never let him down.

 

[[icon]]

This is because apple stupidly/smartly ramps up each OSX release for new hardware. If you still used Snow Leopard, you'd see better performance.

Currently still running snow leopard because I'm not looking to "upset the apple cart" so to speak . I can live without a lot of the new functionality of OSX Mavericks/Yosemite for now

If I were running a windows box I'd likely still be on Windows XP until forced for some reason to upgrade.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Dell Inspiron 1720 oversized monitor - going on its 7th year. Never had a problem of any kind. It's used 10-12 hours a day and has traveled the east coast several dozen times. The ESC key cap just cracked and I am now just starting to see some noticable delay in processing speed so it might be time but its been a solid machine.

 

[SIDA!]

Was just running some tests on my trusty MacBook Pro and realized it's 5 and a half years old. It has been seeing probably an average of 4-5 hours a day of use over that window (~10,000 hours of use) including full time duty for the last two years as my primary work computer as well as travel/home machine.

I've had to replace the battery, swapped in a SSD (solid state hard drive) and bumped up the memory a bit, but otherwise it's still the same old machine. Processor is slow by today's standards (2.53 Ghz Core 2 Duo) but this thing is still snappy as hell with some pretty intensive use (2-3 GB photoshop files, usually have 8-10 applications running on 4 screens, etc).

Aluminum shell is dented / dinged in many of locations. One screw holding the base in is stripped and MIA. One of the rubber feet has fallen off along the way... but as a guy who used to need a new plastic Dell Craptop every 18-24 months, I can't believe how well this thing has held up.

Anyone else out there have a warhorse of a laptop that's been to hell and back and is still trucking?

I had a Toshiba Satellite that went through a lot of abuse. I got a good 5.5 years out of it with heavier usage than yours. But it finally got to be unreliable as far as not wanting to start up that I moved on to an HP Envy dv7. Been abusing the #### out of this computer with probably at least 10 hours of use per day. Still going strong two years later and doesn't seem to be slowing down.

 

[SIDA!]

i'm going on 5 years with a Dell that has multiple batteries and a new hard drive. This is with 8 to 9 hours of use per day and commuting in a back pack either on public transportation or biking.

I should be getting a brand new by the end of the month.

That is a lot of abuse. Got to be happy it held up that long.

 

[The Commish]

I didn't say the processor itself was the problem. I am fully aware of all the junk that applications leave behind and put on hard drives that slow down the processing. Lots of junk gets put out there. In all honesty, it's my belief that her always upgrading OS versions was a significant part of the problem. It's no secret that the further Apple goes with their OS versions, the more bloated they are getting

Actually i'm fairly certain a lot of the crap that slows down Windows machines (registry writes, etc) simply doesn't exist with OSX from what I understand. Generally speaking a "normal" uninstall of an application on Mac is much cleaner than with Windows, which can still leave behind lots of stray files, registry entries, etc.

Regarding bloated OS's.... OSX Mavericks is about half that of WIndows 8 from what I understand. That said generally speaking any OS designed for 2009 hardware will run smoother on a 2009 machine than an OS designed for 2014 hardware. That much is definitely true.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an IT guy, but have been buiding/maintaining own PC systems (mid 80s till current...limited capacity after mid 2000s, though) and Mac systems (mid 90s through current). Some of my notions may not be 100% accurate anymore.

There's no question more "junk" is left behind on a windows machine than an OSx machine. Couple of reasons for that. #1, The early versions of Windows had the registry that you mentioned and application developers were lazy when it came to uninstall components. If there is MS "fault" in that, it's not being able to keep app developers from being lazy. Fortunately, registry removal tools provided by MS have helped keep the registry cleaner. Still, it's a bit of maint the end user has to do on their own. #2, there will always be "junk" left behind when new hardware is swapped in and out. It's one of the trade offs for having a very open system that can take hardware from just about any one. IMO, the registry concept wasn't very well thought out, and has caused problems since it's inception. Now there are tools to help keep those problems to a minimum but one has to take the steps on their own to keep things clean. One can argue that Apple is "closed" in their system and they'd be right, but they don't have the problems of an open system. It's all about whichever you want to manage / deal with.

 

[[icon]]

i'm going on 5 years with a Dell that has multiple batteries and a new hard drive. This is with 8 to 9 hours of use per day and commuting in a back pack either on public transportation or biking.

I should be getting a brand new by the end of the month.

That is a lot of abuse. Got to be happy it held up that long.

Yeah, I think hack's machine is current frontrunner In road warrior status... Sounds like it's been beat up pretty good to still be truckin.

 

[DocHolliday]

I am not a computer guy. What can I do to help speed up this old workhorse computer?

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I am not a computer guy. What can I do to help speed up this old workhorse computer?

Install an SSD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W02CZ2241

 

[bushdocda]

Any thoughts on how repairable my HP pro book 4540s flicking and wonky screen is?

Still working fine on external monitor.

 

[msommer]

Close to five years. I was going to upgrade it but then spilled water on it, everything got fried and I had to buy a new one

 

[Doctor Detroit]

I think my first MacBook lasted over seven years. I would have just kept using it but once they come out with years and years of new OSs and updates, it just became obsolete.

I still use it once in a while if the woman is on the primary. Still ok for surfing and it's nine years old!

 

[[icon]]

Going on about 6 years with my MacBook Pro. Upgraded ram, swapped battery,and added two SSD'sbut otherwise it's cranking along great. Been my daily work computer for 3 years as well. Love this machine.

 

[FBG26]

I've got an Acer with a Core 2 duo that I bought in the Fall of 2006 and used everyday until Fall of 2012. I upgraded when I went to grad school, but the old Acer still gets used every now and then. Still runs just fine for basic tasks, but it boots up pretty slowly.

 

[KiddLattimer]

My early 2011 macbook pro is still going strong and I'm self employed and work at home so I basically use it whenever I'm awake.

I bumped the memory up and installed 2 SSD's (first one died and lost everything - F*** you Samsung) but it still runs like a champ.

 

[thecatch]

Still running a 2010 HP. Other than having to replace the battery it's been great.

 

[Bottomfeeder Sports]

Posting from an HP Pavillion DV6000 purchased late 2006 or early 2007. Was chosen simply because I ran my finger across the space above the keyboard on the display model and it was the only one that was cool. Three previous laptops had all lasted about 3 years before the constant overheating killed them. Starting to get slow, but it was reviewed as being slow in 2006.

Still with stock everything except replace hard drive with SSD and replaced power supply with generic one.

 

[Nugget]

2.5 years max

 

[pollardsvision]

I've had my work laptop for 5 years. It was a year old when I got it. Still running XP.

It's my "desktop" computer though. I don't take it mobile anymore.

ETA: Still runs great, but I'm the IT guy.

This is a big factor.

I've had friends who have brought machines to me that are 9 months old that are running like they swapped in a 486 processor. It's amazing how stupid the average user is when it comes to gunking up the works (software wise) of a machine.

Curious about physical durability as well... road warrior machines.

I'm one of these idiots. I don't think I've ever had a laptop last more than 3 years, and they start slowing down within the first couple of months. Learning to keep them properly maintained is not something I've ever been terribly interested in.

That's why I now use Chromebooks. 6 months in, they still run like day 1, and I've never done any maintenance or whatever it was I always neglected to do with PC's that screwed them up.

I will keep a ####ty PC around as print server until my old, but good, laser printer dies and I get a cloud printer. Outside of that, I never plan on owning anything that's not a Chromebook (or whatever the Android laptops will be called).

 

[sports_fan]

The longest I've ever had a laptop is 3 years with my current ASUS. It runs hot at times but still works very well for basic tasks.