Notebook life?

What is the maximun life-span of a new notebook? Just want to know if purchase a $3,000 is wothy or not

 

The notebook itself is going to last over 7 years. The problem is that once you buy it, it will soon be outdated in terms of processing power and the GPU among other things. But do not fear buying the 3k notebook. It will last you as long as you're willing to hold off buying that next notebook. It's not like in a week it's going to become useless. If you want it and you can afford it, then buy it and be happy. Don't sit there waiting for the perfect notebook.

 

it depends on what your definition is: life-span as in when will it stop working? or when will it be useless in terms of specs?

i chose 7+ yrs, btw, as i'm no hardcore gamer (i'm assuming gaming to be THE main reason why people need to upgrade all the time), and so for me, for both definitions of life-span, 7+ yrs fits.

 

It depends what you are using the notebook for.

I still see folks using pentium class notebooks regularly because all they care about are typing reports.

Gaming is very different though, because tons of new GPUs (and another generation of them) come roughly every year. Unfortunately this is when notebooks get aged quickly because newest games run on best details with the most recent GPUs. Hardcore gamers are very picky with smooth and detailed running of newest games.

I'm no psychic, so I would abstain from voting for now.

 

Keep in mind, if you're buying a new notebook and realize that it's outdated 3 months from now, my best advice is to restrain yourself from upgrading (buying a new notebook) by keeping in mind that your notebook is still doing what it's intended to do. Psychologically, 3 months later, all of us want the latest and greatest, but the reality is your $3000 investment is still going to function like when you bought it new 3 months ago.

Buy a new computer when it's absolutely necessary (ie. the computer is slow that it's unbearable, you need something lighter to carry around with you, etc.).

 

it could last more than 7 years... however by that time i'm sure you have replace some of it's parts... and have dealt with bunch of problems....

 

I could see my notebooks lasting 4+ years; the thing is, my needs will probably change in 2-3 years, and the technology will have advanced enough by then (along with my battery wearing out by then) to warrant getting a new notebook.

 

What i mean is that will a new notebook last in term of it's specs. I'm just a mediumcore gamer

Thanks.

 

it is actually a number you didnt put up, 4 years.

 

i hope my 7 month old laptop lasts me more then 5 years...

 

well in turms of physically somewhere around 6-7 years but as far as specs are concerned i would say maximum 4-5 years as by then there would be newer technological advncements and way better processors and gpus who knows what not

 

In my experience, if you carry the notebook around it's life WILL decrease. I had one died in a year and a half...half the motherboard failed.

 

In fact, I wish there was an option for less than 3 years. My luck has been around 2 'good' years with any notebook. The last year of its life, the notebook is usually plagued with all kinds of physical ailments - namely optical drive osteoporosis, display dyslexia, and skin peeling disorders...almost always near and around the palmrest.

 

My current dell inspiron has lasted about 3+ years, which I think is pretty remarkable since the build quality is so cheap. But it does really depend on how you treat it, if you travel with it, and where the laptop is stored.

 

Well I will contradict myself.

I kept my last long term notebook for 4 1/2 years. So it survived to the point where it was obsolete. I mean it had max 512 mb and a 32 mb video card.
I guess it could run vista. No recent games
I mean I still have it its technically still a computer but its no longer really rolling.

I plan to get another laptop much sooner this time around like 2 years maximum. I dont want to experience the down side of the technology again.

 

I think if you can afford it, every two years is kind of a sweet spot for notebook upgrades. I would like to start to have two notebooks at any given time...in the near future. One ultraportable, and one decent, mainstream (14") notebook or tablet. (Like in my sig)

 

Like gautam I would like to have 2 notebooks from now on. 2 different sizes purchased long enough apart to represent different technologies.

Eventually I think my a8js will be my around town small notebook and a larger one will be my more stationary closer to bleeding edge notebook. Then maybe 2 years from then I get another small one etc etc.

So when this one is on its down side, Ill keep it and have a new one too

 

LoL, nice one . . .

 

I bought a mid-high end gaming laptop in October '03. Replaced it in November '06 with a mid-high end.

If gaming wasn't an issue to me there is absolutely no way I needed an upgrade, and even with upgrading the older one doesn't just collect dust - it's a very useful secondary machine.

 

but i bet you notice a difference when moving from your new rig to your older one rite?

 

Thanks for the voting. Seem like 3-4 years is the best bet

 

2 years to replace a notebook is a nice suggestion, but $ is the main concern here. So i voted for 5 years

 

This is an interesting thread, and it would be nice to see smaller increments and less years as poll options when it's done again.

It 's useful data to gather for people who are interested in warranties when they buy a new notebook.

 

well you could start a different thread with options for smaller increments and connect both of them together yup you got a point gautam hopefully it will end up helping quite alot of people when buying warranties how much life expecancy their "new" notebook will have or how long it will stay "new"

 

Definately when it comes to gaming, but for data entry, browing, multimedia viewing and any other not-so-demanding tasks it performs just fine, no hiccups and no delays.

To be honest the older one is 15" and slightly higher resolution and is a real treat visually compared to my newer, smaller 14" -- but then 14" is usually docked on a 24" screen. The 15" also has a fingertip mouse as well as touchpad which makes for nice usage too -- but back on topic: if gaming was not an interest I'd have absolutely no need to perform an upgrade and I imagine newer laptops can remain useful even longer.

 

Heh, most new laptops aren't designed to last as long as older ones.

We have old heaps of Pentium II laptops at work that are at least 3-4 years old, still working except the battery doesn't retain a charge long enough. Batteries will be a very big problem later down the line, since they don't have a very long shelf life.

Meanwhile, you see these all these budget laptops floating around, and everything made more and more out of plastic (older laptops used to be really heavy, lots of metal).

 

well isnt your 14" the same resolution as your 15" but im sure the smaller the screen gets the harder its for your eyes and to look at it for hours at a time becomes a pain guess gaming or gpu upgrades play vital role in upgrades and so does the processor

but im sure theyll last but not as long as the ones with carbon fiber or the once which are well built but whats the use of a laptop if it cant do day to day tasks rite? i too have a pII lying aroundand it s good for basic tasks like light websurfing or typing a document thats it anything more and itll end up hanging up its a toshiba if your wondering its somewhere around 6 years old but still works fine even though the battery life is 25 minutes

 

Thanks for all your votes & comments

Appreciate it.

 

(Just to clarify, the 14" is 1440x900 vs. the 15" at 1680x1050)

 

Im going to say 5 years with my A8JS, itll should be able to keep up with whats out there now including Vista, and if history repeats itself again, itll take microsoft about 5yrs to make a new OS and about the same for new office suite. Thats when i would consider my laptop outdated if it cant run the next OS smoothly.

 

If you take care of it, your notebook will last for a long time (7+ years, except the battery).

The bigger questions is how useful it will be to you after that much time. Only you can answer that. Personally, have been upgrading every 18 months or less. Of course, I can write it off as a business expense.

 

I am going to have to say 3 years and after that the laptop is too outdated to even come close to the performance of current laptops

 

If the notebook is only for surfing, typing e-mail, typing documents then it will last for at least 5 years (not the battery). But if it's for gaming or other high-end graphic design, then 2-3 years will be right to get a replacement