how long does a notebook last.

im not talking about lasting intill you have to upgrade im talking about lasting intill it just dies on you weather it be the screen the processor or what not.

can or do they usually last aslong as a desktop can? considering you dont drop it or spill anything on it.

 

My old zx5000 lasted 1.5 years...and so far that has been my personal max. My old M140 (sold though) is still going strong at a 1 year old, and my nc8430 BETTER last me three years.

If not though, that is what a warranty is for. But at work I've seen quite a few notebooks last 3-4 without too much trouble.

Shoot, my girlfriends barber has a notebook from the days of Win98 still going strong.

 

It is depends on how you take care of it.

I have my 1150 for at least 2 yrs now. Its still running smoothly, I physically clean it about 1 time per month.

JC

 

I still see Notebooks 7 years old being used. Mostly for just Word processing tho.

 

Yea, my 1.5 years old zx5000 took quite the beating...I carried it around on campus A LOT. Too bad the motherboard died.

 

All depends on how the computer is treated and what it is used for.

Obviously a computer that is taken to work/school everyday will have a shorter lifespan that one that is left on a desk for weeks or months at a time.

As far as upgradability is concerned, that varies tremendously on the user and their needs. My Mom still uses a PIII 500MHz slot processor and 192 MB of RAM, she's happy with it because it does what she needs it to do. If you require or demand the bleeding edge, technology will become outdated very quickly.

Things on laptops don't necessarily fail more often than on desktops, minding that they are properly maintained (Kept dust free, etc) Obviously there are things that can go bad on a computer; desktop or laptop. Usually in the case of a desktop it is easier and more importantly CHEAPER to replace a component. On a laptop if your processor,video card, etc goes out and it happens to be soldered to the mobo, you're out of luck.

The spills and drops, as you mentioned can shorten the life of a laptop--when you spill a soda on a laptop, there is a chance that you will ruin the computer. When spilled on a keyboard, the keyboard simply needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Build quality is another factor. Most business class notebooks are built to take more a beating and last longer than consumer notebooks. Again, how you treat your equipment is more the determining factor.


In conclusion I suppose I would have to say that a laptop COULD last just as long as a comparable desktop, but it likely will not, for various reasons.

 

Wow all you guys beat me too it..

This was a very quickly answered thread..

 

good i hope this one lasts for yrs because i dont buy pc's much and i strongly doubt i'll upgrade when its time to upgrade. i use it for long periods at a time as i did with my desktop and that is still going strong. how are they on extended use.

 

As long as you keep the computer cool and well-ventilated there is no reason not to keep your computer on for extended periods of time.


If you will be doing this, consider investing in both some canned air and a cooling pad. There are some reviews of various models on this forum. They can be quite inexpensive.

 

Also try to clean the vent periods of times.

JC

 

1. keep it cool
2. keep it dustfree

those are absolutes. if you don't do those, your motherboard will die.

if you DO do those, there's no reason it can last for many many years.

cpus and lcds don't "wear out", if they die, it's because the user neglected them.

 

awesome because since my desktop is so slow this is my desktop now so DTR and its on all the time i just dont want to shorten the life by using it all the time.yeah with it on all the time it does tend to collect dust and i find my self wiping it down alot i think i will pick up some canned air next time i go shoppin

 

Depends. I've babied some laptops and still had things like garbled video on boot. Hard drives are also a crapshoot. So, physically, there's no way to predict. Just depends if it was designed well or not. I had a Dell 5150 and they all blew up. Dell even lost a class action lawsuit over them failing.

Assuming it does not break, towards 5 years sounds reasonable. Cheap things like fans may go bad.

Try to buy a laptop that you know is a top seller. It will be easiest to fix.

Get a dedicated video card, even a cheap one. It will help the laptop seem snappier, longer. Dualcore processors are also a good development. Any new dualcore laptop will do office and surf the net for as long as it boots up.

 

well ive already bought one the hp dv6000z im just tryin to get an idea if its suitable to be used all the time like for hours on end and an idea how long they will last and as far as the anwsers ive got is its pretty good result in the yrs compartment and user hours but. yeah things can go bad on anything ya know its just one of those things but if everything is on ur side it looks like they can last for a long time.

 

My father has a working 8 year-old thinkpad and a working 6 year-old thinkpad. Both are still working fine for office and e-mail related things.

 

awesome see thats what im lookin for things that will last that long because it will probably be that long intill i get another one. i got another qustion while im at it.


hows the keyboard key situation can you take them off and clean under them just like a keyboard for a desktop or not?

 

Well my Toshiba Satellite A25-S207 lasted about 4 years, and then I accidentally dropped it from a height of about 2 inches, and surprisingly it still started and kept on going strong for another year. But, during that year, my hinges were blown, so I didn't have anymore hinges. My screen wouldn't stay in place. But I just used it as a desktop, and after the 5th year, i finally decided to get the computer in my sig. Pretty long time, especially considering the fact that I coudldn't actually use it as a laptop anymore.

 

I use a Dell Latitute XPi (circa 1998) pretty regularly for car diagnostics and some light internet and word processing. The thing still gets an hour of battery life away from the outlet, on the original battery. 11.5" screen, although it is probably 2-3x the thickness and weight of current laptops with that screen size. It can't play an mp3, but is able to play mpegs without too much strain. Pentium 133, 24 megs of RAM, haha.

 

I remember opening my old dell desktop and HOLY &*#$% . I could not believe how much dust was in side. It took me at least 30 - 45min to completely clean it out. This was a result of 3 yrs usage.

I doubt notebooks get that way so quickly, but just incase I always put the plastic sleeve that it came shipped.

 

thats just has bad as my desktop although its a 233 mghz i was forced to get this notebook i was just fed up with not being able to do most things i cant even watch wmv's with it i stuck with it being that way for about 3 yrs and then i just got mad because i couldnt do what i wanted so i bought this. thats probably how its gonna go with my new note book i'll keep it when its out of date and still use it and just bare with the facts that i cant do much with it then i'll just go crazy and buy a new machine lol.

 

I've had my Insprion 1150 for 2yrs now and its still going strong.

 

yeah i been there before live, ever since i seen my desktop so dirty i kept it as clean as possiable and i'll continue that regiment with my notebook.

 

My old Portege 4010 was 4 years old when I dropped it and the backlight went. I was actually quite annoyed, despite the fact I could get a new machine, becuase it was still working perfectly well, if kinda (ok very) slowly. Pity. With a faster hard drive and some more ram I'm sure I could still use it fine today, after all i don't use any software it couldn't run and I don't play games.

edit: ok so the fan was a bit old and knackered but with nhc running it hardly ever came on.

 

My old Toshiba 2805-S503 with a PIII 900 is still running. During its prime it was abused a lot. Moved around daily, used for hours at a time, my kids even played games with it, and this year was the 1st time I opened it up and cleaned it.