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[Singularity-SRX]

How long until it becomes so slow or so untrustworthy that you've just had to get rid of it?

My Acer Aspire 5735z (laptop) has lasted 2 years so far, with an Intel Pentium Dual core (@ 2.00 GHz) cpu, running vista home basic and with 2 gigs of ram. Crappy built in video card as well

I'm actually amazed that it's lasted this long, only a few minor hiccups here and there. Finally got around to uninstalling all of the crap on it as well.

[inteuniso]

The nice thing is that desktops are like cars; if you have the money you can keep it running almost indefinitely. If you don't have money, you can certainly keep it clean and make sure the software is virus and malware-free, making it last for years.

Laptops should last more than 2 years. My dad had a laptop that lasted a good 5 years before it went kaput and wouldn't start without overheating and shutting off.


The problem with computers isn't making them last; it's the tech within them that's the problem. Imagine if every year cars would have new brake systems, transmissions, engines, clutches, and axles. You would never have a good enough car, and it would be almost impossible to continue to replace the parts on your car. Same thing with computers.

[malimbar04]

There is the extra problem with laptops of wear. I borrowed my brothers old laptop once and even with a brand new battery it would last around an hour and a half (and it got really hot). But the raeson I had to stop using it was that the power connector was worn. After a few months it no longer charged at all. If you measure from the time it was brand new to the time that I got rid of it, I think it was something like 5 years?

I also had an eMac that lasted several years. I ended up giving it to a friend who never had a computer before. My biggest problem with it was that it used the PowerPC processor, so when apple swtiched to using intel processors there quickly became a noticable lack of software. It wasn't long before it was hard to even find a decent linux distribution that worked on it.

[ILikePie]

I've had this P4 since 2001, maybe 2000. It's been formatted countless times, I've added some ram a few years back, and got a new graphics card a while ago (Back when NVidia's 6200s were popular). I think it ran Windows 2000 for a while, then XP, and it now runs Gentoo Linux.
My other computer is a Core 2 Duo I got in 2008, I think I formatted it a few times as well.

e,

It wasn't long before it was hard to even find a decent linux distribution that worked on it.

Gentoo runs on ppc, it's a hassle to install, but it's an amazing distribution.

[lordnincompoop]

My last computer (which I still use, mind you) is well over 10 years old. Has an AMD Sempron. I added some extra RAM to get it to 2gb and upgraded the GPU to a 7600GT (which fried). As for my latest, it's around 1-2 years old now. I've added a fan and a hard drive, formatted it once, added a second OS (Ubuntu) and planning for a third (OS X) and a CPU cooler upgrade.

The question isn't really how long it can stay reliable (which is surprisingly long) but how long I can live with the tech.

EDIT: Minor correction.

[RedKing]

It's hard to say how long I've had my desktop, as it never really dies, it just keeps evolving a few parts at a time. I suppose you could argue that it's 16 years old, although it's undergone multiple incarnations in that time, the newest just a month or so old.

[ChairmanPoo]

two years and 18 days, and counting.

I'm holding out for the dual core netbooks.

[ToonyMan]

My oldest computer is 4 years old now and is definitely showing signs of crapping out.

I have older ones, but those don't even turn on anymore.

[ChairmanPoo]

Oh, I do have older computers than this one, of course. The most extreme example is a... 17 y/o 486. AFAIK it still turns on, but havent tried in quite a while (what for?)

[Tokkius]

I've kept this Vista 64-bit Ultimate running for 2.5 years now. I've had no problems with it that weren't my fault (I'm not perfect, damnit), and I foresee things holding up for as long as I need them to.

[ed boy]

With laptops I find that the laptop itself will keep running after you have been through two or three batteries/power cords.

[Tellemurius]

How long until it becomes so slow or so untrustworthy that you've just had to get rid of it?

My Acer Aspire 5735z (laptop) has lasted 2 years so far, with an Intel Pentium Dual core (@ 2.00 GHz) cpu, running vista home basic and with 2 gigs of ram. Crappy built in video card as well

I'm actually amazed that it's lasted this long, only a few minor hiccups here and there. Finally got around to uninstalling all of the crap on it as well.

what the hell? i just got a 5734z and i got better stats than you.

Pentium dual core 2.3 GHz

4gb ram

still crappy integrated card

win 7 64x

[nenjin]

Aside from one or two failed harddrives, I think the longest mobo/processor combination I had went 6 years. I had to replace it because it was bottlenecking my upgrade options.

I don't know very many people with laptops that don't fail completely after 4 years.

[Aklyon]

We had/have a laptop that was usable for 6 years, but, even though you could still use it now, its just unbearably slow to use now.
We also have a working Windows ME desktop, but honestly, its not worth turning on at this point.

I've had this laptop (which is actually mine, not everyone's like before) for less than a year.

[Bouchart]

I have had this desktop since mid 2003.  It works fine because I don't generally run newer games or programs on it.  I am prepared if it spontaneously dies, though.