How much expected lifetime

[TheHappyLime]

Hi there. 

 

Currently I'm using a mid 2012 Macbook RETINA display as my study computer. However it's begging to show its marks. Under normal usage, taking notes, small calculations in Maple ETC its around 70-80 degrees CPU temp. However under heavy usage, during simulations etc its getting around 100 degrees constantly and it sits there for hours doing these sessions. The computer is fine itself.

 

What I'm asking is, could anybody perhaps give me an idea of the lifetime left of this machine? I'm well taking care of it. Cleaning it every month. 

 

Best regards 

[NineEyeRon]

3-4 years I guess. Apple laptops have lasted well, my parents late 2009 macbook runs like new for word processing, browsing, photo sorting/light editing and other office work.

 

I threw an SSD in it recently and it ran better than new!

 

 

[TheHappyLime]

3-4 years really? Seems like a lot in my mind. By the time then it will be 10+ years old. That's pretty old hardware. I'm glad if its true though! 

As I said earlier it's the retina model. Which means it comes with an SSD from the factory (No CD drive also). It's the 1. Gen of Retina I believe. 

[NineEyeRon]

2 minutes ago, TheHappyLime said:

3-4 years really? 

I bet it will run for longer if just doing office work.

 

My last gaming PC almost made it to 10 years, if I hadn't been messing around in it then it would have.

[TheHappyLime]

True.. Well i'm glad for the input! Hopefully it can last 3-4 years more. Would be nice for my wallet

[Origami Cactus]

Have you repasted it? That should lower the temp, if you used a really nice thermal paste.

[wasab]

6 hours ago, NineEyeRon said:

3-4 years I guess. Apple laptops have lasted well, my parents late 2009 macbook runs like new for word processing, browsing, photo sorting/light editing and other office work.

 

I threw an SSD in it recently and it ran better than new!

 

 

So would Windows machine with a good ssd

[NineEyeRon]

2 hours ago, wasab said:

So would Windows machine with a good ssd

Absolutly, right after I did my parents macbook I did my wife's and my father in laws windows laptops. Both improved hugely as both were about 6 years old.

[Pixel5]

the big question is what you define as lifetime.

 

if you mean the time till its completely broken it could be many years but as you can see already its use able lifetime where its fun to use and works great for what you do with it is already over.

 

most laptops and computers are not getting replaced because they are broken but because they are too slow and old.

[TheHappyLime]

@wasab I agree. I run a windows desktop at home for gaming. However for the studying part I'm more of a Mac guy. Both systems have weakness and powers. But that's a whole other discussion. 

 

 

When I said lifetime it could be either broken as it could be just generally too slow. 

It should be mentioned that though CPU upgrade isn't an option and I'm rocking the dual core I5. I've thrown in a new SSD, as the old one died and upgraded the ram to 16 gb. 

I'm taking well care of it so the chances of it getting broken are mostly less than me replacing it due to slow hardware. 

However @Pixel5 since you mentioned it, when do you think that the 2012 Mac is "outdated" and will now longer be able to "keep up"? 

 

 

[LogicalDrm]

10 hours ago, TheHappyLime said:

3-4 years really? Seems like a lot in my mind. By the time then it will be 10+ years old. That's pretty old hardware. I'm glad if its true though! 

As I said earlier it's the retina model. Which means it comes with an SSD from the factory (No CD drive also). It's the 1. Gen of Retina I believe. 

If by lifetime you mean when do parts start to actually die, 10 years is about right. Most parts will last for 8+ years. My previous laptops served 9 years with me and I only had to change cooling as it failed after 6 years. And that was Lenovo Windows laptop. I would assume Macbook quality of that time is much better. Considering that there are PCs that are from 80s and still working, parts dying is not the issue. Its more about when it becomes too slow or weak for you to do what you want.

[wasab]

1 hour ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

If by lifetime you mean when do parts start to actually die, 10 years is about right. Most parts will last for 8+ years. My previous laptops served 9 years with me and I only had to change cooling as it failed after 6 years. And that was Lenovo Windows laptop. I would assume Macbook quality of that time is much better. Considering that there are PCs that are from 80s and still working, parts dying is not the issue. Its more about when it becomes too slow or weak for you to do what you want.

Life time should also consider how long can the laptop run before the hardware reaches its limit and simply can't provide enough horse power to keep up with the demand of the modern day softwares. You aren't going to be running a modern CPU intensive program on a decade old Pentium IV for instance. 

 

Durability is independent of the performance and there are many durability oriented laptops like lenovo thinkpads line ups which more than rivals the Macs.