Lifespand of Laptops?

[Acompletenoob]

Hey there, are there any obvious ways to guess at the lifespand of a laptop?

 

The reason I'm asking:

I am currently shopping for a laptop for my sister, and her number 1 priority is that the computer lasts a good while.

 

[mahyar]

it depends on a lot of things

[LAwLz]

Where I work we replace laptops once they are 3 years old.

At one of my customers it's every 4 year.

 

The laptop I used when I studied served me very well from 2009 to 2016 (although I did add an SSD to it sometime around 2014).

 

It entirely depends on what you expect to use it for, which laptop it is, and how well it gets taken care of.

Buy a 300 dollar laptop and want it to play AAA games? Then it won't last long. Buy a 2000 dollar laptop and only want to use it to send email and browse facebook? It will probably last a long time (performance wise).

 

Batteries are unpredictable and can basically break at any time, and even if they don't break they slowly (or quickly) degrade depending on the environment (like temperature and humidity), how often it gets charged/recharged and even how it is recharged.

 

Asking how long a laptop will last is like asking how long a piece of string is.

[PiberiusWilde]

31 minutes ago, Acompletenoob said:

Hey there, are there any obvious ways to guess at the lifespand of a laptop?

 

The reason I'm asking:

I am currently shopping for a laptop for my sister, and her number 1 priority is that the computer lasts a good while.

 

Depends on usage and how much you took care of it.

 

If you simply used it only for light task and web browsing. Then it would last for many many years. IF you took care of it well.

 

I just fixed my neighbor's laptop which has an Atom cpu and it's from 2009. Amazingly still it works and my neighbor still uses it for work.

[svmlegacy]

Mechanically/functionally, 99% of 10 year old laptops I've seen (that haven't been abused) still work. So as long as you keep it clean and don't beat it up, it'll last until obsolecense.

 

As far as performance goes, that depends entirely on useage, and the specs you buy.

[jaslion]

The biggest factor is care.

Then build quality.

Then price bracket sometimes.

 

A well built laptop that isn't dirt cheap will last 5+years with good care. However there are obvious exceptions about this like apples macbooks, the razr laptop lineup,... really just look things up and see.

 

I've repaired a lot and the ones that break the quickest are the ones that have thermal issues or try to be way too thin with too much in them usually (which basically comes down to thermal issues again) that and the very cheap sub 300$ laptops break pretty often too.

 

My personal laptop (clevo p650 I think) has lasted for 5.5 years by now and for about 5 years it was my daily laptop that I took everywhere and I just cared for it well. It still was used and abused as is normal for laptops that are constantly on the move and has some minor defects and some structural damage by now (the worst is that I have to keep tape on a corner of the bezel or the screen leans out but that was because of getting run over whilst it was in my backpack oops). But really it just still works fine I upgraded to a desktop now that I no longer need the mobility and I use it from time to time but my desktop is faster so it sees little use now but still works fine.

 

 

 

[Acompletenoob]

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

Where I work we replace laptops once they are 3 years old.

At one of my customers it's every 4 year.

 

The laptop I used when I studied served me very well from 2009 to 2016 (although I did add an SSD to it sometime around 2014).

 

It entirely depends on what you expect to use it for, which laptop it is, and how well it gets taken care of.

Buy a 300 dollar laptop and want it to play AAA games? Then it won't last long. Buy a 2000 dollar laptop and only want to use it to send email and browse facebook? It will probably last a long time (performance wise).

 

Batteries are unpredictable and can basically break at any time, and even if they don't break they slowly (or quickly) degrade depending on the environment (like temperature and humidity), how often it gets charged/recharged and even how it is recharged.

 

Asking how long a laptop will last is like asking how long a piece of string is.

Thanks for the advice, from my limited research, i expected an answer along those lines, but wanted to make sure i wasn't overlooking something obvious.

 

The battery was my main concern, so I think I'll prioritise buying a model where a battery replacement isn't too difficult.

 

P.s. I really like the analogy at the end

[Acompletenoob]

10 minutes ago, jaslion said:

The biggest factor is care.

Then build quality.

Then price bracket sometimes.

 

A well built laptop that isn't dirt cheap will last 5+years with good care. However there are obvious exceptions about this like apples macbooks, the razr laptop lineup,... really just look things up and see.

 

I've repaired a lot and the ones that break the quickest are the ones that have thermal issues or try to be way too thin with too much in them usually (which basically comes down to thermal issues again) that and the very cheap sub 300$ laptops break pretty often too.

 

My personal laptop (clevo p650 I think) has lasted for 5.5 years by now and for about 5 years it was my daily laptop that I took everywhere and I just cared for it well. It still was used and abused as is normal for laptops that are constantly on the move and has some minor defects and some structural damage by now (the worst is that I have to keep tape on a corner of the bezel or the screen leans out but that was because of getting run over whilst it was in my backpack oops). But really it just still works fine I upgraded to a desktop now that I no longer need the mobility and I use it from time to time but my desktop is faster so it sees little use now but still works fine.

 

 

 

Hey, thanks for the reply!

 

I have a bit of a probing question though; what do you mean when you say "good care"?

[19_blackie_73]

Just now, Acompletenoob said:

Hey, thanks for the reply!

 

I have a bit of a probing question though; what do you mean when you say "good care"?

Don't use it on clothes like sitting with it on the lap or having it directly on the bed, give it room to breathe, dont bang it everywhere, dont eat over it, dont flood it, use it with clean hands, all things you consider common sense, clean it regularly...

[Acompletenoob]

3 minutes ago, 19_blackie_73 said:

Don't use it on clothes like sitting with it on the lap or having it directly on the bed, give it room to breathe, dont bang it everywhere, dont eat over it, dont flood it, use it with clean hands, all things you consider common sense, clean it regularly...

Alright, Thanks! 

[jaslion]

8 minutes ago, Acompletenoob said:

Hey, thanks for the reply!

 

I have a bit of a probing question though; what do you mean when you say "good care"?

Using it like a normal laptop. So not tossing it around, properly putting it in a bag when taking with you (so not just chucked inbetween everything else), regular cleaning of the inside from dust, regular cleaning of the outside,... just general good care

[LloydLynx]

Usually the software is the weakest link in the chain in terms of age and longevity. Windows just loves to slow down over time, and most Linux OSes have a relatively short lifespan in terms of support and modern application compatibility. Next to go is usually the battery.