How long should a laptop last?

Fightyouforthatpie · 05/09/2023 16:50

YANBU is it a Mac? Never buying another Apple product after the way they treated me over my MacBook Pro, cunts.

Original poster

BorrowedThyme · 05/09/2023 16:58

It is Lenova, is that seen as a reliable brand?

OP posts:

KrisAkabusi · 05/09/2023 16:59

To be honest, I would expect potential problems after three years. I've had laptops last longer, but at three years I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues.

VickyEadieofThigh · 05/09/2023 17:02

This one I'm using now - I've had slightly more than 3 years and it's telling me it wants to retire.

Its predecessor - lasted 9 years.

QuestionableMouse · 05/09/2023 17:02

Nah three years is crap. I have one that I bought in 2004 and it still works well!

NotMeNoNo · 05/09/2023 17:07

3 years is good going for a laptop used all day everyday, heavy trackpad use rather than external mouse, carried around in bags etc.

Aitchoo · 05/09/2023 17:08

I've got a HP spectre 360 in 2021, only because my previous hp was stuck on windows 7 and it couldn't be upgraded. The old one I bought in 2011, was chunky but worked great.
The new one is still good, but I notice the difference. It's designed to be compact and portable so I see the trade-off that I made. It's still going well but I really take care of my stuff.

I would expect my laptop to last a good 5 years but I planned for that in the specs.
What is your laptop? Can you give some details as the quality can vary a lot and a proper response is difficult.

Fightyouforthatpie · 05/09/2023 17:10

BorrowedThyme · 05/09/2023 16:58

It is Lenova, is that seen as a reliable brand?

Yes, Lenovo was the spin-off of IBM when IBM stopped making PCs etc, they are generally seen as a premium brand.

Original poster

BorrowedThyme · 05/09/2023 17:12

Aitchoo · 05/09/2023 17:08

I've got a HP spectre 360 in 2021, only because my previous hp was stuck on windows 7 and it couldn't be upgraded. The old one I bought in 2011, was chunky but worked great.
The new one is still good, but I notice the difference. It's designed to be compact and portable so I see the trade-off that I made. It's still going well but I really take care of my stuff.

I would expect my laptop to last a good 5 years but I planned for that in the specs.
What is your laptop? Can you give some details as the quality can vary a lot and a proper response is difficult.

I don't really know, I took my son with me to buy it, he is the expert. He said this one would do well with online teaching, which it really did.

I wonder if it is worth getting it repaired rather than replaced

OP posts:

ErrolTheDragon · 05/09/2023 17:12

Our work laptops are Lenovo - high spec, decent graphics cards etc for serious development work. Our company has a policy of changing them at 3 years but I had my previous one well over 4 with no issues.
Mind you, I just use mine on a dock with separate mouse etc, not really as a 'laptop'.

Zhougzhoug · 05/09/2023 17:13

I think 3 years is not unreasonable to have to do some maintenance (reformat hard drive, take it for a service) but the build to be falling apart is pretty bad! My Macbook Air is 2017 and it's OK but getting a little sluggish so I should probably replace it this year.

Arghhjhgd · 05/09/2023 17:14

Never had a laptop last longer than two years and sadly 600 is on the cheap side these days. I would fully expect to need a new one after three years. The only brand I’ve heard that are actually good for a long time are Mac.

RubiRage · 05/09/2023 17:15

I went for cheap & had a Leny phone & laptop some years ago, they were both crap. I’ve had an Apple Mac since 2019.

NotMeNoNo · 05/09/2023 17:16

Sounds like physical wear and tear rather than specification issues.

Fightyouforthatpie · 05/09/2023 17:17

My Mac has a acknowledged manufacturing defect in the keyboard but Apple are refusing to replace it, even though they accept it is amongst the affected batch as it's too old, so I wouldn't expect too much from Apple.

NotMeNoNo · 05/09/2023 17:18

Also you can get trackpad, charging port etc replaced.

PrrrplePineapple · 05/09/2023 17:19

Paid £800 for an Acer laptop almost exactly 4 years ago. Almost killed it the other day by putting it on top of a hot pizza box so it got steamed, but it seems to have recovered albeit with a bit less battery life than it did have. Performs just fine, won't replace it til I have to, but expect to need to replace it within the next 12 months maximum tbh. It's definitely far slower to start up than it used to be.

Nevermind31 · 05/09/2023 17:20

My work uses Lenovo (the much more expensive ones) and they get replaced every 2 1/2 years…

Kimten · 05/09/2023 17:21

I agree don't expect too much from Apple customer service.
However, my MacBook is still going well and I got it in 2018. It was manufactured in 2017.
I'll never buy anything except a MacBook again. It's much better than my previous HP and Asus.

Summerisawashout · 05/09/2023 17:23

£600 is not expensive for a laptop, you won't get high performance or top of the range for that unfortunately.

3 years is pretty good, most tech needs to be replaced after 3 years unless your usage is very light. In which case you should probably switch to a tablet anyway

andymary · 05/09/2023 17:30

Unfortunately, laptops take a lot more of a beating than desktops, and a lot of it can be down to how you treat it (just in general, not saying that you haven't personally treated yours good).

Opening the screen one handed instead of gently with two, and putting things on top of the laptop when it's closed such as paperwork and books etc will all go towards deterioration of the screen and its hinges.

The mouse pad can deteriorate faster if you press hard down on it, or of course get annoyed and bang on it. I always buy a seperate USB mouse and use that instead of the trackpad on the laptop itself. Much easier to use and doesn't risk damage to the laptop.

The battery and charging port can all deteriorate faster if you always let the laptop overcharge, overheat and/or don't watch when plugging it in. eg if you just try to wiggle the charger into the port without watching it go straight in, then you're at risk of putting extra pressure on the charging port that's soldered to the motherboard.

If it starts running slow, then it probably needs resetting back to factory settings and updating to the latest Windows Updates, or at least having a good system clean of the cache, registry and any unused software.

£600 sadly is not a lot of money for a laptop these days, or even for one 3 years ago. You would be looking at double the price tag for that.

Festivemoose · 05/09/2023 17:32

My MacBook Pro is still going strong after 8 years. Never had a problem with it.

ntmdino · 05/09/2023 17:41

BorrowedThyme · 05/09/2023 16:48

I bought an expensive, high spec laptop to teach in lock down. Now the charging is intermittent, the screen is splitting away from its frame, and the mouse keeps freezing.

AIBU to think something that cost £600 should last longer than 3 and a half years?

£600 isn't expensive or high-spec. In fact, if you bought it new, it's lower-mid-range.

In today's world of landfill tech, 3-4 years is sadly what can be expected. I've got a 10 year old Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro that's still working perfectly despite a crack in the glass bezel; other half has had three mid-range laptops in that time, all of which have died due to poor construction quality.

ArcticBells · 05/09/2023 17:44

BorrowedThyme · 05/09/2023 16:58

It is Lenova, is that seen as a reliable brand?

My Lenovo idea pad is about 15 years old and still going strong!

FixTheBone · 05/09/2023 17:46

Fightyouforthatpie · 05/09/2023 17:10

Yes, Lenovo was the spin-off of IBM when IBM stopped making PCs etc, they are generally seen as a premium brand.

Show quote history

Depends on the sub-branding, i've had a mixed bag since Lenovo took over....

The Ideapad/book etc are pretty budget, the Thinkpad/book are more premium / better made and the Yogas generally sit somewhere in the middle.