How long should a laptop last?

[BorrowedThyme]

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?

I have a HP Chromebook . Bought secondhand . for a couple of hundred Now 3 years old and fine .

My mac went strong with daily usage for 6.5 years

I had a succession of Lenovo laptops from work and they were all unreliable and very flimsy, didn't last very long at all. I don't know if the more expensive Lenovos are better built?

To be fair, I think the modern trend for ultra thin laptops has led to a lot of compromises across the board with regard to components - everything soldered in instead of screwed and parts not designed to be replaceable if needed/required, along with appalling keyboards.

I'd recommend having a look at PC Specialist, where you can choose from a range of basic models and then customise the spec of various components however you prefer. Otherwise, gaming ones are usually very high spec, but if you don't actually game, a lot of your money will be wasted on a way OTT graphics card that you'll never even appreciate, much less use.

Unfortunately, I agree with PP that, although a lot of money in itself, £600 is very mid-range for a laptop. If you think about how much of the price is VAT, then the chassis, then the screen, then the basic essentials, you find that there's not a lot left for quality components where it matters.

I wince when I see laptops being offered for less than £200, because it's just a waste of everybody's money and preying on people who probably don't know what they're buying. It's the laptop equivalent of a brand new car for £5K - yes, it's a lot of money, but in car terms, it just isn't anywhere like enough for anything good. You'd be amazed that you can get a decent new laptop for that kind of money... and then you find that you can't. If that is your budget, you're better off getting doing your homework and getting a decent reconditioned one from a reputable supplier.

I've got a HP one I've had at least 6 years with no issues. Also a refurbished Lenovo, bought near the beginning of lockdown because I needed to be able to write on the screen and the HP one doesn't support that, also with no issues. Neither was hugely expensive - the HP might have been as much as £500 but I don't think it was, and the Lenovo was about £200 (but obviously that was quite a bit cheaper than it would have been new).

So I'd say it's not all at unreasonable to expect them to last more than three years.

I have a Dell laptop that I bought in early 2018 so about 5.5 years old. Still going strong, although I have replaced the battery. I paid about £550 for the laptop.

The problem comes more from a lack of support for older operating systems although fortunately this one had enough memory to support Windows 11.

Sorry to be another Apple bore but my MacBook is still going strong after 8+ years and the operating system is still updating. They do an education discount too so I think I saved over £100 on the full price.

We bought my DC a fancy HP one at a similar time and for a similar price and it now needs to be plugged in permanently and when we tried to update the Windows version, it broke everything and we ended up restoring to an earlier version where it has remained ever since 🤦‍♀️

My MacBooks tend to last ten years. Current one is 2015 and still going strong.

My MacBook Pro is 2011 and still working fine. I bought it refurbished from Curry's ebay store when it was a year old. I had a problem with some of the supplied software when I was setting it up so took it into the Apple Store, they reinstalled the operating system and put everything else on it and didn't charge me a penny.

Lenovos are usually pretty reliable. Every workplace I've been at for the past 10 years or so has used them as the standard work issue laptop.

However, in all cases they were on a 3 year replacement cycle, so that perhaps says something about how long they are expected to continue to be in good order...

I have a Macbook Pro from nearly 10 years ago still in perfect condition, even after giving it to my daughter to use. It cost a pretty penny though. But still, 3 years is not long at all. I wonder if it’s still under warranty? Unfortunately most electronics nowadays are made to break quickly. How is it I have an antique telephone from the 40’s that still works, but I’ve gone through countless cell phones? It ought to be illegal, esp considering the amount of waste. I’d contact the manufacturer and try to get a repair or replacement. Be sure to read tons of reviews on your next purchase! You can’t even trust expensive name brands anymore.

As others have said, £600 isn't a lot for a laptop. No insult intended, just the truth of it.

Macbooks do last and are well worth the higher price IMO. The build quality is higher and the hardware lasts well overall.

They are not really a spin off per se, lenovo bought the business and brand from ibm.

As others have said the high end ones have good build quality and should last a while, you may need to replace the charger, battery or charging port as they can get damaged or degrade if not looked after - and the batteries do have a limited lifespan as with any battery

The screen issues sound like it has been treated roughly

Technology does move fast though and 3-4 years is a reasonable lifespan for something used regularly and the increasing demands of software will mean you naturally see performance drop over time

You might find it gets a new lease of life reinstalling windows and starting fresh with it - they do gradually get bloated if you don't look after them

Gosh, this thread has been an eye-opener for me. I would certainly have thought that a laptop that cost £600 should last longer than 3 and a half years, but I see many people have posted reasons why that may not be so.

Good luck in either replacing or repairing your laptop, OP!

Echoing others that 600 isn't high end. My Lenovo has been going strong for about 8 years now but I bought refurbished for about half that price - a genuine business end workhorse. Typically they go for refurb not because of actual issues but because of corporations upgrading regularly. No mechanical troubles whatsoever but should have swapped over to something newer these last couple of years because the software is getting obsolescent.

My ASUS was bought towards the end of 2015 - I waited to buy until it was available with Win10 preinstalled. I also bought solid state which did put the price up a bit ie. it has no fan and no hard disk as these always seemed to be the initial failure points on previous laptops. Nearly 8 years old and it performs just the same, and I am now expecting it will be the keyboard that goes first.

Can you find someone who does computer repairs? I have a Lenovo laptop & like you it was slowing down. I found a local man who replaced the screen, did a good clean up & added extra memory etc. £200 & it's like a brand new laptop.

I have a house full of laptops - the oldest is over 20 years old (original orange clamshell macbook) and still works fine. But I also maintain them - make sure software is up to date, replace batteries, upgrade RAM if possible. Mouse freezing sounds like a software issue, not holding a charge could be a dodgy charging port, or an issue with the charger (we've had to replace plenty of those!), or you could just need a new battery. Screen coming away is more down to the build, and I would definitely not be happy with that after only 3.5 years!

My macbook is 9 years old, never had any issues. My son has my super old white case macbook that I used at uni, yes some things aren’t compatible, but you can watch streaming services etc, web, play my older games etc, I would have bought it around 2008.

I'd be pissed off if my laptop only lasted 3 years, assuming I'd taken care of it. use macbooks and love them. My current one is about 9 years old and not a thing wrong with it (for what I need it for anyway). Will only ever buy macbooks for he foreseeable.

@andymary could you say more about overcharging ?
How is this avoided?
And @andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow how is it best to store a laptop?
And any other things we should and shouldn't do with laptops?

As others have said, it depends on how it's treated. My work laptops are still like new after 8 years but that is because they sit on my desk open almost all of the time with an external keyboard and mouse. I only touch it maybe 10 times a year when going off site.

Opening and closing the screen will wear it out and if you have it on your lap applying pressure to the charge plug it will eventually work loose and stop charging.

I have two MacBook airs. One 2015 which I now use as a second screen/back up laptop. It pretty much lives on my desk on its own little pedestal but it still is in full working order and is used daily for videoconferences. My main one which is 2020 and gets carried around to and fro, abroad etc. It has been dropped a few times. The rubber seal around the screen is coming away so I ought to get that looked at but otherwise it is also trouble free. I’ve never had a non-Mac live past 3 years and they have all been slow and troublesome at the end of their lives. I get given work laptops but don’t use them.

3 years is my rule for all laptops

My personal HP laptop is 5 years old and works as well as my new work HP laptop.

I am using a Dell latitude that I bought refurbished five years ago. It was made in 2016 I think, it has served me well. The only reason I will upgrade will be if I want/need Windows 11 and then again only spend £200-250 on another refurbished one.

This is based on working at a consultancy and discussions with the procurement and maintenance people in the IT department- they supply laptops for 3000 or so people like me working across Government and the private sector, many of us out in the field so transporting our laptops around. They always used Latitudes because all parts are replaceable and they are more robustly built than 'home' models in the first place. They also have room to upgrade memory and other items if required in the future

If you buy a Dell Latitude or Lenovo Thinkpad that has been refurbished they will have checked the keyboard, mouse, screen and battery and replaced if necessary -and if these components go in the future they will be easily replaceable.