How long do your laptops last?

[ag_ghost]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
My current Lenovo X230 is now 4+ years old. It was around $700 back in 2013. Still running great. Only thing I did was install an SSD in it.

SSDs are the best thing to happen to laptops. I upgraded the drive to a Samsung SSD in my mid-2011 HP Elitebook 8440p (i7 processor) sometime in 2013. Another family member uses a hand-me-down Lenovo X60 that's a year or so older with a SSD installed in 2014. Both still work well.

Kevin

 

[SevenBizzos]

My 2013 $300 Black Friday deal Dell is still rocking. Use it a few times a week. Only a keyboard replacement so far for $15, but it still does everything I need my laptop to do. I haven't even thought about replacing it.

 

[AandPDan]

I have had 3 IBM/Lenovo thinkpads.

The oldest is 19 years old and yes, it still works (Win98se). Even the battery holds a charge.
One is 10 years old and still gets used a couple of times a week (XP Pro).
The only one to "fail" died at 6 years.

 

[vavavroom]

I get 4-5 years out of mine before I replace them.I have always two in service. One is new while the other one is older.

 

[javacontour]

My employer replaces them every three years. I have yet to break on in the 17 years I have been there. They are used every day, taken out at multiple customer sites each day.

Some are harder on theirs and they get broken. Hard drives and batteries sometimes need replacement, but most last the full three year planned cycle.

 

[Spector]

Upgrade to a SSD drive and new wireless card made a world of difference in my 6 year old Acer laptop. Going strong. Desktop was a custom build about 6 years old also but the SSD upgrade and more memory, as good as the new ones out there.

 

[phogstenjr]

Hello,

I am a computer repair technician. If you want long life out of your laptop insure that it stays cool.
Some laptops have settings in the BIOS that allow he fans to be kept on all the time (this is a good idea).

You can opt for an external cooling pad that your laptop sits on, note insure that the fan in the pad lines up with the intake vents of your laptop.

For those who don't mind taking apart there laptop it is important to clean some inside components. Note that laptops will have 1 fans and 1 heart sink that cools the processor and the integrated graphics chipset and if it has a separate graphics processor (GPU) a second fan and heat sink. If the laptop is not new it is a great time to clean the fan or fans and the fins on the heat sink(s)that the fan(s) sit on. You can clean this with a few Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol (this should be done every so often (say every 6 months or every year) or every 3 months if smoking is going on.

it is a GREAT idea to replace the existing heat transfer thermal compound on the processor and GPU that is factory installed with a high performance past.
Note there are two (2) types of pasts conductive and non-conductive. Go with the non-conductive thermal compound to be safe, this way if any gets on the motherboard it will not short anything out.

 

[HondaBroMike]

It's the OS that requires frequent maintenance, not the hardware. Although I agree with these recommendation if the person can do it himself which is the big if.

 

[HondaBroMike]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
My fiancee accidentally dropped her bag recently which had her 1 year old HP Envy inside. It cracked the touch screen and broke off the power button. You could still turn it on by sticking a toothpick in where the button used to be, and she disabled the touch screen which allowed it to be more usable. Before the touch screen was disabled the laptop constantly thought you were touching the bottom half of the screen so it would open / close pages among other things while she was trying to get work done. She is a middle school / high school teacher and is currently still in college herself so her laptop is very important.

Thanks for sharing, my non-touch Lenovo is soldier-ing on and even it 's power cable had to be replaced due to wear and tear from all the grinding and paces I put it through. I know how it feels to lose an HP ENvy since I destroyed mine by a simple act of spilling some water on it by way of a glass. I know, rookie mistake but I bounced back well and so far so good with this beater Lenovo albeit one with a brand new blue-LED laden AC adapter. I realized all I need is 4 GB of RAM and some dedicated video memory and I'm gravy.

 

[SnowDrifter]

They last until I replace them because the hardware is outdated. My friend has my old Lenovo from 2009. No issues Replaced the battery once. Current one is 3 year old, needs a battery, that's it.

Aside from that: The occasional battery replacement, hard drive replacement / upgrade, and I just recently replaced a fan due to it seizing up.


That being said I'm also pretty easy on my electronics. Treat them with care, clean periodically. That's about it