What is the lifespan of a laptop?

[Deleted User]

wont most laptops last as long as you look after them?

Hammyman

closed wrote: »

corporate grade is probably built in the same factory to the same standards, with many of the same components as consumer grade.

Thankyou for confirming you've never owned one and never taken one apart.

Providing there isn't a design/component fault or mistreatment all laptops should last at least 10 years if not 20 whether they cost £300 or £1500. Some brands last longer than others.

They all fail from component faults. The consumer grade Windows ones just do it a lot quicker because they're built down to a price. People complain about the price of Macbook Pros when comparing them to a Windows laptop for the spec you get saying they're overpriced. What those people don't do is look at the build quality. The batteries alone are rated to give 80% capacity after 1000 cycles. Virtually every single battery in the windows laptops for sale in PC World will be completely dead in 1/4 of that amount, let alone being 80% capacity.

Hammyman

woodbine wrote: »

wont most laptops last as long as you look after them?

Nice thought but sadly reality is different. Some like the Compaq CQ-60 series have hinges fail simply from opening and closing the lid. You can be as careful as you like. Some like the entry level Toshibas have the left mouse button become detached because they use a wafer thin flat bit of plastic as a hinge and it just breaks from the flexing or have the charge socket solder joints break because they solder them directly to the mainboard and don't use any strain relief.

closed

Wrong on all accounts - handled thousands of business machines, taken them apart, fixed them, and owned them - Corporate grade laptops and desktops fail and break ocassionally like any other. All things are built to a price, but the corporate market tend to stump up more money without any thought, so the manufacturers milk it.

There are plenty of laptops available in shops with good build quality, and longer than 18 month battery life, and they are much cheaper, nicer to look at, and nicer to use than a thinkpad.

GunJack

closed wrote: »

There are plenty of laptops available in shops with good build quality, and longer than 18 month battery life, and they are much cheaper, nicer to look at, and nicer to use than a thinkpad.

now you're pushing it

Gotta say T4x series are (so far) my favourite laptops to date...rugged, reliable, great to take apart and rebuild, my only gripe is that the keys can get a bit shiny after 6-7 year's heavy useage.

pauldetrick

I own a HP Laptop. I am using it for the past 4 years. I will take care of my Laptop a lot. I will use 3 Hrs per day. Never used it without it connected to a charger. I never used my Laptop till the battery gets drained off. If we know how to take care of our Laptops it can be kept for years.

mbugle

I find that a laptop will last as long as you want it to as long as you take care of it. This doesn't mean just looking after the actual physical laptop, but looking after the actual operating system, e.g not going on dodgy websites and downloading tons of files.

I have had an acer laptop that's lasted for 6 years just by sticking to these rules. It may not be lightening quick, but it is good for everything I need!

-Michael

closed

GunJack wrote: »

now you're pushing it

Gotta say T4x series are (so far) my favourite laptops to date...rugged, reliable, great to take apart and rebuild, my only gripe is that the keys can get a bit shiny after 6-7 year's heavy useage.

At least there's something to suit all tastes, only redeeming feature is the keyboard light imo.

grizzly1911

closed wrote: »

At least there's something to suit all tastes, only redeeming feature is the keyboard light imo.

I had forgotten all about that light:D good for "under" duvet days.

I used to have a 13"? small one, of that era, for work agricultural but worked and was light with good battery life for the time.

I remember the the original think pads from the mid 90s nice little bricks covered in some form of rubber on metal. They had a keyboard that once released would hinge up to allow access to its inners.