how long do laptop normally last?

[andylawcc]

mine just died recently, so I wonder if I were to purchase a new one, how long the warranty should I get?

 

[Hacp]

Usually anything above 2 year warrenty is a waste for me. But yet again, I only buy cheapo laptops. If your investing over 1K into your laptop, 3 years should be standard.

 

[aatf510]

I have a ASUS that's still working great, and I got it 7 years ago with a P2 300MHz PE.
I think it has a lot of do with how much you travel with the laptop. If you use like a desktop, I think it could last much longer.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Hacp
Usually anything above 2 year warrenty is a waste for me. But yet again, I only buy cheapo laptops. If your investing over 1K into your laptop, 3 years should be standard.

I was a noob and my (previous) laptop was 900 bucks shipped after tax and rebate.
It did what I wanted and did it fine. I just didn't expect it to die so early... just 3 months after the 1-year-warranty expired.

anyway, so how come anything above 2 year is a waste? I mean, aren't laptops more prone to damage year after year? Meaning you will need the more coverage as it ages.

 

[jonesthewine]

going on 3.5 years with a Dell Inspiron 8200...had to replace the hard drive back in April, and added some Ram, but still going strong. I've traveled extensively with it, all over the US, Europe too, I have the big arm to prove it . It's a heavy beast.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: toattett
I think it has a lot of do with how much you travel with the laptop. If you use like a desktop, I think it could last much longer.

to make a long story short, i hibernated it a lot, since it got a virus. I wonder did that contributed to its short life.

 

[Some1ne]

I haven't noticed any severe laptop longevity problems, other than that the laptop does seem more prone to things like random HDD crashes and other annoying problems than my desktop is. The battery, on the other hand, has terrible longevity...it's barely a year and a half old and it can't even hold charge for a solid hour anymore. See if you can get a warranty that stipulates that your battery won't turn to crap as time goes by.

 

[ribbon13]

PCjr still going strong.

 

[stu1811]

Originally posted by: jonesthewine
going on 3.5 years with a Dell Inspiron 8200...had to replace the hard drive back in April, and added some Ram, but still going strong. I've traveled extensively with it, all over the US, Europe too, I have the big arm to prove it . It's a heavy beast.

Same with me. Except I had Dell replace the mobo a year ago instead of the HD. Running fine other than that. I got a 3 year warrenty.

 

[saltedeggman]

my dell i8600 is about 1 year old...going strong

 

[corkyg]

I am on my 5th laptop. All of them still live - but they were given away. I get a new one about every 2-3 years.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
PCjr still going strong.

That's not a laptop - more like a sewing machine with a keyboard.

 

[azev]

My inspiron 8600 is almost 2yrs old, and its still going strong. Nothing broked so far, and I travel with it alot. The only issues I am having recently is battery life, I think it only lasted 1hr at full charged.
Right now I am contemplating to either get new laptop or upgrade the drive to 7200rpm and quadruple the memory (2GB).

 

[Texun]

I've got a Dell Inspiron that's going on 3 nears next month. It's been droped in the parkling lot twice and at least 4 from my desk. Wasn't running at the time but ut's trun ever since then. The onlyu thing I had replaced was the LCD display after about 3 months. I'ts been tuff as a boot.

 

[Jeff7]

I'm of the opinion that solid state technology should really last indefinitely. Anything else should last at least 5 years. Anything else, really, I mean think about it. Stuff should last awhile. The floppy drive in my PC, for example - that, and my keyboard, are old for PC stuff. 1996-old. And they still work. Cheap fans, maybe those will wear out. I only use fans with ball bearings or Panaflo's Hydrowave bearings. They can last for years with constant use.
I guess this is my mini-tirade on how we seem to think of it as "normal" when computers die after only a year or two, just because of their impending obselecence.

 

[vegetation]

I never had any problem with laptops after 1 year. If the laptop has a flaw, it's going to show itself right when you get it, if not a few days later. As for batteries, I always buy an extra battery pack when I order a laptop. Places like dell or hp give you a decent discount when you buy it bundled with the laptop. That way, I have two packs and find it reduces the crap-out life of the battery enormously. Hard drives are hardly an issue anymore, they are dirt cheap in case yours ever crashes (just be smart and do routine backups, as you should with everything).

 

[IronMentality]

I've had my Dell Inspiron 9300 for almost six months now, no problems whatsoever. Love the big 17" screen!

 

[Abhi]

2 years + on a Inspiron 8500 .. and still going strong...

although the Dell support has helped

 

[BG4533]

My Gateway Solo 5300 is about 4.5yrs old. The battery died after a year. The network card and DVD drive also had to be replaced after a year or so. After 3 years the fan on the HS got really loud and the laptop started overheating. I picked up a replacement from Ebay and things have been working well since.

I think a 3yr warranty is a good idea for most laptops.

 

[Phluxed]

I've got a sager... I forget the model. 2 Years and running. It had truckloads of manufacturer defects when I first bought it. I sent it to the people that put it together, and showed them a list of the problems. The warrenty covered everything but the plastic USB covers that completely just came off. No bending, just plugged a USB device in, and the caps came with them when removed. I paid maybe an extra $40 for the labour and the parts were free. Things run perfectly ever since, except when I was a douche and removed the battery while it was on. Thing charges to 20% and then thinks its full.

Personally, a 3 year warrenty is a great idea. I'm a software developer and do all my work on this machine. If it were to break and I had to pay all this extra money to have it fixed, I'd not be able to work, and lose money on both fronts. 3yrs for the win.

 

[Edman]

I don't want to be an A-Hole, but didn´t this post supose to be in SFF, Notebook category?

Just asking!!

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: Edman
I don't want to be an A-Hole, but didn´t this post supose to be in SFF, Notebook category?

Just asking!!

who do you think you are? Nik?

 

[andylawcc]

so, the general concensus is they last at least 3-4 years minus some parts like battery and hdd.

 

[Oyeve]

I have many laptops, the oldest one I have that still works is an IBM Thinkpad 760. Going on 8 years now. Of course the batttery is dead and only has a 1gb HD but it still works and makes a great firewall.

 

[jonesthewine]

I think it boils down to how well the laptop owner takes care of their stuff in general. With proper care, they can last a long time. High heat does tend to age the HDD at a faster-than-normal pace, IMO.