How long has your computer lasted?

[RavenSEAL]

CPU, motherboard and RAM.

The brains, nerve system and skeleton of a computer.
All the rest is fluff.

Alrighty.

My P4 system lasted me from 2004-2008.
My Wolfdale system lasted me from early 2009 to mid 2011.
My current system, Thuban X6/Piledriver should last me until at least 2014.

 

[nickb64]

We have a Pentium D system that was running fine for about 5.5 years, until the PSU (I think) gave up the ghost in July. I didn't bother messing with it because it just wasn't worth it.

It really depends on what you're doing. If I built a new machine right now with a Sandy Bridge Pentium, i3, or i5, at least 4GB of RAM, and around 500GB of disk space, maybe an SSD boot drive thrown in, my mom and sister would likely not feel a need to upgrade for another 5-6 years, barring any crazy changes in technology or things needing more power, but I don't foresee that happening.

 

[Blitzvogel]

This laptop's CPU was released in: Q2'07

Merom T7700

If you think about it, old laptops (assuming you're not expecting any decent gaming performance) should have quite a good shelf life, just like desktops used for mostly practical stuff. A T7700 is still loads better than any dual core Atom based notebook and competitive with AMD mainstream and dual core mobile CPUs released years later :awe:

Currently desktop is about 2.5 years old in it's current configuration (Phenom II x4 925, Radeon 5850, 4 GB DDR3). The case, mobo, and power supply are close to three years old though. I'm certain I'll replace the 5850 by the end of this year, and going on a three year cycle, I would replace the whole system outright, but I may hold off. It's held up extremely well though I've been clamouring to build an Intel system.

 

[nyker96]

some of the posts here are amazing, never thought a computer can last more than 3-4 years. good for you guys!

Actually I think the reason I lost any interest on upgrading is because I don't game much any more on top of the lack of cpu competition. It's about the only thing that drives me to upgrade in the past. Now, pretty much the toughest thing I do on this machine are web, java, ruby, python etc. and my ubuntu VM. which the x4 620 is more than enough for.

still i will take the bait on Haswell since by then most of the parts in my machine will have ran out of warranty. good excuse to get something new.

 

[dmarkham421]

I've got an ancient Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754 system that's been limping along for coming on 8 years. It's currently being used as an HTPC, used to be my gaming PC, even played SC2 on it.

Its got a nvidia 6600GT AGP in it, though originally it had a radeon 9800. Needless to say, it will be replaced very soon with a new Ivy Bridge system.

 

[RavenSEAL]

some of the posts here are amazing, never thought a computer can last more than 3-4 years. good for you guys!

Actually I think the reason I lost any interest on upgrading is because I don't game much any more on top of the lack of cpu competition. It's about the only thing that drives me to upgrade in the past. Now, pretty much the toughest thing I do on this machine are web, java, ruby, python etc. and my ubuntu VM. which the x4 620 is more than enough for.

still i will take the bait on Haswell since by then most of the parts in my machine will have ran out of warranty. good excuse to get something new.

They can last a lot more than 3-4 years, believe me. I still have a 98 P3 box that boots up and runs ubuntu on a gig of ram and 633 MHz

 

[Bman123]

I think the longest I have had a pc set up is maybe 6 months if I am lucky. I always end up swapping the cpu or video card to something better. I am pushing 5 months with my current set up and it's about to get donated to someone when I build a new pc once I get my taxes back this week

 

[Infraction Jack]

I usually get a new one every 4 years but I still use my ancient keyboard and mouse with the proper adapters.

 

[DigDog]

E6600 on gigabyte DS3, still going strong. bought it on launch.

broke the pushpins on my ACPro 7, my viewsonic 2235 died, and my asus 8800gts artefacted and never got fixed. everything else is still original - hard disks, ram, case fans, psu, dvdr, even the floppy reader (lol).

oh yes all running on 1.38 24/7 x365

 

[pauldun170]

The current old timer is a P4 2.8c (HT) on a shuttle board/ Currently 3gig ram and an AGP 7600gt. Its has a load of stuff on there running windows 7 but I rarely turn it on.
The P4 was originally ordered in 2003 paired with an Abit IC-7. The IC7 lasted a little over a year and I replaced that board with the Shuttle AB60r that works just as well as the day I bought it.

The second oldest is a HP DV9207us circa 2007. That is actually used on regular basis and may be one of the few that didn't overheat itself to death. All original. 7600 hasn't fried itself and with windows 7 it runs a hell of a lot cooler than it did with the Vista it came with.

Typing this on the rig I built in early 2009

 

[Ventanni]

Built this machine in 2007 if my memory serves me right. I have overclocked the CPU to 3.2ghz (from 2.66ghz), doubled the RAM from 2gb to 4gb, and gone all the way from a Geforce 8800 GTS ---> Radeon 4850 ---> Geforce 285 ---> Radeon 5850, and upgrade the OS from Vista 32bit to Windows 7 64bit. I also put a 640gb HD it from the original 320gb.

So, it's seen a few upgrades, but overall the same system.

BUT! I can say I've been using this Pioneer 16/40x Slot Load DVDROM since my Athlon Slot1 700mhz! How's that for longevity? Thing still works like a champ too.

Edit - I think I've been using the Pioneer 16x DVDROM for that long... I've used it for so long that I can't remember.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Three years for my 939 rig (only received an upgrade from a 3700+ to an Opty 165), another 3 years for my AM2+ rig (X1900 -> 5770 -> 6950 and X2 7750 -> X2 255 -> 1055T -> 960T).

Didn't even need to upgrade from the 960T, but you know... geeks... new toys... ugh

 

[Cpus]

I've had my dell dimension l600cx for 12 years and it works great. Not once have I had to get it repaired or replace anything. Of course I don't use it too often anymore except for the Pinball on it. I still have it plugged in and use it occasionally.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

My little brother has my old setup (q6600 + p35-dq6) and that's been running at 3.5ghz for nearly 5 years now... Wow I can't believe the q6600 is that old!

 

[MooMooCow]

My main computer is an E6600 @ 3.0 GHZ. My last computer was a 1.5 Willamette P4 that lasted me from 2000 to 2007.

God those years with the Willamette sucked.

 

[Xpage]

My last two systems each lasted 5 years, of course by year 5 the pain was getting pretty unbearable, but I don't play the latest games with max settings, not much gaming at all nowadays.

 

[Eddie313]

I have a Old dos box at work still running last time it was messed with was 1997.
Still runs like a champ 24/7 365/ It compiles data for a very old cnc

 

[Becandl]

I have had quite a few computers, and all of them have lasted, no issues at all (other than software glitches that were fixed with a clean install of Win7). All of them would still run if I used them, but right now, a lot of them are in a computer junkyard in my basement with all the parts separated. I still have a computer from 2000 that runs Windows ME, and it still boots perfectly well! Not much use for it anymore though (it's a Pentium 2), so it's just sitting down there doing nothing. I'll probably recycle it sometime soon.

 

[Gs dewd]

I have a Abit kt7a that I built like 12 or so years ago that is still being used 24/7 as my file server.

 

[pyjujiop]

I have two old laptops that still get regular service, one of them a Dell Inspiron 5000E from 2003 with a P3-850, and the other a Toshiba Satellite from 2005 with a Pentium M. I upgraded the 1.6 GHz Dothan to a 2.0 model in that one, also pulled the slow HDD and replaced it with a new 160GB WD drive.

I have a Compaq Presario 1273 made in 1999 that still works fine, too. It's been upgraded from a K6-2 333 to a K6-III+ 400. Still pretty slow these days though.

As for my main rig, it gets updated every 12-18 months with a new mobo, sometimes gets a new CPU midway through. The case (Antec SX1040B), Logitech Marble Mouse, and IBM Model M keyboard are all at least 10 years old, and the monitor is a 21" CRT from about the same time period. The case started with a K6-III back in 2002, and now holds a Thuban. In between, I used a T-bird 1400@1.52, an Athlon XP 1600+ @1.81, an unlocked Applebred @2.25, a mobile Barton @2.3, an A64 @2.5, an E4300 @3.1, an Athlon II X4 620 @3.25, and a Phenom II B50 @3.5.

 

[Avalon]

I've been with my current PC for four years, which is the longest I've gone without a cpu/mobo change. Used to upgrade that every year. I upgraded the hard drive a year and a half ago, the video card a year ago, and the power supply 9 months ago.

Going to re-use those upgrade parts for my new Ivy Bridge build next week. Will be nice going from a Core 2 E8400 to an i5 3570K.

 

[Iketh]

This thread got me thinking about all my previous systems... I'm shocked at how many times I've upgraded...

286 12mhz ~1991-1995
386 ~1995-1996
Cyrix 200 PR ~1996-1999
AMD T-Bird 750mhz
AMD XP 2000+
AMD X2 3800
AMD Phenom 9500 2.2ghz @ 2.5ghz, my first quad!!
AMD Phenom II 3.2ghz @ 3.6ghz
Intel 2600K @ 3.8 - 4.5ghz, depending

That's averaging a whole new system every 2 years, though recently it's been much sooner than that and only getting worse with my kids (6 and 7) needing their own systems now and another on the way...

 

[Decoman]

My first desktop computer is now about 54 months old (since late 2007), and I am fortunate to be upgrading the motherboard, cpu, memory and cpu cooler in a couple of days.

Old setup:
Antec p182 --> p280, Q6600 @ 3.5 GHz, MSI P35 Platinum motherboard

New setup:
Antec p280, i7 2700k, Asus Maximus IV Extreme B3 (P67) motherboard, Noctua NH-D14 cooler

I have had a few harddrives failing from a variety of reasons and a CD-Rom died on me.

 

[bbhaag]

AMD Athlon(B) XP 3200+ 2.20 GHz, ASUS name: A7V8Z-LA, 2gig of ram, GeForce 6200 256MB 64-bit AGP Video Card

Originally purchased late in '04 by my parents. They bought new and I inherited it then I upgraded and now my son uses it almost everyday. web surfing, SC2, homework, ect.

 

[jellowiggler]

My oldest working pc is a 91-92 Mac classic.

My normal use pc is a q6600 running at 3.2ghz. I built it in 2008 as the core2 family was phasing out to the first gen i7 chips. Still works like a champ. I did upgrade the graphics to gtx560 ti, and had to put an ssd in once it got to $1 per gb.

I have an athlon x2 5000 in a home theatre box that was built in 2006.

There is a server we set up at work that is an Athlon x2 4600 939 system, built in 2004 I think. It's serving web sites and FTP 24/7. Not a problem.