How often do you upgrade your Mac?

[Titoist]

For those of you who buy Macs, doesn't matter what model, how often do you buy one or "upgrade"?

My reason for asking is that I have a MacBook Air 3,1 which I bought in Nov 2010. Back then I needed it for my commute on the train to work where I used it for data, spreadsheets, and writing. I no longer do that anymore and the Macbook has been gathering dust since Sept 2011. I would love to use it to play WoW at my friends house but the 64GB SSD is not enough room with the software I need. WoW for Mac takes up anywhere between 14-25GB. I was thinking of upgrading but this laptop is still practically new and warranty does not run out until next year.

What do you guys think?

P.S. I am not considering a Windows Laptop.

[Order_66]

I upgrade my mac mini once a year for the past 4 years, I just take the old one and put it on ebay where it brings real close to the same amount of money a new one costs then I go buy a new one.

[+Gl1tterUnic0rns Subscriber²]

I have a 13-inch, Mid 2009 MacBook Pro, and it still works great, I perhaps will upgrade next year with a macbook Air, However RAM/HDD and graphics are the main things I look at.

[Titoist]

Ive had my MacBook Air on Kijiji for about 6 months. Asking $900 with Warranty. No takers. :(, I took it down 2 weeks ago.

[dead.cell]

Ive had my MacBook Air on Kijiji for about 6 months. Asking $900 with Warranty. No takers. :(, I took it down 2 weeks ago.

Might have to do better than that. I can get the low end Macbook Air new for $940 at Best Buy (possibly cheaper if you ask them to price-match for educational discount), and maybe even about at $900ish or so for an open box item, with the 30 day return policy and 1 yr manufacture's warranty.

[einsteinbqat]

I use it until it's unusable or that it really is time to upgrade. I bought this iMac in 2011. Before the iMac, I had a PowerBook G4 for 8 years. The PowerBook still is working fine, but, since it is a PPC machine, and Apple does not support PPC and Leopard, I brought it to work, and I've set it as a time-punch machine for my staff. You do not need a very sophisticated machine to register work time.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

For those of you who buy Macs, doesn't matter what model, how often do you buy one or "upgrade"?

I'm writing this from my Macbook. The only one I've owned (bought about 4 years ago). It still runs perfectly fine, but I have been considering buying a replacement one for a while now...the only issue I have is that they no longer make the 17 inch screen model that I have at the moment. :(

[Old Man Pickle]

13-inch mid-2009 MacBook Air and until I feel it struggling with everyday tasks I'll keep it. Before that I had a iBook G3 since 2003.

[Matthew S.]

I had a late 2009 MacBook (got in before the 2010 update) and then I got a late 2011 MacBook Pro (again before the 2012 update) so every two years or so for me.

[Arpit]

3 to 5 years...had my first mac, 12" powerbook in 2004 > macbook pro in late 2007 (santa rosa) > macbook pro retina in mid 2012

only upgraded when i hit a point where the machine was literally unusable.

[daz411]

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro and I was thinking of upgrading but then bought an SSD instead. Feels like new again. I'm keeping this sucker for at least another 2-3 years.

[Motoko.]

If the chrome pixel is using nonremovable flash storage, what are chances apple will follow through?

[vhane]

Every 2-3 years.

[temple_treefrog]

I upgrade every 30-36 months.

[xWhiplash]

I have a 2010 Mac Pro. I have performed upgrades on that three times. Twice to add SSDs, and once to upgrade the video card to a EVGA GeForce 680 GTX

[Sikh]

My 2007 Mid Model MBP 15" Antiglare served me well till last year. I got tired of waiting for things, was using my custom built desktop more. But then got a job where we use macs / linux mainly and the retina got announced / released and I got a REALLY good deal on the highest end possible machine. Im expecting to get 4-6 years out of this bad boy. Expect before the 3 year mark to get a new battery under AC and ill be good for another 3. Paired with a TB Display, ****ing love this thing more then my desktop.

[Raa]

I upgraded my Macs once just after they arrived.

[.Neo]

2007: 24-inch iMac (mid 2007)

2009: Mac Pro (Nehalem)

2010: 27-inch iMac (medio 2010)

2012: 27-inch iMac (late 2012)

I bought an additional 8 GB of memory for my new 27-inch iMac, beyond that I haven't upgraded any of them. I did buy a Magic Mouse for my 2009 Mac Pro when it was first released and later on a Magic Trackpad. I really couldn't care less about the upgradability of Macs, unlike some others here. I just sell my old Macs for a good price and get myself a new one.

[PyX]

People who buy Macs often (every 3 years or less), can you tell me how much it costs on long term, minus the money you got for selling them ? I'm asking myself if I should go for this model of thinking rather than waiting until it's broken or not worth anything, because I know Apple products depreciating curve is rather linear instead of ... like an inverse function.

Say I'm ready to spent $500/year on a computer. Instead of selling a new $3000 iMac in 5 years for $500, I'd rather sell it in 2 years for $2000 and get a better one. It's the same in my head in terms of money.

[Tech085]

I upgrade every time there is something major updated.

[TurboShrimp]

as much as I like osx the price of macs is just absurd

I can do everything I need on an ipad and do not have a problem upgrading ipad once a year . but the macbooks and imacs are a HUGE ripp off

yes they are made good but not worth the money if you think you are getting a good deal you are blind

remember an 13" MacBook pro that sells for $1199.00 only has $400 worth of parts inside tell me how that's a smart buy

[Brian M. Veteran]

Usually every 18 months or so - but I'm keeping my current ones for a while!

I have a 2.6" Retina MBP which I want 3 years out of - and a 2011 iMac, which I've upgraded to an i7, 32GB RAM, and 2 SSDs in Raid 0. That should do me for a while!

[.Neo]

yes they are made good but not worth the money if you think you are getting a good deal you are blind

I don't care for a bulky PC case in my living room so I wanted an all-in-one. I did my research and not a single company offered me the same or something better for less money than Apple. As it turns out the iMac is the best deal you can get when it comes down to the all-in-one market. Many tech sites and magazines came to the exact same conclusion.

On top of that investing a single euro in Windows 8 is investing one too many in my opinion. I gladly pay a bit more for the OS X experience I actually enjoy rather than paying less for a product I end up hating.

[Shadrack]

I'm still rocking a mid-2009 15" MBP that I will probably use until the screen dies or something. Just got the battery replaced last year and the year before that I installed an SSD. Its fine for my needs (light photo/image editing, programming, word documents, web browsing).

If you are looking to sell your old Mac, it is best to sell right after the release of a new model (or just before if you can swing it).

[.Neo]

If you are looking to sell your old Mac, it is best to sell right after the release of a new model (or just before if you can swing it).

Just before is golden! :D