Life of your ThinkPad

Hi...



Been reading the threads concerning the durability of ThinkPads. Noted the general consensus that they are durable machines - more so than the competition.



So, my question is: How long have you been using your ThinkPad? Alternatively, how old is your ThinkPad? Both questions refer to your active machine and not any secondary machine that you may have?



Also, an indication of what model it is and if you have done any significant work on it - like replacing parts etc. would be very insightful.



I am trying to (rather unscientifically) gauge how long will it take for an average TP user to upgrade or change to a new machine (TP or otherwise).



Thanks



PS: I would begin by answering my own questions, but since my machine is relatively new - only a few months old - it does not count, I guess.

Reply 1 : Life of your ThinkPad

Here is a link to a topic I started about "How often do you upgrade your Thinkpad". It got quite long too: How often do YOU buy a new ThinkPad?

Reply 2 : Life of your ThinkPad

My T410 was born in April of this year. It's too early to tell how reliable it is yet.

Reply 3 : Life of your ThinkPad

i still got the T41 and i use it all the time (T40's fan is gone and needs replacement). Usually every 2 years is the average life of Thinkpads in the corporate environment that i have encountered. So basically everytime a new thinkpad is released.

Reply 4 : Life of your ThinkPad

Quote:

Originally Posted by lead_org Usually every 2 years is the average life of Thinkpads in the corporate environment that i have encountered.

That is short.

Reply 5 : Life of your ThinkPad

My X300 is date-stamped 07/12, and I got it shortly after that. Since I haven't fully transitioned over to the X301 yet, it's still my daily system.

Reply 6 : Life of your ThinkPad

Quote:

Originally Posted by warakawa That is short.

that is for thinkpads on lease, it is usually around 3 years average if the systems were purchased.

Reply 7 : Life of your ThinkPad

Depends on the person. Some people just don't care about their corporate owned machine. They beat them up pretty good in three years. Other people I know can destroy a machine in less time.



I take good care of my personal and company owned machines. 5 years is common for stuff under my care.

Reply 8 : Life of your ThinkPad

I think the are at least four variables in this equation that determine the life of a laptop:



(the built quality) x (level of care) x (amount of usage) x (amount of traveling) = life of your laptop.



built quality is just one factor, people who buy thinkpads are more likely to take care of their laptops however they also tend to use their laptops more intensively than an average consumer.



People are also likely to upgrade before their laptop even die due to software requirement, for tax incentives or simply wanting to have the latest laptop.

Reply 9 : Life of your ThinkPad

I got my X40 in Aug 2005. It's got a 40GB harddrive that spins at 4200rpm. At some point I increased the ram to 1GB. I used it all through university and I still use it close to every day. The USB ports on my 5 year old desktop computer stopped working, so I have to use the Thinkpad to get songs on my mp3 player.



A Thinkpad bought today could easily last 5years+ because the intel dual core processors have way way way more processing power than the average word processor/spreadsheet/websurfing type person needs.



In the near future ultra thin dual core netbooks might make be tempting enough to make you want to upgrade before 5years is up. Check out intel Canoe Lake design as an example of what might on the market next year.



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