I like macs as much as the next guy, but you're going a little overboard here. They're nice looking and the OS is a breeze to use, but they are pricey for what you get. I think the op was looking for less then 1000, so that pretty much rules out any of the aluminum unibodies anyway. Just for the record, I had a gateway that I traded away that was about six years old, thing was still running great. I do think it's more about how you treat your laptop then anything that determines longevity.

Originally Posted by docvinh I like macs as much as the next guy, but you're going a little overboard here. They're nice looking and the OS is a breeze to use, but they are pricey for what you get. I think the op was looking for less then 1000, so that pretty much rules out any of the aluminum unibodies anyway. Just for the record, I had a gateway that I traded away that was about six years old, thing was still running great. I do think it's more about how you treat your laptop then anything that determines longevity.

I definitely agree that a well taken care of laptop will last a long time. But the thing is, laptops are almost impossible to handle well. If you take it with you everywhere, like me, it's going to get beat up. That's why people like me can't settle for a normal HP laptop, it'll never last. People who take their laptop with them have to go with an aluminum body Mac or a Toughbook or a Thinkpad, or the laptop is going to break within months.

The reason laptops last so long for some people, is that they don't use them for portability, like they were meant to. My room mate has a kind of a cheap laptop. (You can tell just by looking at it.) But it's in perfect condition, because it NEVER leaves the room. OP, you don't have to buy a Mac, but if you're going to be moving your laptop around, I suggest a tough laptop that can survive a few bumps, scrapes and drops.

I'm not pretending to be an expert on laptops, but I've dealt with my fair share of them. I've worked on dozens of laptops over the years, and I've owned at least 11 of them. And in my experience, here's the toughest laptops I've ever seen.

Macbook
IBM Thinkpad
Toughbook (Never used one, but read a lot about them)
Alienware (The old Alienware, not the shitty Dell versions)
OLD Compaqs (I mean the old, beastly, throw-out-your back-heavy ones)

And HP and Dells are definitely the crappiest laptops out there. And no, it doesn't depend on price. My cousin's family has bought 2 brand new Dell laptops in the past year, both cost more than $1200, and both have had hard drive failures and other issues within the past year. And HP laptops fall apart at every nook at cranny. The batteries are carp. The screens and the screen protectors are crap. The case comes apart at the seams. The mouse buttons break easily.

I'm not advertising Macs, even though it sounds like I am. I'm just saying, there's very few well built laptops out there, so make sure you do your research. Google is extremely helpful.

Originally Posted by Access_Denied Yeah, but even if it lasts the 7 years, it won't be usable. It'll have what, 512MB of RAM and a 20GB hard drive? Trying running Vista on that. On the other hand, her 7 year old Macbook runs Leopard just fine. I used to stand by PCs too, but it comes down to the facts: Macbooks are built better. They use more expensive parts so they last longer and are usable longer. Yeah, there are PCs out there that do the same thing, but not many. If you want a good, reliable laptop that will last you a while, and still be usable for something more than Solitaire, get a Macbook. Oh, and a Macbook is one of the few lines of laptops whose battery doesn't crap out after a few years.

god I hope you are smarter than you make yourself sound, or you must fall down a lot and hear a loud wistling sound whenever their is a breeze.

ram and hard drive? Yes, because what matters is the easiest components to upgrade. Windows 7 runs beautifully on older and lower spec hardware. Win 7 pro runs almost as smooth on my netbook as it does on my 13" macbook pro. Besides, while you're 7 year macbook may run leopard fine (which I doubt) it won't run snow leopard or anything that comes out later since they dropped support for the old hardware.

Macbooks do not use more expensive parts, they just charge more for them. Unless you are talking about lower spec laptops which come with a much lower price, you are once again talking out of your ass. As for build quality, anyone in the know is aware that apple skimps a lot. The only advantage they have on builds is that they give you next to zero choice on hardware, and it's easy to make things look reliable if they are all exactly the same. If apple ever opened up OSX to an open market it would be a disaster trying to support all of the hardware out of there.

I almost fell out of my chair laughing at your post about not being able to take care of a laptop. Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean the rest of world is. My 5 year old gateway tablet still works as good as the day I bought it, and up until around 1 to 1.5 years ago I carried it everywhere I went. Take care of it and don't be an idiot and any laptop will hold up no problem.

Originally Posted by n25philly god I hope you are smarter than you make yourself sound, or you must fall down a lot and hear a loud wistling sound whenever their is a breeze. ram and hard drive? Yes, because what matters is the easiest components to upgrade. Windows 7 runs beautifully on older and lower spec hardware. Win 7 pro runs almost as smooth on my netbook as it does on my 13" macbook pro. Besides, while you're 7 year macbook may run leopard fine (which I doubt) it won't run snow leopard or anything that comes out later since they dropped support for the old hardware. Macbooks do not use more expensive parts, they just charge more for them. Unless you are talking about lower spec laptops which come with a much lower price, you are once again talking out of your ass. As for build quality, anyone in the know is aware that apple skimps a lot. The only advantage they have on builds is that they give you next to zero choice on hardware, and it's easy to make things look reliable if they are all exactly the same. If apple ever opened up OSX to an open market it would be a disaster trying to support all of the hardware out of there. I almost fell out of my chair laughing at your post about not being able to take care of a laptop. Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean the rest of world is. My 5 year old gateway tablet still works as good as the day I bought it, and up until around 1 to 1.5 years ago I carried it everywhere I went. Take care of it and don't be an idiot and any laptop will hold up no problem.

Just because you disagree with me, doesn't mean you have to be an ass about it. It just makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about. Also, please learn English, that way when you type out your insults, you at least look like you know how to do it correctly.

Also, Windows 7 REQUIRES at least 1GB of RAM. And I know for a fact that it doesn't run that great on that little RAM, as I've used it on brand new computers with 2GB of RAM, and it still lags if you have 2 or 3 applications open at the same time. Also, most 7 year old laptops would NOT have 1GB of RAM, so a 7 year old PC is no more likely to run Windows 7 than a 7 year old Macbook is to run Snow Leopard.

Also, how can you say that Macbooks don't come with more expensive parts? Yes, the RAM and Hard Drive are easily replaceable, but Apple still only uses the top brand, while not all other laptop manufacturers do. Also, what about the body? I know that's more expensive. Or the glass screen? Or the backlit keyboard. Even the build in camera is high quality. Also, don't ignore the power supply. It's half the size and runs at a third of the heat as most laptop power supplies. And one of the most important things, the battery. The battery actually does last 6 or 7 hours with normal use, whereas other laptops, like my old HP that advertised 7 hours, only got about 4.5 hours.

Also, how can you seriously tell me that a plastic laptop is no more likely to break than a metal one? Yes, I realize that not all laptops are crap, and a lot of them will hold up, but many of them won't, especially in comparison to an Macbook with an aluminum body. A aluminum body simply isn't capable of some of the defects that plastic bodies can suffer. And yes, everybody is careful with their laptops, but shit happens. I accidentally dropped my HP in my book bag from about 3 feet up and broke the screen. You know how many times I've had the same drop with my macbook? You can argue with me all you want, but if you really want to know, go and take an aluminum body Macbook and a plastic body laptop, and throw them around a little bit. I'd bet my ass that the Macbook would last a lot longer than the other laptop would.

Like I said, I don't have an extreme amount of experience, but I have a decent amount, and through my experience, Macbooks are more reliable laptops. You may have different experiences, and that's fine. It doesn't make me wrong or stupid, it just means that I have different experiences than you.

Go with Dell XPS if you want good parts

Stay away from Dell.

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My advice, stay away from HP. Go for Lenovo, that will be my next notebook when I get a new one, unless they go to shit by than.