Shelf Life of an iMac?

Liam · Dec 19, 2010

Without jinxing myself, is there an average shelf life of an iMac?

I have had this iMac since October 2006 and it is used and/or on all day, everyday, and pretty much has been since I bought it all those years ago.

I have things backed up should the unthinkable ever happen, but I am wondering as and when hardware components will begin to come to the end of their lives, and if anything inside was to break, would there likely be anything in particular that would go first?

I would say (and again, without jinxing myself) that the machine is still running like a dream as it has from the first day I bought it.

s2odin · Dec 19, 2010

Liam said:
Without jinxing myself, is there an average shelf life of an iMac?

I have had this iMac since October 2006 and it is used and/or on all day, everyday, and pretty much has been since I bought it all those years ago.

I have things backed up should the unthinkable ever happen, but I am wondering as and when hardware components will begin to come to the end of their lives, and if anything inside was to break, would there likely be anything in particular that would go first?

I would say (and again, without jinxing myself) that the machine is still running like a dream as it has from the first day I bought it.

First thing to go is probably the hard drive. It is constantly being accessed and they are usually the first things to go. You got probably another year or two left on it tho.

louishen · Dec 19, 2010

Who knows

I still use a G4 built in 2001 as my server - works a charm

I also own a Mac SE30 from 1989 that still boots up, although putting it on a network or even the internet would be a bit of a stretch.

brairden · Dec 19, 2010

My g4 imac has been running all day, everyday since 2002. Never replaced a single component.

chas_m · Dec 19, 2010

Computer parts are like lightbulbs -- they COULD go for years and years and years, or they COULD go *at any moment.*

Stay backed up and don't worry about it. I would say the *average* Mac users tends to *want* to replace their machine (rather than *has* to) about every five-six years. Power users a bit more often, light-duty users a bit less often.

XJ-linux · Dec 19, 2010

Liam said:
Without jinxing myself, is there an average shelf life of an iMac?

I have had this iMac since October 2006 and it is used and/or on all day, everyday, and pretty much has been since I bought it all those years ago.

I have things backed up should the unthinkable ever happen, but I am wondering as and when hardware components will begin to come to the end of their lives, and if anything inside was to break, would there likely be anything in particular that would go first?

I would say (and again, without jinxing myself) that the machine is still running like a dream as it has from the first day I bought it.

My money is on the display and hard disk giving up the ship first. Since you have backups, you've done all you can do short of saving for the next one (which perhaps you've done). The hardware that Apple sources to build their systems seems to last quite a while.

50voltphantom · Dec 21, 2010

My iMac G3 from 2000 still runs great. I recently pulled it's 10GB HD and swapped it with a 40GB but that original drive is still in working order, as is the rest of the machine. The only hardware that HAD to be replaced was the PROM battery.

Cube1 · Dec 22, 2010

I'm running the same '06 imac you are and I too use it everyday for video editing, framework web development and graphic design....still running without a glitch....X >.< X

Shelf Life of an iMac?

Liam

s2odin

louishen

brairden

chas_m

Guest

XJ-linux

50voltphantom

Cube1

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