Lifespan of Mac vs PC?

Question

if anybody can find a website showing the average lifespans of both desktop mac and pcs and/or laptop lifespans of both, 10 points!

Answer 1

Here is a windows point of view:

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/92605,32-reasons-why-pcs-are-better-than-macs.aspx



If you want a real down to earth website for Macs:

http://lowendmac.com/musings/longer.shtml



Walt Mossberg does have some thoughts as to your question showing you a site here are a few again each has there own opinion as it really comes down to how well you take care of it as mentioned above.

http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20080605/do-macs-last-longer-than-windows-pcs/





There are more sites.........

Answer 2

Unfortunately, your question isn't precise enough to answer and there really aren't any charts because of that unless you look for strictly hardware failure examples.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/06/27/gartner_hardware_failure_rates/



Are you talking about a system that will never be upgraded with new programs and hardware, or is going to run as is with the programs it has forever?



For a system that will be used with modern programs, you could be looking at as little as 3 years before the new programs will not run on the system for power users or 4-5 years for a standard user. This is PC and MAC. Mac OS's are just as likely to break programs as a major windows upgrade.



For a strictly "how long until the hardware fails" question it becomes much more difficult to predict because so many parts are now universal - they can fail in both a pc and mac. But 6 years is usually the high end before hardware failure although you will always find the people with computers that are still running since the 90's, or even old commodore 64's.



Some good web sites are:

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/14363.aspx

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7586_102-0.html?threadID=316353

Answer 3

What you forgot to mention is that Mac OS X is designed especially for the Mac. Mac OS X therefore does not require any third party drivers. People sometimes state that Macs use outdated hardware, but what they forget is that Apple sticks to a release cycle and do not release new devices every week such as other manufacturers (HP, Dell, ASUS, Sony, Acer, Toshiba, et cetera). Mac OS X is also very lightweight and does not consume much system resources, which means that a Mac model which is close to being refreshed in its release cycle and which therefore according to some is made of "outdated" hardware, still performs better than most PC's and notebooks for example which are only just released, but which have Microsoft Windows installed and which require third party drivers to function. As for viruses, there are a few viruses for Mac OS X, but all of these require user interaction, thanks to the way that Mac OS X is set up. The chance of getting a virus is therefore very, very small currently still. Mac OS X is also the most easy to use operating system around. It simply works.

Answer 4

People have some funny ideas when it comes to comparing Mac's to PC's so here goes

Spot the Difference

What Makes a Mac computer?

Intel Mother Board

Intel CPU

Memory

Hard Drive

CD/DVD Rom



What Makes a PC

Intel Mother Board

Intel CPU

Memory

Hard Drive

CD/DVD Rom

Did you spot the Difference?.... NONE!



What Makes the Mac better than a PC?

The Operating system OS/x it's more Stable but it can and dose get Viruses

Why do Mac Users Install Windows? Because Mac software is more expensive to buy!



What Kills the PC?

Windows Operating Systems, It slow. unstable, gets Viruses, Trojans, Malware and Spyware,



Can a PC out match the Mac?

YES it Can and Does using the right operating systems

Unknown to both Microsoft and Mac computer users there are many Free Operating Systems available for both systems, that put windows and Mac OS/x years behind the times, in 3D desktop graphic, with Multiple desktops, and Free Application software, including Education, 3D Action Games, Video Audio and Animation software. Anything you want or can get for windows or the mac you can get Free with Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, Gentoo, Debian, just to mention a few of the free Operating systems available to you



for free Operating Systems.that are better than Mac OS/x and windows check this website out

http://www.distrowatch.com

Answer 5

Average Life Of A Mac

Answer 6

Mac is an OS. Windows is an OS. PC is NOT AN OS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway... OS has nothing to do with life span, but rather the parts of a computer. Every processor in the World is unique (just any serious overclocker), so its hard to say exactly how long a life span will be. Generally, I would recommend a computer that has good cooling. Good cooling is generally easier find on a Windows machine because your're not confined to the mini case. There's a reason why computers have all that space in them... its for airflow. But you can also find a windows machine that has horrible cooling. All the Macs I've worked with overheat notoriously, so I would say that a Windows machine will generally have a longer lifespan