<p>DD has a MAC, bought it in 2004. In 2005 we paid about $400 for some repair, hard drive, motherboard, she does not recall.</p>
<p>Her finder is malfunctioning so she checked with the MAC store; they ran a hardware test and they recommended buying a new hard drive online and having a certified store install it- cost maybe $250.</p>
<p>Is it a smart investment or should she start looking at new ones? How long do MACs last? Will everything else start to die or be outdated technology?</p>
<p>Why am I getting brand name PC ads for $400-500 laptops, but a new MAC would be over $1000??</p>
<p>You can buy a pretty decent PC for under $500 right now. Personally I’d go with a new PC. Apple has a monopoly on their product so unless she really needs a MAC she can have a new PC with extended warranty for $500.</p>
<p>As someone who has had macs at home for more than 20 years - and uses PCs daily in his job, I do see both sides of the argument. Quickly summarized:</p>
<p>Apple makes more reliable hardware with a much better operating system that is much less painful to support or to use. They also come with a number of very useful programs. Some software packages are not available for the mac (although everything I need to use is available on both).</p>
<p>Microsoft and the various PC manufacturers will sell you a cheaper platform that is “open” and more standard. Basically all software is available for the PC.</p>
<p>Personally both of my kids have grown up with Macs and will take Mac laptops to school with them. My belief is that they are there to learn - not to trouble shoot the latest virus or hardware incompatibility. </p>
<p>In answer to your questions - if your daughter’s mac has an Intel chip inside, it is worth repairing in my opinion. If it is a powerPC chip, then never mind, junk it. If you go to the apple menu and look at the “about this mac” item, it will tell you what processor is inside. If the machine is not able to boot, please post the exact model (e.g. Powerbook, MacBook) and I’ll tell you what is inside.</p>
<p>My daughter’s ibook is over 5 years old and still going strong. If your daughter just needs a wordprocessing/internet surfing laptop, she could probably buy one of the $500 pc’s. But, we love the ibooks (all have them - various generations of them.) My husband has one of the latest ones; thin, light, metal on the outside, which was about $1000. Extremely cool!</p>
<p>This is the a MAJOR problem with MACs. The hardware works with the Operating System (software reliable, not necessarily better hardware reliability) BECAUSE you have to get everything from Apple. Apple doesn’t have to bother writing an Operating System to support unknown hardware. 'Nuff said.</p>
<p>So, what does this have to do with the question? I just replaced a hard drive on a notebook PC. Similar in age to your Mac. Cost me $60, and I did it myself. Would I do it for $250? No way, the notebook is not worth that much.</p>
<p>What’s my advice to you? Have DD find a geek at school to do it for cheap. See how much a drive would cost, and how much the geek would charge her to do it (maybe even for free if they are friends). If that drive has problems, then it is probably the Controller. If the controller is modular (not on the motherboard), then that is ok to replace. Otherwise, junk the computer (or sell it on e-bay As-Is).</p>
<p>Except it’s not. When I upgraded the hard disk in my macbook, I bought a generic SATA notebook drive and popped it in - no more than 4 screws, and worked perfectly, no driver issues.</p>
<p>There have been many, many threads on whether Macs are overpriced. - there’s no need to bring it up again. But in my opinion, it is “you get what you pay for” - if you buy a $500 cheaper PC, it usually does not have the same build quality as the $1000 PC or Mac.</p>
<p>As for the hard drive issue, it is a bit trickier with the older Macs than the newer ones. It should still be possible to get a generic notebook (2.5") drive and install it, for someone with some technical know-how. You just have to make sure to get the right interface and then know how to load the OS and old data on to it.</p>
<p>DS has had issues with every computer he has ever owned. Most recent is the MacBook, circa mid 2006 (intel) and had several firmware fixes and eventually a motherboard replacement. The CD is dead but he makes due with flash and external drives. It has traveled well and he has done away with the styrofoam stiffner in his backpack (he is unwilling to pay the price for a larger backpack). He figures that a computer, of any type should have a practical lifespan of 3-3.5 years. I get to inherit his older computers which still work for the purposes they are used for.</p>
<p>Ooops, I did not intend an implied criticism in that comment about $500 vs $1000 pc vs. MAC. I really do not know enough about the differences to know what I am getting for the difference.</p>
<p>I do know that it has never been worth paying for a PC upgrade as once I’ve needed to upgrade one component, others soon need it too and if you have to pay for retail rates on service you may be money & technology ahead to just get a new PC. This is less about repairs and more a judgment that when new programs required new hardware or new OS it seemed like there so much other stuff that would require upgrading. And to date myself I am thinking of Windows 3.1 > Win95 > Win98 > Windows ME > etc I still miss the speed of DOS!</p>
<p>Just one clarification. The Mac runs more software than does a PC, it runs both Windows OS and the Mac OS. The total cost of ownership for Macs are less than for PCs:
<p>Personal preference and price aside, it seems to me the main reason to have a mac is if you do any visual editing. Is why all the designers and film people have Macs.</p>
<p>A very good point - just one I forgot as I never bother to run Windows on my Mac (because everything I want to do is already supported on the Mac).</p>
<p>And I totally agree - for video editing, photo editing etc - all the visual stuff - the Mac is far superior.</p>
<p>My kids are both bilingual (since DH worked for (enormous software company) we had lots of both kids of computers in the house) and both prefer their Macs even though they now pay for their own maintenance. The Mac laptops are significantly more reliable than most PC laptops. </p>
<p>I have an iPhone and have been wildly impressed by the user interface and the reliability, esp. given how many times I have dropped it. But Apple did not offer what I wanted the last time I bought a computer (mirror drives), so my PC is a Dell.</p>
<p>somemom, consider other expenses involved: if your D has a lot of Mac software that has to be replaced if she has to switch to a PC, I’d go with the repair.</p>
<p>DD does not want a PC, she wants to stick with Apple, but she does not want to pay for one repair and then be faced with a series of additional repairs from now on.</p>
<p>Intel Macs were introduced in January 2006, so if your daughter’s Mac was purchased in 2004 that means that it’s a pre-Intel PowerPC.</p>
<p>I find it is generally more cost-effective to replace rather than repair a five year old computer, especially if it’s a laptop. The gains in speed and capability will be dramatic. In the case you describe, I would definitely recommend replacement rather than repair.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for savings, Apple sells refurbished Macs that come with the same warranties as new Macs - take a look at the bottom left of the Apple Store page for current listings. [Small</a> Dog Electronics | Small Dog Electronics - New and Refurbished Apple / Mac Computers](<a href=“http://www.smalldog.com%5DSmall”>http://www.smalldog.com) and [Used</a> Macs, New Macs & Refurbished Mac Computers - ALL TAX FREE | PowerMax.com](<a href=“http://www.powermax.com%5DUsed”>http://www.powermax.com) are other sources for refurbished or used Macs.</p>
I still miss the speed of DOS!</p>