Ask HN: What's the hardware (read: laptop) that has lasted you the most?

I have an early 2011 13" Macbook that has been really good to me. I changed out to an SSD and put in 16gb of RAM, and it has been really good. This is my current everyday machine.

I also have a Toshiba i7 with 8gb of Ram that is running Windows 7. I have had that machine since before my Mac, probably at least 1-2 years as it was one of the first i7's Toshiba released in a laptop. That machine has also been awesome, and other than needing some extra cleaning of ports and the fan from dust to prevent overheating it has been super solid.

A good piece of hardware matters, but so does the case it has, or the warranty (eg Applecare) you have for it.

Had a smart cheap little Samsung, Battery died, trackpad collapsed, but it still works. 2012 I bought it.

My favourite though is my macbook air. Grimy as hell, but not a scratch or problem with it after a year, and the battery is still spot on.

My wife uses a 2008 MacBook, the aluminum MacBook Pro-like model that was only available for a few months. We replaced the hard drive with an SSD and upgraded the RAM, and we expect that she'll use it for at least another two years or so, or until there's some major hardware failure that isn't worth fixing.

eeepc. got the first model that had an ssd. 2006? with its 10in screen and full size keyboard i can carry it anywhere. external battery make it last forever as i can but newer batteries and replace them easily.

it's my distraction free coding machine. it feels a little slow on sites that don't think about perf. but i can compile and play with blender just fine.

MacBook Pro (Mid 2010)

I hate Apple, but can't deny this is the best piece of kit I've ever owned. Still going strong after 5 years.

We have a 2008 Macbook (aluminum body, I forget if it's a pro), which my wife passed along to my three-year-old son. He is not the gentlest with it, and it's still running strong.

We have a 2013 Macbook pro that's been nothing but flaky. Living far from any Apple store, it's a pain to deal with. We fully expect the 2008 to outlast the 2013. Apple hardware is great when it works; it just feels like a crapshoot whether you get a good model or not.

My 2013 T430s is still going strong, and I expect to use it another 3 years. I'll upgrade to a larger SSD and more RAM at some point, but I love the hardware. I take care of it well, and it's holding up as expected.

2009 MacBook Pro. I added memory and a hybrid SSD. Runs great. I'll replace it if there's an OS update that doesn't support it.

IBM ThinkPad 720C.

When it was too weak to handle modern operating systems, it was turned into a VNC terminal (for Linux on the server).

It was finally retired in 2004 or so. The keyboard is still the best laptop keyboard I've ever had.

(my everyday desktop needs are still served by a 2008 iMac with 6GB RAM, by the way)

Lenovo Y450 bought in 2009. It is still running strong now.

Lenovo ThinkPad R61, 2 GB RAM, 1.7 duo-core, 80 GB HDD Windows 7 Laptop. It is still my second machine(or third, after my desktop/phone) and it is perfect for everything, including some python programming and writing/surfing. The keyboard quality of the machine is just insanely great, combined with the trackpoint.

I got it for 1300 BGN, which right now would be 650EUR and I bought it 8 years ago :) The only thing I have changed is the hinges once(cost me 20EUR). It has been the best investment for me and hopefully my desktop will be surpass it someday :)

Dell XPS 12, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM

Bought it with WinXP, but have since replaced with Debian (which runs headless). Original 802.11g wifi replaced with 802.11n, and upped the RAM to 2GB. The screen is a bit degraded (not sure what the technical term is), but I no longer use it's screen.

My Titanium PowerBook G4 purchased in 2000 was my main machine for _everything_ for seven years or so. I used that machine HARD, for software development and writing and even recording audio for my earliest podcasts. I went through several keyboards, several batteries, several power adapters, replacement internal battery, replacement hard drive... it was also just such a nicely designed, comfortable machine to work with. I still miss that thing.

My 2008 Mac Pro is still my mail desktop machine for coding, scanning, photo editing, slide editing, video editing, music server, etc. It sits in my home office, though, and I sort of supplement it with some beat-up used ThinkPads like the one I'm typing on now.

My ThinkPad T50 was a great, solid, workhorse laptop as well; that was my main working laptop for four years. I handed it off to my wife when her laptop died and it is now in rough shape since the kids bash on it.

By comparison my scratch-built PCs are sort of like mayflies; after a few years they aren't even worth upgrading since I can't get a faster CPU with the right socket type.

Thinkpad T60 from 2007. Even the 9 cell battery is still "fine" with about 70% of its maximum capacity left. I recently upgraded to the T440s/T450s generation, but the T60 is still working (though the display backlight is really dim meanwhile).

Thinkpad T40 from 2003 still going fine

I've got a ThinkPad R51 (1.5GB and a 1.4GHz single core Centrino running Lubuntu) that's about 11yrs old still going well. It has had a mug of coffee spilt over the keyboard while running which it survived just fine after some cleaning and drying.

But its usefulness is coming to an end. It's got a non PAE 32bit cpu, which isn't a configuration supported by many currently supported distros any more. The battery doesn't last that long any more either.

Walmart Special - Acer quad core amd 2.2ghz, 17inch screen still going strong after five years. Only 350 bucks so I bought 2 of them.

I have 12 y.o. working HP laptop in active use

I am still using HP Pavilion zt3000 (Intel Centrino 1.7GHz, 1.25Gb RAM, 120Gb PATA HDD, 1280 x 800) which I've bought in 2003 for about $2,300 CAD or so - http://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-zt3010us-15-4-penti...

It was my main lappy up until a year ago, and it has been travelling across North America and Eastern Europe with me with no issues.

It is now on its 3rd HDD, and original battery which lasts about 20 min now - not a problem since it is always plugged in. Everything else works real great, and it has MATTE monitor 1280 x 800. Everything works flawless, keyboard has no issues at all, other than looking a bit used :)

In fact HDD being PATA (not SATA) was the main reason why I have got myself used ThinkPad T-420 and stuffed it with dual SSD's (2nd SSD in an extra swappable CD-ROM bay from China for $10 shipping included), 16Gb of RAM, and used dual monitor docking station. Really hate that 13" 1600 x 900 screen - it is just too small after 15.4" on HP, and I also have to run fonts on 150%. Still taking my time to hook it up as my main rig through dock and dual monitors. Mostly using it now through Remote Desktop when I need Win 7 / Visual Studio 2013.

All these years I was hoping to wait over Win8 and glossy monitors, so with Win10 this summer I may actually get myself a new laptop - let's see if Microsoft has finally learned how not to screw their desktop users with tablet-optimized UI

tl;dr 1998-2009 (11 years in use) Toshiba Tecra 2009-Present (6 years) Toshiba Satellite

Toshiba Tecra 780CDM Specs and picture (almost identical, except mine featured a CD-ROM only drive) http://resource.toshiba-europe.com/europe/computers/flyers/t... In-use 1998-2009 OS: Originally Win95C, upgraded to 98SE, later Win2k Miss the plethora of ports (PS/2, S-Video, Composite Video out (RCA connector), 2x USB, 4x3.5mm audio jacks, external floppy drive connector [not wasting a USB or other port], parallel, serial, VGA, 2x PC-Card slots, IR port, built-in data and fax modem, separate port for external snap-on web cam). I could connect a mouse (serial), keyboard (PS/2), PC-Card Ethernet interface, external floppy disk drive, snap-on web cam, external monitor, printer (parallel), scanner (USB), speakers, microphone, and still have 1xUSB port, 1x audio out, 1x audio in, 1x PC-card slot, , not to mention the S-Video or Composite jacks to connect a projector or TV to. I have yet to see other business-oriented "portable workstations" to offer this level of connectivity without a dock (though today, even the average power-user has little use for most of these ports).

Another feature I miss was the quality of this machine. It was built solid. Despite having a metal-free exterior, a thick, well-designed plastic case kept this machine protected. I once tripped over the power cord, and the entire machine went flying into the wall while on and transferring data The only thing that was damaged was drywall; the power connector on the motherboard, power cord, hard disk, screen, etc. were all fine. I do not believe any hardware upgrades nor part replacements were performed. Still works to this day and used on occasion (despite the battery being completely dead).

Toshiba Satellite L355D-S7902 In-Use 2009-present Pic: http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/satellite/L355/L... Detailed Specs: http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/de... This machine has been my daily driver since. The build quality is nothing like the Tecra (understandable as it is a consumer-oriented, budget-priced model), but I've been really surprised how its held up. Case build quality was noting like that of my Tecra laptop, but outside of some creaking, it does not flex unless pressed hard on the back of the screen or sides of trackpad. The hinges for the screen have become wobbly but I live with it (and has spring-loaded clips that hold the lid shut when its closed). Originally came with Windows Vista. Downgraded to XP with nearly all hardware working (took a bit of time to find a suitable WiFi driver). Installed Win7 Beta when it came out and then Win7 when the beta expired after the Win7 release. Been dual-booting with openSUSE for the last few years and I've ended up only booting into windows when I need to (which is decreasing in frequency). Upgraded to a SSD 2 years ago and the performance increase has outweighed the capacity decrease. Battery was also upgraded for $15 on eBay and I can get at least 2 hours with moderate-to-heavy use. Looking forward to many more good years of use out of it.

I had an IBM Thinkpad T30 that lasted me 6+ years.

Dell XPS 15 L501x. Bought it in 2011, battery doesn't work anymore, replaced HDD twice and upgraded RAM. Still going strong and I expect it will server for another couple of years. I use it primarily as my home computer, because it is a bit bulky to carry around. But one hell of a laptop.

HP laptop from 2009. Kind of underpowered but add a SSD, extended battery, and some ram and it gets the job done.

Asus EEE pc 701. Tiny, underpowered, glorious. Lasted five years and got very hard use for pretty much every day.

I wish more computers were made from the same plastic.

Aluminum MacBook (Late 2008). Got it on Dec 2008 and it's still working today. Six years old going on seven. I upgraded its RAM to 8GB (the maximum it can take) and installed an SSD. Still runs relatively well.

Although, I did have a few problems with it. Hinge cracked (fixed by warranty), optical drive broke (replaced with an HDD cage), got a bloated battery (bought a new one), charger wire got frayed so it stopped charging (bought a new one). I took really good care of it too. Never dropped it, never spilled anything on it. So those were unfortunate disappointments. But all in all I'm happy with the build quality.

the OLPC XO-1 is basically indestructible. my housemate originally got the one we've been using during the give-one-get-one sale in 2007.

we first started using it for various burning man projects in 2009. it's run the brains of our various robotics projects, operated a webcam to generate timelapse videos, played music via mpd/ncmpc, you name it. we've left it out in the sun and rain and dust and it just keeps on ticking!

the sealed keyboard is awesome at not breaking, although not particularly awesome for typing on. the screen is the best part -- it has this mode where you totally turn off the backlight, which gives you the ability to read it in bright sunlight almost like e-ink. in 2012 we left it out in the sun a little too long, and the display looked like it had leaked internally. after giving it some time to cool off, it's back to looking good as new.

i don't normally rave about objects like this, but oh my god, WTG OLPC.