What do you think is the expected life of a MacBook Pro?
Mine is 3 1/2 years old. I've replaced the battery and upgraded the hard drive. The screen has a dead pixel or two. Now that the new ones are out, I'm wondering if it's replacement time.
Your lust for a new toy is probably the most significant variable...
As long as the machine is protected from shock and moisture (I use a ziplock bag for storage), there is no reason it shouldn't last 5-10 years. The hard drive, optical drive (CD/DVD), keyboard and battery are the most vulnerable pieces and the ones with well defined duty cycles. The rest is pretty much plastic, metal and solid state components.
Check Craigslist for an area like the SF Bay and you will see have healthy used market for machines over 5+ years (G3/G4 processors)
- Don't drop your MacBook.
- Don't pound your keyboard when you type.
- Keep your hard drive backed up. (full disk image)
- Blow some compressed air into your optical drive once in a while.
- Maybe a little Corrosion X on hardware interfaces.
- Make sure you get good ventilation under machine. I use non-skid cloth on my chart table to keep Mac in place, it's a bad practice.
I'm switching to iPad. 10 hour battery life. No moving parts. Small and light to take ashore. Will give to my daughter when a new one comes out with phone, camera and blender.