having used an original model b (rev 2) since 2013 with running 24/7 for about 80% of the time, i feel that a lot of this depends on how much you want to push y

having used an original model b (rev 2) since 2013 with running 24/7 for about 80% of the time, i feel that a lot of this depends on how much you want to push your pi. for context, my workload was bursty in nature and nowadays it is mostly idle. but i never had any issues with the SD card, and i only upgraded to a new one for getting more capacity all this time (only twice). keeping the dust out and managing the temperatures would go most of the way. i have served files directly from the sd card but it is always better to mount an external drive for this, while providing enough power to the board to power usb devices. limiting debug logs for stable applications can also help avoid write cycles, but using sd card on a pi has been a similar workload to using one in older smartphones for storing media.