It may or may not wear out sooner. It will depend on your usage and materials you are cutting. A stepper will be somewhat louder than a servo. Go with the GCC expert 24 lx and you'll be happy, make some $$ then upgrade if you want or need to....for less than $700 with stand and contour cutting you not gonna go wrong and most reviews here and elsewhere have been mostly great. Look for a supplier who is willing to throw in some goodies with the purchase....I know mine did...lol.