Are We Too Fussy about Computers?

cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 06:30

I had a Lenovo E485 that I recently sold (for what I payed for it, $650 with cashreward) and used the money for a new e14 gen 2 (4th gen Ryzen yay)

Then I realized I was in for a 2-3 month wait, so I borrowed a friends old core 2 duo hp and put in a cheap 120gb ssd.

It does all the office stuff, surfs chrome with three or four tabs open and zooms without a hitch.

Then I see comments on laptop deals like… what that PC only has 2133mhz ram, as the old hp I'm on is going fine with the ol' ddr2-800.

I see guys insist on Mac, on a billion percent rgb and more nits then in a 7 year olds hair.

So are we too fussy about computers?

Computing Computer Desktop Computer Laptop

Comments

  • Soluble on 05/08/2020 - 06:42
    +11

    Different use cases require different species.

    • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 07:27

      Haha yeah, but we still get fussy about it anyway.

      The 250 nits on the e485 was fine, but an old guy I know freaked out after reading that and got a $1400 hp to use excel!!! Insane

      • Cheaplikethebird on 05/08/2020 - 08:19
        -1

        $1400 to do Excel isn't that bad as far as people overspending. Met plenty of kids doing business courses at uni with top of the line Macbook Pros.

        • mapax on 05/08/2020 - 08:28
          +5

          Yeah, business courses at uni are way overpriced these days…

        • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 09:39

          Haha 1400 for excel is a $4-600 overspend imho

        • Yve on 05/08/2020 - 11:36

          It depends on what they’re studying, if they’re doing something like Actuarial or Econometrics they’ll be working with huge datasets where a better cpu makes a world of a difference.

          If you’re waiting 10 seconds to process data vs another student who’s waiting 30 second to process data then you have a significant advantage over them in understanding properties of the data. Not to mention when it gets too much and their laptop crashes so they lose everything.

          Though I can agree that for most business courses you don’t need anything special.

          • Cheaplikethebird on 05/08/2020 - 11:54
            -1

            @Yve: @stevenofnine Yes you doofus, I said 'as far as people overspending'. A $4-600 overspend still isn't much considering how common it is to see people spend $2-$3k on a Macbook for web browsing and word processing.

            @yve For sure, exceptions to every rule. I had a few specific people in mind though who I tried to talk out of spending $3k on laptops for basically aesthetic reasons.

  • JIMB0 on 05/08/2020 - 06:53
    +3

    Yes

  • vikvance on 05/08/2020 - 07:20

    No

  • skid on 05/08/2020 - 07:24

    Conroe was a special chip. Revolutionary, it stood the test of time. We use one (now 14yo) for web browsing. Since then, it has only been surpassed by Sandy Bridge (i7-2600K).

    • ssquid on 05/08/2020 - 10:59

      I'd disagree. Westmere was a big improvement over Conroe, Sandy was only a slight step up and it's when things started to go wrong (insecure speculation optimisations that have been biting them for the past several years).

      • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 15:22

        I feel like some computers are just lemons and some run exceptionally well. I can't tell why lol

  • Kangal on 05/08/2020 - 07:28
    +4

    Are we too fussy about computers laptops?

    Yes. As it should be.
    Macbook Pro = great build quality, software, and supports specific applications
    Thick RGB Gaming Laptop = it's a phase, mostly used like a console to play games
    Ultrabooks = main workhorse, set it and forget it, lasts over 5 years from purchase

    If I was buying a laptop today, knowing the market (it's hard to upgrade components later), I would get something I want now and something that I won't regret buying later. For me that's mostly the high-end Ultrabooks. So while the list of options start around $1k…. for me it means excellent quality when it comes to the keyboard, trackpad, touchscreen, screen (brightness, reflectivity, resolution, etc etc), folding, touchscreen, fingerprint, pen, huge battery, all in a strong but small and light chassis. Once that's narrowed down, (now ballooned to nearly $2k) then I can consider the specs. It will either have Intel's most expensive parts on a small budget, or I will wait for AMD's options. Graphics will have some consideration, either AMD's better iGPU, or Intel's TB3 support, or maybe a very efficient GTX 1650-MaxQ dGPU (all in all it's coming under $3k).

    $3,000 is pretty much my limit (for most it's $1.8k), and I can justify that if I am able to use it happily for say 6 years. Comes to around $1.40 per day or less. I could make do with a $1,000 new laptop, but it will likely get worn out either quicker or it's performance will "age" quicker, and that could mean quicker update interval, which brings the money saving prospects to even. I think if you can justify it in a rational sense, that's what matters. I take a similar approach with phones, I either buy midrange and put up with it, or I buy something higher-end and keep it for longer. Something like iPhones, Pixels, or OnePlus are easier to keep for longer due to software support. As the item's price increases, then the variance in prices also increases. So for cars, I rather buy cheap and upgrade as necessary, because buying high-end doesn't give me more longevity (sometimes it's less) and it comes with hidden caveats and fees. I don't care for status much. And going further higher, houses are even worse. Small improvements or upgrades warrant huge price increases either from location, land size, or the property's design. And whilst I could wear the costs of high-end appliances, tools, phone, laptop… I'm not financially able to wear the cost of high-end properties.

    • Frayin on 05/08/2020 - 11:37

      Are we too fussy about computers laptops?

      Is a laptop not a computer?

      • Kangal on 05/08/2020 - 12:47
        +1

        Now you're being fussy :P

        • Frayin on 05/08/2020 - 13:45

          Oh i completely agree :P

          Bit of tongue and in cheek haha.

  • Travis J on 05/08/2020 - 08:25

    What are we not fussy about? phones?

    • theHMASfriendship on 05/08/2020 - 08:46
      +6

      I'm fussy about bargains.

    • wisdomtooth on 05/08/2020 - 09:31
      +1

      Food. OzBargainers eat any crap under $5 XD

    • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 09:37
      +2

      Band 28 haha

  • try2bhelpful on 05/08/2020 - 08:50
    +1

    I tend to keep my laptops until I trash them. I bought the E14 gen2, delivery in September, because it was a good price and my current HP is on life support. We used to upgrade pretty regularly but, frankly, you don’t need a lot of machine to meet most people’s requirements nowadays. I don’t game on my PC so the new one will keep me for a good few years yet. Mostly I use my iPad because it is convenient.

  • arkie0 on 05/08/2020 - 09:02

    So are we too fussy about computers?

    Don't group me with the likes of you.

  • DreadPirateRoberts on 05/08/2020 - 09:31
    +1

    I think we are. I recently bought and started tinkering with an old X220. SSD, light Linux distro and now I do all my personal dev work on that instead of the beefier XPS or desktop. Handles everything except games or VMs and it only has 4GB of RAM. No issues with 20+ tabs open in Firefox and VS Code.
    There's something about those circa-2011 Lenovo keyboards…

    • Rockets84 on 05/08/2020 - 09:55
      +1

      I had a X220 once upon a time and I still regret upgrading it for a X230 due the keyboard change. I've got a few T420 and X230 laptops as test machines, all upgraded with SSD's and extra RAM. The T420 keyboard is such a lovely keyboard to use, pity the machine is so thick. My main machine is a T460s which I think has a keyboard that beats any other laptop keyboard currently available but it's not as good as the T/Xx20 series keyboards.

  • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 09:38

    Haha yeah, 4gb of ram isn't really that bad for the everyday joe, upgradability and all though, but still, buying a used system with 4gb ram is fine for heaps of people.

    • ssquid on 05/08/2020 - 11:02
      +1

      Stock win10 struggles with 4GB and most software has dropped support for anything older thanks to MS.

      • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 11:10
        +1

        Nah, chrome and office still run fine and that's what most people use. Mabye a few Facebook games haha
        I will agree that SSD makes a difference

      • FireRunner on 05/08/2020 - 15:30
        +1

        I upgraded an old laptop's memory (running Win10) from 4GB to 8GB, it barely uses 4GB even when running some old games like Skyrim. It was pretty much a waste upgrading

  • MS Paint on 05/08/2020 - 09:57
    +2

    Friend of daughter insisted parent buy her $3000 macbook pro.

    She only uses Chrome and Google docs.

    I mentioned she should have got a top end chromebook and saved heaps.

    "never heard of them"

    • shaybisc on 05/08/2020 - 11:25

      If she continues to use it for undemanding tasks it won't thermal throttle.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 10:04
    +1

    I can't throw away my old Northwood 2.4 and 2.8 XP boxes. They were a great generation. Idle at 40C, overclock well.

  • slow on 05/08/2020 - 10:05
    +2

    Agree, and you also don't have to run Windows. If you are just web browsing and basic word processing it is very easy to install Lubuntu to give a new lease of life to very old hardware. Recently did this on my wife's old laptop and she is very happy with it

  • FireRunner on 05/08/2020 - 10:38
    +1

    An SSD can do wonders in old laptops, even the cheap DRAM-less SSD brought back an old Dell which used to take 10 minutes to boot windows into a decent laptop for normal use

    • cheapjack on 05/08/2020 - 15:21
      +1

      I agree, I love seeing one go from 10 minutes to 20 seconds.

  • tomsco on 05/08/2020 - 10:48

    Well I bought this one 5 years ago: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/206012

    Chucked in a SSD and changed the keyboard over to an AU one and still using for less that $600AU all up.

    I don't do serious gaming (have a PS4 for that stuff) but have played Age of Empires on it.

    Mostly used for Chrome and Office apps.

    I'm not fussy.

  • Icecold5000 on 05/08/2020 - 12:06

    I am using a 2014 MBP so no.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 15:57
      +1

      MB=FUSSY

      • Icecold5000 on 06/08/2020 - 11:34
        -1

        Yeah, admit to being fussy about build quality. Store going awesomely.

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