I just bought a system 76 ubuntu native build with 64gb ram and 12 cores. It cost a little over 2K. It was not over priced. There is a demand for these machines in AI and data science. They are not going away.
I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
451–460 of 693 posts
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#452From the article: "What worries me as much as the end of general-purpose computing for the masses is that so few seem to understand that it is ending." Correction: Has Ended. The vast majority of people using computers has shifted to phones and tablets. I have a friend who's a millenial who barely knows how to use his desktop PC (It's a Mac) but is fluent on his iPad/iPhone. Most people are not content creators, they…
> I have a friend who's a millenial who barely knows how to use his desktop PC (It's a Mac) but is fluent on his iPad/iPhone. This worries me not because of any open computing concerns, but because of how FUNDAMENTAL general purpose computers are to nearly every decent paying professional job out there. All of them. No one daily drives Excel or Salesforce One or edits video or codes websites or balances accounts in Q…
I agree with your point, but remember that the average person ten years ago was just as technically illiterate.
We look through rose colored glasses because, back then, we were able to use Excel, Word, (insert your program of choice). The people in our social circle were also able to use them. However, this was almost entirely because of who we hung out with.
The shift to closed devices (may) eventually have an effect on hobbyists, in the same way that the average person no longer knows how to change the oil in their car, but for now there's little evidence that iPhones and tablets are limiting the number of young, competent programmers (or even the number of IT hobbyists in general).
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#453Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I have a friend who's a millenial who barely knows how to use his desktop PC (It's a Mac) but is fluent on his iPad/iPhone. This worries me not because of any open computing concerns, but because of how FUNDAMENTAL general purpose computers are to nearly every decent paying professional job out there. All of them. No one daily drives Excel or Salesforce One or edits video or codes websites or balances accounts in Q…
I think you're underestimating the convergence of tablets and PCs here. I edit 4k video on my iPad, edit pictures, memes, do a bit of drawing with Procreate. I'm by no means professional at any of these things, but it isn't the tools holding me back. I don't see any reason not to use Excel or Numbers or what have you on an iPad with the keyboard. I'm sure it would work fine. I know a couple professional music produce…
Samsung DEX was a good attempt.
If it were possible to multitask Excel or Word in Android, that's probably what I would be using right now for a lot of my basic workflow.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#454Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that actually true anymore? I mean, hardware wise they are not much faster, but cooling is a different story.
There are obviously many ways to do this comparison, but going off Wikipedia's pricing for most recent Intel processors. Their highest end mobile processor is currently the i7-1185G7 which apparently retails for $426. Let's compare it with the closest desktop processor to that price, the i9-10900 ($438). Cores (Threads): 4(8) vs. 10(20). Base Freq: 3.0ghz (At 28w TDP) vs. 2.8ghz. Max All Core Turbo: 4.3ghz vs. 4.8ghz…
Passmark and Geekbench are decent CPU benchmarks for general performance and indeed both show about a 2X multi-threaded difference:
* https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i7-1185G7-vs-Inte...
* https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/4354735?baselin...
These are short tests too, so would be a best case. In real life, laptop performance is probably significantly worse due to thermal throttling.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#455Personally, I already pulled the trigger 2 years ago when I first starting to write Rust professionally. A laptop just becomes far tooooo noisy compiling Rust code. These days I use 3 machines:
* A fanless Chromebook with decent screen for travel use
* An Intel NUC that is hooked to a big monitor, which is also the device I'm typing this on
* A beefy Ryzen desktop that sits in the corner of my balcony, which I usually connect via ssh and perform all the heavy tasks
To me I'm getting all the benefits of each computer, and the combined cost is still less than a so-called macbook pro :)
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#456Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will never do a wireless keyboard. The idea of trusting a company to properly encrypt my wireless keystrokes is laughable. My security is far more important than cable management thanks.
If you are concerned about your keystrokes being broadcast wirelessly (which is a reasonable concern), I remember from a video or something I saw a long time ago that there was success in reconstructing keys pressed by the sound waves they make. Modern methods are probably better.
From what I understand Side channel attacks like that are usually theoretical in that in practice they are not very accurate, require a tremendous sample of known typed information to correlate with the recorded sounds and relies on the listening device remaining the same distance from the keyboard and the user maintaining the same verbosity of typing. Something sophisticated like that would probably be used more by a spy agency with a political or diplomatic target rather than somebody trying to steal your banking info
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#457Earlier quoted context omitted.
> everybody that has a Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / TikTok account is a content creator. All the fora you mention are characterized by lack of longform text. What people are creating today tends to be image-heavy and eschew any long argumentation or prose storytelling. Having just a smartphone obviously represents a limitation. For example, I am a member of some niche travel communities. A decade ago, w…
Yes, long-form text is down and photo/video based content has exploded — things are different but I’d hesitate to say that they’re worse overall. I used to share a computer with 5 other family members growing up in the 90’s, nowadays every kid has a content creation device on them 24/7. That seems like a good thing to me.
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Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#458I never left
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#459Earlier quoted context omitted.
The trend in laptops has been for longer battery life and less heat. Since there haven't been any major breakthroughs in battery technology or mobile processor power (at least from Intel), this means lower power for processors and generally lower performance in general. Almost all laptops are using ultra low voltage Intel chips. And even the ones that don't, except for high end gaming laptops, thermally throttle ALL…
I know you put the Intel disclaimer in there, but I just bought a laptop with an AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS and am loving it. It has me pretty hyped to get an AMD processor for the first time for my desktop when the 5900 launches in November. But the laptop chip has far exceeded my expectations.
I have to agree that the latest AMD Renoir processors are beasts - I have 4800H in a laptop that can sustain 54W TDP OOTB and CPU benchmarks are within spitting distance of my 3700X workstation. Amazing for a 1.5kg portable package.
I'm planning to drop in a 5950X upgrade in the workstation in a couple weeks as well. Looking forward to both the huge multi-threaded and IPC gains.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#460To me desktop computer means there's a place where I work. A fixed place. Moreover, as I use my computer a lot, my family knows where I am. It also mean I sit on a chair, not on a sofa.
(it also means it can run Linux properly, not with battery issues...)