Rather than buying an old laptop which was high end at its time, it’s better to buy a cheap laptop which is new. The processor will be more efficient and powerful, it’s going to have multiple newer ports and you don’t need to run an obscure version of Linux which won’t run tools that people in your industry use. Running Linux as your daily driver is hard as it is, running an obscure version of Linux on an old laptop as your primary machine will drive you crazy. You would end up losing productivity fixing all the bugs and random issues.
I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
131–140 of 551 posts
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18 At what point do battery improvements become completely unnecessary? Who's out here using their laptops for 18 hours continuously? It's like an electric car that can go 2,000 miles on a single charge; YAGNI. The vast majority of people would be perfectly well-served by a smaller, lighter, less expensive laptop that cuts down the battery to just 10 hours…
18 hours advertised is usually running a locally stored video file on loop at medium to low screen brightness and some light web browsing. My 18-hour laptop is more like 8-10 hours of real work usage, which is still fantastic compared to the 2-3 hours I would get at similar tasks 6-7 years ago. Another big change is improvements to sleep and standby time. I can use half the battery, close the lid, and be reasonably c…
10 years ago I could write software and take notes and browse the Internet for 8h a day on a MacBook air.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
Base m1 macbook air sells for 800 bucks routinely. It's a great value in my opinion. I agree it's the best machine I have ever owned.
Doesn't answer my question. I wasn't trying to imply that M1 are a bad value...
My old Dell XPS was actually slightly more expensive (even before adjusting to inflation - I was researching online and at the time it was the most recommended high-end pc laptop). And macs retain value a lot better than PCs - you can likely resell it for a significant fraction of its new price in a few years (unless you broke it).
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#134“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…
That is not what he means by "Laptops don't change". He means > A 2015 research paper discovered that the embodied energy of laptops is static over time. > Improvements in functionality balance the efficiency gains obtained in the manufacturing process. Battery mass, memory, and hard disk drive mass decreased per unit of functionality but showed roughly constant totals per year. > New laptops may be more energy-effic…
I didn't find that point all that interesting. Once laptops got as small as is practical (full-size keyboard, just thick enough for a USB port), we continued cramming in as much tech and battery as it would fit and not get too hot. This shouldn't be a surprised.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you actually buy a new laptop every year? I feel that's a bit delusional. Year to year most upgrades are pretty minor. An argument can be made maybe every 3 years if you're doing some incredibly resource intense stuff.
What’s delusional is highly paid engineers not investing money in essential tools to get their work done. A new laptop is 1-2% of the annual salary of many people here.
If productivity is so important, why are people using laptops at all? Desktop processors are faster.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is not what he means by "Laptops don't change". He means > A 2015 research paper discovered that the embodied energy of laptops is static over time. > Improvements in functionality balance the efficiency gains obtained in the manufacturing process. Battery mass, memory, and hard disk drive mass decreased per unit of functionality but showed roughly constant totals per year. > New laptops may be more energy-effic…
So… you can do more, faster, for longer, then? Sounds like a good argument for upgrading
> more, faster
Not in the world de live in: https://jmmv.dev/2023/06/fast-machines-slow-machines.html
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do a lot of Android and iOS app compilation (Lots of flavors/schemes of apps). So lately the upgrades in cores has meant a faster upgrade cycle for my work dev machine than for the intel based MacBook Pro era. I’m sure Apple can’t keep up this pace of the last few years though. Back in early 2000s we used distcc for distributed compilation of QT apps and reused old workstations in a server room. But with XCode and…
Why don't you buy an EPYC/Threadripper workstation then? Even best M2 laptops still can't compete with hackintosh on dated 3970x
I think you severely underestimate how fast the M2 series is.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#138“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…
That is not what he means by "Laptops don't change". He means > A 2015 research paper discovered that the embodied energy of laptops is static over time. > Improvements in functionality balance the efficiency gains obtained in the manufacturing process. Battery mass, memory, and hard disk drive mass decreased per unit of functionality but showed roughly constant totals per year. > New laptops may be more energy-effic…
2015 was the nadir of processor improvements. At that point, Intel had effectively used the same processor in every laptop since 2008. I would like to see this analysis post-Ryzen and Apple Silicon.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is not what he means by "Laptops don't change". He means > A 2015 research paper discovered that the embodied energy of laptops is static over time. > Improvements in functionality balance the efficiency gains obtained in the manufacturing process. Battery mass, memory, and hard disk drive mass decreased per unit of functionality but showed roughly constant totals per year. > New laptops may be more energy-effic…
So… you can do more, faster, for longer, then? Sounds like a good argument for upgrading
The article author is a journalist, I bet his speed depends on his speed of typing and not the speed of his laptop.
He could to more, faster and longer but if he doesn't the extra costs are useless.
Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)
#140“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…
They change, but my 2015 ThinkPad 13 still delivers on performance, battery, screen, etc.
I'm a grown up now. I've got better uses for £2k right now. I'll get a new laptop when I need one.