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I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#61

Post by mpenet »

pengaru wrote: post #21

Oh how I miss the form-factor+keyboard of my X40/X60. Seeing that tent of an X60s has me feeling very nostalgic. One of the few devices capable of doing that for me. It's too bad they had so many flimsy plastic parts until the X220 era, which still tends to crack palmrests and bezels with use. If someone packaged a modern SoC beneath an X40/X60 keyboard in a rugged light chassis with all the modern display/battery ju…

Same. It really was the best screen size/ratio for me. I was basically carrying it everywhere.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#62

Post by simfree »

luciusdomitius wrote: post #35
rozenmd wrote: post #7

ThinkPads are absolutely magic. Here's one I built for travelling: https://maxrozen.com/replacing-my-macbook-m1-with-thinkpad-t...

They used to be. I am writing this from the above-mentioned T480. It is 3 years old, has both usb-c ports replaced, small crack on the backside of the screen and the keyboard zif is broken, so the tape cable is... well taped to the connector. On the other hand my X200, T420, T450 are still in mint condition. To be completely fair, modern macs are also way off from well-built. Shiny yes, but sturdy is the last thing I…

It really is a shame that the USB C ports are not modular on newer ThinkPads, you basically have to send the laptop for board work to get them replaced once the USB C ports go.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#64

Post by ImPleadThe5th »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“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…

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.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#65

Post by botulidze »

I rely on laptops provided by corporations I work at, so here's the breakdown of the remaining electronics:

1) samsung s10 (2014) -> iphone 8 (2018) -> iphone 13 mini (2022) -> no replacement planned since Apple dropped mini lineup.

2) gaming pc: amd fx-8350 (2012) -> i7-6700k (2016) -> 7800x3d (2023) -> hopefully no replacement till 2027

3) tablet: nexus 7 (2012) -> galaxy tab s3 (2018) -> ipad pro 2021 (2022) -> unless battery completely dies earlier than in 4 years like it happened with nexus 7 (making it stationary device).

So overall, my update cycle is every 4 years on avg, with PC upgrades having longer cycles thanks to exceptional performance of the chosen platform at the time

I.e. I still have i7-6700k working at another location and delivering strong both for productivity and gaming use cases.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#66

Post by flkiwi »

go_prodev wrote: post #45
Casteil wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

Battery life gets mentioned quite often with laptops, but is it still really that important? I run my business from an X1 Carbon, but it's more about portability than battery life. Trains, planes, Starbucks all have power available so it's constantly plugged in and I can't remember the last time I used it on battery for more than an hour.

I've been using my X1C on battery for the last 4 hours on a transpacific flight (hello from the middle of nowhere) and am looking forward to about 4 more hours. The seat has a convenient power plug, but it's awfully nice to leave the charger tucked away in my bag to be one less thing to trip over when I have to wriggle free from my cattle class seat to run to the restroom.

So, to address your question (which I would normally also ask), it is that important though this is also a somewhat narrow use case.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#67

Post by 2h »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“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…

> 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.

this is why Apple is a trillion dollar company. because people mindlessly buy any new thing they put out, regardless if it makes sense or not.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ydje1ivynIM

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#68

Post by marcel_hecko »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“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…

"ThinkPad® X260 will go as long as you do with over 21 hours of continuous battery life". Thats a quote from Lenovo website from 2018. I can confirm this was in practice the case with extended battery pack.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#69

Post by zokier »

zimspy wrote: post #53

I'm a software developer and an older laptop is not great for productivity. I have an old Dell Latitude from 2017 and I pumped as much life into it as I could. Bought more RAM, an SSD but despite all that, it's a pain to run the IDEs I need to use for work. I keep it as a backup and work on an M2 Max now. Same goes with my S.O. who is a Chemist. Older computers are just not ideal for new software.

Age is not really the only aspect here; almost certainly top tier 2017 Latitude is more powerful machine than bottom tier brand-new Latitude today.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#70

Post by ac130kz »

I got tired of laptops being: non-upgradable, poorly designed, overheating, having cheap components, cheap materials, so I'm switching to a backpackable mini-ITX build. For a journalist, even a first gen iPad should do the trick, but for quick compilation and development in general with all those heavy apps and daemons even a relatively fresh laptop CPU just doesn't keep up. The only two downsides are: no battery, space.
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