4 ms·

Whilst I think your argument is valid, I still think lack of "upgradability" correlates with planned obsolescence. All the manufacturer would then need to do is

Whilst I think your argument is valid, I still think lack of "upgradability" correlates with planned obsolescence. All the manufacturer would then need to do is to add a few components that have an expected lifetime just after the warranty time. On the whole, I agree with you that at the very least the battery and RAM should be easily replaceable. I just happen to also think that the increase in weight/bulk is worthwhile tradeoff for the option for me to decide when I want to stop using the machine, not the manufacturer.

pjmlp 6y ago
PC was the exception to the norm on the 8 and 16 bit home computers, Apple as survivor of this vertical integration philosophy has showed OEMs where the profit comes from. So naturally OEMs are making laptops as extensible as Atari, Mac, Acorn and Amigas used to be. Want to extend it? Plug an external device, for everything else buy a newer model. This seems to be the future as classical desktops fade away replaced by cloud instances and NUCs.
- vetinari 6y ago
  Paradoxically to the current topic, NUCs want you to bring your own RAM and disk.
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    Not all of them, specially those being used as thin clients.
jsmith99 6y ago
A socketed CPU doesn't add much upgradebility if you have to stay within the same generation. I think a T530 can take a quad core ivy bridge but nothing newer.
- webmobdev 6y ago
  AMD was really better in this aspect.
forty 6y ago
My impression is that even on a desktop computer which is highly modulable, after 5/10 years you have to throw away everything but the case and maybe the power supply. New CPUs won't have the right socket for your mothercard, the RAM will need to be DDR(n+1), same for the PCIe port.
- llampx 6y ago
  The last few years of AMD desktop CPUs would like a word.
  - spijdar 6y ago
    GP said after "5/10" years. AM4 was only launched in 2016, and is already "showing cracks" in support, where old motherboards will, in practice, not support new CPUs without juggling firmware. Obviously I can't predict the future, but I feel like AMD will release a new socket within a generation or two, which fits within the "5/10 year" mark.
    - llampx 6y ago
      Sure, but 5-10 years is a long stretch, considering we are talking about a notebook that you can't upgrade once it is built. Surely there's a middle ground where upgrades should be possible within a couple of years? Also, 16GB sounds awfully low to me. Why has the laptop industry decided nobody needs more than that? It seems to be the limit for laptops with soldered memory, with few laptops coming with more than that. Anyway I voted with my wallet and bought a laptop that has a Ryzen CPU and upgradable memory and SSD, and a very manageable weight.
  - forty 6y ago
    Yeah, I have an AMD FX-8150 (AM3+) based desktop tower from 2012, which I recently wanted to upgrade, and which largely inspired my comment :) Even with AM4 based CPU, I'm under the impression that recent CPUs cannot always use old mothercards.

pjmlp 6y ago

PC was the exception to the norm on the 8 and 16 bit home computers, Apple as survivor of this vertical integration philosophy has showed OEMs where the profit comes from. So naturally OEMs are making laptops as extensible as Atari, Mac, Acorn and Amigas used to be. Want to extend it? Plug an external device, for everything else buy a newer model. This seems to be the future as classical desktops fade away replaced by cloud instances and NUCs.

vetinari 6y ago
Paradoxically to the current topic, NUCs want you to bring your own RAM and disk.
- pjmlp 6y ago
  Not all of them, specially those being used as thin clients.

jsmith99 6y ago

A socketed CPU doesn't add much upgradebility if you have to stay within the same generation. I think a T530 can take a quad core ivy bridge but nothing newer.

webmobdev 6y ago
AMD was really better in this aspect.

forty 6y ago

My impression is that even on a desktop computer which is highly modulable, after 5/10 years you have to throw away everything but the case and maybe the power supply. New CPUs won't have the right socket for your mothercard, the RAM will need to be DDR(n+1), same for the PCIe port.

llampx 6y ago
The last few years of AMD desktop CPUs would like a word.
- spijdar 6y ago
  GP said after "5/10" years. AM4 was only launched in 2016, and is already "showing cracks" in support, where old motherboards will, in practice, not support new CPUs without juggling firmware. Obviously I can't predict the future, but I feel like AMD will release a new socket within a generation or two, which fits within the "5/10 year" mark.
  - llampx 6y ago
    Sure, but 5-10 years is a long stretch, considering we are talking about a notebook that you can't upgrade once it is built. Surely there's a middle ground where upgrades should be possible within a couple of years? Also, 16GB sounds awfully low to me. Why has the laptop industry decided nobody needs more than that? It seems to be the limit for laptops with soldered memory, with few laptops coming with more than that. Anyway I voted with my wallet and bought a laptop that has a Ryzen CPU and upgradable memory and SSD, and a very manageable weight.
- forty 6y ago
  Yeah, I have an AMD FX-8150 (AM3+) based desktop tower from 2012, which I recently wanted to upgrade, and which largely inspired my comment :) Even with AM4 based CPU, I'm under the impression that recent CPUs cannot always use old mothercards.