3 ms·

> I see you also follow my rule: When buying a laptop, always buy top spec. ive become a believer for both desktops and laptops. the ratio of hardware perform

> I see you also follow my rule: When buying a laptop, always buy top spec. ive become a believer for both desktops and laptops. the ratio of hardware performance to software performance requirements increases over time, but its linear and the slope is small. knowing that, you can buy cheap machines frequently or expensive machines infrequently and hit a similar $/time expenditure - but one way you get fast puterz and the other way you dont. the details matter of course. $/performance hits a sharp breakpoint and turns exponential around the 80th percentile. for my money - and everyone i know uninterested in the bleeding edge - a couple notches below the best is an incomparable deal that also saves the time of frequent research/upgrades/purchasing.

Retric 5y ago
It really depends on what you’re doing. When the cheap machine still lasts 5+ years the value proposition of going expensive just isn’t there. IMO, the reason to buy a more expensive machine is simply the benefit of using a faster machine for several years. If you’re spending 20 hours a week on a PC then it’s worth stretching the budget a little. However, that generally only applies to one or two form factors not everything phone, tablet, desktop, and laptop. If the only thing you use the tablet for is Netflix in bed then a cheap one is probably fine.
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  There's also the fact that on the pricier machine you'll get better hardware, as in "nicer to use". For example at work, we use HP Pro and Elite books. Just got a brand new one the other day, and while the screen is incredible compared to the 2013 models, it still looks like absolute crap compared to my 2013 MBP. And I'm not talking resolution, I'm talking washed out colors and ridiculous viewing angles. All along these years, they also had shitty touchpads, shoddy body assembly that would dig into your wrists while typing, atrocious coil whine, loud fan spinning for no reason, power light that would blind you at night, etc. So even if the total price paid was lower than my MBP (which I doubt, since I'm on my fourth HP in 6 years), it basically means that during these 8 years I would never have used a nice computer. And only this last one (with a zen 3) is actually faster than my old Mac.

Retric 5y ago

It really depends on what you’re doing. When the cheap machine still lasts 5+ years the value proposition of going expensive just isn’t there. IMO, the reason to buy a more expensive machine is simply the benefit of using a faster machine for several years. If you’re spending 20 hours a week on a PC then it’s worth stretching the budget a little. However, that generally only applies to one or two form factors not everything phone, tablet, desktop, and laptop. If the only thing you use the tablet for is Netflix in bed then a cheap one is probably fine.

vladvasiliu 5y ago
There's also the fact that on the pricier machine you'll get better hardware, as in "nicer to use". For example at work, we use HP Pro and Elite books. Just got a brand new one the other day, and while the screen is incredible compared to the 2013 models, it still looks like absolute crap compared to my 2013 MBP. And I'm not talking resolution, I'm talking washed out colors and ridiculous viewing angles. All along these years, they also had shitty touchpads, shoddy body assembly that would dig into your wrists while typing, atrocious coil whine, loud fan spinning for no reason, power light that would blind you at night, etc. So even if the total price paid was lower than my MBP (which I doubt, since I'm on my fourth HP in 6 years), it basically means that during these 8 years I would never have used a nice computer. And only this last one (with a zen 3) is actually faster than my old Mac.