5 ms·

This really kicked in for me when I bought a grill. The first time I used it, that cost me "1500". The second, it was just 750 per bbq. By the time I cooked a

This really kicked in for me when I bought a grill. The first time I used it, that cost me "1500". The second, it was just 750 per bbq. By the time I cooked a hundred meals on it, it is a 15 bucks per meal. Etc. Longevity is obviously a big factor too

leptons 3y ago
I spent $5000 on the fastest consumer computer available in 2011. It had a 6-core CPU which was pretty amazing at the time. I still use that same computer today as my main workstation. I've put a little bit of money into it over the years, expanding it. Most recently I bought the fastest CPU that would work in that motherboard, a 12-core/24-thread Xeon for $30 on ebay. So even with adding RAM, Hard drives, new video cards, and a new CPU, it's still under about $2 per day, which has been absolutely worth it considering I've made 250x that per day when I use it for work. I'm due for an upgrade soon, but I don't have too much reason yet to do it. But when I do, I'll spend another $5k to get a monster machine and it will last me probably until I expire.
- sagarm 3y ago
  Did you overall have a better experience than buying mid range and periodically upgrading components? I'm skeptical. I've probably spent around that much (very rough estimate) on 3-4 builds over the same period, and for most of it I had a i7-6700k (4C/8T). If I hadn't just upgraded from a i7-12700F and RTX 3080 to i9-13900k and RTX 3090 within a year I'm pretty sure I'd be well under $5000. Perhaps I'll put together a spreadsheet with the total inflation adjusted spend for comparison...
  - leptons 3y ago
    The i7-12700F is about 2x the compute power at about 1/2 the power consumption of my current Xeon CPU. The cost to power older hardware is not factored in to my calculations. I'm not also not necessarily getting 2x the work done if I had a CPU that is twice as fast - most of the time the computer is just doing menial stuff. I do have some tasks that max out all cores (no matter how big the system is) and that doesn't run too often, maybe once or twice a week typically. A faster system might save me a few minutes of my time. So far I haven't really needed to upgrade. I don't game, I write software, and about the only thing I'd like to be faster is compiling an IoT/C project that does slam all my cores and slow things to a crawl. But it's rare that I need a full recompile and the old system does well enough. I do also have a 12700F system that my work supplied, and while it's brand new and has Windows 11, it's rare that I find it performing any better or making me any happier than my old computer running Windows 10.
    - sagarm 3y ago
      The premise is that spending more once is worth it. If you don't need a lot of compute, you probably could have gotten a still high-end machine for 1/3 the price.
      - leptons 3y ago
        That may be true, but it also generates 3x the e-waste.
- xyzelement 3y ago
  Thank you for sharing that. I think this is a particularly good callout: "which has been absolutely worth it considering I've made 250x that per day when I use it for work." I think that's called "investment" :) If "loving" your computer makes you even 1% more productive and raises your income 1% that's amazing. Similarly, I've come around on my previously penny-pinching ways around things that matter. Eg I pay for Peloton. Yes, I could workout in a cheaper way, but the reality is (turns out) that I am much more likely to work out if I can roll out of bed and climb onto the bike in my underwear and tune in to one of my favorite instructors. Ditto on buying a large car - I want my wife's life to be as easy as possible so while I am sure we "could" get away with a Toyota corolla, I don't want her miserable every time she gets the kids into their seats or the stroller into the trunk. These things are worth it because they get me more of what I care about: fitness, family happiness, etc.
  - wenebego 3y ago
    >large car Thanks for making the road less safe for everyone else
- m463 3y ago
  Years ago I bought a big monitor for work with my own money. Used it for YEARS. Best purchase ever. Sometimes people have to let go of some stubborn ideas they have.

leptons 3y ago

I spent $5000 on the fastest consumer computer available in 2011. It had a 6-core CPU which was pretty amazing at the time. I still use that same computer today as my main workstation. I've put a little bit of money into it over the years, expanding it. Most recently I bought the fastest CPU that would work in that motherboard, a 12-core/24-thread Xeon for $30 on ebay. So even with adding RAM, Hard drives, new video cards, and a new CPU, it's still under about $2 per day, which has been absolutely worth it considering I've made 250x that per day when I use it for work. I'm due for an upgrade soon, but I don't have too much reason yet to do it. But when I do, I'll spend another $5k to get a monster machine and it will last me probably until I expire.

sagarm 3y ago
Did you overall have a better experience than buying mid range and periodically upgrading components? I'm skeptical. I've probably spent around that much (very rough estimate) on 3-4 builds over the same period, and for most of it I had a i7-6700k (4C/8T). If I hadn't just upgraded from a i7-12700F and RTX 3080 to i9-13900k and RTX 3090 within a year I'm pretty sure I'd be well under $5000. Perhaps I'll put together a spreadsheet with the total inflation adjusted spend for comparison...
- leptons 3y ago
  The i7-12700F is about 2x the compute power at about 1/2 the power consumption of my current Xeon CPU. The cost to power older hardware is not factored in to my calculations. I'm not also not necessarily getting 2x the work done if I had a CPU that is twice as fast - most of the time the computer is just doing menial stuff. I do have some tasks that max out all cores (no matter how big the system is) and that doesn't run too often, maybe once or twice a week typically. A faster system might save me a few minutes of my time. So far I haven't really needed to upgrade. I don't game, I write software, and about the only thing I'd like to be faster is compiling an IoT/C project that does slam all my cores and slow things to a crawl. But it's rare that I need a full recompile and the old system does well enough. I do also have a 12700F system that my work supplied, and while it's brand new and has Windows 11, it's rare that I find it performing any better or making me any happier than my old computer running Windows 10.
  - sagarm 3y ago
    The premise is that spending more once is worth it. If you don't need a lot of compute, you probably could have gotten a still high-end machine for 1/3 the price.
    - leptons 3y ago
      That may be true, but it also generates 3x the e-waste.
xyzelement 3y ago
Thank you for sharing that. I think this is a particularly good callout: "which has been absolutely worth it considering I've made 250x that per day when I use it for work." I think that's called "investment" :) If "loving" your computer makes you even 1% more productive and raises your income 1% that's amazing. Similarly, I've come around on my previously penny-pinching ways around things that matter. Eg I pay for Peloton. Yes, I could workout in a cheaper way, but the reality is (turns out) that I am much more likely to work out if I can roll out of bed and climb onto the bike in my underwear and tune in to one of my favorite instructors. Ditto on buying a large car - I want my wife's life to be as easy as possible so while I am sure we "could" get away with a Toyota corolla, I don't want her miserable every time she gets the kids into their seats or the stroller into the trunk. These things are worth it because they get me more of what I care about: fitness, family happiness, etc.
- wenebego 3y ago
  >large car Thanks for making the road less safe for everyone else
m463 3y ago
Years ago I bought a big monitor for work with my own money. Used it for YEARS. Best purchase ever. Sometimes people have to let go of some stubborn ideas they have.