How many laptops do you go through every 4 years?

[slavablueberryjam]

I just had a look at Sager and eluktronics- they look very similar to a no-name gaming laptop I have to use at work. I don't like the build quality and boy does it ratchet up the fan whenever I start putting 3D assets together. I know the software isn't always optimised but the no-name doesn't feel as solid as the older Alienware I also use at work.

Yeah, the fans for those laptops is set at high; no matter what. But I believe they are just 'loud'. Didn't experience too much stuttering playing AA titles, however, AAA titles. Yeah. I don't buy alienware due to them being a subsidiary of dell.

 

[slavablueberryjam]

Curious, how do you "go thru" a laptop? What exactly does this mean?

The laptops have physical damage that makes them inoperable.

 

[noonereal]

The laptops have physical damage that makes them inoperable.

Wow!

I have never had a one go down to physical damage.

 

[Gaius46]

I have a MacBook that I bought a little over a year ago. The Windows laptop I had before that I had for 4-5 years. Same with the one before that.

I don't ask much of my laptop. Most strenuous use is audio recording and mixing which it can easily handle. Other than that I pretty much only use it for writing things that would be too tedious to do on an iPad

 

[Daisy]

I've had the same laptop for over 5 years...use it daily, stays on most of the day...had the hard drive replaced once...still working great...

 

[Crakhobarbie]

I was doing some research and I found out I go thru 2 different laptops every two years with each one costing me about 2,500usd. Man, I just had to buy another laptop today for that amount after, the one that I am using, has only lasted me for 3 years.

How many laptops do you go thru?

So you are spending $2500.00 per annum on laptops?
What happens after a year that makes each laptop unusable? How are you constantly physically breaking them?

 

[slavablueberryjam]

So you are spending $2500.00 per annum on laptops?
What happens after a year that makes each laptop unusable? How are you constantly physically breaking them?

I have anger issues and am fairly careless too. So not a good combo.

 

[The Stars Tremble]

Curious, how do you "go thru" a laptop? What exactly does this mean?

I have anger issues from my job. So I tend on slamming the laptops if I get frustrated from work. And sometimes I sleep on top of them while I am browsing or researching and tend on being too lazy to move the laptop to the desk.

 

[The Stars Tremble]

I have anger issues and am fairly careless too. So not a good combo.

I've wrecked keyboards, it seems like the obvious thing to do. But a keyboard is a lot cheaper than a laptop.

Have you considered a wireless keyboard to use with your laptop? It's also more ergonomic.

 

[LostInSeattle]

I get a new laptop every three years. I use a Macintosh, and that's the length of extended AppleCare. It also keeps me reasonably up to date in terms of hardware improvements. I am usually able to sell the "old" machine for about 60% of new. I keep my computers in good shape so they retain value.

 

[washunut]

I was doing some research and I found out I go thru 2 different laptops every two years with each one costing me about 2,500usd. Man, I just had to buy another laptop today for that amount after, the one that I am using, has only lasted me for 3 years.

How many laptops do you go thru?

one.

 

[slavablueberryjam]

I've wrecked keyboards, it seems like the obvious thing to do. But a keyboard is a lot cheaper than a laptop.

Have you considered a wireless keyboard to use with your laptop? It's also more ergonomic.

But then how can I see the screen when I have really bad eyesight? The laptops I use are always fairly close to my eyes. Maybe 1.4 ft away.

 

[ClaraD]

I was doing some research and I found out I go thru 2 different laptops every two years with each one costing me about 2,500usd. Man, I just had to buy another laptop today for that amount after, the one that I am using, has only lasted me for 3 years.

How many laptops do you go thru?

what do you mean go through? Yours goes bad or what? I have an HP and a MacBook...and my HP is over 2 years old and my MacBook is a lot newer...maybe 6 months old now. I have only had one that broke on me...it was an ACER and it wasn't the ACER's fault. I had COVID and fell asleep with it on the bed and in my wild sleep(the fever made me toss a lot) it got chunked to the floor and the screen broke......it was easier to replace it...and I got the HP.

 

[ClaraD]

Zero. I don't use laptops.

I use a desktop that I've upgraded myself from time to time since 2012 and I use various tablets...both Windows and Android.

Since I built my desktop, I've spent about $500 in upgrades. I replaced the motherboard and cpu once, upgraded ram from ddr2 to ddr3 and I bought a bigger ssd. I'll eventually need to upgrade the motherboard and cpu so I can use Win11, but there's no hurry on that.

that is awesome, but not practical for me. I have a laptop because a lot of the times I am doing an invoice, applying for permits, inspections etc...from the job site....can't haul a desktop to a construction zone.

 

[Mycroft]

that is awesome, but not practical for me. I have a laptop because a lot of the times I am doing an invoice, applying for permits, inspections etc...from the job site....can't haul a desktop to a construction zone.

Oh, I understand. Everyone has their needs.

Me? I'm retired. I don't do that job stuff anymore.

 

[ClaraD]

Oh, I understand. Everyone has their needs.

Me? I'm retired. I don't do that job stuff anymore.

lucky you...although I am not sure I would know what to do with myself if I were not working.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I was doing some research and I found out I go thru 2 different laptops every two years with each one costing me about 2,500usd. Man, I just had to buy another laptop today for that amount after, the one that I am using, has only lasted me for 3 years.

How many laptops do you go thru?

Almost none.
I have two of the little buggers, and I think we have always had at least one or two over the years.
The difference is, these days "THE INFLUENCERS" (a mythical group endowed with almost NO intelligence but blessed with a massive following) seem to treat laptops as the primary means of doing everything.
It's all PHONE/TABLET/LAPTOP, in that order.

Never been that way here, I have stuck with the Big Iron.
I am spoiled by big screens, big sound systems, full size keyboards, and here is the bonus: By sticking WITH the big stuff I end up preserving my time AWAY FROM this stuff too!

The laptop comes out if we're on the road, on vacay, stuck somewhere with an obligation.
In fact, phones, tablets and laptops are a distant alternative to big iron for me.
I love that phones and tablets have so much high tech stuffed into them but they're still overpriced transistor pocket radios to me anyway.
I hate the tiny screens and tinier keyboards and I am not fond of the limited accessibility of a lot of websites.

I expect my wife's laptop to last another five or six years and even more out of the other one which is for guests, or for me if I am out somewhere, which is less and less frequent now.

 

[Mycroft]

lucky you...although I am not sure I would know what to do with myself if I were not working.

I do anything I want to...even if it's nothing at all.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

Yeah, the fans for those laptops is set at high; no matter what. But I believe they are just 'loud'.

In the office, I can usually hear one of my team when they are constructing a new training 3D scenario for upcoming exams. Some software is just badly coded - Firestudio for one is basically Powerpoint with particles but that kicks the fans up to full volume within seconds of starting.

Didn't experience too much stuttering playing AA titles, however, AAA titles. Yeah.

Do your anger issues come about when you are gaming or when doing your work? There could be a link there that adds to expenses!

I don't buy alienware due to them being a subsidiary of dell.

They are built like tanks though - there's a world of difference between the office Alienware and the office "Sager-look-alike."

I know that if I had to carry one around all day (and the Alienware weighs a ton) and last through the battering my bag can take, it would be the Alienware.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Usually about 4 years.

My latest laptop is from a company called framework as I wanted one that was fully compatible with Linux… then I ended up installing windows for my masters program anyway.

@Mycroft might actually want to check them out, it is modularized and you can swap out components like a desktop. Company is brand new though.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

Company is brand new though.

Framework have had huge support from companies like LTT and other big Youtube channels. There's also articles about them in Europe and they sell here too.
There are now a lot of new smaller companies trying the same thing so I think the only big threat to them is the bigger manufacturers making their own clones and wiping Framework out.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Framework have had huge support from companies like LTT and other big Youtube channels. There's also articles about them in Europe and they sell here too.
There are now a lot of new smaller companies trying the same thing so I think the only big threat to them is the bigger manufacturers making their own clones and wiping Framework out.

My only issue so far is that that kernel 6.2 is the minimum one that can handle P and E cores properly and that is just now starting to hit Ubuntu LTS (as of this week). I prefer Mint to Ubuntu though so I will have to wait.

Right now I am using windows for my masters program but honestly, I may just throw my lessons into a MS Fabric or Synapse environment at work and be OS agnostic.

My use case isn't typical though.

 

[The Stars Tremble]

I get a new laptop every three years. I use a Macintosh, and that's the length of extended AppleCare. It also keeps me reasonably up to date in terms of hardware improvements. I am usually able to sell the "old" machine for about 60% of new. I keep my computers in good shape so they retain value.

The resale value of old Mac equipment, is better than old Windows laptop or PC. That's because only Apple people consider an old computer to be worth money.

 

[The Stars Tremble]

Almost none.
I have two of the little buggers, and I think we have always had at least one or two over the years.
The difference is, these days "THE INFLUENCERS" (a mythical group endowed with almost NO intelligence but blessed with a massive following) seem to treat laptops as the primary means of doing everything.
It's all PHONE/TABLET/LAPTOP, in that order.

Never been that way here, I have stuck with the Big Iron.
I am spoiled by big screens, big sound systems, full size keyboards, and here is the bonus: By sticking WITH the big stuff I end up preserving my time AWAY FROM this stuff too!

The laptop comes out if we're on the road, on vacay, stuck somewhere with an obligation.
In fact, phones, tablets and laptops are a distant alternative to big iron for me.
I love that phones and tablets have so much high tech stuffed into them but they're still overpriced transistor pocket radios to me anyway.
I hate the tiny screens and tinier keyboards and I am not fond of the limited accessibility of a lot of websites.

I expect my wife's laptop to last another five or six years and even more out of the other one which is for guests, or for me if I am out somewhere, which is less and less frequent now.

Though PC's often come in aluminium cases now, I love the phrase "Big Iron"

Back when I ran a gaming PC I was bothered by how loud it was. So I broke out a brick in the wall and put the PC in the next room.

 

[LostInSeattle]

The resale value of old Mac equipment, is better than old Windows laptop or PC. That's because only Apple people consider an old computer to be worth money.

That's a weird thing to say. Older computers (and three years is not that old) can be perfectly serviceable for lots of functions - word processing, web browsing/email, spreadsheets. You only need the latest and greatest if you're doing something super processor intensive such as photo rendering, CAD, some gaming.

True, macs tend to be better built and last longer than PC laptops. So the reason that the resale value of old Mac equipment is not the "only apple people consider an old computer to be worth money" but because that older computer can still do a bunch of stuff as well as a new computer.