I see you also follow my rule: When buying a laptop, always buy top spec.

My laptop is an OG X1 Carbon i7/8/256. I can't upgrade it easily, but I'm actually happy with it for my purposes. My main driver is a Ryzen desktop though, that's a proper beast.

> 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.

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.

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.

Displays are hardest to upgrade and provide one of the most critical aspects of usability. Maximise display capabilities if possible.

RAM is easily replaced and only gets cheaper with time. Buy with sufficient RAM, and max that out a few years in.

CPU overall tends to have fairly minimal impacts on overall performance within the range offered in a given set of options, and there's often a sharp uptick in price for a small performance boost at the higher end. I'll usually downgrade slightly for savings.

Storage can be replace readily over system life and often should be. Get what you need initially but plan on an update later. SSD or fusion drives are optimal.

Depending on your OS, WiFi reliability often precludes raw performance. For Linux, go with well-supported options. (I don't drive Windows.)

I've never put a premium on graphics performance. If it plays videos and displays xterms, it's good enough for me. YMMV. I prefer open source drivers.

Overall power draw and batterylife are also considerations, and again dropping from peak specs may actually deliver advantages here. Alternatively, you'll find yourself buying capabilities that neither your battery nor thermal management can deliver consistently.

Maxxing out spec is going to cost quite a bit. Buying last season's maxxed-out spec will often provide significan savings, as may buying this season's somewhat-below-peak specs per my guidelines above.

This is based on a few decades of not chasing performance extremes and with a fair tolerance of sufficient performance. Ironically it's raw Web browser performance that seems to be the most critical element of desktop satisfaction these days.

Same. I used a maxxed out Vaio for about 8 years and really the only reason I got a new x1 carbon in 2017 was because the lack of usb 3 (let alone c) was becoming a problem.

I still love that machine. One thing I dearly miss is the real docking station, no usbc cable. That was under $3k that lasted for 8 years.

I don't know how much I'd pay for lesser machines or how often, but I can't believe this math doesn't work out.

Subsequently, the x1 carbon is still perfect but I just had to get a Framework when they came out just on principle, even though that 2017 x1c is still a pleasure to use and I'd happily use it for several more years.

Get the good one, max it out, use it for at least 5 years, enjoy life all day every day instead of being perpetually annoyed.

I have that exact laptop, abd my only gripe is battery life. How's that holding up for you?

That's awesome! My battery life is not good at all. I had it replaced after 3 years - bought it ahead as part of "warranty", but it's likely due for another replacement now.

Other than that it's only recently started to show some scuff marks on the corners. Everything else is still holding up great, especially the keyboard.

I specced my T420 freshman year of college but had a budget from my parents so I skipped out on getting the upgraded LCD panel in exchange for the i7 CPU. That laptop lasted me a couple years until I grabbed a tablet X61 and then a X200 for taking notes towards the end of college. I'm now back to my T420 and have spent a little but of time upgrading things the drives, ram, wlan card, downgrading to a smaller 6 cell battery, and doing the ivyrain bios. I really regret going for the cheaper panel as upgrading to a 1600x900 is not a simple process and the cost is halfway to just buying something modern. My girlfriend was going to give me her old Lenovo Flex 14 when she got MacBook but she loves it more than the MacBook and I'm not really a fan of either laptops. I love my old T420 but I'm stuck between spending money on sentimental hardware or just buying something newer.