[Discuss] Think I need a new computer

[Kent Borg]

On 6/17/24 10:23, Rich Pieri wrote:
> I was burned quite badly doing this not too long ago: Intel changing
> sockets after Haswell, nVidia dropping the MXM socket entirely, leaving
> me with a very expensive "upgradeable" computer with no upgrade path.
And Framework has not magically solved that problem: The CPU alone 
cannot be replaced, one needs to buy a new motherboard (so far that has 
been a lot less expensive than a new computer). And for the motherboard 
to be *worth* replacing certainly the old RAM will not be compatible.

(But maybe 
https://store.coolermaster.com/products/framework-mainboard-case will be 
back in stock and the old can be repurposed.)

I'm more interested in expansion than upgrade, if that distinction makes 
sense. If I didn't max out the RAM at first, once Firefox and Chrome 
both "upgrade" to requiring 4GB per tab, I could max out RAM then. Buy a 
new expansion cards that currently don't exist. Buy bigger SSD, maybe 
bigger than currently exists, and put the old one in a portable 
enclosure to use as a "floppy".

But I'm probably more interested in repairability: At the moment I would 
like an easy and good way to replace my trackpad, my battery, my USB-C 
jacks, and in a Framework? All of those can be easily replaced. For a 
lot less than buying a new computer.

That is better than what I have now.

The final device is not quite as light and small as my (dying) XPS 13, 
but not too much worse.


And the price premium to be in that universe? Small, if any: What are 
the options to have 64GB RAM in a 13" notebook? 4TB SSD? Limited and not 
cheap. A Framework 13 configured that way? Under $1,700. I don't see 
much "burn" risk there.

Not perfect, and at some point the company might hire some new and Very 
Clever MBA who decides to turn it into just another disposable laptop 
company. But for the moment it is the best I know of and better than 
what I have.


> Now I view portable kit as disposable appliances, sad as that is.

I know the feeling. Very annoying.

The "smartwatch" on my left wrist does lots of impressive stuff, 
including mostly displaying the correct time. It is quite new, and, 
alas, I fear will be e-waste in a year or three.

The watch on my right wrist is extremely reliable about telling time. 
And at nearly 25-years-old, it well predates the other watch, and all of 
its multiple clever predecessors. And I fully expect it to easily 
outlast my current "smartwatch", and its successors, too. (It also never 
needs charging, and never needs some historical something called 
"winding", either.)

Just because it will also outlast whatever computer I next buy doesn't 
mean I shan't optimize that purchase as best I can.


-kb