# Off-Topic Discussion > The Lounge > Tech Talk >  >  How Old/New Is Your Main PC?

## Taosaur

Just curious. With all of the "Post PC world!" talk coming from Apple and the slowing of PC sales, I'm wondering if the reason is not so much that people are buying iPads, but that there's less reason to upgrade old hardware. I'm thinking people still have workhorse desktops and laptops, but aren't replacing them as often.

A PC in this case includes desktops and laptops, but not netbooks, tablets or smartphones. Please answer how old the machine is, to the best of your knowledge, not how long you've had it.

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## sh4rkbyt3

6 months to 1 year.
But I've upgraded it a bit in the past 2 months.

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## Marvo

4½ years. I haven't bought a new computer in a long while, because it is unnecessary. This one is starting to feel outdated, but 7 years ago a computer usually wouldn't be able to follow more than 2 years. This is most likely due to gaming consoles halting the demand for stronger hardware, since nearly all games are developed to be run on consoles.

I have replaced a few parts in my computer, such as the graphics card, but that was simply out of necessity. Bought a new monitor too, simply because I had the money and wanted something bigger.

All in all, the scalability and flexiblity of the PC is a massive advantage, and I find it hard to believe they will ever disappear entirely. Cloud technology still has a very long way to go, especially due to the very poor quality of the instracture of the world wide web. Until issues like that are resolved, I think PCs will retain their ruling position on the hardware market.

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## sh4rkbyt3

> 4½ years. I haven't bought a new computer in a long while, because it is unnecessary. This one is starting to feel outdated, but 7 years ago a computer usually wouldn't be able to follow more than 2 years. This is most likely due to gaming consoles halting the demand for stronger hardware, since nearly all games are developed to be run on consoles.
> 
> I have replaced a few parts in my computer, such as the graphics card, but that was simply out of necessity. Bought a new monitor too, simply because I had the money and wanted something bigger.
> 
> All in all, the scalability and flexiblity of the PC is a massive advantage, and I find it hard to believe they will ever disappear entirely. Cloud technology still has a very long way to go, especially due to the very poor quality of the instracture of the world wide web. Until issues like that are resolved, I think PCs will retain their ruling position on the hardware market.



Due all those light-weight laptops and tablet prices for a real computer ( upgradeable desktop ) will drop.
So you will get a decent desktop computer for a small price while you need to pay much for a crappy laptop/tablet.

All hail powerful desktops !!

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## Toozul

Eight years old and it's video card just broke  :Sad:

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## Taosaur

Yeah, if you've been upgrading all the while, use your own discretion in the poll, but I would say age of CPU = age of PC. What CPU do you have, Marvo? I have an Intel Q6600 (Core2Quad) and have been really thinking about a mobo/CPU upgrade (so pretty much a new PC), but I dumped in some more RAM last week and the thing is cruising again. I'm thinking with a SSD system drive, I'll probably be set for another 2+ years. I've never made a real effort to overclock, either, so that's an option as the machine gets long in the tooth.

At this point it's 2+2 cores @2.4Ghz, 8GB of RAM @ 8/8/8/20, and a 512MB HD4850 GPU. The 7200RPM HDD is definitely the bottleneck in most situations. A GPU upgrade wouldn't hurt, I suppose, but this one is still gettin'er done. 

If anyone is thinking, like I did, that 4GB of RAM is plenty--thing again! Windows Explorer and Chrome are both so much snappier since I jumped to 8GB. It's very much like the move from 256MB to 1GB on my Pentium 4 system back in the day. Granted, my current work involves running 40+ Chrome tabs alongside GIMP, document editors, text expanders, and of course tunes  :Cool:

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## Carrot

I've had it for 3 years and I think it's probably 4 years old, considering that my Acer laptop is the last of its species with matt screen when I bought it from the store.

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## Musicdreamer

my computer is 5 1/2 years old, but my graphics card is 9 years old :p i had it from my old computer.
the first graphic card was very good but because of a production mistake it chrashed every hour so i put my old one in :p

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## Marvo

I am still using a Core 2 Duo, E6850 I believe is its name, 2.6GHz. It's a fairly good CPU, but its age is showing. The biggest limitation in my PC right now is probably by 3 gigabyte RAM. A little more would definitely speed things up.

I've had the CPU since I bought the PC, which was back in 2007 late summer. Also bought my laptop at that time. It broke down about a year ago, probably due to me handling it not so nicely. It still works to some extent, so I think I got 4 years use out of it, which is acceptable for a laptop, even if it was expensive, especially considering I hauled it with me everywhere and sometimes did some not-so-nice things to it.

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## khh

My computer is a about three and a half years old, and had when new an Intel Core2 Quad Q8300 processor, 4 GB 1066 MHz DDR2 RAM and a NVIDIA Geforce 9800 GTX+. I've upgraded it a bit since then, so I've currently got 8 GB of ram, an ATi Raedon HD5750 (got it for a beer, from a friend) and an Intel X-25M 160 GB SSD.

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## Sornaensis

4 months. Got an i7-2600k / GTX 590 / 12GB DDR3-1600 rig late last year to supersede my Core2Duo E8400 / 2x GeForce 9800GT / 4GB DDR2-800 rig (Now runs with an FX 5200 as a file server) which I got in 2008, which had replaced a shitty Dell Dimension 3000 which ran that FX 5200 since 2005. So I'm on an update cycle of about 3.5 years. Probably less in the future, but that doesn't bother me. I like flexible machines that I can easily repair and upgrade myself. Both of my desktop chassis can hold 5 3.5" HDDs.

I also got a cheap HP laptop with an i3 370M / 4GB DDR3-1333 for school around the same time. Both are running Arch Linux and the desktop runs Windows 7 Ultimate for games, a few 3D rendering programs, etc. 

Now I just gotta update my monitors, which aren't uniform at the moment : \

Also...

FUCK APPLE. I'll be buying/building desktops forever. I figure this rig will last me about 2 years with no upgrade, then I'll start looking into new parts. 

However... I'll probably invest in a good tablet in the future, as a mobile terminal. I like my laptop, but it's 15.6" and if I can get something smaller that has a better screen and good wireless capabilities that I can hack whatever I want to on it, I'll take it :U

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## Taosaur

Honestly, while my Windows tower isn't going anywhere, if I had the loot a 13" Macbook Air would be my laptop of choice without a second thought. I don't know if I'd run OS X or Windows on it more, but it's actually the best bang for your buck in the laptop market right now. I've been thinking so for a while, but just saw an article about it today, too: 4 Reasons My Next Notebook PC Will Be A MacBook Air [Opinion]

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## Supernova

I find it hard to believe that an Apple product is currently the best value on the market.

I would love to see Apple try to beat for $1200 my 17'' Asus G74Sx-BBK8 with a core i7 at 2.2GHtz (3.0 GHtz TurboBoost), 8GB DDR3 (max expansion +8GB), GeForce GTX 560M with 2GB VRAM, and two 500GB 7200rpm HDD's.

Take that Apple!  :tongue2: 

So yeah, laptop's about 4 months old.  It replaced a hand-me-down Toshiba Satellite series (very good, but around 7 years old).  I'm quite pleased with it, but my next rig will be a desktop that I build myself.

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## melanieb

I'm about the same as Sornaensis above except when I bought the desktop and laptop I have a desktop with an i7 and a laptop with an i5.  I purchased both at the end of November.

I have 1.8TB of HDD in a Raid configuration.

Now if I could just upgrade my internet connection...

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## Taosaur

> I would love to see Apple try to beat for $1200 my 17'' Asus G74Sx-BBK8 with a core i7 at 2.2GHtz (3.0 GHtz TurboBoost), 8GB DDR3 (max expansion +8GB), GeForce GTX 560M with 2GB VRAM, and two 500GB 7200rpm HDD's.
> 
> Take that Apple!



You and I obviously mean very different things by "laptop."  :Cheeky:  

That does look like a solid rig at that price, but the whole concept of a desktop replacement laptop, much less a gaming laptop... I just wouldn't want to use that equipment in that configuration. For gaming I would want a proper keyboard, a proper monitor, and proper cooling so I could open up the powerhouse components. And for a truly portable machine, even 15" and 5lbs is waaaaay too big.  

Different strokes for different folks, obviously.

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## Supernova

> You and I obviously mean very different things by "laptop."



Haha, true.  Basically I could only afford one computer, and I wanted good graphics & gaming performance, but I knew I'd have to move it around at various times.  The battery life can be a little cumbersome (2 hours without changing power settings).  Make no mistake, for all intents and purposes, this is a proper keyboard  :wink2:   If I need something more portable, I could pick up a refurbished notebook at the local computer repair shop for ~ $250.

I _will_ note (incapable of resisting an opportunity to 1-up Apple) that I just checked on the Macbook pro, and this laptop is at least on par (lacks 1920x1200 native resolution and a long battery life, but probably has considerably better graphics performance) at a little more than half the price  ::D:

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## Puffin

I have a 15" MBP, which is a year old come April. Specs are 2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 500GB HD @ 5400 rpm, and the battery has been through 108 cycles. I have a feeling that with all the memory-intensive stuff I do on it, however, that it may not last as long as it should.

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## BobbyLance

My laptop's 3 years and 7 months old. This Mac of mine never fails me  ::mrgreen::

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## GestaltAlteration

Going on five years. It still plays all the latest games on max settings. >:3

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## Burke

Had this laptop for about 3 years but it was refurbished when I bought it. I think it's around 4.5 years old in total, though. Still runs great though for what I use it for  :smiley:

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## melanieb

My previous computer I kept running for a solid 8+ years, despite my son occasionally "discovering" all the web has to offer, including a virus or two.

I expect to do the same with this one.

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## Taosaur

> Going on five years. It still plays all the latest games on max settings. >:3



Yeah, so far the thread seems to be bearing out my hypothesis, as far as the people running older systems w/ no problems. I thought my 4-year-old system (and middle-of-the-road when I built it) was starting to show its age, but the RAM went a long way toward fixing that, and I suspect SSD and GPU upgrades would have it running circles around most off-the-rack systems three or four years from now. Obviously, it has a lot to do with web and software developers designing for the lowest common denominator--unless you're rendering tons of video, there's not much out there that takes advantage of the last two or three generations of PC hardware. 





> Now if I could just upgrade my internet connection...



My bandwidth is just cutting it (something like 15Mbps and 200GB/mo), but if I add any more or fancier gadgets to my wireless network, I'll need to replace my 8-year-old router.

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## SpaceCowboyDave

My equipment is of different ages

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## Mzzkc

My tower (which I've been using more than my 5 year old laptop) is ten years old, but you can hardly tell.

Everything in there was top of the line at the time; two Pentium 4's running in parallel @ 3.2Ghz each; 1GB of gold-plated heat sync DDR RAM; AI Series P4P800-E Deluxe mobo; Radeon 9600 Pro; 160GB (not sure on rpm) HDD and a second 120GB drive that failed on me several years back; 5 fans + CPU and HDD cooler; more slots to USB, Floppies, and SD card precursors than you can shake a stick at; Separate CD and DVD writers/readers; blue LEDs; and a sexy case;

Over the years I've had to swap the power supply, but it's only recently that I've bothered to upgrade the graphics card, since AGP cards are spiking in price and this was built before PCIe ports came onto the scene.

I can play HD video now! =0

I still need to upgrade the RAM a bit, but it's difficult finding RAM that will work for this thing at a reasonable price.

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## Queen Zukin

Our desktop at home is now about 10 years old. It's very slow though, so it doesn't get much use anymore. My laptop is a little over 3 years old now, and it is still just as fast as when it was new.

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## tommo

Looks like 2-5 years is far more common.
Mine's from mid-2008, iMac.  I wish I never bought it, but I'm not upgrading until it dies completely.
I also will keep the screen after the rest of it croaks and just hook up a new custom computer to it.

I think the reason sales are slowing would be that games are not getting that much more intensive with graphics.
As Gestalt highlighted, you don't *need* the newest hardware to play the newest games.
And if you're just browsing the internet and doing other basic stuff, hell, you could be running on a computer built in 2000.

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## Taosaur

> I think the reason sales are slowing would be that games are not getting that much more intensive with graphics.



You're right that game graphics aren't leaping forward, but I don't know how much impact that really has on PC sales. You don't buy a new PC for better graphics; you just buy a new GPU, unless your machine is underpowered (as in, power supply) or is incompatible with current interface standards. You replace a PC when you hit an upgrade ceiling on RAM or GPU, and/or when components that are non-trivial to upgrade (CPU, PSU, MoBo) aren't cutting it. I would say upgrade ceilings and core components are the limiting factors that aren't kicking in as fast as they used to. Most machines built in the last five years can take at least 8GB, and often 16GB+ RAM (and if you're not video-editing, you have to multitask pretty hard to really use 8GB) and can handle any but the highest-end current GPUs. Meanwhile, you're not likely to see bottlenecks in any dual core or better CPU, or in any GPU with at least 1GB VRAM (and hell, I'm doing pretty well on 512MB). 

Basically, if you bought/built a machine with some balls in the last 4-5 years, it probably still has room in its shorts for bigger balls. Even if you bought a machine with no balls because you didn't need them, it's probably as "good enough" as it ever was. Either way, if your RAM isn't maxed now and you're seeing any slowness whatsoever, max that RAM. Even if your machine isn't that easy to upgrade, RAM is pretty much always the cheapest, easiest, and most effective upgrade you can make.

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## khh

> You're right that game graphics aren't leaping forward, but I don't know how much impact that really has on PC sales. You don't buy a new PC for better graphics; you just buy a new GPU, unless your machine is underpowered (as in, power supply) or is incompatible with current interface standards. You replace a PC when you hit an upgrade ceiling on RAM or GPU, and/or when components that are non-trivial to upgrade (CPU, PSU, MoBo) aren't cutting it. I would say upgrade ceilings and core components are the limiting factors that aren't kicking in as fast as they used to. Most machines built in the last five years can take at least 8GB, and often 16GB+ RAM (and if you're not video-editing, you have to multitask pretty hard to really use 8GB) and can handle any but the highest-end current GPUs. Meanwhile, you're not likely to see bottlenecks in any dual core or better CPU, or in any GPU with at least 1GB VRAM (and hell, I'm doing pretty well on 512MB).



I disagree. If you're doing a complete mother board, CPU, RAM and GPU upgrade, you might as well just buy an entire new PC and use the old one as a media server or something. That's why I prefer to only add to a computer after I've bought it, meaning I buy more RAM (for the unused slots), maybe another (by now pretty cheap) GPU for crossfire or SLI etc.

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## Taosaur

> I disagree. If you're doing a complete mother board, CPU, RAM and GPU upgrade, you might as well just buy an entire new PC and use the old one as a media server or something. That's why I prefer to only add to a computer after I've bought it, meaning I buy more RAM (for the unused slots), maybe another (by now pretty cheap) GPU for crossfire or SLI etc.



haha, I disagree that you disagree; you just said the same thing I did. You go for a new PC once you've hit a ceiling on RAM and/or GPU upgrades, or when a core component _that's not worth upgrading_ is your bottleneck (often the two situations amount to the same thing). A lot of us with 4-5 year old machines still haven't hit that ceiling.

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## melanieb

My cell phone has a faster processor than my old PC.

That was when I knew it was time to upgrade...that and the backdoor trojan I managed to get when my son began surfing for naughty stuff, and the only way to remove the infection was to reinstall the OS. It took me a year to find the OS disc and by then I was just ready for my new machine, which is so fast and powerful compared to the old machine it's stupid!

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## khh

> haha, I disagree that you disagree; you just said the same thing I did. You go for a new PC once you've hit a ceiling on RAM and/or GPU upgrades, or when a core component _that's not worth upgrading_ is your bottleneck (often the two situations amount to the same thing). A lot of us with 4-5 year old machines still haven't hit that ceiling.



I guess I misunderstood you, then. I just hate "throwing away" working parts, I'd rather have them sit in a usable PC.

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## tommo

and you, also





> Basically, if you bought/built a machine with some balls in the last 4-5 years, it probably still has room in its shorts for bigger balls. Even if you bought a machine with no balls because you didn't need them, it's probably as "good enough" as it ever was. Either way, if your RAM isn't maxed now and you're seeing any slowness whatsoever, max that RAM. Even if your machine isn't that easy to upgrade, RAM is pretty much always the cheapest, easiest, and most effective upgrade you can make.







> *just said the same thing I did.*



What I was saying is graphics aren't that much better, compared to how they've been improving over, say 2000-2005, so people
don't see any need to upgrade their computers.

And remember





> You don't buy a new PC for better graphics; you just buy a new GPU, unless your machine is underpowered (as in, power supply) or is incompatible with current interface standards.



A lot of people don't know shit about computers.  A vast, vast majority of people.  They're just like "fuck, my computer is slow as....  better throw this piece of shit out and buy a new one".
So most people don't know whether they could easily upgrade without dumping the whole thing or not.

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## Pumpkin

I just got one for Christmas...so only a few months! My old PC was about six years old before I got this new one.

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## Taosaur

> A lot of people don't know shit about computers.  A vast, vast majority of people.  They're just like "fuck, my computer is slow as....  better throw this piece of shit out and buy a new one".



Those people also aren't playing PC games, so they're not worried about graphics in the first place. At most they might be looking for "HD" media. Those people do the same thing with their computers that they do with their cars--take them into the shop.

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## melanieb

Computers are cheap enough now that you can get a decent one for fairly low prices.

People just walk in to Best Buy or Office Depot and walk out with a computer preloaded with a selection of software that a majority of people will think is important merely because it's there.


Tommo is right. Notice computers don't come with manuals any more, or you have to download a digital copy from the retailer to actually get one? It's because most people don't know shit and don't want to.

This hurts my brain.

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## Taosaur

We're all saying "Everyone does X" when really there's a wider spectrum of PC knowledge and buying habits. A lot of people at least decide on a brand and size up the company's product line, and/or go through a Plain English "configurator" online and decide which specs to spend more on. A great many find a better-informed child/cousin/buddy to tell them what to buy and/or how to buy it. 

Some people also walk into a B&M store and pick something more or less randomly off the shelf, but with the number of options, I doubt "most people" do any one thing.

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## tommo

No, you're the only one who was using absolutes.  I said "a lot of people".
As melanieb said, most people don't want to learn about it, including gamers.
They'd rather have someone do it for them.
Hell, it's hard enough for people who are interested in it to learn about all the new technologies and which
components can go with other components etc.

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## melanieb

This post from a blog is part ad, part research, and part opinion, but it sums things up nicely.

*Purchasing a PC in North America*  Click for link to story

December 6, 2010 by Leslie Sobon

AMD recently commissioned a research study with Zogby International to help us better understand consumers’ purchasing habits and challenges when buying a new computer.

If you’re super busy, I’ll give you the bottom line: While 30% of Consumers in North America love the PC purchasing process, the majority find purchasing a PC “as exciting as buying a new microwave.”

I was stunned when I read this finding. I think it’s way more fun to buy a microwave.

The PC aisle in any given store in North America can be depressing. Rarely is there anything interesting running on the screens. Many stores don’t have Internet access. And unlike a lot of shops around the world, there’s no point of purchase material (flyers, banners, monitor toppers) to help you make the right PC choice.

Contrast this to China, where buying a PC is like visiting some  high tech outdoor bazaar.  Dozens of PC shops right next door to each other. People hawking their specials to get you to come in and buy. Tons of merchandizing material stuck on – or hanging from – every surface available. Your senses are assaulted from all angles. It’s nothing if not fun.

Just look at this photo from a China PC mall and compare it to the one below from a store in the U.S. Where would you rather buy a PC?





This merchandizing does more than just make the purchasing process more interesting. It can also help make it easier by describing what you can do with the computer.  In the study, 23% of consumers found the PC purchasing process confusing, with almost 70% of that number saying it was “understanding the technology” that made it confusing. Well, if you don’t have any supporting material there’s only so much wrist pad and logo stickers can communicate.

Confusion with PC technology is a key reason we developed VISION Technology from AMD.

VISION simplifies the buying process at the point of sale by focusing on what people want to do with their PC (Internet, video, games), not the technology inside it. No one knows the technology inside their TV, camera or MP3 player, and they don’t need to know to get what they want. Buying a PC should be no different.

Of course, not everyone buys at a store. 35% of respondents said they buy PCs online because they can customize, and also because it’s easier to research. But online research can help even if you end up going to a store to buy. So if you’re looking for a new PC this holiday season, this online tool is a good place to start.

And if you’re looking for a new microwave, may I suggest my current favorite from Kenmore. It’s a microwave with a built in pizza oven.  Yep – a pizza oven. Now that’s fun.



_Leslie Sobon is corporate vice president, product marketing at AMD. Her postings are her own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only.  Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied.
_

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## ty4TheAdventure

Mines is around 7 years old!  ::D:

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## tommo

> Just look at this photo from a China PC mall and compare it to the one below from a store in the U.S. Where would you rather buy a PC?



Probably the American one coz I can't read Chinese.

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## Taosaur

> The PC aisle in any given store in North America can be depressing. Rarely is there anything interesting running on the screens. Many stores don’t have Internet access. And unlike a lot of shops around the world, there’s no point of purchase material (flyers, banners, monitor toppers) to help you make the right PC choice.



The sad state of PC aisles in stores (and the Chinese one doesn't look any better--it's just red...) has a lot more to do with physical outlets being a terrible place to buy a PC. Online stores do a much better job of getting the relevant info across in a way people can understand, and arranging it in a way that lets people make meaningful comparisons. One of the downsides of cheaper PCs is that it makes less and less sense to hire or train professional salespeople who know the product and how to match it with a customer's needs. Even at Best Buy, they're better off putting their best people in the home theater department. The exception is the Apple Store, but of course their products also cost more.

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## melanieb

I think the point of the image of Chinese stores is that all the PCs are on, displaying similar information so you can compare visuals, with bright signs designed to capture your attention.


Still. the point is that the majority of people aren't interested in numbers of gigabytes or how fast their machine can be overclocked, which the average user doesn't know how to do anyway, but rather they are interested in how fast it can download movies, post cat pictures, and load porn.


So, to simplify the buying experience, I suggest a new tool for shoppers.

Each entertainment -based PC will now be classified by three simple categories, to help shoppers choose.

MD (Movie Download) speed - Average, Fast Enough To Take A Tinkle, and Oops, You Blinked!*

CPS (Cat Picture Speed) - Garfield, Keyboard Cat, and The Cheetah*

BOINK (Porn Surfing Speed) - "Are You In Yet?", "That Was Nice.", and "Super Penis!"*


Think it'll work?







































































*Internet speeds may vary. Consult your provider.

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## tommo

Internet speed has very little to do with the computer.  Although I am sure a lot of people think the computer determines that.
But it would impossible to classify them that way.

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## Taosaur

I dropped that "Why I'd dump Windows for a MacBook" article a while back; here's the other side: Thanks to the ZenBook, I'm no longer recommending MacBooks

I won't be giving the issue serious thought until my income changes drastically for the better (which is actually a decent possibility in the next few months--and if not, I'll probably be selling all my belongings until I'm living on the street, so I'll be less concerned with such things)

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## tommo

I'm not really concerned with laptops now anyway.  I never have felt the need to get one (except when I saw the MacBook Air in a shop  ::lol:: ).  I just have no need for one I guess and I can't see why many people would, unless they're workaholics.  Especially with smartphones and tablets now.

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## hankwheels

I have three computers. My oldest is 7 years old and is completely possessed by viruses, I only keep it for sentimental purposes (I think I am developing a hoarding problem). My second computer is two years old and working fine but I don't use it because I bought a laptop this past Christmas so I could hook it up to my tv with an HDMI cable.

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## Taosaur

> I'm not really concerned with laptops now anyway.  I never have felt the need to get one (except when I saw the MacBook Air in a shop ).  I just have no need for one I guess and I can't see why many people would, unless they're workaholics.  Especially with smartphones and tablets now.



That was my thinking until I started working from my computer all day. When you make your own schedule, it's not a matter of being a "workaholic" so much as having the ability to take care of business while you're running errands or travelling away from home, or even just to scene shift in your house or neighborhood.

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## Shadow12ogue

My desktop is like...somewhere close to a decade old LOL!

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## Warheit

I have the newest generation MacBook Air.   The 11.6" version -- highest level.   It is the best machine I've ever used.  Phenomenal value for the price.

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## tommo

^ lol

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## Ilumirath

3 years. I'm thinking about slowly gathering some money together every month so that after a year or three I can get myself an Alienware. 1500 is a lot of money but that's why I'll be doing it over a course of 2-3 years =)

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## Taffy

I only have a laptop, it's about one and a half years old. The battery is burnt out, which happened recently. Got an error telling me to replace the battery and since then it doesn't hold the charge for more than a half an hour.

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## OldNutter

Laptop is about... 9 months old. Desktop I got in November.

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## melanieb

I replaced my video card about two weeks ago in a computer about 6 months old.

Guess it's time to send the bad one back to them.

Glad it was under warranty.

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## littlezoe

Gotta be 5 years old soon.... The other computer is like 9 years old though... None of them were upgraded ever.

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## Phion

My current machine is almost two years old, my last computer lasted about six years.

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## somemexican

I built my desktop about two months ago.Over the years I'll probably just keep upgrading it until its so horribly out of date that it's be time to get a whole new one. When I go to college I'll probably get a really cheap laptop if I need it for any classes, but also take my desktop for anything else besides typing up papers and stuff. I'm also thinking about taking my dad's like 10 year old laptop that barely works and fixing it up then put it in a fish tank full of mineral oil.

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## Caenis

My laptop is almost 5 years old, but the desktop I'm using currently is at _least_ seven years old, probably eight.  The desktop is a Mac Mini, and has served me well throughout the years.  It is extremely laggy nowadays, but it serves its purpose and it prints documents.  Unless my laptop screen has a cheap and easy fix, this Mac will serve me for another year.  We upgraded the Mac three or so years ago.  My laptop I never upgraded.  Windows XP was sufficient.

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