New Computer

[JasperFrank]

I think the desktop is now a dead end technology. It was always only a small percentage of people that used these, for private creative reasons, at home. The true use of computers for most people, is now mobile information access. The Smart Phone provides this.

The last useful field for a desktop is in gaming. And this is mostly dependent on the video card, and if the platform can handle it, as the game is almost entirely written for the Video Card.
In any other use, an I3 dual core will render a text file, or redo a spread sheet as fast as you need it to be.
For heavy lifting, such as video compression, there are a plenty of used Xeon based work stations that are nearly free now. We have a Dell Precision 7400, made way back in 2008 for these tasks. Bought mine for $90 with dual, quad 2.4 ghz processors and 12 gigs of ECC ram. An a 2 gig SSD was added later. I just see no reason to buy anything new in the desktop world, if you are not a gamer. If you are a gamer, then the ONLY important thing is the PCIe interface and what level it is. The rest of the computer doesn't matter.

 

[cqaigy2]

My last 2 or maybe 3 computers were demo units from costco and purchased them after Christmas, so got a pretty good discount on them. I would blow off the installed OS and reinstall to get rid of all the bloatware. Prior PC type computers were hand built. I've done IT for the last 25 years though PCs haven't been my main support responsibilities for the last 20 years, though you can't really get away from them, if you do IT. I mostly upgrade a few things in the PC before getting to the point of replacing it. Funny, my main home puter is win11 and i run vm on it with a couple linux servers that i goof with. My last "retired" PC has a couple spinning disk and a 500MB SSD that im using for a vsphere host, running a few things on it. I don't game though, so don't need a high end video card. I am impressed with the video qualities of games, it's pretty amazing what they can do now. I also have a smartphone and iPad that i used to test running against virtual desktops. I'm retired now though so probably won't replace any of my tech stuff, who knows.

 

[deserteagle71]

I think the desktop is now a dead end technology. It was always only a small percentage of people that used these, for private creative reasons, at home.

^ That's me. And why I recently updated my desktop computer to the latest and greatest, running 32 gb of RAM. Do a lot of photo and video editing...kind of hard to do that without a powerful processor and a big monitor to work on. At my age, this one might last me the rest of my life.

Never gamed in my life and never will!

 

[2manyrocks]

I can see the perspective that the desktop for home use isn't the preferred choice for many, other than gamers and people doing video editing.

When it comes to laptops, the line between tablets and laptops is a bit blurred with some laptops having touchscreens and keyboards that can be removed.

I particularly wonder how much longer Apple will continue to offer the Ipad with the Ios system instead of just running their MacOs system, especially since you can get an Ipad Pro with an M2 chip that sort of looks like what they are putting in their newer Macbooks and Mac Mini systems. Some photographers would prefer to work with an Ipad pro if it coud be spec'd the same as a Macbook because they mainly care about the retina screen and not so much about the keyboard. If the Ipad pro could run the same video and photo editing software as Mac computers, I suspect Apple would sell more Ipad pros, especially since you can touch the screen to enlarge details, but Apple doesn't make any touchscreen Macbooks that I know of.

 

[MossRoad]

I think the desktop is now a dead end technology. It was always only a small percentage of people that used these, for private creative reasons, at home. ...

What? Desktop PCs/Macs were the most popular form of home computing for years. Only until affordable laptops came out did desktop computers start declining. In the 3rd quarter of 2008, laptop sales overtook desktop sales. At that time, over 30% of homes had computers in them.

 

[MossRoad]

^ That's me. And why I recently updated my desktop computer to the latest and greatest, running 32 gb of RAM. Do a lot of photo and video editing...kind of hard to do that without a powerful processor and a big monitor to work on. At my age, this one might last me the rest of my life.

Never gamed in my life and never will!

You don't know what you're missing.

 

[JasperFrank]

"It was always only a small percentage of people that used these, for private creative reasons, at home. .." I will standby that observation. Its only a very small market that wants a desk top now. Most everyone wanted just connectivity. This is served by the mobile devices we have now. Also 4K is silly as a domestic video resolution. The human eye can't tell the difference unless you are making huge projections.

 

[MossRoad]

"It was always only a small percentage of people that used these, for private creative reasons, at home. .." I will standby that observation. Its only a very small market that wants a desk top now. Most everyone wanted just connectivity. This is served by the mobile devices we have now.

Yes, it's only a small market now. When they first came out, however, it was the only game in town. I don't think I knew a family that didn't have a desktop PC in either of my kids' classes in grade school. That would be late 90s/early 2000s. I was inundated with repair/help requests from them until they got out of high school.

 

[JasperFrank]

Never tell anyone that you repair computers. First rule of computer repair, is you don't tell any one you are in computer repair. Its like "Fight Club." I tell people I don't know about that. I'm in waste management. Which is actually true.

 

[scootr]

The Gaming you never have never will do is not the same experience offered today. We play with and against real people from around the world. We use discord chat channels where many people converse and squad up to play any different levels using many different nations to replicate WWII battles using authentic vehicles and ammunitions. I chat with people from all over the world on any evening. My group is mostly old American guys like you but it includes Aussies, Scots, Brits, Asians, Serbs, Argentinians and more. It's socially fascinating. The competition is real. It's a kick in the pants. It's keeping a nearly 70 yr old man sharp