XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy   
   From: recscuba_google@huntzinger.com   
      
   On 12/17/25 14:45, CrudeSausage wrote:   
   > On 2025-12-17 2:11 p.m., -hh wrote:   
   >> On 12/16/25 19:48, CrudeSausage wrote:   
   >>> On 2025-12-16 7:09 p.m., -hh wrote:   
   >>>> On 12/15/25 20:15, CrudeSausage wrote:   
   >>>>> On 2025-12-15 5:54 p.m., -hh wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>>> What do current benchmarks show you between two comparable   
   >>>>>>> machines at the same price?   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Don't know, as I'm not currently in the market for new hardware.   
   >>>>>> What's your current PC do and when was it put into service?   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Zephyrus G14 2021 with AMD R9 5900HS CPU and RTX3060 GPU. It's a   
   >>>>> 2021 model. The new 2TB NVMe is a Samsung 990 EVO.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Looks like its been a $2K-$3K laptop, +$200 more for the new NVMe.   
   >>>   
   >>> I recall paying $1,899 plus tax Canadian in June 2021.   
   >>   
   >> Which is fine; I just did a quick google without listing features, so   
   >> it could have had a newer GPU/etc.  That's a price point where one   
   >> should get pretty respectable capabilities (snarky side eye at   
   >> ChromeBooks :-)   
   >   
   > I never want to pay more than $2,500 (taxes included) on a machine that   
   > I hold onto for no more than five years. If games don't run as well on   
   > my five-year-old machine as they used to, I'm happy to drop the graphics   
   > or buy older games. The latest and greatest means nothing to me,   
   > especially since the new titles have become political anyway. Still, I   
   > doubt I'll be playing for much longer. I generally stick to Civilization   
   > more than anything else.   
      
   I'd like for it to be <$100, but I also know that the market doesn't   
   care what our personal preferences are, as they sell to huge market   
   segments.  Typically, they'll design to a consumer price point and the   
   product is what it is for that price point.  Apple used to chronically   
   do this with their "starting at" and hurt their image by selling   
   machines which were pragmatically under-specc'ed for their OS.  MS was   
   similarly guilty with promises of how little RAM Windows needed, etc.   
   Ditto with car manufacturers & everyone else.  As such, I tailor what   
   the need is to the tasks, so a business laptop might be up to ~$2K these   
   days, whereas my media workstation will not need to be mobile but will   
   need more capacity.  This last go-around the core unit was just $2500,   
   which was quite a bit less than its 2012 predecessor.   
      
      
   >>> There is a good chance that the storage in Macs, by default,   
   >>> performed better than my Zephyrus G14 did by default. With a RAID0, I   
   >>> would expect that. However, both Apple computers and those of   
   >>> competitors perform on par nowadays in their default configurations.   
   >>   
   >> I'd suspect/expect that the Macs which were using the RAID0   
   >> performance approach 3-4 years ago are still doing that today, and   
   >> those that didn't still aren't.  The minimally bumped basic MBP   
   >> business machine that I picked up last year doesn't need higher   
   >> performance and is an example of the latter:  it benches at just ~3K   
   >> read/write, much less than the older personal machine that I   
   >> prioritize performance for media work.   
   >>   
   >> FWIW, here's an example of a still very raw test dump I did last month   
   >> on a personal project:   
   >>   
   >>    
   >>   
   >> ...this version's been de-rezz'ed down to just 1080p and lost its IQ.   
   >> That's part of the next part to figure out.   
   >   
   > I have to admit that I'm looking forward to having an excuse to buy a   
   > new laptop.   
      
   My last laptop was doing fine, but at seven years it was getting due,   
   and since Apple had moved from Intel CPUs to their own M series, a new   
   one has 2-3x the battery life.  A cherry on top was that despite being   
   seven years old, its trade-in value was ~10% of its original price.   
      
      
   > In the meantime, games still play great on this nearly five-   
   > year-old GPU and the machine itself has more RAM and storage than I'll   
   > ever need. It's also in stellar shape (despite all the repairs I sent it   
   > out for). I've had to have the keyboard replaced (typical issue   
   > nowadays) and eventual motherboard replacement but the latter was of my   
   > own doing. I was convinced that when they changed the battery, they   
   > caused a spark which took out the fingerprint reader and was ready break   
   > a connector to force them to replace it. I was right. It works perfectly   
   > now. The repair cost me nothing in both cases.   
      
   Not to say that Apple is perfect, but in trying to think of the last   
   time that I had to have a Mac be serviced ... I'd probably have to go   
   back to a 2005 vintage PowerMac G5's CD/DVD burner.   
      
      
   >>> I'm not saying that it wasn't successful. In fact, it might have been   
   >>> responsible for serious business people seeing Apple as the only   
   >>> alternative to IBM rather than Commodore or Atari. However, it gives   
   >>> a false impression that what Apple offered/offers is superior to what   
   >>> the competition gives you.   
   >>   
   >> By whatever means, they have been one of the very few survivors, and   
   >> did so without a abuse-of-monopoly type of overtone.  I think a lot of   
   >> their staying power has come from the iPhone era, specifically during   
   >> its introduction while RIM's Blackberry was so dominant in Corporate   
   >> America:  what ended up happening was that the C-Suite executives   
   >> preferred to use the iPhone over the BB and instead of asking their IT   
   >> Dept if they could "pretty please" consider adding the iPhone, IT was   
   >> flat out ordered to do it.   
   >>   
   >> Likewise, when it came to competition from Android in the office, when   
   >> employees were allowed to choose (and didn't have to pay), the   
   >> preference was pretty compelling.  I can recall an old COLA   
   >> conversation on the Android-vs-iOS wars where I posted this pic from   
   >> our office showing the delivery of new smartphones for the office:   
   >>   
   >>    
   >>   
   >> I'd have to go see what the old COLA post said to be 100% accurate,   
   >> but my recollection is there was something like just 1 or 2 Androids   
   >> in that pile of ~20, with the rest all iPhones...a pretty brutal ratio.   
   >   
   > Honestly, I don't blame people for preferring iPhones. The very fact   
   > that developers only have to develop for one operating system means that   
   > that iOS app you're downloading is going to run right whether it is an   
   > iPhone 12 or an iPhone 17. Meanwhile, the Android ecosystem has so many   
   > versions and so many varieties that making your application run properly   
   > must be a nightmare. I know that Bell Canada stopped making its French   
   > RDS sports app available for Android TV because there was no way of   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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