Re: [PLUG] File System Corruption

For me, it’s about the up front cost being higher, but the long term cost going down. I like to keep performance high and battery life long, and refurbs tend to hit one of those two, at best. With my FW13, I keep the ship of Theseus for longer, since I can replace only parts that I want replaced. I just upgraded both of my FWs with 2880x1920 120Hz VRR panels for a bit less than 300$ each, and the work took about 15 minutes per laptop. I added two eDP->DP adapters off Aliexpress and got two 2504x1536 60Hz (or whatever odd 3:2 resolution it was) sidecar screens that I’m 3d-printing bezels for.

I also have had lots of issues with TCO on my refurb/surplus servers. They turn electricity into watts like a space heater, year round for me. If it were just the CPUs, I’d rationalize it as a cost of the work they are doing, but my R720 burns lots of watts even at idle, I think I measured something like a 300W baseline and 700W at full load, and it’s not even fast. I have an N100 micro server and an M1 Mac Mini that both run sub-50W at full load. How much wattage is speed worth, and can you spread out your load? Your refurb machines may not be as cheap as they seem.

On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 15:24 Rich Freeman <r-plug@thefreemanclan.net> wrote:

On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 3:15 PM Rich Mingin (PLUG) <plug@frags.us> wrote:
>
> I had no idea that disposable computing was so popular here. I guess I’m out of touch.
>

I'd argue that buying used stuff is the opposite of disposable, though
I don't personally do that for laptops.

Don't get me wrong, all things being equal, or even a little unequal,
I'd greatly prefer to DIY more and be able to tweak/repair/etc. That
is definitely something I'd pay more for. The problem is when it is
$750 vs $1400 for very comparable capability that is a pretty hefty
premium.

Computers are depreciating assets. If you spend $700 every 3 years
instead of $1400 every 6 years, you're actually saving a lot of money
(time value of money), and you're also getting a better computer on
average (because in the back half of that upgrade cycle you have a
computer that is 3 years newer). Paying a little more for quality
isn't bad, but rarely do I think it is worth spending a lot.

That is unless you consider the DIYing and such to be a value-add from
a hobby perspective. I've contemplated building a 3D printer for the
fun factor, even though these days you can get pretty capable ones out
of the box, and it would be more for the experience. So it definitely
depends on what you're looking for.

--
Rich