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"In my mind, the still low price of DDR3 adds support for my belief that consumers have no understanding of the fact that perfectly good used computers are available to anyone who is fed up with the high prices of new computers and parts. They don't seem to understand that they don't need a new computer to surf the Internet, write a letter, or talk to their friends on social media. They can do all of that easily with a good 8-12 year old laptop [or desktop computer] running Linux."

-- https://cheapskatesguide.org/articles/parts-price-increases.html (blog post not mine, but wanted to share)

#memory #linux

@matthew
True.
However, I saw an increase of the price of DDR3 ECC on ebay. Just an anecdata, could be a fluke, could be a speculation.

Oh, yeah, all memory has gone up a bit in price. Just DDR5 the most, DDR4 up a lot, but not as much as DDR5 and DDR3 still decent prices but have increased.

Most of the computers I sell currently have DDR4. A few have DDR3. I just sold a ThinkPad T560 earlier this week with 16GB PC3L (two 8GB modules).

@matthew You're right, consumers have no understanding at all.

"It is very easy to be blinded to the essential uselessness of [their products] by the sense of achievement you get from getting them to work at all. In other words - and this is the rock solid principle on which the whole of the Corporation's Galaxy-wide success is founded - their fundamental design flaws are completely hidden by their superficial design flaws."

Douglas Adams in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

I bought my current laptop a shocking 7 years ago in 2018, and what's kinda nuts is it's even still just fine for most gaming. I need to take it apart and clean out the fans and repaste the heatsinks, but that's it.
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@matthew Besides, my new computer is a 9 year old Lenovo T460 running Debian Trixie.

My Lenovo T510, 15 years old, also running Trixie, is still good for daily use (even if it's a bit bulky and the power consumption is higher).

Excellent!

@matthew I've read your article; a few observations:
* a used business-grade laptop is faster, cheaper, and longer lasting than most new consumer grade laptop
* used business-grade thin clients, or compact desktop computers are very cheap
* an somewhat recent i3 or i5 is better than an old i7 (e.g., gen 1 vs. gen 6)

I agree on all your points.

Sorry I did not make clear that the article is not mine, but I quoted and linked to it.

I just agreed with the general sentiment and wanted to share.

@matthew

My main system is an ASUS ROG with an Intel i7-6700HQ and an nVidia GTX970m with 24GB RAM... and for the things *I* do simultaneously in Linux (including browsing with many tabs, many terminals, graphics editing/viewing with LARGE directories full of images, virtual machines occasionally, etc.)... I had increased my laptop's SSD from the original 1TB to 4 TB (and kept a 1TB spinning drive) and really wanted to upgrade the 24GB SODIMM DDR4 from the 3x8GB sticks to 4x16GB. This sucks.

@matthew

BUT.. I ended up biting the bullet and just bought a 64GB kit for about $400. I figure it's a rip-off, but it's a FAR cheaper price I'll pay now than into next year and later for a long time (from the looks of it), or maybe not ever find them at all.

This old system that I bought in 2015 has been VERY upgradable and still serves extremely well for playing and working. Even at the $400 price to upgrade RAM, it's cheaper than a new one and works GREAT with Linux!