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Survey Results

When buying a new computer, how important are each of the following?

Survey period: 25 Jul 2022 to 1 Aug 2022

Obviously a dozen other things come into the equation, too, but let's keep the list manageable.
OptionVotes12345 
Raw horse power7564%4%18%35%39%
Enough RAM for what I need and more.7565%2%5%21%67%
Disk storage. I need room7564%6%26%29%34%
The GPUs are critical7569%18%37%20%15%
AI processing power. TPUs, Neural engines, DLAs. I needs them.75642%22%21%7%8%
It needs to run the OS of my choice7569%4%14%18%56%



 
QuestionWhat does the scale represent? Pin
Vikram A Punathambekar30-Jul-22 6:54
Vikram A Punathambekar30-Jul-22 6:54 
AnswerRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
trønderen31-Jul-22 3:51
trønderen31-Jul-22 3:51 
GeneralRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
Vikram A Punathambekar1-Aug-22 6:40
Vikram A Punathambekar1-Aug-22 6:40 
GeneralRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
trønderen2-Aug-22 13:17
trønderen2-Aug-22 13:17 
AnswerRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
Chris Maunder31-Jul-22 12:30
cofounderChris Maunder31-Jul-22 12:30 
GeneralRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
Vikram A Punathambekar1-Aug-22 6:38
Vikram A Punathambekar1-Aug-22 6:38 
GeneralRe: What does the scale represent? Pin
Chris Maunder8-Aug-22 8:22
cofounderChris Maunder8-Aug-22 8:22 
GeneralKeyboard Layout for taptops Pin
wmjordan27-Jul-22 16:56
professionalwmjordan27-Jul-22 16:56 
GeneralRe: Keyboard Layout for taptops Pin
Andrea Simonassi28-Jul-22 22:49
Andrea Simonassi28-Jul-22 22:49 
GeneralRe: Keyboard Layout for taptops Pin
wmjordan28-Jul-22 23:24
professionalwmjordan28-Jul-22 23:24 
GeneralOnly the OS really matters anymore Pin
Bruce Greene27-Jul-22 3:48
Bruce Greene27-Jul-22 3:48 
GeneralMissing options... Pin
NPowDev27-Jul-22 1:35
NPowDev27-Jul-22 1:35 
GeneralRe: Missing options... Pin
trønderen27-Jul-22 4:57
trønderen27-Jul-22 4:57 
GeneralRe: Missing options... Pin
NPowDev27-Jul-22 7:07
NPowDev27-Jul-22 7:07 
Question6 options... Pin
Ravi Bhavnani26-Jul-22 10:14
professionalRavi Bhavnani26-Jul-22 10:14 
GeneralI don’t buy, I build Pin
matblue2526-Jul-22 2:20
professionalmatblue2526-Jul-22 2:20 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
trønderen26-Jul-22 5:49
trønderen26-Jul-22 5:49 
You don't build your own portables, do you?

I, too, "build" my own computer. Nowadays, that is like saying that you craft your own furniture, unpacking that IKEA cardboard box, inserting the screws in the right holes and tightening them. You can even make your own decision about where to place the pegs for the shelves, to design a bookrack with a unique pattern of shelf intervals (several of the most popular patterns are taken, though).

In my first "home build", even the COM port, i.e. keyboard interface, required a separate card (in my case, shared with LPT). The MB had no sort of video (and sound wasn't invented then). Network interface was a rarity, obviously not on the MB. RAM was on separate cards. An important criterion for MB selection was the number of slots; you had to make sure that you could fit in all the stuff you needed. Nowadays, the MB houses almost everything; "building" consists of fastening the MB inside the case with eight screws.

Last weekend I was helping out a friend who lost two PCs to the lightning; modern power supplies are rather sensitive to spikes. The salesman claimed that the PS couldn't be replaced, which was incorrect, we discovered when opening the cabinet. The big box contained a PS and a MB, that's all. But ... Where is the disk?? If I hadn't bought my first M.2 a few weeks ago, I would never have recognized it: The small 'platform' it made above the MB was almost unnoticeable due to other components along the long sides of the M.2.

Obviously, when I "build" my computer, I can select a different GPU. I can mount a supplementary internal disk, rather than using USB disks. Yet I consider this to be at the IKEA level of "building my own".

(Note: I still consider the survey question relevant: When I plug together the pieces, which pieces do I select for plugging together - a top rate CPU, or just 'upper middle class'? Do I fill all memory slots? Does the GPU cost more than all the rest? and so on.)
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
matblue2526-Jul-22 10:51
professionalmatblue2526-Jul-22 10:51 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
Saša Ćetković26-Jul-22 23:36
professionalSaša Ćetković26-Jul-22 23:36 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
trønderen27-Jul-22 4:34
trønderen27-Jul-22 4:34 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
C-P-User-327-Jul-22 12:26
C-P-User-327-Jul-22 12:26 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
matblue2527-Jul-22 15:25
professionalmatblue2527-Jul-22 15:25 
GeneralRe: I don’t buy, I build Pin
Mike Hankey31-Jul-22 5:37
mveMike Hankey31-Jul-22 5:37 
GeneralWhat is a computer? Pin
dan!sh 26-Jul-22 0:44
professional dan!sh 26-Jul-22 0:44 
GeneralRe: What is a computer? Pin
MikeCO1026-Jul-22 2:48
MikeCO1026-Jul-22 2:48 

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