Last summer, I begged my parents for a new laptop. I did this because the one I already had on my desk, a setup that some on this planet could only dream of, had terrible plastic build quality and would spit out another random screw every month onto my desk. Touching the built-in display was risky, as inadvertently nudging the display connector along with the display itself could make it start displaying garbled data on the screen. The "laptop" part of the machine was basically invalid, and the battery lasted 30 minutes on a good day before the hinge went out the window anyway.

It also had only 8 GB of RAM -- and given that I use Windows 11, it was a very suboptimal experience, even when just opening Google Docs to do homework. But after things were loaded up and the kernel had figured out what to keep in RAM and what not, it performed flawlessly. There was a dedicated GPU, albeit with small VRAM, but it was still a dedicated GPU that could run Minecraft with shaders, something that me from a few years past could only dream of playing. I also had absolutely no problems with CPU performance. The SSD still had a few years left in it.

But for some reason I still thought that I needed a new laptop. I'll be a college student soon and needed a machine that I could pick up and take anywhere, which would've been risky with the old one, but still doable if I was patient. And this new machine, I absolutely made sure to future-proof it to hell and back. I installed a 1200 TBW 2TB SSD to ensure that I wouldn't have to worry about SSD wear or capacity no matter what kind of workflows I'd end up building. I installed 48 GB of RAM to ensure that the raw potential of the machine wouldn't degrade for a long, long time. And after spending so much money on the RAM and SSD, I had to cut back on the actual specs: no dedicated GPU this time, and only a low-power 15 W 13th generation Intel Core i5 for a CPU and integrated GPU. The machine also only has 1 SODIMM slot. The single-channel nature of my RAM makes the iGPU performance even "worse", but for my purposes it's frankly fine--I regularly hit 60fps or more in Minecraft Java Edition, and even games with heavy graphics like Asphalt Legends run at an acceptable frame rate with some settings dialed down and others set to absolute max. I didn't even buy this machine for gaming--it's meant to facilitate a heavy CS/development workload, which simply does not need a beefy GPU.

This machine is fine for me, and at the moment, it would be foolish to splurge another couple grand to get something with better specs on paper and slightly better experiences in gaming and very occasionally rendering something ugly in Blender. But looking at all the tech news happening these days, browsing GPUs on Notebookcheck, and seeing the hype around Apple's new M5 chips, Intel's new Panther Lake chips, and the absolutely mind boggling power of modern mobile dedicated GPUs and imagining all my games and some more running at frame rates I haven't seen in a long time, I can't help but think that if I had more money to waste, I would instantly abandon my still-new machine and keep up with the times, even though I strictly don't need to. I don't even game that often, I barely have the time! (And when I last tried to boot up the old machine for one last play of some shader'd minecraft, a very nasty noise came from near the display and it would not turn on again. I still haven't disposed of it purely due to the emotional value--I'll keep it around for old times' sake, perhaps frame the motherboard someday. That laptop lasted me a good 5 years.)

I know myself well enough at this point to know when I'm being greedy. And I can confidently say this desire for new hardware feels like greed. And frankly it feels kind of terrible, knowing that there are millions of would-be PC enthusiasts around the globe who just don't have the same level of access to purchasing hardware because of their government's import laws or because hardware prices relative to their income is insane. Why should I get to have multiple for no justifiable reason while others must deal with one bad machine, or none?

And I just know that this greedy way of thinking of mine will be a problem when I get access to adult money and adult freedom. So how does one develop the level of self-control needed to avoid buying unnecessary things they know they don't need? In the interest of helping the environment and my wallet I would like to refrain from buying a new machine until either this new one physically stops working and becomes unrepairable or I somehow find myself in a situation in which I absolutely need a second high-end computer to get something done. I know that I'm good for the next, like, 15 years if I don't decide to suddenly get into game development or 3D animation. Advice appreciated.

I think the greed and need for the latest thing is perfectly normal. Especially when you are younger and especially now that it is extremely hard to avoid the clever marketing. Remember, these folks spend millions of dollars to keep these new fancy gadgets in front of your eyeballs.

You also do not need to run down a machine until the bitter end. If new tech is your thing and it is something that you enjoy the trick is to keep the hobby sustainable. For many that means selling old gear as new gear comes out and specifically looking for items that will retain value rather than lose it over time. Sure you will pay more for something new but it won't be a giant hit like having to fork out the money for something full price.

Also sales. Tech hobby people are always searching for sales and tend to have patience to wait until an item is on sale around the holiday season or known summer sales, etc. There is also value in being just one step behind the cutting edge. This is how I usually operate. You are going to pay a premium on something brand new because of the hype, and that premium is going to be lost as soon as you open the box, in fact as soon as you walk out of the store. In this light, let some other sucker pay the premium and in a years time or so when *they* sell that device to pay the premium on the next big thing then you pick it up. Used sure, but barely and completely new to you.

My two main hobbies are tech stuff and cameras. Both are extremely expensive hobbies and as an adult with a working class (albeit unionized job) and a family to feed and take care of, I do not have spare cash to throw around on the latest piece of gear. And yet, I am still able to keep my hobby going and continue to dive into it because I am patient for sales, often sell my old gear (I do not have nostalgia to hold on to it) and am usually one or two steps behind the latest and greatest.

On a personal note, you will find as you get older you will have more responsibilities to other people. This is a great motivator to not spend every dollar you earn on stuff for yourself. Some people are not good at that, but most are. And the fact that you have shared what you did today on these boards tell me you are probably going to fall into the latter category. So do not worry about adulthood, from someone on the other side cherish and enjoy every second of your adolescence because soon your body won't work as well (even though you'll want it to), you won't look and feel as good as you do now and you'll look back and miss those days.

That’s really thoughtful. Thank you. Before reading your reply I think I’d forgotten that machines can live multiple lives, and people cannot.

I feel like it's normal to have a desire for the latest hardware, for example, even though I have a extremely nice mechanical keyboard, I feel like buying the keychron V1 Ultra, or upgrading my computer (albeit I only use a Ryzen 5 5500 with a RX 6400 and a 128gb NVME that might actually need an upgrade to run minecraft at 200fps, although that might be more greed). Also, since I do photography as a side hobby, I feel a lot of materialistic greed. Even though I upgraded to a Canon Rebel T3, which is much better than a broken 16 year old one, I feel like it is also materialistic greed. I do not need a 7D with 3x better specs, I can take perfectly fine photos with my current camera, and some great photos on my film cameras.Also, not an advertisement, but switch to linux for better performance.

I especially feel this coming from a family that cares more about spending money on doing things than buying things. They would prefer that tech just fall into their hands. That is why we have a HD LG smart TV that my father got as as a freebie from work that is ten years old that takes minutes to load up, and for a PC, a 2013 Macintosh that takes 10 minutes to load a single web page that my grandparents gave to us.

Some advice for if you can't find a way to make it stop: Try to fall in love with the old. Older computers, older games, older calculators. There's a reason I like Half-Life. If I liked newer games, I would be wasting tons of money getting the newest console or computer. Liking older things won't get rid of the greed, but it will get rid of the spending.

Also, like what FieryFork said, try getting into free games, and old tech. I still daily drive a 13 year old laptop with a HDD and Linux Mint 🙂

I was in your shoes before I went to college. The desire for the latest and greatest is normal and marketing and reviewers really hype it up. When I got into university and money became much tighter, my brain shifted priorities. I never stopped wanting the new tech, but I grew the control to extend the life of my underspec'd machine rather than buying the latest.

In my experience, modern components have gotten so fast that the latest and greatest parts are rarely that much faster than a generation or two ago. If you want a more well-rounded machine, the used market will be a much better value.

Despite much better laptops being released, I never ended up upgrading my laptop so I still use the low-power Intel i7-1065G7, 32gb ram, and Nvidia 1650 max-q. It still games at low settings when I'm away from my desktop, it works great for classwork, and I still do all my calculator coding on it. These components were slow when they were originally released 5 years ago yet this machine can still do everything I need from it so my interests shifted away from laptops.

I don't see a reason to feel bad about wanting the new thing. What's actually a problem is not maintaining healthy saving habits and actively buying every generation of new tech. Be aware most of the hype is overblown and real-world performance each generation won't improve your life significantly. Over time, I expect you'll learn this yourself.

If a few months into college you realize you need a faster cpu, or you want to game some and the iGPU isn't enough; I don't see a problem with selling what you currently have to get a machine that better fits your needs. Since your ram is swappable, you could even sell however much you don't regularly use and upgrade in a few years (when ram is cheaper). Again, just keep healthy saving habits and preferably buy used.

You'll be able to buy your dream machine after university and I think having this be your goal is perfectly OK. Until a few months ago, my desktops were all hand-me-down or several year old components. My media PC is still from 2013 (3rd Gen i5, 16gb ddr3) but slapping a 3060 in it created a competent 120fps gaming machine. It supports my belief that old components are still extremely capable.

PS. If you end up going with Apple, you can really go back as far as M2 without missing out on much. Apple made the original M1 chip so good and each iteration has been so minor there's no reason to get an M5 for non-professional work. I use an M4 Pro at work and it's overkill for class coding and classwork. It even runs Windows in a VM better than my personal laptop runs Windows on hardware.

That's my 2¢

A good rule of thumb is to give yourself 30 days or more from the time you see something you want to the time you purchase it. New things lose their luster and dopamine rush you get when you first see it over time, so if you still think you need it after 30 days odds are it will be more of a logically thought-out purchase than just an emotional impulse buy. Things you feel like you need to have won't have any power over you when you lengthen your time perspective.

Another thing you could do is donate a percentage of what you spend on a new laptop to a charity that helps people get technology. For example let's say you spend $1000 on one, you could donate $100 (10%) or a percentage that you see fit to charity. You could even donate your previous laptops if they are still in a good working condition.