[Novalug] Cut-off? (was killer PC)

Alex Smith (K4RNT) shadowhunter@gmail.com
Mon Dec 6 12:58:46 EST 2010


I'll be sending my Newegg wishlist for my next system build to the
list. Newegg is weird, they won't let me just paste a link :(

On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 11:03, John Franklin <franklin@elfie.org> wrote:
> It used to be you couldn't get a machine for less than a grand, period.  Today, every major manufacturer has at least one and usually several options in the sub-thousand market, including Apple, whom I'd describe as easy, but never cheap.
>
> Ars Technica's System Guide has presented a good idea of what a current box will cost for styles of system purchasing: low-end (useful, inexpensive, but not obsolete a year later), sensible (the sweet spot in terms of price/performance) and silly (Right this way, Mr. Buffett.)
>
> Both the Sept 2004 [1] and June 2010 [2] sensible ("hot rod") boxes are in the $1,500 range, so I'd guess that to be the point of diminishing returns.
>
> jf
>
> [1] http://arstechnica.com/guide/system/hotrod.html
> [2] http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1113052
>
> On Dec 5, 2010, at 4:27 PM, Beartooth wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 2 Dec 2010, Alex Smith (K4RNT) wrote:
>>
>>> Will be glad to collaborate with anyone who needs assistance in
>>> picking out components... :)
>>
>>       That reminds me of a marginally relevant question I've
>> been wanting to ask -- I hope not too off topic.
>>
>>       At one point (ca. '98, per Forbes magazine; but I
>> suspect conventional wisdom) a corollary of Moore's Law was that
>> a plateau or standing wave existed in consumer computers. That
>> is, you always got a more than marginally better set-up (PC,
>> keyboard, monitor) just above $2000 than below.
>>
>>       Exactly what you got kept sliding up across the board, of
>> course; but the cut-off persisted. It was quite handy for a
>> first-time home-system buyer, as I then was (and still am for
>> such purposes, since I don't speak hardware).
>>
>>       Does any such watershed still exist? If so, where is it
>> -- at about what price? (Are there perchance more than one?
>> Where?) The friend who has built my last four or five machines
>> may or may not want to build one more when I can next afford it,
>> which just may last the rest of my time ....
>>
>> --
>> Beartooth Staffwright, Not Quite Clueless Power User
>> Remember I know little (precious little!) of where up is.
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>
>



-- 
" ' With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech
censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied,
chains us all irrevocably.' Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron
Satie as wisdom and warning... The first time any man's freedom is
trodden on we’re all damaged." - Jean-Luc Picard, quoting Judge Aaron
Satie, Star Trek: TNG episode "The Drumhead"
- Alex Smith (K4RNT)
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee USA



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