[wambotron]

> A five year old computer running a recent browser will also struggle with new websites.

My _gaming rig_ is 5+ years old and still runs new games fine. I don't even know where you came up with this. My wife owns a 2012 Macbook Pro and it still runs everything fine, even the newest OS and MS Office applications.

[Nition]

In the 90s five years made a huge difference and some people still have that mindset. In the 2010s five years is nothing. I kept my last desktop PC for seven years with only an SSD upgrade and it was still running new games on medium graphics settings. In seven years the new CPU had not quite doubled in performance vs. the old one[1].

[1] https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=838&cmp[]=256...

[oflannabhra]

sorry, I should have said "low end laptop," "netbook," or "chromebook." Those are all in the same class as an iPad, with the same portability requirements, etc.

[lione]

I've been using my $300 Acer c720p chromebook for almost 5 years. Keys are falling off, it has quite a few cracks and smudges, and the battery is less then half of what it used to be, but it still boots up in about 8 seconds, and there's no new noticeable lag. Right now sounds like my Chromebook was a better decision than a iPad.

[panglott]

Yep, my early-2011 Macbook Pro is still a daily-use machine that works great, the SSD upgrade really helps. The main thing I wish I could do on it is play Civ VI.

[siquick]

You really don't. Civ VI is a big step back from Civ V, from terrible graphics through to the removal of automated workers.