[kome]

> "that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware?"

is a 5 year old computer old?

[falcolas]

Consumer silicon components have an predicted life span of 5-7 years†. This life span gets lower the smaller we go with chip technology.

So, yes, a 5 year old computer is near retirement age.

† https://c3.nasa.gov/dashlink/static/media/other/ObservedFail...

[timw4mail]

That's a pretty lousy estimated lifetime. If that is truly the case, it feels like planned obsolsense, as the rate of improvement in computing power has drastically slowed.

[falcolas]

I figure it's a tradeoff. Speed and cost vs. lifespan.

(Effectively) Irreplacable batteries already limit the lifespan of many consumer devices to 3-4 years, so why limit the capabilities of the hardware to get a few years that won't be usable anyways… is how I imagine those conversations going.

[approxim8ion]

It shouldn't be considered old at all. Using a 5-year old laptop right now, and I don't see much that needs upgrading.

[hanche]

Not even the battery? I have a 2015 macbook pro, and battery health is at 78%. It probably has another year in it, maybe two, if I am lucky.

[approxim8ion]

That's fair. Battery has never been great on this laptop, but certainly the health has significantly gone down. I guess I rarely notice because I don't really leave the house with it.

[coldtea]

Personal computing has existed since say 1977.

Viable personal computing since 1981. GUI personal computing for the masses since 1993 or so.

That's 40 years with a conservative estimate. 5 years is 12.5% of the history of personal computing. So kinda yes.

[anthk]

No.

[anthk]

I am still using an AMD Turion era laptop, commenting to this thread from it.

[Andrex]

I would say it's exiting middle age.

[JKCalhoun]

Well there have been 5 major OS releases on said 5 year old computer.

So in OS-years, yes, the computer is old. ;-)