Comment on Apple Accidentally Leaks 'MacBook Neo'
Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zip 13 hours agoThere’s more to a computer than RAM (or even ither specs), comparing what’s shown in the article to the low-cost option you linked the two systems are leagues apart in terms of build quality.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the battery life was miles apart too.
That cheap plastic HP laptop is destined to have its hinge mounts snap away from the upper palmrest through normal day-to-day use.
Ulrich@feddit.org 12 hours ago
Sure, but having insufficient RAM sufficiently kneecaps it to the extent that the other specs don’t matter.
LOL at least if it’s hinge mounts snapped you could repair them. Can’t say the same for the $700 Macbook.
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 52 minutes ago
Uh, good luck with that repair.
I’m no fan of apple’s business practices, or the general non-upgradability of their machines, but i’d take apple hardware over cheap plastic any day. It’s overpriced and it’s locked down, but it’s also well engineered.
You’re free to hate Apple, that’s fine, I’m right there with you. But if you think their build quality is poor, you’re simply misinformed.
Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zip 12 hours ago
Memory utilization is relative to the user though. For someone who wants to do nothing more than check their email and manage online banking, no specs matter
Just because such a system would not be suitable for your use-case does not mean that it is not suitable for any use case.
Repairing broken hinges on such a cheap laptop practically has to be a DIY repair. I get this exact repair inquiry every now and then, the owner often balks when the repair cost is more than 50% what they paid for the device. For these low-end laptops, I also find that parts are usually less available than those for most Apple devices. Apple tends to use certain part designs / assemblies for multiple generations. Apple stuff is consistent enough that there are plenty of used parts available aftermarket.
Far as your repair scenario is concerned, I can only think of 2-3 times where a Mac came in with hinge related failure and those cases all stemmed from abuse like opening the lid too far / egregious mishandling. Meanwhile, I’ve bread lots of butter with HP laptops whose hinges break through regular operation.
If something costs more to fix but only breaks 1% as often, are you really saving money by purchasing the cheaper solution with the higher fail rate?
Ulrich@feddit.org 12 hours ago
Almost no one uses their PCs that way. They will, at bare minimum, have a couple of applications, and several webpages open, and that’s enough to cause problems on a modern system with 8GB RAM. I have lived this experience too many times with friends and family members who complain that their computer is too slow, and the only solution I can offer them is to buy a new one, because their current one was intentionally crippled to create a price ladder, and intentionally designed so that they couldn’t fix it.
It does. But it ain’t hard. Anyone with a screwdriver can do it.
wltr@discuss.tchncs.de 3 hours ago
While I’m not a fan of 8 GB RAM for a new laptop, I’ve used a Fedora Gnome system for a year or two, with just 4 GB RAM. I used it for simple tasks in a workbench, and it was a usable computer. It struggled only when I opened too many browser (Firefox) tabs. If I kept the browser tabs count low, it wasn’t that bad. Also, I used the same system with 8 GB RAM, and it was much much better. To the point you won’t really notice it’s something limiting. So, technically, 8 GB is plenty for an average light use.