Why do people feel the need to have the highest end of technology?

Ccrazyman · Jun 20, 2014

Honestly I cannot see why people feel the need to go out and buy the highest end of products. Now yes, the higher end of products are great, and thy have the nicest build quality, and the greatest specs of that time, but does it really justify paying thousands of dollars for high end products? i'm talking more on the line of laptops, tablets, and occasionally phones. Now me personally, I am very happy with using a laptop that I got back in 2009 on Christmas day. This laptop does everything I need it to from school work, and free time. Yes, this laptop is extremely outdated as it is nearly six years old. My DELL Laptop is running an i3 processor and other dated specs, yet it is just fine for everyday tasks, and more. Do we really need a 4K display on a phone or laptop, or do we really need a retina display? The reason i'm making this thread is to see why people actually feel the need to pay up to one thousand dollars for a laptop, or an $800+ tablet when they're much cheaper products out on the market that are just as good to be honest, unless you actually need to do any real content heavy creating then maybe it would be worth the extra money to get a laptop that could handle creating or editing videos. Nexus 7 is a cheap tablet, but a great tablet for the price. And while the iPad is nice, it way too expensive IMO.

Really i'm just saying I do not think many people need all these high end very expensive products when cheaper ones can do all the same. What's your opinion? Do you agree or disagree, thoughts?

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

My PC was running really slowly and doing something wierd (can't remember what but my brother who is in IT said I needed a new one because of it). I went top of the line with a Samsung Ativ Book 9 laptop because it was lightweight and so that it would last a while. If you buy top of the line yes new tech comes out immediately but if you go mid line you are out of date right off the bat.

Ccrazyman · Jun 20, 2014

two questions. What does your bother do? that sounds kind of what I want to do maybe.

and how much was your ATIV Book? cuz when I looked at a price i saw 12 13 hundred dollars

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

My brother is a desktop support guy and probably would love to talk to you! I'll tell him tomorrow. He's already in bed tonight. He goes in really early like 6 am in order to get stuff done without people asking for help.

I actually bought book 9 plus with i7 processor and 256 GB SSD. I think it was $1750 but I can't readily find the receipt. It's in my credit card files. Will look tomorrow.

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

Found the receipt! It was 1733 plus 117 tax = 1850.

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

Bought in early January 2014.

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

But I know what you mean. I probably would have kept my old computer if it wasn't doing those wierd things. The slowness didn't bother me too terribly much because it had slowed gradually.

Ccrazyman · Jun 20, 2014

arkady said:
My brother is a desktop support guy and probably would love to talk to you! I'll tell him tomorrow. He's already in bed tonight. He goes in really early like 6 am in order to get stuff done without people asking for help.

I actually bought book 9 plus with i7 processor and 256 GB SSD. I think it was $1750 but I can't readily find the receipt. It's in my credit card files. Will look tomorrow.

yeah actually that would be really cool. I am trying to find what i want to do and want to see if that is something i would be interested in. And same here, slowness does not bother me at all, but my computer is also doing weird things and i am looking for a new laptop right now but i think i'm still going to go with a more cheaper version of the Yoga 2 13 since the pro is still a little bit too much. The Samsung is beautiful, but that price i cannot get over.

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

OK will tell my brother tomorrow. He loves his job and will probably be a really good resource.

Sounds like a good choice. Nice to have it convertible to tablet. Looks people really like yoga 2. Got 4+ rating on best buy.

The other reason I liked the book 9 plus was the high resolution since my eyes are bad.

Ccrazyman · Jun 20, 2014

Awesome, thanks would like that! Yeah i'm pretty excited for the Yoga. I think it should suit me well

Revenant Ghost · Jun 20, 2014

One word: ego.

arkady · Jun 20, 2014

Didn't mean to come across that way. The reason I went top of the line with the book 9 plus was so that the laptop would last. Had my previous computer for like 7 years. Hope for a similar time frame for this one. If you buy mid range it likely won't last that long because the software gets so big and memory consuming as time passes.

Apologies.

SiempreTuna · Jun 24, 2014

For personal use, unless you're into something like high end gaming, I don't think anyone has needed the latest and greatest PC for at least a decade. And it seems I'm not alone as the PC market has basically been dying on it's derriere for most of that time.

Even in business, 99% of desk jockeys only really need the lowest of low end PCs. The 1% are people doing things like CAD/CAM, professional media editing and the like.

Back in the mid to late 90s, we used to have to use our own hardware on consultancy gigs and I would buy a new laptop every 9 months on average. Back then, each upgrade actually made a significant difference. Nowadays? I had my last laptop 7 years and only replaced it because things started to fail.

I also think the smartphone market has reached the same point. Low end phones like the Motorola G or E or the Nokia Lumia 630 do pretty much everything the vast majority of people require. Again, if you're not a gamer, why pay more?

I am of course, a total hypocrite, though: my current laptop (nearly 3 years old) was mid to high end (I paid around $1,200) and while my phone (a Nexus 4) was cheap, it had quite a high spec. I justified the cost of the laptop by telling myself it would last longer (than 7 years? Really?) and I needed to run things like Oracle and SQL Server on it (really, games) and the phone because .. err .. it didn't cost much more that a low end phone.

One word: eejit :rolleyes:

lunatic59 · Jun 25, 2014

There's Bleeding edge, cutting edge, top of the line and good enough. I think they are all different.

Bleeding edge comes with both the props of having the absolute newest thing to come down the pike, but the liability of being an unpaid beta tester at premium prices. It always takes a few tried to work out all the bugs and sometimes, especially with a PC or other tech product, it might require a hardware change and not just software to fix. They say if you need it to work, never buy version 1.0.

Cutting edge if what you have after those bleeding edger's have finished with it. It's still expensive, and still new enough that you will probably be in front of 99% of everyone else ... and paying more for the privilege.

Top of the line is when the vendors and developers have caught up to the cutting edge crew. It's still fast, powerful, shiny and worthy of envy from 80% of the office, but you can actually get software and accessories that take advantage of all that power and any new features. How many laptops now ship with USB3 and how many actually use it?

Good enough is just that. Whatever gets the job done. It could be a 3-year-old PC or a refurb unit off Amazon. It's the commuter car of the PC world. It's a Ford Taurus ... a Camry or a Civic ... not the BWM convertible you take out on weekends.

Why do people buy more than they need? Same reason people eat more than they need ... because they can.

nickdalzell · Jun 29, 2014

Well, let's see...

I was doing quite well not that long ago (2009 wasn't that long ago, was it?) using a Windows 98 PC, an ancient CRT TV/8-track/stereo multiplex from the '70s with an 80's VCR on top, an old Nokia 5185i cell phone, and a 1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue sedan.

For some reason, between spending more time rebuilding the carburetor on the car than behind the wheel, hoping the battery life would hold up on that phone long enough to make one call, squinting at fuzzy pictures on that TV, unwinding yet another ate up VHS tape, to figuring out a hack method to force Adobe Flash to work in Windows 98 so i could play FarmVille, well, it was time to move forward.

old things are great from a nostalgia standpoint, when they work. when they do not work they are quite a pain to repair. i now have a Samsung Smart TV, a 2005 Saturn ION, Note 3 phone, and new laptops. tablets. Star Trek tech like my Galaxy Gear. couldn't be happier. no repairs, everything just works. can enjoy using rather than losing sleep fixing.

mikedt · Jul 2, 2014

This time I decided to have a top-of-the-line high technology phone, an Oppo Find 7a, just to make a change from my previous mid-range ones. Don't regret doing it, because I'm finding it very enjoyable to use, large clear screen, fast and responsive, with a nice camera. The phone wasn't particularly expensive, because it's Chinese rather than a Samsung, Sony, LG, or whatever flagship.

My laptops on the other hand are not exactly high or new technology, I have a 6 year old white Macbook with Snow Leopard, which is still running just fine, and a cheap Lenovo S110 running Linux Mint. I don't feel any need to upgrade them at the moment. I'm not into PC gaming these days or editing 4K videos. As long as they can run a modern browser and an office productivity suite.

Digital Controller · Jul 3, 2014

Revenant Ghost said:
One word: ego.

It's usually not that at all lol

From what I have dubbed the great, "Technology ITCH"

Basically I started building and tinkering with computers about 8 years ago or so. I loved doing it and found myself taking apart computers...mixing and matching parts so I could get the best out of my system.

Well once you become engulfed in the whole mentality you get an itch to upgrade your computer...because you want to build it again and see it become a little better.

It took me so much to not keep wasting my money every few months on new computer parts...

Once you conquer the itch you can conquer anything :rolleyes:

jack58 · Jul 4, 2014

Digital Controller said:
It's usually not that at all lol

From what I have dubbed the great, "Technology ITCH"

Basically I started building and tinkering with computers about 8 years ago or so. I loved doing it and found myself taking apart computers...mixing and matching parts so I could get the best out of my system.

Well once you become engulfed in the whole mentality you get an itch to upgrade your computer...because you want to build it again and see it become a little better.

It took me so much to not keep wasting my money every few months on new computer parts...

Once you conquer the itch you can conquer anything

Yup, I know the feeling.... I've built a few systems myself:

Jack's Custom Desktop Build1

Jack's Custom Desktop Build2

Custom Desktop Build3

Jack's Custom Desktop Build4

My current notebook:

Lenovo ThinkPad W520 4270 - 15.6" - 1920 x 1080 full HD screen - Core i7 2620M - 16GB DDR3 Memory - 246GB SSD - 500GB 7200rpm HDD - NVIDIA Quadro 1000M with 2GB DDR3 memoryy / Intel HD Graphics - 9 cell battery - Windows 7 Pro 64-bit - WEI Score: 6.7

nickdalzell · Jul 4, 2014

if i didn't show my Techno Geek 'gotta upgrade' side enough, i would likely still be carrying the iPhone 3GS that replaced the 5185i in 2010

Digital Controller · Jul 10, 2014

nickdalzell said:
if i didn't show my Techno Geek 'gotta upgrade' side enough, i would likely still be carrying the iPhone 3GS that replaced the 5185i in 2010

I would probably be carrying an extra ~$1k :rolleyes:

lunatic59 · Jul 10, 2014

nickdalzell said:
if i didn't show my Techno Geek 'gotta upgrade' side enough, i would likely still be carrying the iPhone 3GS that replaced the 5185i in 2010

Digital Controller said:
I would probably be carrying an extra ~$1k

They would be carrying me back to the asylum.

nickdalzell · Jul 10, 2014

I have to upgrade. All the time, or I get this, this itch. It must be hardwired into the system or something. Oh, but when I do upgrade....ahhh man alive! Nothing feels better. It's why I gotta upgrade, I gotta upgrade!

IOWA · Jul 11, 2014

For me it's more of a hobby than anything else.. and the amazement of how far things have come. I mean, just smart phones alone blow my mind to this day. I still remember being an eager eyed teen with my first palm smartphone.. now with an S5 that has 1000x the processing power, storage, and connectivity options/speed.

For my PC's, again it's all about the hobby. It's just so satisfying to open up my rig throw in some new parts and boot her up to watch my new toy fly.

Hadron · Aug 2, 2014

I buy high end phones because I don't change every year or two and want a device which will last me and a decent dev community.

I tend to buy "adequate" home PCs (not bottom spec but far from top end) and use them until they can't keep up and there's no simple component upgrade will fix it. My last one lasted 8 years.

My laptop is a work machine, currently a 13" retina Macbook Pro. I need a *nix environment for work but occasionally have to handle excel features which LibreOffice can't handle. I also flip tasks constantly (usually run 8 virtual desktops) so dual-booting to Windows would be a total productivity killer. And I sometimes have to work much of the day off mains so battery life and portability matter to me. So that device was simply the best fit to my needs at the time.

nickdalzell · Aug 2, 2014

My MacBook Pro is the only Apple product left that I still actively use. But it hasn't gotten that horrid iOS 7 UX yet, and most of my games run fine on it. (Sorry, Linux)

Tried to use bootcamp but it failed for some reason. Just gave me a vague 'we cannot do that' error.

Why do people feel the need to have the highest end of technology?

Lurker

Member

Lurker

Member

Member

Member

Member

Lurker

Member

Lurker

Android Expert

Member

Android Expert

Moderati ergo sum

Extreme Android User

你好

The Real Bass Creator

Android Expert

Extreme Android User

The Real Bass Creator

Moderati ergo sum

Extreme Android User

Mr. Logic Pants

Spacecorp test pilot

Extreme Android User

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads