the adventures of an ex-poacher and his beloved cats

So You Need To Buy A Computer But You Don't Know What Specs Are Good These Days

Hi.

This is literally my job.

Lots of people are buying computers for school right now or are replacing computers as their five-year-old college laptop craps out so here's the standard specs you should be looking for in a (windows) computer purchase in August 2023.

PROCESSOR

You can get away with a Ryzen 5 but an intel i3 should be an absolute last resort. You want at least an intel i5 or a Ryzen 7 processor. The current generation of intel processors is 13, but anything 10 or newer is perfectly fine. DO NOT get a higher performance line with an older generation; a 13th gen i5 is better than an 8th gen i7. (Unfortunately I don't know enough about ryzens to tell you which generation is the earliest you should get, but staying within 3 generations is a good rule of thumb)

RAM

If you don't have at least 8GB RAM on a modern computer it's going to be very, very slow. Ideally you want a computer with at least 16GB, and it's a good idea to get a computer that will let you add or swap RAM down the line (nearly all desktops will let you do this, for laptops you need to check the specs for Memory and see how many slots there are and how many slots are available; laptops with soldered RAM cannot have the memory upgraded - this is common in very slim laptops)

STORAGE

Computers mostly come with SSDs these days; SSDs are faster than HDDs but typically have lower storage for the same price. That being said: SSDs are coming down in price and if you're installing your own drive you can easily upgrade the size for a low cost. Unfortunately that doesn't do anything for you for the initial purchase.

A lot of cheaper laptops will have a 128GB SSD and, because a lot of stuff is stored in the cloud these days, that can be functional. I still recommend getting a bit more storage than that because it's nice if you can store your music and documents and photos on your device instead of on the cloud. You want to be able to access your files even if you don't have internet access.

But don't get a computer with a big HDD instead of getting a computer with a small SSD. The difference in speed is noticeable.

SCREEN (laptop specific)

Personally I find that touchscreens have a negative impact on battery life and are easier to fuck up than standard screens. They are also harder to replace if they get broken. I do not recommend getting a touch screen unless you absolutely have to.

A lot of college students especially tend to look for the biggest laptop screen possible; don't do that. It's a pain in the ass to carry a 17" laptop around campus and with the way that everything is so thin these days it's easier to damage a 17" screen than a 14" screen.

On the other end of that: laptops with 13" screens tend to be very slim devices that are glued shut and impossible to work on or upgrade.

Your best bet (for both functionality and price) is either a 14" or a 15.6" screen. If you absolutely positively need to have a 10-key keyboard on your laptop, get the 15.6". If you need something portable more than you need 10-key, get a 14"

FORM FACTOR (desktop specific)

If you purchase an all-in-one desktop computer I will begin manifesting in your house physically. All-in-ones take away every advantage desktops have in terms of upgradeability and maintenance; they are expensive and difficult to repair and usually not worth the cost of disassembling to upgrade.

There are about four standard sizes of desktop PC: All-in-One (the size of a monitor with no other footprint), Tower (Big! probably at least two feet long in two directions), Small Form Factor Tower (Very moderate - about the size of a large shoebox), and Mini/Micro/Tiny (Small! about the size of a small hardcover book).

If you are concerned about space you are much better off getting a MicroPC and a bracket to put it on your monitor than you are getting an all-in-one. This will be about a million percent easier to work on than an all-in-one and this way if your monitor dies your computer is still functional.

Small form factor towers and towers are the easiest to work on and upgrade; if you need a burly graphics card you need to get a full size tower, but for everything else a small form factor tower will be fine. Most of our business sales are SFF towers and MicroPCs, the only time we get something larger is if we have to put a $700 graphics card in it. SFF towers will accept small graphics cards and can handle upgrades to the power supply; MicroPCs can only have the RAM and SSD upgraded and don't have room for any other components or their own internal power supply.

WARRANTY

Most desktops come with either a 1 or 3 year warranty; either of these is fine and if you want to upgrade a 1 year to a 3 year that is also fine. I've generally found that if something is going to do a warranty failure on desktop it's going to do it the first year, so you don't get a hell of a lot of added mileage out of an extended warranty but it doesn't hurt and sometimes pays off to do a 3-year.

Laptops are a different story. Laptops mostly come with a 1-year warranty and what I recommend everyone does for every laptop that will allow it is to upgrade that to the longest warranty you can get with added drop/damage protection. The most common question our customers have about laptops is if we can replace a screen and the answer is usually "yes, but it's going to be expensive." If you're purchasing a low-end laptop, the parts and labor for replacing a screen can easily cost more than half the price of a new laptop. HOWEVER, the way that most screens get broken is by getting dropped. So if you have a warranty with drop protection, you just send that sucker back to the factory and they fix it for you.

So, if it is at all possible, check if the manufacturer of a laptop you're looking at has a warranty option with drop protection. Then, within 30 days (though ideally on the first day you get it) of owning your laptop, go to the manufacturer site, register your serial number, and upgrade the warranty. If you can't afford a 3-year upgrade at once set a reminder for yourself to annually renew. But get that drop protection, especially if you are a college student or if you've got kids.

And never, ever put pens or pencils on your laptop keyboard. I've seen people ruin thousand dollar, brand-new laptops that they can't afford to fix because they closed the screen on a ten cent pencil. Keep liquids away from them too.

LIFESPAN

There's a reasonable chance that any computer you buy today will still be able to turn on and run a program or two in ten years. That does not mean that it is "functional."

At my office we estimate that the functional lifespan of desktops is 5-7 years and the functional lifespan of laptops is 3-5 years. Laptops get more wear and tear than desktops and desktops are easier to upgrade to keep them running. At 5 years for desktops and 3 years for laptops you should look at upgrading the RAM in the device and possibly consider replacing the SSD with a new (possibly larger) model, because SSDs and HDDs don't last forever.

COST

This means that you should think of your computers as an annual investment rather than as a one-time purchase. It is more worthwhile to pay $700 for a laptop that will work well for five years than it is to pay $300 for a laptop that will be outdated and slow in one year (which is what will happen if you get an 8th gen i3 with 8GB RAM). If you are going to get a $300 laptop try to get specs as close as possible to the minimums I've laid out here.

If you have to compromise on these specs, the one that is least fixable is the processor. If you get a laptop with an i3 processor you aren't going to be able to upgrade it even if you can add more RAM or a bigger SSD. If you have to get lower specs in order to afford the device put your money into the processor and make sure that the computer has available slots for upgrade and that neither the RAM nor the SSD is soldered to the motherboard. (one easy way to check this is to search "[computer model] RAM upgrade" on youtube and see if anyone has made a video showing what the inside of the laptop looks like and how much effort it takes to replace parts)

Computers are expensive right now. This is frustrating, because historically consumer computer prices have been on a downward trend but since 2020 that trend has been all over the place. Desktop computers are quite expensive at the moment (August 2023) and decent laptops are extremely variably priced.

If you are looking for a decent, upgradeable laptop that will last you a few years, here are a couple of options that you can purchase in August 2023 that have good prices for their specs:

If you are looking for a decent, affordable desktop that will last you a few years, here are a couple of options that you can purchase in August 2023 that have good prices for their specs:

If I were going to buy any of these I'd probably get the HP laptop or the Dell Tower. The HP Laptop is actually a really good price for what it is.

Anyway happy computering.

@matzahball

For a second I didn’t realize it meant “high” as in a stoner–I thought “High Geologist” was like a rank of geologist or something and he was insulted you would challenge him to naming stones

great poast every one👍

I have drawn him…. The High Geologist

Can’t believe he’s ace

He is now And here’s the photo evidence:

hey guys…https://twitter.com/MatthewLillard/status/1322648148364324864 so does this make it canon?

the high geologist has ascended

every time i see this post it gets…. better? but also weirder.

I always gotta reblog the High Geologist once in a while.

I love this too much.

Theres a lot of condensation. I wanted to make something like a coaster, but for a couple cups that my team and I can use. Luckily I have a laminator, and well. I didnt want it to be plain

time to see if my old mpreg player works ahhh!!!

IT WORKS!!!!

MP3 PALYER

Ok but like. What the fuck is there to do on the internet anymore?

Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.

Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.

Am I just like completely inept at finding new things or has the internet just fallen apart that much with the problems of SEO and web 3.0 turning everything into a same-site prison?

Long collection of resources under the cut.

ALSO you should consider browsing Virtual Pet List and seeing if there are any pet sites you might be interested in playing. There is a whole genre of browser games right under your nose

Another one that I just found recently is this, which is a whole collection of blogs, organized by topic!

Look guys the real internet IS STILL THERE I'm going to cry

Getting off of twitter and onto neocities has really healed me and I am so glad to see it is healing other people too ;u; let's retreat into the self-made digital woods and away from corporate bs pls, I am so tired

what if they were buddies ? :)

Stopping you dead in your tracks - with style!

nevermind

(originally drawn 10/2/2023)

I'm trying to articulate a thought about how americans prioritize to an incredible degree but also still mistreat and incorrectly handle their pets

Americans treat their pets like they treat their kids I suppose. Poorly, little regard for their complexity and needs, solely as a vessel for their desires, etc

frfr i hope you don’t mind me throwing out a couple examples of the issues with american parent/pet parent culture

- generally ppl don’t do research before adopting a pet or having a kid except in special cases (not a cat or dog for pets, and for kids if they have special needs or maybe if they’re going to be adopted), those who do decide to do research beforehand outside of these circumstances are overly praised for what should be a minimum threshold of responsibility for another living thing, and even then sometimes people will only do research at the beginning and not continue doing research, assuming that they know everything and no new information on animal/child care could have emerged since they stopped doing their research

- tendency to diminish pets’/kids’ autonomy and agency as another living being in favor of treating them like toys instead

- due to a combo of the above two points, people misinterpret their pets’ warning cues, especially small dogs and cats, as well as their babies’ and toddlers’ warning cues, then get upset when they lash out or throw a tantrum as if there was no warning beforehand (looking INTENSELY at the “cats are assholes” and “chihuahuas are evil” crowd)

- ppl anthropomorphise their pets WAY TOO MUCH and assume that their pets are capable of genuine malice, going so far as to claim that signs of being sick are malicious (“revenge puking” on the bedsheets is seen as bad behavior and not just… your pet being sick), and similarly adults refuse to try and understand their kids’ perspectives and only think of their experiences through the lens of an adult, leading to phrases like “the terrible twos” presuming that toddlers are grumpy for no reason and throw tantrums over inconsequential things for no reason rather than the truth that for a toddler, pretty much every bad thing that happens to them is the worst thing that’s ever happened to them because they’ve experienced so few things

- not wanting to play with and enrich their pets/kids, thinking cat TV is good enough without enough climbing and scratching space and daily interactive play sessions, not training their dogs, and letting TV and schools raise their kids also and not encouraging play dates or taking their kids to the park or the beach or anywhere they can play outside… which to be fair is partially also a result of the way america is set up being inherently hostile to kids and seniors and anyone who can’t drive, but then many american parents don’t even recognise this, let alone make an effort to combat the effect this has on kids’ mental health by taking them out often

This is actually exactly what I was looking for. Very well written and well thought out, thank you!

the people arguing with me about this are funny to me, he is from the southern most region of hyrule working on a farm and also the only guy in the province wearing eyeliner and spiky hair. he is also secretly a dark beast

i just think itd be funny if kittypets were a little more familiar to twoleg things such as: cars and bad words

Tumblr: No NSFW! You know how it is we banned it because of the bots in 2018!

Also tumblr:

lmao

You know how it is then, folks!

One funny thing to me about across the spiderverse was that like. You KNOW Hobie doesn't fuck with cops. You KNOW he was standing there like chewing on the inside of his cheek Not saying anything really really insensitive about Miles' dad. Spider-punk went the whole film without oinking at anybody I think his restraint is commendable

Miles, 15 years old, likes his dad: we can't just let people die c'mon guys!

Everyone else: I understand but please listen it's part of the timeline we can't change it without destroying the universe--

Hobie standing over there fidgeting with a pin on his vest that says "ACAB" on it:

[ID: tags from @avengerphobic that read "#hobie brown #he has blue shoelaces which means hes killed a cop so im sure he was like screaming on the inside #spiderverse spoilers" /end ID]

Hobie, quietly: I'd kill your dad myself to be honest

Miles: what?

Hobie: nuffink

Important to note that in the comics he has not only killed cops (he lives in an ultrafascist universe where the cops have venom symbiotes) he also cut off the president’s head with his guitar

Extremely swag thank you

One note: "cut off" sounds like he's got a blade in his guitar, but he doesn't. It's a blunt instrument. He just swung it hard enough to overcome the strength of his neck and rock-em-sock-em'd him

AWESOME

The splash page is glorious. Also his universe being overrun with symbiotes is why his main weapon's the guitar--symbiotes are hypersensitive to loud sounds, so he just plugs that bad boy into a dozen amps cranked to 30 million decibels and sonic blasts them to hell.

Romanticize summer 🍓

(If it looks really saturated and grainy please click on it i dont think tumblr likes my resolution)

motivational poster i made in case anyone else needs it

Having more Marble Hornets thoughts.

Apologies if this seems a little disjointed, I'm on my way home after the gym *after* an all nighter.

Something I've always felt Marble Hornets did greatly that no other similar series did as well is how "realistic" it felt.

Of course that's greatly due to the Operator being the only paranormal thing in the series, and even that everything it does is rather basic and vague, where other series deal with stuff like magic runes, time travel, demons, walking stripes and bird gods. And all of that is perfectly fine ofc! But Marble Hornets's relative basicness gives it such a point in immersion.

However I just realized another thing Marble Hornets does that I don't think amy of the other popular Slenderseries does.

It has no evil character. Yes, the Operator is a malicious entity and we have a literal serial killer, but i think both of them are shallow enough to not be evil *and* deep enough to not be evil.

The Operator always feels like such a vague entity to me, something not fully sapient or anything with a grasp of human morality, and Josephs comment on it being more so of a force of nature that something actually evil supports that.

And then we have Alex Kralie. Alex is *not* a purely evil man. He is a severely mentally ill man. Alex has never ever shown joy in the harm he causes, unlike HABIT or The Observer. If anything, his pictures of Amy and his final speech to Tim while he was dying seems to suggest that he highly dislikes hurting people, and that he probably even feels alot of guilt for it, but he simply believes he *has* to. He *has* to do it to *save* even more people.

I always felt Alex started acting a little bit out of character at the endnof the series, a little too cruel, but i realized that I was wrong. Whenever he was telling Tim everything was his fault, he wasn't simply taunting Tim kr being evil or anything. He was angry and hurt, both cause he blames Tim for the Operators precence, but also cause he feels like it's Tim's fault all those people died. He felt it was Tim's fault that he had to go through the horrors of attacking and murdering his own friends and loved ones.