Trailing Edge

[raymac46]

In 2000 I became the proud owner of a Dell Dimension 4100 desktop system. Despite Pentium 4 CPUs being launched, I got one of the last great Pentium III chips. This machine ran Windows flawlessly until 2007 when it became the perfect candidate for Linux.
In 2012 after the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors, I got an Acer Veriton M with a previous-gen Sandy Bridge CPU. This machine ran Windows 7 and 10 up until early this year when Windows Updates were no longer available. It now chugs along with Linux Mint and my granddaughter uses it for school.
Now I have a newish Dell XPS 8940. It does not have Intel's latest Alder Lake i7-12XXX CPUs. It is built on the tried and true Skylake 14 nm lithography. The 11th gen i7 is detuned a bit for lower power consumption but runs cool and quiet. Teamed up with an old-school RTX2060 GPU it runs any of my games, and is fast and powerful for anything else I need.
Sometimes living on the Trailing Edge isn't a bad choice to make.

[Digerati]

I never buy "cutting" edge stuff. It typically is just too expensive, and often still a little buggy. The closest I would consider is scabbed-over edge - if reliability reports are favorable.

This machine ran Windows 7 and 10 up until early this year when Windows Updates were no longer available.

Not sure what you mean by this. W10 Windows Updates are still available.

[raymac46]

If you have a Sandy Bridge processor you cannot get W10 updates any longer. My updates ended and any future updates will not install. The last version I had is now past its support date. However, I can still run the latest version of Linux so that's what I do.

https://www.intel.ca/content/www/ca/en/support/articles/000006105/processors.html

[V.T. Eric Layton]

HAHA! The memories...

I was late coming to computers/Internets. Waaaay back in the early 80s, I played around at a pal's house with a Commodore Vic 20, and later a 64, machine. We played text-only games (Infocom) and dialed up into local BBSes. FUN! At that time, I purchased a Commodore SX-64 (briefcase version). i played with it for a while... until the power supply smoked in it. In 1993, my nephew gave me a 486 machine (Win 3.1). I didn't do anything with it but play Castle Wolfenstein. It didn't have Internet access.

In 2000, I got my first "real" computer... my brother's hand-me-down Pentium I machine with a HUGE 2Gig hard drive (Win 98). That machine became my first gateway to the real Internet. Everyone back then was offering free dial-up. I spent days, weeks with that computer in the dim light of the monitor, with ol' pizza boxes strewn across the floor, exploring the Internet.

My current machine is a home-built "Frankenputer" made from parts I dug up from my workshop's computer graveyard in 2016.

Yeah, "trailing edge" computing. I'm familiar with it. ;)

[Digerati]

If you have a Sandy Bridge processor you cannot get W10 updates any longer.

Oh, I see what you mean.

I thought you meant you were running W10 and were getting updates, but suddenly they stopped.

[raymac46]

I am OK with upgrading to a new PC after 9 years of service, and the old one is still useful.

[Digerati]

I am OK with upgrading to a new PC after 9 years of service, and the old one is still useful.

Replacing functioning electronics before it dies is just a fact of life.

We all have done it for years and years with TVs, VCR players, cassette players, 8-tracks, reel-to-reels, "stereo" audio equipment, phones (both home and cell), and lots of different computer equipment and peripherals. And the list goes on.

[raymac46]

I hear you. It doesn't seem that long ago we were replacing computer systems every couple of years to keep up with advances in software and O/S. A replacement cost a lot more too.