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0 pointsfalcolas5y ago0 comments

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...

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timw4mail5y ago

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.

falcolasOP5y ago

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.

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