If you had $7000 burning a hole in your pocket...

[willycr88]

Hi, I'm new, I'm from Costa Rica.

 

This may be a very stupid thread, but honestly I have never been so confused with tech, there is so much to choose from.

All my devices are old, and I mean ALL of them:

 

Current Laptop: Dell Inspiron i15R-2110sLV 15-Inch Laptop 2.5 GHz Intel Core i3-3110M (2012)

Early this year I upgraded it to  8GB RAM, and a Crucial MX500 SSD, and switch to Arch Linux as the only OS.

 

Cellphone: iPhone 6 Plus (2014) 16GB 

 

Tablet: iPad 4th Gen. (2012) 16GB 

 

Gaming Devices: Xbox One (2013), PS4 (2013)

 

Home Router: Buffalo WZR600DHP (2012 -2013), I'll be buying an Edge Router X + UniFi AP AC LITE. (I only have 100/10 MB Internet via cable modem).

 

Quick Notes:

 

I work as a IT Support technician...

I would like something for taking notes, literally to stop using a pencil/notebook, for studying, etc...

I'll be taking  online courses with virtual labs, CCNA, COMPTIA... So I may need something powerful enough for virtual machines in case I need so run some lab locally.

I don't like Windows that much. I use it only at work, and would use it only if needed like gaming. Currently I occasionally use it in a virtual machine inside Arch Linux. 

I have never owned a Macbook, I have never used MacOS, It's seems interesting to me since It seems like an Overpowered Linux, and I know they're a lot different but my point is, I don't like Windows that much.

 

Sample Scenarios:

 

Galaxy Note 10+, Surface Pro 7, + Gaming Laptop. 

iPhone 11 Pro Max + iPad 2019 + Macbook Pro + Gaming Desktop.

Phone 11 Pro Max + iPad Pro + Macbook Pro + eGPU ?.

iPhone 11 Pro Max + iPad Pro + Gaming Laptop

iPhone 11 Pro Max + iPad 2019 + Gaming Laptop

iPhone 11 Pro Max + Macbook Pro + Gaming Desktop

Galaxy Note 10+, Galaxy Tab ??? + Gaming Laptop

Galaxy Note 10+, HP,DELL,whatever LAPTOP or something with Thunderbolt + eGPU.

 

Obviously all gaming related PC/Laptops would use Windows for convenience.

 

I know that in the end it will be my decision, and there are so many things to consider.... But I'm just curious what would you upgrade to?

 

PD: Sorry for my English and long first post.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Crunken]

So you're gonna replace everything? i'd go for a gaming pc then, which can also be used for work and then you don't need new consoles and then just get a phone you like

[dizmo]

Your English is better than a lot of "English" speaking people on this site, trust me.

Honestly spending $7k on three items seems like a poor choice.

Since you're in school, you shouldn't be spending so frivolously. Get a cheaper phone, get a laptop that'll do what you need without going overboard, and buy a midrange gaming desktop...which is really all you need for 1080p or even 1440p.

 

Fancier things are for when you're more established.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[SeraphicWings]

Welcome to the forum, the timing on this thread is perfectly in line with the release of the 16 inch Macbook Pro isn't it?

 

Just kidding, here's how I spend 7 grand on tech devices

 

1. Phone: iPhone 11 128GB - $749

2. Laptop: ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, WQHD panel) - $1500

3. Gaming PC, around $1500, ask people here for the best config

4. Peripherals (Mouse, keyboards, headphones,...) - $400 max

 

So you gonna have around +$2k left, save it for better upgrades or simply spend it on a vacation or something

[Bombastinator]

7k is an awful lot.  As a student I would also consider saving.  Tech loses value very quickly. Conversely being a student decides what your future life will be.  It will affect your future life more than any other thing.

 

What is your end goal taking these courses?  Where do you want to be?  You have the opportunity to use these choices to push you towards a goal.  Using these devices constitutes practice and experience with systems you will be dealing with.

[kelvinhall05]

I mean if I had 7k and *had* to spend it in like a month or something I'd get a Pixel 4, upgrade my PC slightly (storage, GPU, maybe cooling), spend like $1000-1500 on an ebike conversion, buy two new monitors and wallmount them, then spend the rest on a bunch of old keyboards on ebay (oh, and a fairly nice ultrasonic cleaner to help me clean them).

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, willycr88 said:

Hi, I'm new, I'm from Costa Rica.

 

This may be a very stupid thread, but honestly I have never been so confused with tech, there is so much to choose from.

All my devices are old, and I mean ALL of them:

 

Current Laptop: Dell Inspiron i15R-2110sLV 15-Inch Laptop 2.5 GHz Intel Core i3-3110M (2012)

Early this year I upgraded it to  8GB RAM, and a Crucial MX500 SSD, and switch to Arch Linux as the only OS.

 

Cellphone: iPhone 6 Plus (2014) 16GB 

 

Tablet: iPad 4th Gen. (2012) 16GB 

 

Gaming Devices: Xbox One (2013), PS4 (2013)

 

Home Router: Buffalo WZR600DHP (2012 -2013), I'll be buying an Edge Router X + UniFi AP AC LITE. (I only have 100/10 MB Internet via cable modem).

 

 

I'd probably replace the laptop first, then the tablet. I wouldn't worry about the cellphone or router at this point in time.

 

The laptop is probably the bigger liability in waiting, as that is vulnerable hardware to the Spectre/Meltdown/Zombieload exploits.  (Pretty much only Dell's with Haswell or later got bios updates, but some server/workstation's of older vintage did get an update as well.)

 

[7412]

I'd upgrade to the OnePlus 7 Pro for the Smartphone. It's every tech youtuber's favourite, and for good reasons: 90hz, 100% screen with no bezels and no notch, fast software, decent 4000 mAh battery. And the Almond colour looks AMAZING.

 

For a laptop, I'd take the Blade Stealth 13, 2019 with GTX 1650.

It's both very small, very lightweight and very gaming capable. I myself have the MX150 Stealth, and when I come back home after college, I plug it into my USB hub to game with my external monitor/keyboard/mice setup. It's sweet.

[Silentprototipe]

Easily id buy something not even techy, Just Simply a 1991-99 Dodge Stealth R/T TT . Simply because its one of my dream cars and is possible to buy with that kind of budget. Otherwise id just pocket it and pay bills with it for a solid year  

[Bramimond]

I'd buy a music system. One of those where a single speaker costs >$2000. Will probably last a lifetime without deprecating too much in value, not that I'd ever sell it. With computers, there just never is a good reason to not just buy something on a budget if your reason for it is taking notes or whatever. I never had trouble taking notes on basically antique hardware for a laptop. Just install arch linux, don't bother with a desktop environment and go directly into vim. Even ancient hardware will be faster doing that than trying to take notes in something like Word on a modern PC. It boggles the mind that there's waiting time for what is essentially a text editor to start up.

[willycr88]

1 hour ago, Crunken said:

So you're gonna replace everything? i'd go for a gaming pc then, which can also be used for work and then you don't need new consoles and then just get a phone you like

That's the idea, I been  holding up too much to get the most possible from those devices, and it seems to me that the time has finally come. The iPhone 6 not getting iOS 13, iPad 4 stuck on iOS 10, etc... I'd been overthinking this too much to be honest.  Your suggestion seems pretty solid, a gaming laptop/pc seems that could do it all, except maybe real portability, plus any phone.

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

Your English is better than a lot of "English" speaking people on this site, trust me.

Honestly spending $7k on three items seems like a poor choice.

Since you're in school, you shouldn't be spending so frivolously. Get a cheaper phone, get a laptop that'll do what you need without going overboard, and buy a midrange gaming desktop...which is really all you need for 1080p or even 1440p.

 

Fancier things are for when you're more established.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you, and to clarify I'm not in school, I mean I'm a grown up man (30), I want to get certified on what I do,  and learn more to expand my options, and be more prepare for the future, I've been working on IT for almost 10 years now. 

 

Considering all the devices I have to upgrade,I set a budget of $7,000. Obviously if I manage to spend less, that'll be great.

1 hour ago, SeraphicWings said:

Welcome to the forum, the timing on this thread is perfectly in line with the release of the 16 inch Macbook Pro isn't it?

 

Just kidding, here's how I spend 7 grand on tech devices

 

1. Phone: iPhone 11 128GB - $749

2. Laptop: ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, WQHD panel) - $1500

3. Gaming PC, around $1500, ask people here for the best config

4. Peripherals (Mouse, keyboards, headphones,...) - $400 max

 

So you gonna have around +$2k left, save it for better upgrades or simply spend it on a vacation or something

Thank you,

 

Would be getting that Macbook Pro so wrong? 

 

I like that ThinkPad.

That gaming PC would be a desktop right? If so, build from scratch? Or maybe now in 2019 one could get some value from a DELL, HP, gaming desktop?.

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

7k is an awful lot.  As a student I would also consider saving.  Tech loses value very quickly. Conversely being a student decides what your future life will be.  It will affect your future life more than any other thing.

 

What is your end goal taking these courses?  Where do you want to be?  You have the opportunity to use these choices to push you towards a goal.  Using these devices constitutes practice and experience with systems you will be dealing with.

I'm with you on this one, If I were a young student, I would definitely invest that kind of money. This is a great advice, hope that someone young over here really take in consideration those wise words. Instead of pure enjoyment the direction would be like, get the right tools to reach your goals, and then the reward will eventually come.

1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I mean if I had 7k and *had* to spend it in like a month or something I'd get a Pixel 4, upgrade my PC slightly (storage, GPU, maybe cooling), spend like $1000-1500 on an ebike conversion, buy two new monitors and wallmount them, then spend the rest on a bunch of old keyboards on ebay (oh, and a fairly nice ultrasonic cleaner to help me clean them).

nice!, except for the Pixel  

15 minutes ago, Kisai said:

 

I'd probably replace the laptop first, then the tablet. I wouldn't worry about the cellphone or router at this point in time.

 

The laptop is probably the bigger liability in waiting, as that is vulnerable hardware to the Spectre/Meltdown/Zombieload exploits.  (Pretty much only Dell's with Haswell or later got bios updates, but some server/workstation's of older vintage did get an update as well.)

 

I'll take that into consideration. Switching to linux gave me some kind of peace regarding that, with the microcode updates. That laptop also receive an BIOS update, (surprisingly in 2018) But I don't know if that's actually enough, and I believe that some of those exploits could not be patch via software.

 

But yeah you're right, I should replace that laptop first.

 

Thanks again for all your comments.

 

It also seems interesting to me that nobody actually recommended a macbook pro.

[Dedayog]

4 minutes ago, willycr88 said:

That's the idea, I been  holding up too much to get the most possible from those devices, and it seems to me that the time has finally come. The iPhone 6 not getting iOS 13, iPad 4 stuck on iOS 10, etc... I'd been overthinking this too much to be honest.  Your suggestion seems pretty solid, a gaming laptop/pc seems that could do it all, except maybe real portability, plus any phone.

Thank you, and to clarify I'm not in school, I mean I'm a grown up man (30), I want to get certified on what I do,  and learn more to expand my options, and be more prepare for the future, I've been working on IT for almost 10 years now. 

 

Considering all the devices I have to upgrade,I set a budget of $7,000. Obviously if I manage to spend less, that'll be great.

Thank you,

 

Would be getting that Macbook Pro so wrong? 

 

I like that ThinkPad.

That gaming PC would be a desktop right? If so, build from scratch? Or maybe now in 2019 one could get some value from a DELL, HP, gaming desktop?.

I'm with you on this one, If I were a young student, I would definitely invest that kind of money. This is a great advice, hope that someone young over here really take in consideration those wise words. Instead of pure enjoyment the direction would be like, get the right tools to reach your goals, and then the reward will eventually come.

nice!, except for the Pixel  

I'll take that into consideration. Switching to linux gave me some kind of peace regarding that, with the microcode updates. That laptop also receive an BIOS update, (surprisingly in 2018) But I don't know if that's actually enough, and I believe that some of those exploits could not be patch via software.

 

But yeah you're right, I should replace that laptop first.

 

Thanks again for all your comments.

 

It also seems interesting to me that nobody actually recommended a macbook pro.

No, it's not interesting no one recommended a Macbook Pro.  If you're an IT support tech you would understand why.

 

Not sure that this isn't a fantasy post, as tech shouldn't confuse someone who works in the field as much as you and the $7000 "what should I spend it on" is beyond the realm of "help me buy something" and into hypothetical discussion.

 

You're in Costa Rica or in the US and from Costa Rica? You work IT Support which doesn't pay well and you've saved $7000?   Btw, look up the median income for Costa Rica sometime.

[kelvinhall05]

16 minutes ago, willycr88 said:

nice!, except for the Pixel  

Eh, for me it's perfect kek.

[Bartok14]

If you are in school I would recommend getting the best bang for your buck devices. Cell phones only really have a 2 year shelf life of quality, after that they tend to slow down and the battery drains much faster. Maybe you can get 3 years of use but it depends on what you are willing to live with. So for the phone try to decide what you want that you are willing to live with. There's nothing wrong with buying a $600 phone or even cheaper that does all the things you want. I spend most of my time on my phone watching Youtube, the rest is emails, and maybe a couple games. For that a $400 phone that has a decent display is really all you need, and yeah it will stop being great after a year and a half but then you can just get another one for $400 in two years time. Most companies also allow you to upgrade for free in a couple years time also so take that into account. But a new iPhone pro is what like over a thousand dollars? Ask yourself if you really need it.

 

Same thing goes for laptops, they will only ever get slower over time compared to what is being released each year. So is it better to spend $2-3k now on a gaming laptop or just get a cheap one that you can work on and spend $1200 on a pc that you can build yourself that will probably outperform an expensive laptop. 

 

Going to school for 2-4 years is a big commitment and you never know what you might need while you are going there. So saving money upfront is always the right decision. 

[willycr88]

2 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

No, it's not interesting no one recommended a Macbook Pro.  If you're an IT support tech you would understand why.

I may know why you said that. In the pass I have never considering getting a macbook pro because of the hardware, from a technical point of view, I know that this seems pretty dumb:

 

New Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage) - Space Gray / $1799

Laptop: ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, WQHD panel) - $1500 (I'm taking this from SeraphicWings)

 

When I read something like that, I know something is very off, obviously. But if you for a moment try to view this in another perspective, not only specs, set aside things like 8th gen vs 10th gen, etc... Some, (maybe even me when I finally decide what to purchase), may think that just by taking windows out of the equation would be a good experience switching to MacOS., no more updates, no more ads inside your start menu, etc... 

 

Sometimes I believe that people pays for convenience not for getting the best value.

 

2 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

 

Not sure that this isn't a fantasy post, as tech shouldn't confuse someone who works in the field as much as you and the $7000 "what should I spend it on" is beyond the realm of "help me buy something" and into hypothetical discussion.

 

You're in Costa Rica or in the US and from Costa Rica? You work IT Support which doesn't pay well and you've saved $7000?   Btw, look up the median income for Costa Rica sometime.

I'm sorry that you think that this is a "fantasy" post. I know that may seem weird. 

 

I just want to know what devices would people buy, what combos, would be they getting in an Apple Ecosystem?, going all performance?.  Would someone trade all for convenience? I want all the information I can get, any point of view is well received, even yours thinking this is a fantasy post. Before I spend this money, this seems like the final step to me, see what people would buy, specially this forum who will have technology experts and enthusiasts of every kind.

 

I live in Costa Rica. I won't be discussing media income for my country at this moment, or my income,  but that in my humble opinion doesn't matter.

 

For example, If you read my post, you'll see that all my devices, are around 2013, so worst case scenario, that's 6 years of time to save $7000. That doesn't sound that difficult right?.

 

Also there is so much ways of getting $7000, maybe is a return for your investments over the years, maybe your Grandma give that to you for your birthday, maybe you find that in a empty basket...

 

It is not my intention to confuse people or readers. So if some mod find this offensive, I understand and should close the thread.

 

Thank you all for your time.

 

 

 

[amdorintel]

Quote

If you had $7000

hmmmm $7k american is like $50k cdn lol

i'd buy a chopper

 

 

but for you, i'd say get a $150 cell phone, a used ipad and a used pc

then invest the 6500

 

 

 

[Bombastinator]

Average, median, and mean are all ways to describe statistics.  The only costaricans I met were staggeringly wealthy.  By American standards.  Scions of 70’s cattle barons.  There used to be a lot more income inequality in South America than there did in North America.  That was a long time ago though.

[amdorintel]

4 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

That was a long time ago though.

Yup

 

now Bolivia is in upheavel

 

you could live like a king in them 3rd world countries with $7k

i heard cambodia is ultra cheap too

 

retirement time

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, amdorintel said:

Yup

 

now Bolivia is in upheavel

 

you could live like a king in them 3rd world countries with $7k

i heard cambodia is ultra cheap too

 

retirement time

The term “3rd world” is equally old.  There hasn’t been a Soviet Union to make a 2nd world since the 80’s.  That may or may not turn out well for you.  I hear people do it though.

[amdorintel]

4 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

That may or may not turn out well for you.  I hear people do it though.

a lot do it

they want to escape the colder climates

south america would be a shorter flight then asia

i know there is a embassy/consulate for one of them 3rd world south american countries in my city

ah yes columbia, belgian is a block away on The Red Mile

there is 18 or so in town

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, amdorintel said:

a lot do it

they want to escape the colder climates

south america would be a shorter flight then asia

i know there is a embassy/consulate for one of them 3rd world south american countries in my city

ah yes columbia

I know a guy that did it.  He used to skype me.  Be sitting on a couch talking and a monkey would run by behind his head.  I hear he’s back in the US now.  We lost contact while he was there so I don’t know what he’s doing now.

[BuckGup]

I would but $6400 in a Roth IRA. Wait a year then cash out $6400 and have $430 to sit and make money

[amdorintel]

1 minute ago, BuckGup said:

I would but $6400 in a Roth IRA. Wait a year then cash out $6400 and have $430 to sit and make money

or flip a car and make a ton more cash

[BuckGup]

19 minutes ago, amdorintel said:

or flip a car and make a ton more cash

Yeah but that involves work. 

[Quadriplegic]

I'd would get a nice 2 in 1 laptop (HP x360, higher end Yoga) to eliminate need of tablet and a decent phone like Xiaomi K20 Pro.