What is it that is "moving", that the average home computer user needs, is what I want to know? Srsly asking for examples here. I hate having to buy a new computer every 10 years to do the same things I use it for, which my main processor/RAM-intensive task is modelling construction projects in 3-D.
I was speaking specifically for myself, and I do not consider myself to be an"average home computer user", so the "moving" parts that I will be interested in are not what the average home computer user will need to worry about. For me, storage, speed, processing capabilities including graphics, AI advances which will in some cases involve hardware devoted chips in my imagination, my wants and needs. Those and more that I can not think of at the moment are the types of things I will likely want to take advantage of in less than 8-10 years because I believe that I will not be able to resist some of the advances in speed and power to more quickly accomplish my audio/video/programming tasks. That is what I am saying when I talk about things moving fast, in developments that I will want to take advantage of. But that is ME and that is the way I phrased that statement you quoted:
"I doubt that this build however will last [B][I][COLOR=rgb(184, 49, 47)]me[/COLOR][/I][/B] 8 years though considering how fast things are moving, but I sure love having the 4 M.2 slots on this board ;~))"
Fair enough. I have to eat a little "crow" here, because my latest 3D model has indeed run me up against a limitation.
PC is the kinda the same though. I bought an Intel 13600K system a few years back because it was massively cheaper than the equivalent AMDs,. I don't have any reasonable update path for this except replacing the motherboard and CPU. Buying any other Intel CPU compatible with this motherboard is not a sensible move (and might have cooling issues in my ITX case).
I LOVE Sketchup! It is the most intuitive (for me) 3D modelling I have ever worked with. My first "touch" of 3D was with Autocad in 1992 or so. My favorite to work in ever (largely because I spent the most time learning it and it's incredible rendering engines for it's time) is Lightwave. But when I want to mock something up quick, even with all the training I did in Lightwave, I can do it faster in Sketchup. You are way more advanced than I am at Sketchup (and any other 3D program as well I would imagine), but I remember back in the late 90's, I had 8 dell workstations that I would farm out my rendering to (this would be for Lightwave and after several hours I would have my 60 second 3d animation) ;~)) Anyway, love working in 3D, have been for decades, and more horsepower is always welcome to me when I step into that world ;~)) Here is a guitar case I did in Sketchup a few years ago. The idea was shot down by my GF, but I still may try to build something similar to it someday, I think it turned out pretty cool! The wall that it is sitting against is a mirrored wall, so case would be clear on back side as well. Glass color would not be like that, just had it that way to make it be more visible in my modeling. This was in no way a model I was ready to start building from wood and glass, just a concept mock up. Anyway, that wall is I think 30'. It is a wall in a dance studio that my GF used for her her belly dance troupe (hence the entire mirrored wall - except top 2 ft - no longer used as dance studio)! This was also designed BEFORE I added my 3 PRSi to my guitar harem which is why it was not built to accommodate those guitars nor are they pictured. ;~))Fair enough. I have to eat a little "crow" here, because my latest 3D model has indeed run me up against a limitation.
There is a term used in Sketchup called 'Components', which are basically anything you model, that repeats. It could be a window framing sub-assembly. Make it a Component, and any changes you introduce will update across all components with that same name. They are in essence, small .skp files embedded w/i your main model. My current model, a 9000SF custom home, in which I've modelled all the framing, masonry, and exterior trim, has almost 200 Components.
They are also stored locally, so they can be readily accessed in future models, w/o having to draw them again, from scratch. I'm just starting to use this feature to speed up my modelling process.
There are separate windows you can access, in which you can see at a glance, certain attributes of your geometry. Click on a 2x4 edge, and in the "Entity Info" window, it will show how long that 2x4 is. Click on any 3-D object, such as a foundation slab, and it will show the cubic feet of that object. VERY useful for estimating purposes, especially if that object is anything other than a simple cube.
Open the 'Components' window in my latest model, and my computer crashes. My older models that have far less components do not do this. Although I may be able to upgrade my RAM, as I'm not sure if I have maxed them out. (I need to check, but for now I just don't use the Components Window.)
As for taking advantage of future advances in the tech, I suppose there are some things, that if the developers added, could be useful to me, like exporting a list of various entities into say a spreadsheet for pricing purposes.
I suppose my comment was a knee-jerk reaction, with the emphasis on 'jerk.'
Sounds like you old MacBook Pro is about the same as the one I have. I have had it for getting close to 10 years. If I replace it with another MacBook Pro it will more than likely be the same one you bought. I just wish it wasn't as expensive as they are. I don't like the "Apple" upcharge.
It might be a good idea to open it and see if the battery has bulged. If it has, I'd remove it and either replace it or just run it entirely on the power adapter.
I am currently looking at all of the Mac offerings. I am really trying to figure out if I need to do the upgrade.
Technically mine is still doing everything I need it to do. I just can't get the newest version of Logic on it. I am still trying to figure out if I need to do the upgrade or kick the can down the road a little longer. I will be getting a nice bonus the first part of April. I was thinking I may just bite the bullet and do the upgrade then. I figured that gives me time to do some research. If I found a good deal I could pull the trigger now but figured I would start looking into this and try to figure out if I should do it this year. In all honesty, I probably shouldn't do it. The longer I can put it off the better the new computer will be and will last me longer than one I buy now. I may also be able to get one on a sale through Best Buy since the Apple store near me never puts them on sale.
Thankfully I think everything I run on it would work with the new processors. Although, one really doesn't know until you try it.
I want a bigger drive this time. I have a 512 GB in the one I have and it isn't nearly enough. I had to install some larger software on to an external hard drive. It works but it doesn't work as well as if it were all on the main drive of the system. I will go with at least 1 TB in the next one. That pushes the cost up but it will run better for a longer period of time.
