And from the glowing reviews it’s clear that
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W11 doesn’t actually need a new PC to run and the limitations are completely artificial
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For many people, a ten years old PC is fast enough (or even faster than a brand new Intel N100 PC that is officially W11 compatible). They won’t even notice that’s something from 2015, as long it has a shiny new case, enough RAM and SSD
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Amazon doesn’t care that the PC comes with pirated software, or that someone is scamming their customers, as long they get their 15% cut from marketplace sales (the cost of a genuine license of W11 pro and office exceeds the price of those ewaste specials)
I think people tend to forget that the vast majority of people don’t even play games on their computer. Like when I mention this computer, I always get “Nah, this wont play Elden Ring at 4k 120 fps, just throw it to the garbage”. But my parents, sisters, most of my friends dont give a damn about gaming. And this computer is definitely fast enough for all my personal gaming needs.
Another thing, is that gaming streaming services are now super efficient. I could literally play Doom the Dark Age at 1080p on Xbox Game pass with this PC, and I sometimes subscribe to PS+ to play Playstation exclusives.
I still doubt it would be a pleasant experience. I only do office type work on the n150 device. It’s still laggy AF compared to any modern mid-range cpu. (eg my i5 (?) 8600 at home, which is also already of respectable age, is a lot smoother for non-gaming use.)
But I guess your point (partially) stands, Johnny granddad won’t notice when he checks the news and weather in the morning.
I suspect it’s all the OS bullshit that makes you experience laggy. Obviously having an SSD and 8gb ram is essential. I made a super light install of Win 10 on my i5 750, years ago, and any office works is still 100% smooth on it. Even editing and mixing audio is not much different than on my M1 Max, I still open some old projects from time to time. I teach computer science in an audio engineering program, and I’m convinced that in the field of audio, we won the battle of computing power a very long time ago. On the other hand, for video processing, game engines, etc. it’s another story. But in the field of sound, power gains are marginal these days.