PC Building NOW is Unaffordable.

gunrunnerjohn · Sep 3, 2026

Marie SWE said:
I use a dedicated laptop for banking and some medical and government related functions where i have digital ID etc.
A lot of people use the Smartphone for it, but i use a laptop.
My computers can do everything a smartphone can and ten time better and i have at least a 17" screen(laptop), a real keyboard and a real mouse.
My TV is a dumb-TV, but i have since 1996 had a computer hooked up to my TV and home-cinema system, so i have all movies, series and music right there. And i have more disk-space then any smart-tv out there.

I want a phone that can fit in my jeans jacket front pocket... a smartphone is like going back to the mid 90's where i needed a bag to be able to bring my phone. today's smartphone is as big or even bigger then the phones was in 1994. its a freaking brick you carry around.
Sure i like nostalgia and collect OEM computers from the 80's and up.. But I'm not that nostalgic i want to start carrying a bag everyday just to bring my phone. *LOL*

Lets show what i mean.. 1990's VS 2020's
My old nokia from 1995 (i think).... and my Sony Xperia 5 V2 from 2022.

View attachment 181414

I have jeans that my wife added a cellphone pocket to, it works out great. My summer shorts already had cellphone pockets, so I always have my cellphone in a dedicated pocket. It doesn't get scratched or jammed in with a bunch of other stuff.

BTW, I don't do any of those housekeeping chores on my phone, with a 45" screen and a real keyboard and mouse, I'd much rather do them on the computer.

‍

Marie SWE · Sep 3, 2026

gunrunnerjohn said:
I have jeans that my wife added a cellphone pocket to, it works out great. My summer shorts already had cellphone pockets, so I always have my cellphone in a dedicated pocket. It doesn't get scratched or jammed in with a bunch of other stuff.

BTW, I don't do any of those housekeeping chores on my phone, with a 45" screen and a real keyboard and mouse, I'd much rather do them on the computer. ‍

sure, i can also sew on new pockets, but then I have to start using bigger and looser clothes first or sew a pocket on the outside of the thigh.
I think i will stay on small phones instead and save me a lot of work.

MisterEd · Sep 3, 2026

XxXxX said:
i had to upgrade my HTC legend 2010

HTC Legend - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

for the same reason it had no 4G
i finally settled on a Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5
its a slightly larger then the old HTC at 5.3" screen
but the reason i got it was it has a removable battery which is easy to replace.

Samsung Galaxy XCover 5 - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

best of luck Steve ..

I looked at the specs for the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 and was impressed. Do you have a case for it or are you careful with it? Its rugged design might save it in a drop but that alone wouldn't save the screen if you dropped it screen down on concrete or irregular hard surface.

I have always bought cases for my phones and have never damaged a phone in any way. I have a Samsung S21 phone. One time it dropped onto my concrete driveway. Neither the case or phone was damaged in any way.

pparks1 · Sep 3, 2026

MisterEd said:
]
I have always bought cases for my phones and have never damaged a phone in any way. I have a Samsung S21 phone. One time it dropped onto my concrete driveway. Neither the case or phone was damaged in any way.

I took am running a Samsung Galaxy S21. It's getting to be about the time to replace it...but I haven't done it yet.

Silvio · Sep 3, 2026

If you are a gamer, who is ignorant of Moore's law, then yes, you will be crying into your beer, due to 2026 Hardware prices.

Those who understand and accept Moore's law, would not be unnecessarily spending their hard earned, on the very latest technology.

I'm happily running Linux/Windows 11 boxes, on Xeon v4 platforms, with 64gb DDR4 each, and nvme drives.

Considered upgrading to Xeon W 21xx/22xx platform, then realized, to exceed the performance of Xeon 2673 v4, would take Xeon W2155, which is over 4-5x the cost, of the V4 cpu.

Think I'll wait..

gunrunnerjohn · Sep 3, 2026

MisterEd said:
I have always bought cases for my phones and have never damaged a phone in any way. I have a Samsung S21 phone. One time it dropped onto my concrete driveway. Neither the case or phone was damaged in any way.

I always put my phone in at least a basic impact resistant cover, I have dropped phones on many surfaces, and to date I've never had any of them malfunction. My phones typically get retired when they need a battery after 5-6 years. I try to make it through at least three generations, I want from the Galaxy S21 to the S25 last time. I see the S27 is coming out, so I'll at least make it to the S28 as my phone is fine right now.

Marie SWE said:
sure, i can also sew on new pockets, but then I have to start using bigger and looser clothes first or sew a pocket on the outside of the thigh.
I think i will stay on small phones instead and save me a lot of work.

Well, if you have to go bigger to fit the size of a modern smartphone, I'd suggest the jeans are a bit on the tight side anyway!

My add-on pockets are on the outside, and they add no additional fit issues. I actually do like the full screen on occasion that I want to do some lookups and the like with the phone. I'm not ready to go back to the flip phone. I'm not missing my Motorola StarTac from the 90's at all!

TraderGary · Sep 3, 2026

Marie SWE said:
sure, i can also sew on new pockets, but then I have to start using bigger and looser clothes first or sew a pocket on the outside of the thigh.
I think i will stay on small phones instead and save me a lot of work.

All shirts I buy must have large pockets. Saves me a lot of work and I get to have larger phones. :wink:

XxXxX · Sep 3, 2026

MisterEd said:
I looked at the specs for the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 and was impressed. Do you have a case for it or are you careful with it? Its rugged design might save it in a drop but that alone wouldn't save the screen if you dropped it screen down on concrete or irregular hard surface.

I have always bought cases for my phones and have never damaged a phone in any way. I have a Samsung S21 phone. One time it dropped onto my concrete driveway. Neither the case or phone was damaged in any way.

i have the Xcover 5 in a black silicon case that way it can bounce twice without damage (smile)
i got mine from Ebay £66 brand new, free delivery.

best of luck Steve ..

Marie SWE · Sep 3, 2026

TraderGary said:
All shirts I buy must have large pockets. Saves me a lot of work and I get to have larger phones.

I think this is a world wide thing.. but men's clothes seem to have larger pockets than women's clothes.

Marie SWE · Sep 3, 2026

gunrunnerjohn said:
Well, if you have to go bigger to fit the size of a modern smartphone, I'd suggest the jeans are a bit on the tight side anyway! My add-on pockets are on the outside, and they add no additional fit issues. I actually do like the full screen on occasion that I want to do some lookups and the like with the phone. I'm not ready to go back to the flip phone. I'm not missing my Motorola StarTac from the 90's at all!

most of my clothes are like a second skin... I'm not so much for going camping, so i dont need to bring a tent.*lol*

gunrunnerjohn · Sep 3, 2026

Marie SWE said:
most of my clothes are like a second skin... I'm not so much for going camping, so i dont need to bring a tent.*lol*

Well, I don't think my jeans are particularly baggy, but I certainly go for comfort. If the pockets in the jeans are unusable for the usual cargo, they're too tight!

Marcus Vinicus · Sep 4, 2026

Looks like motherboards are going up in price very soon.

Motherboard Prices May Rise Again as PCB Costs Climb Up to 50%

Another increase in motherboard prices looks likely, according to a report from the Chinese industry forum Board Channels. The source claims that motherboard production costs have risen by at least 10%, while the price adjustments manufacturers actually made in August averaged only about 3%, a...

www.techpowerup.com

Marcus Vinicus · 2026-09-17T05:31:30-0400

Looks like AMD are going to bump their prices 10%.

AMD Plans 10% Price Hike Across GPUs, Chipsets, and Possibly CPUs

AMD is preparing for a series of price hikes in response to rising costs of acquiring silicon from its supply chain. According to ChannelGate, AMD is working on a 10% price increase across its products due to the upstream supply chain squeeze. Since most of AMD's silicon is manufactured by...

www.techpowerup.com

Scannerman · 2026-09-17T05:42:38-0400

As I stated this spring, all silicon costs will increase (not just DRAM). It should not come as a surprise that anything silicon related will also increase in price. Even if this assumed "bubble" manages to pop we won't be seeing prices anywhere near what they used to be in 24/25. The golden age is gone.

XxXxX · 2026-09-17T07:35:33-0400

Scannerman said:
As I stated this spring, all silicon costs will increase (not just DRAM). It should not come as a surprise that anything silicon related will also increase in price. Even if this assumed "bubble" manages to pop we won't be seeing prices anywhere near what they used to be in 24/25. The golden age is gone.

i am planning to keep these two computers of ours going well into the golden age
as they are both max'ed out i just have to keep them running for as long as possible

they can keep their silicon bubble.
best of luck Steve ..

gunrunnerjohn · 2026-09-17T13:34:49-0400

I'm feeling pretty smart (or lucky) that I did a massive update of all my computers in the spring of 2025 right before all the craziness hit!

Marcus Vinicus · 2026-09-17T22:00:30-0400

To paraphrase an old song "Where have all the RTX 5090's gone?"

They're being hoovered up by AI companies.

https://videocardz.com/newz/heres-why-rtx-5090-costs-5000-ai-firms-are-buying-gaming-gpus-by-the-pallet

Scannerman · 2026-09-17T22:45:09-0400

XxXxX said:
i am planning to keep these two computers of ours going well into the golden age
as they are both max'ed out i just have to keep them running for as long as possible

they can keep their silicon bubble.

After inheriting over a dozen PCs and laptops on top of what I already own, plus a huge stack of RAM and additional NVMe . . .

Precisely my sentiments. They can keep their silicon bubble.

Scannerman · 2026-09-17T23:05:01-0400

One of my main goals was to attain to NVMe in RAID 0 and I reached that. After 4TB of NVMe in RAID 0 was achieved with a working OS it was enough. I played with it a little and gave it to my youngest daughter who will put it too good use. I have enough hardware now to keep me busy for the rest of my life. lol

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