Wondering if Now is a Good Time to Upgrade My Laptop

General Forums Blender and CG Discussions
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I’ll try to keep this specifically about laptops, but unfortunately some real-world concerns may have encouraged me to start this topic. Just want to warn you about that up-front.

Basically, my laptop is currently perfectly fine. It’s approaching its fourth year since I first bought it and booted it up (got it in April 2021), but still getting all the necessary security and firewall updates from Windows 11 and my antivirus; the mobile RTX 3060 still runs like a dream with the latest Eevee rendering tools combined with Ray Tracing; and it is still overkill for all but the most poorly-optimized commercial games out today (not that I have Steam installed anymore–just use my laptop for Blender and work these days, and my Steam Deck for gaming). Inevitably, it seems that the battery is dying and I can only use my laptop plugged in, but since I have always used it like a desktop (not really using it away from my desk) and my power settings are basically set so that it only uses the GPU’s full power when plugged into the wall, that’s a non-issue.

My original plan is to finally upgrade it around early-to-mid 2026–I think using this 5 whole years before even thinking about upgrading is a good middle ground of not being wasteful and envious of the “next big thing” all the time, while ensuring my hardware can still keep up with the latest power-hungry features of future Blender releases. However, I am growing a bit concerned about certain…tariffs I’m hearing about in the news lately that seem like they will raise the price of laptops, game consoles, and all of my other favorite hardware drastically if enacted, among many other things. Should I just bite the bullet and upgrade now while prices for laptops and basically everything else aren’t unbearable for me personally?

This is somewhat complicated by the fact I got my current laptop during the severe chip shortage and likely paid FAR more than was appropriate for an RTX 3060-equipped laptop due to that real-world event temporarily raising up hardware prices overall. The reason I didn’t hold out a couple years for things to balance out again was because my previous desktop suddenly died on me that year. Coincidentally, I got THAT desktop during another bad year for hardware prices, somewhere between 2015 and 2017 (can’t remember), when the early rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency supposedly caused hardware prices to spike for a while. I may not notice much difference if I have to over-pay for my hardware for the third time in a row in 2026, but on the other hand, this Black Friday may be my chance for me to finally break the cycle of me tending to upgrade hardware at the worst, most expensive times. Then I wouldn’t even have to think about this again until 2029 and 2030, and HOPEFULLY the world itself will finally be somewhat predictable again, if not better off, by then.

There’s also the matter of Blender generally not taking full advantage of any GPU (especially the sculpting or texture painting modes), making an upgrade to overly-beefy hardware overkill even in the best of times, and especially the ever-lurking fear that I might upgrade too early and be forced to miss out on any truly life-changing hardware innovations due to my general rule of hanging on to hardware for 5 years to minimize e-waste. NVidia insists that its RTX 50-series will not be overpriced like the current RTX 40-series, and it would be immensely cool to hold out for an RTX 5060-equipped laptop in 2026 like I originally planned, two full generations ahead of my current GPU and able to render ray traced Eevee scenes at a noticeably faster clip.

TL;DR the question remains: Should I just buy a new laptop while prices are lower than I’m used to, even if my current laptop could easily hold out for another year or two?

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the trump tariffs? :slight_smile:

i wouldn’t base my decision on that. don’t upgrade if you don’t really need to. getting a new computer every 4 years, compared to let’s say 6 years, will always cost you more than any tariffs.

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This is a refreshingly definitive and un-complicated answer, thank you. If I got my current gear during a severe chip shortage, then I suppose I can weather “trump tariffs” in 2026 or 2027, if they happen or as bad as people say. I should have known the Black Friday/Cyber Monday ads would resort to fear tactics this year.

You mentioned upgrading every 6 years or so, but I generally upgrade every 5 years. If my laptop works about as well as it does now for another two years and continues to get all-important security updates, do you think I should try to hold out until 2027 before finally deciding to upgrade?

I feel like the only reason I should replace hardware that still works is if, say, Microsoft releases Windows 12 and immediately drop-kicks Windows 11 and all its security updates to the curb like they’re currently doing with Windows 10, and even then I could probably eke out another year of OS protection from viruses by switching to a Linux distro in my laptop’s final year.

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I also have a RTX3060 laptop from 2021, mine has 5800H CPU instead of 5600H in review https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Legion-5-17-with-RTX-3060-in-review-Strong-gaming-laptop-with-current-gen-AMD-Ryzen-CPU.603198.0.html ,
Current 4060 is 3200 points in database i can do 2600 with mine so
happy with, i think will only replace with a 5060/5070 or better. I am eyeing 2026.

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I wouldn’t worry too much about this. windows 11 launched in 2021, and windows 10 EOL is 2025. Even if they cut the EOL timeline in half, you could still count of windows 11 being supported til 2027. Also, the threat of viruses is less than the companies attempting to sell you cybersecurity solutions would have you believe.

Hold out as long as you can.

Use it up, wear it out, make it work, or work without.

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And even after the EOL of Win 10, you can still use it. I personally plan on using it for many years to come. Relying on your OS to keep you safe is guaranteed to fail eventually

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Have you considered switching to a desktop? If you only use your laptop plugged in, I don’t see any reason to stick to a laptop. The hardware you’d get in a desktop would be more powerful for the money (also better heat handling) and you can upgrade easily piece by piece.

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I should have been a bit more clear–I only use my laptop plugged in for 3D software that requires the extra power, such as Blender and modern video games (back when I had Steam installed on my laptop, at least). I use it unplugged when working in 2D software, or simply checking my messages online–the extra power of my GPU is completely unnecessary for writing this post on Blenderartists, for instance.

In addition, elecricity is expensive where I live, especially during peak hours (5 hours all evening, annoyingly), so the more time I can use my laptop unplugged for at least the low-intensity stuff, like checking my emails and working on a LibreOffice Document, the better. Laptops also just consume far less energy than desktops and higher-end game consoles (e.g. the PS5) in general.

The only thing I can easily replace without spending extra money having a professional do it for me is the RAM, and I think most laptops including my current one at least allow that to be upgraded. I destroyed the desktop I did have in the late 2010’s by attempting to upgrade it myself without professional help, wasting money on all sorts of incompatible parts, so ever since then I’ve prioritized having a more energy-efficient laptop that will (hopefully) be future-proofed for the next 5-7 years.

Finally, using laptops have taught me to be far more efficient with my textures, poly counts and lighting to the point where even the hardware I have now is currently overkill–I COULD make an entire Blender animation with my laptop unplugged and just with the CPU, it’s just obviously smoother and faster to at least plug in my laptop (and use the full grunt of the GPU) when it comes time to render each frame. Point is, though, is that I CAN and I HAVE made entire stylized animations with my laptop unplugged and using “Eco” power, and learned the importance of texture/light baking (especially doing a “Combined” bake in Cycles to make up for some of the weaknesses Eevee still has, especially regarding subsurface scattering and soft contact shadows).

That’s not to say I’m not at least curious about alternatives. I’ve been wondering if the mini-PCs I’m starting to see at my day job and everywhere else might be viable alternatives–they still consume far less electricity than a proper desktop tower, they seem to only cost in the hundreds, instead of the thousands like most 3D-compatible laptops (although I would have to buy a new monitor, mouse, keyboard and drawing tablet in addition to the mini-PC), and while they all seem to have far weaker GPUs than I have now in my laptop, they also seem to have slightly faster CPUs (for Cycles baking) and more RAM memory (often 24 GB and up, compared to my current 16 GB) to make up for it.

Also, because I’ve gotten better at optimizing my rendering in Blender overall (at least in personal stylized projects) and arguably don’t even need the GPU power I have right now, I wonder if I could also just prioritize battery life in my next laptop purchase instead of raw power, and save myself a little money next time while making my laptop more useful unplugged. Gaming laptops have notoriously awful battery life (I think my laptop could only muster 2 hours unplugged at most when I first got it, and after almost 4 years of wear and tear, I’m lucky if I can even get it to last an entire hour just to check my emails and socials), and because of the “peak hour” electricity pricing in my area, it would be cool if I got a laptop with at least 10 hours of battery life so that, even as it degrades over the years, I could still use the 5 hours of “peak hours” without plugging it into an outlet.

I think I could handle slower rendering and baking times on my Blender scenes in exchange for a more genuinely-portable, energy-efficient laptop I don’t have to have plugged in most of the time…

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My argument is that if you have the money now to buy a new machine that is at least somewhat futureproof and is a notable upgrade (for your needs), now would be the time to do it.

The reason for this is that I do not see improvements in hardware prices or price/performance coming at any point in the near future (for a variety of reasons including ones we are not allowed to talk about on this forum). The age of cheap hardware is in the past now, but the silver lining is that this will apply pressure to software vendors to start focusing on optimizations and on reducing the bloat that has built up over the years (because they can no longer count on users to upgrade to offset performance regressions and the like).

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I don’t really have the money now to get a new machine, honestly, and there’s just too little time between now and Black Friday/Cyber Monday to even consider a $1,000+ purchase for myself, while also checking if I can still get my family and friends thoughtful Holiday gifts as well. Frankly this is 2026 or 2027 Jeffrey’s problem, maybe 2028 Jeffrey’s problem if I’m truly lucky.

And that’s the other thing, I’ve gotten so used to optimizing my renders, textures and assets in ways that are completely unnecessary for my current RTX 3060 GPU that I pretty much don’t need the bells and whistles of future hardware, possibly ever–when I am finally forced to upgrade, it would most likely be because my current hardware is experiencing significant, disruptive problems and/or no longer getting crucial security updates. My personal preference for simplistic, bright cartoon graphics in my work also reduces my need and desire for the absolute latest and greatest hardware and software, although I must admit quickly turning on ray tracing in Eevee and still having it render frames in half a second each on my current GPU is a MASSIVE time-saver during the lighting and rendering phase, and it would be a dream come true if I could bake much quicker in Cycles using just a regular ol’ CPU (assuming baking textures in general is necessary by the time CPUs get that fast).

If I get hired to do more professional, “triple-A” work, hopefully I would just use the company’s hardware and it would be up to their IT and budget departments whether to upgrade their hardware and software, not me. Speaking of which, don’t a lot of studios hang on to older versions of Maya or Photoshop, or even defunct software like SoftImage, to avoid upgrading hardware as long as possible, or to avoid the disruption of having learn new tools or even having to re-learn techniques in new software entirely in the middle of a delicate, expensive project? Or even just avoiding the monthly subscription fees and AI data scraping of newer versions of Photoshop and Maya? I’ve learned the hard way myself as of late that I shouldn’t even upgrade to the latest version of Blender until I have completely wrapped up all the projects I started in an older version of Blender…

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If consumption is a concern I would check ARM especially if you want to buy it later. I believe by that time ARM will be much more widespread. I’m not sure about software support though(but blender can run on ARM). Or go the Apple way even now… Their M chips have impressive results in tests.

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i would check software support really thourougly before going with ARM but next year some interesting things are supposed to come out. like ARM APUs from NVIDIA and AMD. i am also curious about AMD’s upcoming Strix Halo.

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You can buy some refurbished laptops it runs extremely well and it’s cheaper.

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As far as I can read so far, you really haven’t articulated a reason why you now need to replace that laptop. As long as it is working, and continues to support the operating systems and software that you prefer to run, “a computer can actually last a very long time.” (Until, one day, it sud …) :wink:

You should be aware of what you might decide to purchase next, but don’t feel rushed to do so. To me, a new computer is “a five to seven-year asset.” If it still drives, keep driving.

But, when a computer actually begins to exhibit any sort of malfunction, you should be prepared to move fairly quickly. Have some money or available credit set aside. Also, always have a backups strategy: if the computer conks out, make sure it doesn’t take your work with it.

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Maybe, I’ve heard good things about the recent Macbooks and Blender, but Apple products are VERY expensive for me–if I spend $2K+ on a laptop, I would at least expect it to double as an ultra-powerful Xbox for video games and replace all my gaming hardware, too.

Also, when looking at it at an environmental perspective, hanging onto my current hardware for as long as possible and reducing e-waste probably makes a bigger positive difference than constantly buying new hardware every single time battery tech slightly improves. My current laptop still uses way less electricity than the average game console, let alone the average desktop workstation, and either way for the same environmentally-conscious reasons I will NEVER plug in any of my high-powered devices during my area’s “peak hours”–not only is electricity more expensive in the evening, but my local electricity grid tends to fire up the dirtier, “greater-of-the-two-evils” fossil fuel plants to meet demand during the evening. You know, stuff like coal instead of at least natural gas that (hopefully) follows state methane-regulation standards, nuclear or geothermal.

But yeah, I’m definitely keeping an eye on ARM and seeing if it could potentially replace energy-guzzling dedicated GPUs entirely (at least in portable devices like laptops) by the time I actually need to upgrade my dying hardware.

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I’ve already decided to, at the very least, stick to my original plan of hanging on to my current hardware until it actually starts malfunctioning, but all these tips are great for anyone else reading this thread, as is the case for all “what laptop should I buy”-type threads on Blenderartists. Keep 'em coming!