[FFmpeg-devel] Hardware purchase request: AVX512-capable laptop

[Lynne]

Jan 5, 2024, 18:25 by remi at remlab.net:

> Le keskiviikkona 3. tammikuuta 2024, 2.56.12 EET Lynne a écrit :
>
>> As some of you know, my laptop died nearly 2 years ago, and
>> I've been working on a desktop machine, which is currently a Zen 3.
>> AVX512 has become more popular in the meantime, with Zen 4
>> and future AMD CPUs shipping with it, but currently, we have very
>> little AVX512.
>>
>
> Frankly, generally speaking, I don't think it makes sense to buy laptops for 
> development *unless* desktop systems are not an option.
>
> And here, a desktop system is not only an option, but it is the technically 
> better and already purchased option. A desktop is cheaper, more faster, more 
> serviceable and more incrementally upgradeable. More prosaically a desktop 
> system is much more suitable to occupational well-being - laptops are awfully 
> inadequate in terms of ergonomy, unless they are docked, at which point they 
> become expensive under-provisioned desktops.
>

Emergencies could happen, but progress must always happen.
We have a lot of donations, but no real way to spend them, let alone agree
on anything to do with them. I think that we could spend a little bit of it,
even if it's not the absolute most efficient and optimized way, that would
allow a developer to work even when needing travelling, while still being useful
when not.

Also, I think some developers here would disagree with the notion that desktop
machines are always the best option, and I think I that subjects such as ergonomy,
uselessness when not docked, being less serviceable, are subjective metrics.