Yes, I am aware of this. I would like to future-proof my set-up by assuming that I am going to want to do more than "send emails and watch cat videos."
I would definitely like to run more artistic and creative software, and it's not impossible that I could get into gaming, although at the moment I don't have the time. [-]And then there is the pursuit of world domina[/-]....oh, wait, I didn't mean to say that. Just scratch that, la de da de da....
Amethyst,
I have an older Dell, and listed the specs below. I purchased it in Dec. 2014.
About two years ago it became very slow. I looked at newer computers with Windows 11. Because I am very experienced with systems, I decided to try different upgrades.
1) Maxed out the System memory at 32 GB. Turned off Virtual Memory.
2) Uninstalled Norton AV and made sure Windows defender was running.
3) Looked at the performance control panel and uninstalled some older software that was bogging down startup (took about 3-4 minutes).
4) Cloned the old spinning disk to a new 1 TB SSD drive.
That's a lot to do, but I'm kinda techy and did not mind. I am pretty sure I'll get another 5 years life from this desktop computer.
If I focus on your "future-proof" desire, you should get a middle-of-the road desktop from Dell. Maybe even go a bit higher.
Now if you can get someone reliable to make the upgrades, you'll have a desktop that is much better, but it will be future-proof only up to some un-predictable date to come.
Do you have Windows 11 on that notebook? If you're going to keep that, then it will be wise to stick with one OS.
This is what I have now, with a 1-TB SSD.
Device name XPS-8700
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version 22H2