save or spend

I have an actual summer job for the first time and will get whats a decent amount of money (18+). I am thinking of buying a new, modern laptop to replace my x220 (so fuarrrking tired of replacing that palmrest). This would use up about half of what i will earn. My parents told me that its not a good decision and that i should save the money to last througout the year since i dont have a part time job or another way to earn an income. Obviously we see different uses in laptop which for me can be useful for working and being mobile while to them a 20$ netbook would serve the same purpose. Im looking for some other opinions so i can judge whether i should go through with it or not.

thinkpad

>>3723 its a thinkpad im planing to buy. the old ones are nice but i want a modern one with lots of ram and USB-C

>>3720 If your current hardware is actually, practically limiting you then I would recommend buying a new laptop. It sounds like money is tight, so consider buying something a bit lower down than what you're currently looking at - maybe a newer used thinkpad. What are you doing once the summer is over? Whatever it is, how does it prevent you from working a part-time job? Whether you buy a new laptop or not, I would recommend finding a part-time job if at all possible - it is never bad to have that extra money and at your age any extra work experience is a résumé booster.

>>3739 The point in upgrading is to have a laptop that will last me a few years and through university. There would be no point in upgrading if I don't get any future safe features like thunderbolt 3 and hidpi resolution. I wouldnt really say that money is tight, I would still have around 1700$. Though maybe I should be saving more. I will be finishing high school (or the equivalent of it). I probably could/should get a part time job.

If possible workable for your circumstances, a good route is to get a decent second hand desktop computer, which would be much more powerful and way way cheaper than a new laptop, and when on the go if you need the computing power you could use a vpn and connect to your desktop. I use my x200 lots and ssh into my desktop to run computationally intensive jobs.

>>3757 Do you know which uni you will be attending? Some of them have particular requirements and/or discounts. If you're going into your final year of high school (and not your first year of uni) this fall then I would recommend holding off for another six or eight months until you have that information. As for the notion of "future proof" - no computer is future proof. Any system that you purchase today will feel comparatively inadequate four or five years down the line. Get a system that gets the job done and then has some overhead atop that, but don't fall into the trap of trying to get the best of the best with all the bells and whistles. Regarding the advice that >>3763 gave, that really depends on your major. In some programs you will need to have the computing power on-hand and remote access won't cut it. Most engineering tracks, for example, will require plenty of CAD and simulations and whatnot, which can be quite difficult to run remotely.