paulmcohen wrote:Sketchup will run on any modern computer, for entertainment it depends on if you want to play action games. New games like Diablo 3 require extreme graphics that are barely available on even the most expensive laptop. I have an 8 core laptop with high-end graphics and a hybrid drive. Battery life is 9 hours, the display is full-HD 1920x1024. It cost about $700 last month.
Another 8 core. Will you please identify the make and model.
I really want to get a jazzy PC this time and I'm looking for direction.
Right now I focused in a Sony laptop the S series, 3rd gen I7 with 7200 rpm harddrive, a 1 gig video card and 6 gig memory, 1900x1080 native screen resolution and a blue ray optical drive.
Comes with a drop in docking station which contains a 500 gig hard drive for back up and all the plugs to plug into most anything.
I didn't weigh in on the tablets because I simply am not knowledgeable enough about them to have an opinion.
When it comes to sitting on my butt with my feet propped up wasting time I'm your guy...
I have several of each but use a laptop almost entirely. Understand that I am not a gamer at all but then one of my grandsons is and he uses his laptop all of the time.
I use my wide screen (17") laptop almost entirely and almost always in my recliner in front of the TV. My wife sits in a similar recliner about 3' away (table between us) using her smaller laptop.
I find that my feet tend to swell if I sit at a desk for too long at a time. I used to do it all the time but my feet were younger then.
I doubt that I ever buy another desktop.
Most of my "productive"? use is writing and genealogy research and I find the laptop more than adequate for that.
I really like to be able to take a laptop along on trips or even camping. I can drop my Verizon Wifi thingy in my shirt pocket and be on-line anywhere. If we are driving through a strange area I can fire up and get maps or look things up as we go down the road (only when my wife is driving ).
My vote is laptop...
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--
farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
I personally think I need both a laptop and a desktop, don't see a pad in the future.
I use the lap top with GPS for trips. I have a homemade stand for in the van that it sits on and with Delorme software it works fine. I tried one of the small gps but they are too small for me. I can't see things well close up, so while driving I don't use reading glasses which is what I would need to see the smaller display. The laptop is much better for that with the larger screen.
We use the laptop for email and storing pictures on trips. Would not like to have to deal with taking along a desk top.
My wife uses the laptop in the kitchen for her web activities and she is happy with it because it small enough a foot print and handy to open and use. It is connected with a wireless (N) connection and we are setup to share printers etc (windows 7). The system is about 5 years old but at 1.8GHz and a shared memory graphics it is painful for me to do too much on. It does run sketchup as long as the models are small so that is nice for having along on trips. It has built in DVD player and a remote so watching movies is also something we will do with it. The system was something just under $700 back then. It is a dual core but only 2GB of memory so it is a x86 version and most things will run on it so long as there are drivers for them, scanner, printers etc.
I am building a new desktop system, as money has allowed. I have a functioning system at this point but by the end of the month it will be fully functional. My desktop is about 10 years old with the exception of a few upgrades. PC wise that is getting up there.
I always do my own builds, I have done so for many many years. I even had a sideline business building custom systems for a while, I have to think I must have built 800 - 900 PC's over the years. Got a little old after a while but now it is all fresh and new.
BTW if this is boring you just skip the rest as it deals with what this build is looking like and if you are not into that details of that stuff...
This is by no means a high end machine, but then again it is not a bargain basement system either. Cost to this point about $600.
AMD A8-3870K (APU not CPU) 3.0GHz, quad core, 4MB total cache (Black edition)(built in 6550 graphics processor)
G. Skill (2 x 4GB) 8GB DDR3-1866 memory
Asus Mother Board F1A75-M PRO [USB3, SATA 6Gb,] etc
OCZ Vertex4 128G SSD {these things are wicked fast}
Pioneer BDR 207DBK {burns and reads blue ray plus works with DVD's etc}
450 W Power supply {80 PLUS Gold, efficiency 87% to 92%}
Case (5 120mm fans, bottom mounted power supply, external SATA bay, lots of room inside)
wireless keybd and mouse.
This month I will be adding a SATA 1TB drive, most likely a WD Caviar Black(at this point it will be fully functional). And if I can, a Radeon 6670 video card as a crossfire setup with the APU.
Sometime later I will get a dedicated monitor, right now I'm sharing a 22" LCD with my other system. Jumping to a 24" might not seem like much of a jump and the 27" ones are too expensive so maybe more near Christmas??
I'm not a gamer but I do like to do video and image work, I have a copy of Adobe Elements (photoshop an Premiere) that I'm waiting on the large drive to test out. When I run these I will know if I have enough horsepower or not.
So far no major issues and it has been a lot of fun for me.
For business I prefer a high powered desktop with two monitors. This allows me to track multiple applications or projects at same time. This method has worked well for several years. However I also maintain a laptop for travel and or client visits. After I retire I will likely do away with the desktop at some point.
For personal use I prefer my laptop on an Airdesk stand which is placed next to my favorite recliner in the living room. My wife has two laptops. One on her Airdesk stand next to her recliner. The other is used with her Brother Quilting/embroidery machine for some of the neatest machine quilting projects I have ever seen, Yeah I am proud of her. About the Airdesks, I strongly suggest anyone who likes a laptop in living room or den check them out at http://www.airdesk.com
We also have an ASUS (mini Laptop) that is used to record information from our weather station. That particular computer was intended for my fishing trips. It is not very powerful and as far as I am concerned difficult to us and a waste of money.
Then there is the tablet we purchased last fall for me to have a new toy after surgery. I have carried it to a few meetings and would likely use it for travel after I complete retirement. I have tried reading books on it, a use I don't intend to try again. I had hoped to use it to learn Sketchup but will use either the laptop or desktop. Somehow those tiny keyboards aren't my bag.
Finally the new whiz bang expensive Android Cell Phones. We have a pair of them and find them very handy for calling, messaging and email. I especially enjoy being able to search for places and people. The tiny keyboards are impossible for guys with fat fingers. Thus I have turned a couple of pen/stylus units. They help me a lot.
Am I a techy, well yeah sort of but my fantastic bride is the one who keeps all our stuff running smoothly. As to all of the scanners, printers and wireless stuff, well we just won't go there. Jim
F. Jim Parks
Lakewood, Colorado:)
When the love of power is replaced by the power of love the world will have a chance for survival.
Any computer purchase must be task based or you'll spend extra or not have enough.
I was into gaming and making game maps for a long time.
Then I would make my own computers with massive memory, fastest processors top of the line
video cards best available monitors surround sound. That's what I needed.
I had a laptop for one purpose to view and store pictures while on vacation. It was a computer
show cheapo deal just the basics. Modern memory cards for cameras made this obsolete.
My wife's computer was business orientated. Basics with Microsoft office.
Now that I'm not into any serious gaming I have cheaped down a bit I still like dual 24" wide screen monitors,
but I don't heat the house with my video cards now. For me the draw back with laptops is the monitor size.
I don't use a laptop because to enjoy it I would need to tote a monitor around with it.
Ask yourself what you will do with the computer first base your choice on that.
It will be obsolete when you get it home. Still get what you need.
Our first modern computer non TRS 80 or Timex Sinclare was so obsolete when I junked it
the only things worth salvage were some hardware and the nice rubber feet.
Bruce
I didn't know what a Shopsmith was...
Three days later I owned one...
One week later I was rebuilding one...
Four months later I owned two....
Ok Ok, I'm up to four now...
I've had desktops since the '80s and bought my first laptop in the late '90s for giving Power Point presentations and email while traveling.
I need my desktop for games but now it has to be updated (faster processor and graphics card, requires bigger power supply). Games are going to gaming consoles, not as many for PCs anymore.
My newest laptop is faster than my desktop: I don't see any rfeasosn to buy another desktop.
I myself use a Asus Transformer tablet. I like it because I have the keyboard dock and it gives me the extra battery and it folds like a mini laptop. I also use my smart phone alot to. My wife uses a laptop for her small business and I also have a desk top that the wife/kids use for home schooling.
Culprit wrote:Desktop or laptop? Laptop. There is no valid reason to buy a desktop for home use. There are hardly any valid reasons to buy a desktop for hard core engineering programs anymore, either.
there is one very good and valid reason to buy a desktop computer....the thieves leave them alone...chasing down all those wires and such is to much of a hassle....looking to keep this one for awhile.
Chucks in Phoenix Mark V(5), Mark VII(2),Power Pro, Planer, Crafter Station, Jointer,Bandsaw(3),Lathe Duplicator,Belt Sander,Jig Saw,DC3300(2),"Sears Router Crafter", Post Drill, Stand alone Overarm Router. Jointmatic ++++,
chucks wrote:there is one very good and valid reason to buy a desktop computer....the thieves leave them alone...chasing down all those wires and such is to much of a hassle....looking to keep this one for awhile.
If I only had a choice of one of them, I'd go with my desktop. Mine has 7 HDDs on it, right now. (Try that on a laptop!) Wouldn't call it an actual desktop, since it has never even seen a case.
Abit IP-35 Pro mobo. (Yes it's old. Look at my ERs!)
Quad-core CPU.
4GB memory.
DVD burner, with LightScribe. (LOVE LightScribe!)
2, 2 TB HDDs
2, 74 GB Raptor HDDs,
1, 750 GB drive.
1, 180 GB drive
With losses, windows reports 4.8 TB
With no case, it is as easy to switch out parts, as my ER.
Now, laptops.
I buy, rebuild and sell IBM and Lenovo ThinkPads, almost all of them are T series. T-23 is my favorite, but it is getting long in the tooth, with the P3, and the 1 GB of memory limits. Still runs W7 as well as it runs WXP, so I'm still happy. T60 is more powerful, but not as robust as the T23. (Did I mention my ERs?)
At home, my desktop. Hands down! My wrists aren't that good, and I LOVE my split keyboard. (One of the Microsoft "ergo" layouts.) And, I've got the 46 thousand GB of storage.
Road trips, one of my lappies WILL go with me. Most likely a T23.
).
