Moving from Desktop setup to a Laptop

Sparkie · Post by **Sparkie** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:06 pm

I'm thinking about dumping my desktop pc and moving over to a laptop. I'd like to hear pros and cons from you laptop users, as well as suggestions as to which laptop I should consider purchasing.

I had a laptop a while back but didn't have enough time to get a real feel for it before it was stolen out of our home.

What's not required:

The laptop will pretty much be a desktop replacement rather than a mobile device so portability is not a requirement.
I'm not a gamer so high end graphics is not a requirement.
I am more of a casual user so high end CPU is not a requirement.

What is required:

Under $1000
PC
The ability to add an external monitor.
Good sound quality for music/movies.
Minimum 15.4" screen size (prefer 17").
Enough guts to handle Win 7 properly.
A 64 bit CPU.

Any and all input is appreciated.

Marco2007 · Post by **Marco2007** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:35 pm

The best thing (for me): I can sit on the couch

Maybe, that doesn`t sound like the best argument, but it is (at least) for me.

suggestions as to which laptop I should consider purchasing
I can`t give suggestions. Some years ago I bought one the cheapest...still enough for coding, reading news on the web and watching funny videos on YouTube.
My PC is much better, but I almost never use it.

gnasen · Post by **gnasen** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:32 pm

I bought a Laptop some weeks ago and I must say, I love it.
Its very silent compared with my old desktop and much more comfortable (like Marco said, sitting on a couch, in the garden...)
My trick is to use it like I used the desktop. If I'm in my room, I use my monitor, keyboard, mouse etc and have all comfort of a normal desktop.

I bought a Laptop from an outlet store (one.de -> outlet), it was given back from the first customer because of a damaged pixel (-100€). However it doesnt matter me, because you dont see it unless the screen is very dark.
I bought it for all in all 550€ and I can even play very well on it.
Mirrors Edge (middle), Anno 1404(middle), Prince of Persia(middle-high), HL2(max) are running very well.

17', 3gb RAM, dual 2ghz, geforce9600mGT

The only things missing are 64bit and a good sound.
If you want to invest up to 1000€, you will get your wishes if you search a bit (I searched 4 hours in the web)

srod · Post by **srod** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:07 pm

I do miss not having a decent laptop; something I shall remedy when I find a few spare pennies lying around! Have got used to using a desktop again now though.

Then again none of my 'decent' laptops have ever lasted very long before they bit the dust and died! Only my ancient IBM thinkpad still soldiers on!

DarkDragon · Post by **DarkDragon** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:16 pm

Thinkpad T500 is excellent. You can even lock it via SMS if someone steals it (The lock appears before booting through the BIOS).

But for under 1000$ you won't get a good notebook as desktop replacement.

GWarner · Post by **GWarner** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:32 pm

DarkDragon wrote:But for under 1000$ you won't get a good notebook as desktop replacement.

Maybe not a high-end desktop, but sparkie sounds like my dad who just bought an HP laptop for about $500 that suits his needs and he's quite happy with it.

But like sparkie I am giving serious consideration to switching from a desktop system to a laptop, but unlike sparkie I'm looking at a high-end (Alienware) laptop.

At home I'd have a full set up of monitor, keyboard, mouse, printers, etc. all connected through a docking station and a USB hub if needed.

For me it's the convenience of being able to grab the laptop and take my computing environment with me without having to go through the pain of synchronizing files and hoping you got all the files you'll need.

Been there once already.

One thing I would definitely do though is use something like TrueCrypt to protect my personal data should the laptop be stolen. It's true most laptop thieves don't care about the data but still, why take a chance?

blueznl · Post by **blueznl** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 4:29 pm

No one is going to take my trusty big tower away! Anyway, I have a few

laptops availalbe, a Dell Inspiron 6000D from eBay that my wife uses, a Dell 810 from a former employer (their IT department did not support that model which came in through the backdoor when they took over another company, so it now serves me better than it did them

).

I've been using Dell and HP and Sony over time, and am most partial to Dell. They're big, slow, clunky, but thus far they have served me best quality wise. None of the (business) laptops I used thus far ever failed, except for one harddisk.

mrjiles · Post by **mrjiles** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:55 pm

I just ordered (today actually!) a Dell Latitude E5500 for a user @ work. It's a pretty nice setup. As for sound, I'm not sure. I've never really had a laptop that compared to a desktop in terms of audio. Here's what's I got for $1400....

15.4 inch screen
Core2Duo T9550, 2.66Ghz (6MB L2 cache! 1066Mhz Front side bus!)
4GB RAM
22 inch widescreen (external monitor)
Docking station
160GB HDD (7200 speed, not the typical 5400rpm laptop ones)
Vista business > "downgrade" to XP + you'll get Win 7 for free when released!
8x DVD/RW
Wireless
9 cell battery
Office 2007 Pro + Acrobat 9.0
3 year next business day warranty

MS Office was $349. 3yr warranty was $219. The monitor was $199 extra. Dock was $129 extra. Upgrade to 9 cell battery (from 6) was $76.

Oh ya, you have to use promo code "H353Z0GPC593DB" which is 33% off laptops priced over $999. The pre-promo total for my laptop was $2400 I think.

Pretty much most all non-netbooks will easily handle the tasks you stated. Hell, you could get a dual-core, 2gb ram, Dell Vostro for $600 if you don't need docking capabilities.

Be sure to check out http://www.cheapstingybargains.com and http://www.techbargains.com before you order one though

Things to remember:
1) You pay a premium for 17" displays. The 15" displays are most common, the least costly (obviously).
2) Battery life of a 17" compared to 15"
3) I don't recommend the 5400rpm laptop drives. This is DEFINITELY a bottleneck. Go for the faster 7200rpm, it's worth every penny. Hell, get a solid state if you can!
4) Don't use Vista

mrjiles · Post by **mrjiles** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:00 pm

blueznl wrote:I've been using Dell and HP and Sony over time, and am most partial to Dell. They're big, slow, clunky, but thus far they have served me best quality wise. None of the (business) laptops I used thus far ever failed, except for one harddisk.

I think Dell's support is really good. Their web people actually know what their doing.

One other thing - DON'T BUY GATEWAY!!! PERIOD!!! We have about 20 Gateways here.... all have (or had) 3 year extended warranties. About 8 months ago or so, Gateway sold all of the support contracts to a company called MPC. MPC filed bankruptcy a few months later and BAM, we're out parts entirely for these computers. Ebay is the only place you can find them now!

GWarner · Post by **GWarner** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:38 pm

blueznl wrote:a Dell 810 from a former employer (their IT department did not support that model which came in through the backdoor when they took over another company, so it now serves me better than it did them ).

Latitude I'll bet, I have a D830 issued to me by the place I work for. If I didn't have the desire to play games on it, a Latitude is what I'd get, those things are like tanks. Functional, durable, and reliable as hell!

mrjiles wrote:Vista business > "downgrade" to XP + you'll get Win 7 for free when released!

I noticed they were doing that, with official release less than three months away I'd bet most other OEMs are doing that too. In my case I'll probably wait to get a laptop so that it can come with Windows 7 from the start.

mrjiles wrote:One other thing - DON'T BUY GATEWAY!!! PERIOD!!! We have about 20 Gateways here.... all have (or had) 3 year extended warranties. About 8 months ago or so, Gateway sold all of the support contracts to a company called MPC. MPC filed bankruptcy a few months later and BAM, we're out parts entirely for these computers. Ebay is the only place you can find them now!

Ouch! Unless they fix that problem quickly Gateway won't be around for long...

rrpl · Post by **rrpl** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 1:03 am

Hi Sparkie,

I've been using laptops for years, for both work and personal use. I couldn't recommend them more highly, but in my case I do need the mobility a laptop offers. Originally I used to use a Desktop and a laptop. Nowadays I usually always have at least 2 laptops instead. This means that if one breaks down I can use the other to keep working instead.

For my purposes I usually buy secondhand (unless I can get a good deal new), and use an older OS to keep speed of operation high. Despite this I run some pretty heavy business applications including graphics applications for work, on my laptops with no problems. I use lots of devices connected to my notepad/s via USB. My desk looks something like a jungle of black wires. Above my desk - banks of hard drives, etc

I would say the PROs are:
1. Portability - sounds like thats not an issues for you.
2. Built in Battery - You can keep running in a black out.
3. Smaller size - Takes up less space on the desk - Note: this allows more room for the black wire jungle!

CONs;
1. Your stuck with your graphics card - no good for gamers like my son.
2. No impressive big box
3. Bigger Screen already attached - not an issue for me.

All the laptops I've ever owned have an output to attach an external monitor and keyboard.

Minimum 15.4" screen size (prefer 17").
Enough guts to handle Win 7 properly.
A 64 bit CPU.

You'll need a new one in your case.

As for recommendations on which to purchase, I can't help you there. I personally don't know much about Win 7 and its requirements.

Good luck with your search.

Sparkie · Post by **Sparkie** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 3:06 am

Thank you all for your input thus far. I am one the worlds worst when it comes to making a decision. When I started my search for a laptop I was looking at Acer, Dell, and Toshiba. My initial picks, in no particular order, were:

Acer AS5536-5883
Acer AS5536-5165
Dell S1555-018B
Dell S1737-2279
Toshiba A505-S6960
Toshiba L355D-S7901

At this point in time, I am leaning towards

Acer AS5536-5165
~$500.00
15.6"
AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core RM-72 2.1GHz
3GB DDR2
320GB Serial ATA hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (256MB VRAM)

Dell S1555-018B
~$600.00
15.6
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T6500 2.1GHz
4GB DDR2
320GB Serial ATA hard drive
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD graphics

Toshiba A505-S6960
~$650.00
16"
Intel® Centrino Core™2 Duo processor T6500 2.1
4GB DDR2
320GB Serial ATA hard drive
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

Marco2007 · Post by **Marco2007** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:18 am

ah, I forget: ..what`s really important and what`s missing on my laptop:

Trond · Post by **Trond** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:25 am

You won't get really good sound on a laptop (but you can purchase an external sound card like Echo Indigo that will give you good sound).

Dell Vostro 1720 is a good buy with 17 inch screen (it can be customized with more memory).

blueznl · Post by **blueznl** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:37 am

I disagree with Marco on the numpad section. I never missed it on my laptop, though if you buy a 17" then you may consider it.

As for 17", yes, the Vostro wasn't that bad, one of my colleagues bought one privately, and he's really fond of the machine.

If you want gaming, perhaps a Dell XPS laptop might do

Mind the $$$

As I am a 'natural keyboard' user, I always try to have one of those keyboards around. I bought five of them, just before they went out of production, so typically I have one on my desk at home, one at the company (if I have a job, that is, sigh), and one in my car (for extended sessions on location). Once you're used to a natural keyboard any other keyboard stinks

Oh, as for the Dell, it's indeed a Lattitude D810, the D810 and D520 are build like tanks, and with the optional media battery pack they last for ages... Unfortunately they also WEIGHT like a tank