<p>We do our engineering work on hosted servers; basically big machines with tons of cores, disk and memory running virtual machines. We used the model of powerful servers in every office in the 1990s. I have two Nehalem Core i7s, one Sandy Bridge i5 and an Ivy Bridge i5. If I need a lot of horsepower, I just use a desktop. If you want to play games, you’re better off on a desktop. There is no sense in wasting money on a laptop that is difficult to change components with. Laptops are going to the Ultrabook model where you can’t change anything. We effectively have a family cloud - if someone needs a lot of compute power (son needs a lot of it for computational biology), then we put it on the appropriate machine in the cloud.</p>
<p>Most college students can’t afford a desktop and a laptop. Even if they could, there’s a space issue in dorms. </p>
<p>I don’t like gaming on desktops. I’m sure I’d get used to it, but I much prefer laptops for lan parties and whatnot.</p>
<p>Desktops are pretty cheap these days. At any rate, the OP is going with a desktop. I got the feeling that price wasn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I can’t find where it said the OP was going with a desktop. Must’ve missed that.</p>
<p>Post #77.
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<p>I think he meant Windows laptop. He uses the term PC before interchangeably with Windows laptop, as in his very first post.</p>
<p>To most in my generation, pc= windows laptop or desktop.</p>
<p>It could make sense though to buy a laptop and a desktop. You could build a better performing desktop for $500 than you could for $1000 if you were buying a laptop. This brings up the possibility of buying two $500 computers, one desktop and one laptop. </p>
<p>But there’s also the convenience factor associated with having high-spec laptops. You can take it with you anywhere, so if you’re having lunch and have an hour until your next class, you can pull out your laptop and start playing a modern game, but only if you have a good graphics chip (point debatable depending on how much IGP improves when Haswell is released around June). If you wanted to write a paper, you could use the laptop there, but if you bought a low-end one with a 1366x768 screen rather than 1080p, you won’t be able to multitask without opening and closing windows all the time. It’s very helpful to be able to write a word document and have a browser window open at the same time to run google searches and whatnot.</p>
<p>As far as laptops go, I’d suggest getting something like a Lenovo Y580, i7 with GTX 660m graphics, and a 1080p 15.6" screen. Another good option could be a Toshiba Qosmio or an HP dv7tqe, since they have 17.3" screens that offer a little more room and allow you to add a second hard drive without having to repurpose your optical drive bay. However, the 15.6" Lenovo offers a better compromise between mobility and performance, as well as having excellent build quality and reliability.</p>
<p>I can’t afford a laptop and desktop. I can’t get a desktop because I’ll need to take it around. and thank for the suggestion. On Lenovo which seem to be the most recommended</p>
<p>We got DS a Lenovo after researching. It seemed the best option for the money and his college would require him to dual boot with a Mac so we decided this would be easier.</p>
<p>You’re welcome. I’ll also suggest waiting a couple months for new tech to come out, but that shouldn’t be an issue since you’ve already stated you’re planning on buying in June.</p>
<p>4 big advancements,</p>
<p>Haswell chip architecture: Should bring >20% better battery life, IGP, and processor performance. Intel is also lowering prices to better compete with ARM</p>
<p>Windows Blue: Expected to be much better than W8, like comparing W7 to Vista</p>
<p>Touchscreens: Becoming much more common and less expensive. Also an attempt to compete with tablets.</p>
<p>Higher res HD screens: With cheap tablets like the Nexus 10 having a screen res of 2560x1600 (!!!), laptop manufacturers have been upping screen resolution while lowering price.</p>
<p>Anyways, pick what’s important to you, find a budget, and look for the best deal. Online stores run coupons all the time, so look at sites like Extremetech or Maximum PC and you’ll find some good deals in short order.</p>
<p>Also, if you buy a touchscreen laptop, you may want one with a matte screen so that it doesn’t show fingerprints as badly. It’s also helpful for using your computer outside or in a brightly lit room.</p>
<p>Windows blue… I can only guess that the next xbox will be blue lol. But yea I knew about the new processor and lower prices.</p>
<p>On that topic, the next xbox may even have its OS based on Windows, along with the switch to an x86 platform. I’m not so sure about the next generation of consoles…</p>
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<p>What is your exact budget?</p>
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<p>This is what I did for most of college. $500 will get you a surprisingly powerful desktop if you build it yourself. The other $500 will get you a lowish end laptop. For $1000, you’ve bought a desktop that can last you a decade (more if you replace the graphics card, if you even use the graphics card) and a laptop that serves portability needs just fine. And since you have the desktop for heavy use, it’ll probably reduce wear and tear on the laptop and you’ll get more time out of that too. </p>
<p>Whereas the difference between a $500 laptop and a $1000 laptop is minor.</p>
<p>I always find those threads interesting. Here is a real life tally. I expect the Cupertino fanboys to come up with the typical excuses. </p>
<p>15 MacBookPro 2010 - Needed replacement in 2013 - trackpad, battery, and charger - Heavy use.
13 MacBookPro 2011 - Exactly the same issues. Average use </p>
<p>Free repairs offered at Apple store. NONE whatsoever. I understand the battery issues, but the trackpad and charger issues are plain ridiculous. So much for quality of build.</p>
<p>I use my 2008 MBP every day at work or on the road. Outside of the free battery replacement the hardware has been fine. I expect to us it for the next five years too. Of course all of our laptops back to 2000 still work. Maybe we’re really lucky or we just take reasonable care of our equipment.</p>
<p>@Dwight my budget is not going too much over $1000.</p>
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<p>Mom’s 2006 MBP only had replacements for overheating graphics chip common across all notebooks…including Windows ones using ati/nvidia graphics, battery, and 2 optical drive replacements because she burned well over 2000+ discs(DVDs of family events and CD mixes) within the first 2 years of heavy use. </p>
<p>Only servicing i performed a few weeks ago is to open it up to clean out 7 years worth of accumulated dust in the fan/intake areas. </p>
<p>Still working like a champ and she’s so happy with it she refuses any talk of my buying her a newer one.</p>
<p>Instead of getting a laptop that is larger than 15", what about a monitor & smaller laptop?
I’d wait till last minute then I would get a refurbished one.</p>