[Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
Hi guys! I realise I haven't posted anything on the list for ages, and that most of you will think that's a good thing. However, I need a little help... For a while now I have thought that my 2.4GHz P4 has been a little underpowered, and was considering replacing it with a big desktop rig. However, I now find myself reasoning thus: I am going to be doing more mobile computing, presentations etc. A laptop is more useful for mobile development (ie. at LUG Meets). A laptop is still going to be several times faster than my current desktop. Unfortunately, I don't have limitless money. Consequently, I'm after the best bang for my buck, and here's the problem. Having identified two laptops (below) which look good, and are a sensible price, how does one choose between them when all the information available (benchmarks and user reviews) seem to be either sketchy or very similar (and sometimes wildly different for no adequately explored reason). Therefore, if anyone has either of these laptops, could you run the Byte benchmark for me, over 1,2,3 and 4 copies? If not, does anyone have any general advice? Toshiba L750D-14F (AMD A6-3400, 6GB Ram) http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.215-7397.aspx ASUS K53SC-SX307V (Intel Core i5-2430, 4GB RAM) http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.213-9815.aspx Byte Unix Benchmark v5.1.3 http://code.google.com/p/byte-unixbench/ For reference, Byte records the following speed indexes for my current machines (overall results): Copies/Threads 1 2 3 4 TS7550 - ARM9 SBC 15.6 Pentium 4 - 2.4GHz 447.3 Intel Atom D525 (Server)389.7 637.7 698.0 770.1 Yes, that does mean that my server is quicker than my desktop on well-threaded tasks for about 1/3 of the power consumption (educated guess). The TS7550 is an intentionally low-power system, so the low result is not surprising. Any help would be much appreciated, Tim B. -- OpenPilot - Open-source Marine Chart Plotter openDynamics - Open-source Vessel Motions Calculation Lead Developer http://openpilot.sourceforge.net http://opendynamics.engineering.selfip.org -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
On Wednesday 11 January 2012 22:34:41 Peter B. wrote: As someone had to say it. Make your own 1 Sorry if that doesn't help but if it doesn't y did u try Linux? No need to be sarcy :-). If I was looking for a desktop, I'd definitely build it, but here I'm trying to use the mass market to provide reliability at a reasonable cost. The idea of building a laptop doesn't fill me with joy, more of a cold dread; but I could be over-reacting. I use Linux for the same reason. Well tested reliable systems. The question is which to go for. Tim B. -- OpenPilot - Open-source Marine Chart Plotter openDynamics - Open-source Vessel Motions Calculation Lead Developer http://openpilot.sourceforge.net http://opendynamics.engineering.selfip.org -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
My main point is to trigger the thing in your head that made u say - Linux is the way. Outsourcing is good sometimes. Maybe a rent-a-box and run it fRom home solution. could b the key for u. Then u can turn that box into Wat u need. do Wat the hello u like and if all goes pear u can ask 4 a reboot. If u need links :-) Sorry not mean to b saucy On Jan 11, 2012 10:43 PM, Tim Brocklehurst t...@engineering.selfip.org wrote: On Wednesday 11 January 2012 22:34:41 Peter B. wrote: As someone had to say it. Make your own 1 Sorry if that doesn't help but if it doesn't y did u try Linux? No need to be sarcy :-). If I was looking for a desktop, I'd definitely build it, but here I'm trying to use the mass market to provide reliability at a reasonable cost. The idea of building a laptop doesn't fill me with joy, more of a cold dread; but I could be over-reacting. I use Linux for the same reason. Well tested reliable systems. The question is which to go for. Tim B. -- OpenPilot - Open-source Marine Chart Plotter openDynamics - Open-source Vessel Motions Calculation Lead Developer http://openpilot.sourceforge.net http://opendynamics.engineering.selfip.org -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
My main point is to trigger the thing in your head that made u say - Linux is the way. Have you ever actually tried to build a laptop? DIY really isn't an option. Addressing your next paragraph is rather tricky; perhaps you'd like to give us old farts a break and try writing sentences? It does make comprehension easier. But I'll see if I can untangle your response... Outsourcing is good sometimes. Maybe a rent-a-box and run it fRom home solution. Outsource a laptop and run it from home? Rent a laptop? Where exactly do you expect to find such laptops for rent? Then u can turn that box into Wat u need. You've still overlooked the fact that getting hold of a laptop usually means buying a pre-packaged lump from a manufacturer. Whilst you *can* buy parts separately, they rarely go together... do Wat the hello u like and if all goes pear u can ask 4 a reboot. No, you've lost me there. I have no idea what you're trying to say. Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
On Wednesday 11 January 2012 22:54:50 Peter B. wrote: My main point is to trigger the thing in your head that made u say - Linux is the way. Outsourcing is good sometimes. Maybe a rent-a-box and run it fRom home solution. could b the key for u. Then u can turn that box into Wat u need. do Wat the hello u like and if all goes pear u can ask 4 a reboot. If u need links Thank you, I know what I'm doing; and I know why I use Linux, why I use Windows, and why (in laptops and embedded systems) I buy hardware that someone else has tested. There is no one true way, just the best option for the job you're doing; at least for me. Incidentally, this laptop will be dual-booted, as I will need the Win7 capability. I'm just wondering if anyone has any objective data on the aforementioned machines; or similar alternatives. Renting isn't going to be cost-effective over what I'd expect the life of the laptop to be. I will look for a new (home-built) desktop in a few years, but it won't replace the laptop (in the same way that the laptop will only retire the current PC to light duties, I'm not going to bin it). Cheers, Tim B. -- OpenPilot - Open-source Marine Chart Plotter openDynamics - Open-source Vessel Motions Calculation Lead Developer http://openpilot.sourceforge.net http://opendynamics.engineering.selfip.org -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help! I'm buying a laptop.
These days I don't think it makes much difference, for general computing, which you go for... unless you have something that needs a more beefy computer (like gaming, image/video editing). But either way it mostly depends on what you want out of it. I will say that one of the most important things when deciding is what manufacture made it ^^ but both Toshiba and ASUS I have found very reliable. Also, think carefully about fully replacing your desktop entirely :) both have a 15 screen, which can be quite small if your use to larger and the keyboard and mice can get annoying for intense use (though this is down to personal preference, its just something to make note of). Personally I like having a very powerful desktop (which are generally have a better cost to performance ratio and easier to upgrade) and a low spec'd laptop for when I cannot use my desktop (which is quite often). One hidden advantage of not relying on a laptop is that its not a huge loss (assuming its all back up properly) when it gets damaged/lost/stolen, which laptops have a tendency to do more often then desktops. And as for benchmarking, it highly depends on what you want to do as different computer will come out top on different benchmarks... I find they are only useful if your looking at a particular aspect (ie you want to know how good it is for doing X and only really X). Just for comparison, I have a ASUS 1018p 10 netbook [1] as my mobile computer, and find it is capable of doing just about everything I need it to when away from my desktop. This includes programming and compiling, even running the occasional virtual machine. The only think I found it lacking in is its graphical capability which is more then made up for by it being small, light-weight and having large battery life. But then this is what I generally want I want from a laptop. But what ever you decide to do, make sure its if from a trusted manufacture, can do what you need it to and you cannot really go wrong :) Michael Daffin. [1] http://uk.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1018P/ -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
