(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

Good heavens, this FiOS connection is even less predictable than I thought. This weekend, first it took about 2.5 hours. Then I tried for 3.5 before giving up; when I couldn't connect via Wii either, it turned out that the router needed a reset. And today it took maybe five minutes, the same as with our previous service.

My second call to Verizon (each time following my landlady's advice that I self-identity as her son to keep things simple) involved an employee who seemed more informed, but he reached the same basic conclusion: The problem is with my personal equipment. Specifically my network card. I could take the PC somewhere for maintenance, but I prefer to go ahead with my plan to buy a new computer.

The hard part is deciding which. After examining Mac prices and worrying about the compatibility of various files, I've rethought such a switch. That leaves me with various PC laptop models. Any advice from experience?

Comments

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

I've used Dell desktops for a while. They're somewhat overpriced, but I haven't had any catastrophic failures in the 15 years I've owned them. My personal experience with tech support has been OK.

I have a old Dell laptop at work and they seemed to have cut some corners there, mainly with a lower-than-possible screen resolution.

Right now I'm using a cheap Toshiba laptop for when I travel. It's worth what I paid for it, but I don't know if their high-end models are worth the money.

[makovette.livejournal.com]

A budget $ for how much/little you're open to investing in a new laptop would be helpful to make a sound recommendation.

There are some really excellent choices out there, but they require some digging.

Mako

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

I've saved enough that price isn't a big concern for me, especially when I rule out Macs. Just know that I intend to use it for artistic purposes more than anything, namely scanning my drawings, prettying them up, and putting them online. And hopefully I'll get back into Adobe Flash Professional with it. (My present PC tends to crash with Flash.) Games and streaming movies are not my concern; I have the Wii for those.

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Ok last Q, then I dive into the deep end of the research pool:

Do you need a 17" screen or would a far more portable screen in the 14-15" size do?

This is really a backwards way of asking if you have a 24" or better monitor to plug it into should you need to Go Large for content creation work.

Mako

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

After a long talk with my mom, my considerations have broadened rather than narrowed. I may yet get a Mac. I haven't even ruled out another desktop. I'll go to a store this weekend for more information.

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Understood. I maintain you will get far more value out of a PC than a Mac. Roomate here returned his MacBook Pro Retina as it was just not a very good machine. It runs hot and the retina display causes the fonts, images and web content to be far too small for hard grind use (he does video and is an iPhone developer.

Pretty much you can spend 75% on a speedy and capable laptop + 24" or larger monitor on what you'd spend on a Mac and have a hell of a lot more capable setup.

Desktops are not nearly as useful as they once were, as laptops equal the CPU, Memory and Video capabilities of all but the upper tier of gamer desktops.

I have two desktops, one as a server the other as a geek sandbox to play in. All my real stuff is done on an ASUS laptop now, as WiFi means I can be anywhere in house and Do Stuff.

http://www.caspeed.com/lj12/geek-cave1.jpg

CYa!
Mako

PS: I've taken the liberty of adding you to my friends list. If this a bad thing, please let me know.

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Well let's go with this as a line in sand (note it's only available in stores):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alienware+-+14%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive+%2B+32GB+Solid+State+Drive+-+Stealth+Black/5856387.p;jsessionid=16CC386B06D71753A044BC13481F930A.bbolsp-app04-45?id=1218697201911&skuId=5856387&st=m14x%20r2&cp=1&lp=1

This machine can easily handle anything you need to handle.

You boot off the SSD (fast!), install all your programs and other interesting Stuff on the hard drive. It's trivial to install a larger SSD at a later date if you wish.

Key points are CPU, memory and key point: nVidia graphics.

CYa!
Mako