Already there.
1. 104-key is in my muscle memory and i'm much more efficient.
2. Laptop plus keyboard plus power supply = desktop.
3. By being flexible, I can use only secondhand hardware.
I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
111–120 of 693 posts
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#112My main concern with desktops is that they’re much less power efficient than laptops, and therefore create a lot more heat in my office. Something like a Mac cheese grater is probably more power efficient than my custom built PC, but you lose a lot of the value going with a prebuilt system.
Not necessarily more power efficient. Modern desktop systems have quite good power management features.
Depending on the workload, a device that consumes a lot of power but also goes into an idle state much faster could actually use less overall power.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#113I prefer a desktop because: 1. I like big, big monitors. 2. I prefer a full size keyboard. 3. I prefer a separate mouse. 4. I prefer big freaking disk drives installed. 5. I put the desktop under my desk, and with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, there is much less of a snarl on my desk. 6. The desktop has an optical drive I still use. 7. The desktop has lots of USB ports and they're all in use. 8. I can repla…
Right away I will say that I do use desktops and in general would prefer because of the absolute power. However my laptops are gaming grade and most of the time I use one of those as a desktop. And this is how it goes again your list: 1) I have 2 "big big" 4K monitors hooked up to my laptop so no problems here. The laptop's monitor is not used as the lid is closed. 2/3) I use external keyboard and mouse. No problems…
I didn't know that a modern laptop could drive 2 4K monitors. This is good news.
BTW, it sounds to me that your laptop setup is indistinguishable from a desktop, and your setup is even less portable than a desktop, so why not go the cheap desktop route?
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#114I agree with the point that modern devices like smartphones ad tables aren't a PC replacement. But having to buy a pre-2012 laptop just to be able to install a Linux distro is false: nowadays mayor distros support secure boot and if this isn't the case of your distro or it complicates the install process you can easily disable it in most of the cases. Actually I was unaware of the existence of motherboards preventing you form disabling secure boot before reading this article. AFAIK the only laptops where you could actually have problems installing Linux are MacBooks due to a security chip (it's called T9? But also I'm not informed about MacBooks so maybe there's a way around), on all others you shouldn't encounter actual roadblocks, in the worst case scenario you could have some minor hw incompatibility.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#115The subtext of the article seems to be the loss of "freedom to tinker" and the loss of control over your gadgets - both valid. Personally, I find the NUC a nice hybrid that is portable and modular enough to keep my inner nerd satisfied :). It currently sits under the TV and runs a Plex server.
In addition, as a father of an inquisitive 6 year old, I find the PC a tad better for the following reasons:
- Ability to show the internals (from a few feet away!) thereby spawning curiosity on the possibilities of technology
- His coursework can be seen on TV and ensuring that TV is not merely entertainment
- "Certified" media for him to consume (we don't have youtube installed in any of our devices so I use youtube-dl to download astronomy stuff for him)
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#116I prefer a desktop because: 1. I like big, big monitors. 2. I prefer a full size keyboard. 3. I prefer a separate mouse. 4. I prefer big freaking disk drives installed. 5. I put the desktop under my desk, and with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, there is much less of a snarl on my desk. 6. The desktop has an optical drive I still use. 7. The desktop has lots of USB ports and they're all in use. 8. I can repla…
> 1. I like big, big monitors. 2. I prefer a full size keyboard. 3. I prefer a separate mouse. You can have these with a laptop too. At home I use my laptop with an external screen, keyboard, mouse (the latter two are wireless), because it's much more comfortable.
That just sounds like a desktop with extra steps.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#117I've been thinking along similar lines, especially now that - with WFH likely to be the norm for the foreseeable future - my need for a portable computer is much diminished. I could get a lot more bang for my buck and build a system that was specced exactly the way I want.
The rub for me is that I really dislike Windows. I use it for work - I have to - but it's not an OS I'd choose for myself[0]. I like OSX but the problem there is that, unless you go down the Hackintosh route (which soon I suspect won't really be a viable option anyway with the move to ARM), you have to buy preconfigured Apple hardware.
And then there's desktop Linux, which fills me with dread simply because I've not had great experiences in the past. Moreover, some key software that I need simply won't run on it. Notably Ableton Live. (I know Linux-compatible DAWs exist, but I really like Live and don't want to have to give it up.)
A decade ago, for me, buying a Mac was unequivocally the best option. Now that's perhaps no longer the case and, worse, there aren't any other great options that I can see. I'd be glad to be proven wrong though.
EDIT: Actually, maybe what I could do is dual-boot Windows and Linux. Use Linux for software development and most everything else (even Office 365 will run on Linux under Wine nowadays, apparently), then use Windows for Ableton Live and games. With UEFI it might not be the worst thing in the world to set up and maintain either.
[0] The main beef I have with Windows is that it just doesn't get out of the damn way. It really wants you to know it's there, from the dreadful multi-DPI multi-monitor support[1], gimpily inconsistent UI, the shitty 10 second dance all your desktops and windows do when you plug in another monitor[2], and crappy update mechanism, to the driver issues, WiFi connectivity issues, ropey audio support, instability and blue screens. And there's always, always, ALWAYS some random thing or other sucking CPU and running the fans. Don't get me wrong: every problem that bothers me on Windows also bothers me on OSX. It's just that on Windows these problems bother me several times per day, whereas on OSX I'm bothered by one of these issues maybe once a month. The upgrade to Catalina was initially painful and enraging but after the first couple of weeks, having upgraded everything, all was well again and remained so.
[1] Granted, likely to be less of an issue with a desktop system where you're likely to purchase monitors with identical DPIs and resolutions.
[2] Also less likely to be an issue with a desktop system, unless you need to use a KVM so you can share your desktop displays with your work laptop.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#118From the article: "What worries me as much as the end of general-purpose computing for the masses is that so few seem to understand that it is ending." Correction: Has Ended. The vast majority of people using computers has shifted to phones and tablets. I have a friend who's a millenial who barely knows how to use his desktop PC (It's a Mac) but is fluent on his iPad/iPhone. Most people are not content creators, they…
You can easily disable W10 telemetry and all the other nonsense they put in it.
And they turn it on after updates or ignore the setting or nag you every day to turn it back on. Every time I boot back in to windows I get a full screen message about tying my account to an online one.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#119From the article: "What worries me as much as the end of general-purpose computing for the masses is that so few seem to understand that it is ending." Correction: Has Ended. The vast majority of people using computers has shifted to phones and tablets. I have a friend who's a millenial who barely knows how to use his desktop PC (It's a Mac) but is fluent on his iPad/iPhone. Most people are not content creators, they…
Android is still general purpose. I have Termux if I need to compile and run something. I can sideload APKs. I run Windows on desktop for newer games, but quite a few work on my Ubuntu laptop too.
Only if you root. General purpose computers can run alternative OSs.
Re: I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers
#120I would like a pc that would be silent, small and would actually look good. Most cases have "gamer" or "office" aesthetic, neither of which I like. I think the only decent looking is Streacom DB4: https://streacom.com/products/db4-fanless-chassis/
r/sffpc might be up your alley