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Going desktop-less?

halik

halik

Lifer
Hey guys,
has anyone jumped the ship to just having a laptop and a NAS for your computing needs? I haven't used my desktop in a couple of months and I'm thinking that one of the new macbook airs could actually replace the desktop entirely. Any thoughts?

Is should add I've got a decked out Mac Pro at work with 16gb ram, so hard computing stuff is only a vpn away.
 
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Heh, I almost went the other way - haven't used my laptop in ages...only did recently when my SSD RAID array got borked somehow and I used my laptop until I fixed it.
 
Not me, I've tried a few times in the past but I always go back to my desktop for main usage. Sold all my laptops now and just use an iPad when on the couch or traveling etc.

One day I'll go desktop-less but only when I don't have the space for an office.
 
I've tried it. I don't like how slow laptops are for even general usage at times. I just have multiple desktops now for different locations I am at.

Plus, with a desktop, I can build it to be virtually silent. My latest build is quiet as all hell.
 
Lean L said:
I've tried it. I don't like how slow laptops are for even general usage at times. I just have multiple desktops now for different locations I am at.

Plus, with a desktop, I can build it to be virtually silent. My latest build is quiet as all hell.
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You've never used an Air then. They are stupid fast for basic computing needs. The SSD response is just insane for application loading, clicking on things, navigating around ect. And in 8 months of use, I don't think I've ever heard the fan on mine.

It's a shame that the thunderbolt storage options are so criminally expensive. A thunderbolt display, MBA, and a couple TB NAS hooked up to it is almost the perfect combo.
 
vi edit said:
You've never used an Air then. They are stupid fast for basic computing needs. The SSD response is just insane for application loading, clicking on things, navigating around ect. And in 8 months of use, I don't think I've ever heard the fan on mine.

It's a shame that the thunderbolt storage options are so criminally expensive. A thunderbolt display, MBA, and a couple TB NAS hooked up to it is almost the perfect combo.
Click to expand...

Is there any diff between a tbolt display and a regular dvi one? My plan would be a 30in dell lcd and one of them dual link dvi adapters to drive it.
 
I haven't owned a desktop for maybe 6 years, have not missed it. Only flirted with getting one when I was looking at doing some work from home. I think once my laptop craps out in 1-2 years I'll switch to tablet.
 
halik said:
Is there any diff between a tbolt display and a regular dvi one? My plan would be a 30in dell lcd and one of them dual link dvi adapters to drive it.
Click to expand...

The tbolt display allows a bunch of other things to go over the tbolt bus - such as ethernet, usb, sound, etc..
 
When my laptop battery died and I realized I didn't care I went fully desktop. The old laptop is now behind a tv and is an htpc.
 
i would never get rid of desktops. i leave my computers on 24/7 and laptops just arent durable enough to do that. plus laptops are still noticeably slower that desktops and desktops have far better screen resolutions. i wish monitors were even higher than 1900x1000
 
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replaced my quad core rig a few months ago. have a laptop(few years ols 260m gtx, 4gb ram but through a quad core in it) and love it. i don't game near as much and i like having my laptop to travel with(gf lives 2+hours away) and being able to move around my place(bed, etc).

i do miss the power sometimes but don't regret it. do wish i had a 15" instead of 17" though.
 
The wife and I have done exactly this, we have our laptops and a 3tb NAS for backups and large file storage. We don't game and for any CPU intensive tasks (video encoding for me mostly) I can wait the extra time it takes to complete vs a desktop...99% of the time it's just web browsing, bill paying, etc so it would mostly depend on what you spend your time doing if it would work for you
 
That's one thing I'm noticing as I get older and more involved with the kids. My computing needs (wants?) have greatly dimished. I really don't do any major work and hardware punishing tasks on them anymore. I do a little encoding/ripping of kids movies to save wear and tear on disks, but that's fairly infrequently.

Everything else is just simple emails, web sites, bill pay, printing address labels for Christmas cards, ect.
 
If one is not gaming a laptop makes sense, the drawback is to stay current usually means total replacement.

Most that think laptops are too slow haven't experienced the latest top of the line hardware out there.
 
laptops are too slow for me.
Also in the house I would use an external monitor, keyboard, mouse for ergonomics, so why use a laptop for that?
 
No. Laptops are shit for gaming unless you pay more than the equivalent desktop. Plus I want something bigger than 17". I could hook up a bigger display, but then I may as well be using a desktop.

I have an old laptop (6+ years old) that serves for browsing email/internet in the bedroom.
 
alkemyst said:
If one is not gaming a laptop makes sense, the drawback is to stay current usually means total replacement.

Most that think laptops are too slow haven't experienced the latest top of the line hardware out there.
Click to expand...
For those who can go total laptop now and don't game there's little reason to "stay current" beyond maybe 2-3 years which is a decent life cycle for a laptop anyway, you're not trying to keep up with recent game titles needing better video etc...a good dual core laptop with SSD from today would hold you over quite nicely for general computing for at least the next 3 years I would think
 
have a laptop, tablet, & smartphone at home, but always go to my desktop to do anything meaningful. Gaming, web work, videos, forums. The other devices are just for convenience if I'm too lazy to get up, but it's always worth it going back to my desktop. Real keyboard/mouse is where it's at.
 
Not me though I did have a laptop once.
It destroyed itself twice from heat.
The first while under warranty , the second time for the same issue not so much.
 
I got away from gaming and it's now just this MBP(going on 5th year). For work stuff I just VPN in. Although I'm not hurting for disk space, even in this 146GB drive, I just save my pics on Picasa/ext hard drive. The only time I felt pain was when I tried to play SC2. Yeah, this MBP is 4+ yrs old and SC2 let me know it.
 
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