Never quite (completely) happy with my PC purchases...

[VirtualLarry]

I don't know if anyone else feels this way.

I buy lots of different stuff, because I'm never quite satisfied with the PC parts I have. But maybe that's because I mainly play in the budget-build pool.

But then again, if I bought a 5820K, X99, DDR4, I might not be satisfied either, but I would be out a lot more money.

Maybe I'm trying to be an early-adopter of "convergence" devices. I bought the MC 7" Winbook Win8.1 tablet, and promptly hooked it up to my 1080P monitor and wireless keyboard.

But, admittedly, it's kind of an awkward fit, to use a tablet with 1GB RAM and 16GB eMMC as a desktop.

I installed Linux Mint 17.1 on my Q9300 (now downclocked to stock, because it was freezing up), and that works, for the most part, but I ran into installer bugs, still don't have swap due to a known bug, and ran into issues with my AC1200 USB wireless adapters.

So that build allows me to do some DC, which I can't really do on the tablet, for fear of it overheating.

I have some N2830-based laptops too, that I purchased before the tablets. If I had known that tablets would be available a few months later for $60 instead of $230, and I could use them as desktops, I probably wouldn't have bought the laptops.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Just stop buying all the junk?

And you dont need LGA2011-3.

Why on earth would you run DC on a tablet? Or run DC at all, specially considering you wish to be "green". Tho you already used uncanny amount of energy on your throw away purchases.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I think you already analyzed the situation correctly in you second sentence.

BTW, I have been thinking of getting one of those cheap MC tablets, but I would only expect to use it for surfing the net and light use of excel. Do they have a decent camera and how is the wi-fi?

I have a POS android tablet, and the wi-fi and battery life are unbelievably bad.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Why on earth would you run DC on a tablet? Or run DC at all, specially considering you wish to be "green". Tho you already used uncanny amount of energy on your throw away purchases.

I'm not running DC on the tablet. They aren't set up for cooling that sort of sustained load.

As far as not running DC at all... I'm being more "green" running DC than not in the winter. Might as well make that electricity do some useful computations, rather than just going into resistive heating.

(I have electric heat here.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think you already analyzed the situation correctly in you second sentence.

BTW, I have been thinking of getting one of those cheap MC tablets, but I would only expect to use it for surfing the net and light use of excel. Do they have a decent camera and how is the wi-fi?

I have a POS android tablet, and the wi-fi and battery life are unbelievably bad.

The wifi is good, at least. The front camera isn't horrible. I haven't used the rear camera.

Should have picked up that iView 700-16G Android tablet at Newegg for $60. CloverTail, 2GB DDR2, 16GB eMMC. Decent battery life.

The MC tablet is half-decent as well, but QC can in some instances be lacking.

 

[videogames101]

idk man, just buy an i5 desktop, install windows, and be done?

seems like you're going out of you way to make things function outside of their intended domain

 

[Ketchup]

I don't know if I necessarily fall into that same 'not happy' category, but I will share my experiences. When I upgrade for myself, I usually end up wondering if I spent too much for the increase I received. It usually takes a while, doing this task or that, which makes me appreciate that purchase. I have two reasons for this:

#1. I am getting older. Building a computer is still a lot of fun, but not quite what it was 20 years ago. And it doesn't help that at the same time we are dealing with:

#2. Computers are getting faster much more slowly than they used to. Used to be if I could wait a whole year to upgrade a computer, I could tell a big difference. Now I can wait three years, and it's still much harder to tell. So it's a long wait, and expecting a bit more glamor than I actually receive.

 

[ninaholic37]

I recently bought a Thinkpad T42 for $40. Screen, Keyboard, Trackpad are in excellent condition. Downclocked to 600mhz, browses like a champ... awwww yeah. Feels sturdy enough to last me until 2020. After hearing stories like this I'm even more glad I didn't opt for something budget/new.

 

[Idontcare]

Buy mediocre stuff, get a mediocre experience.

At no point will you get what you didn't pay for, unless your parents or an overly charitable significant other is involved.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Buy a 4790K + 16GB of DDR3 + high quality Z97 board + nice AMD/NVIDIA GPU + great storage subsystem and I'd be shocked if you weren't satisfied.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Buy mediocre stuff, get a mediocre experience.

At no point will you get what you didn't pay for, unless your parents or an overly charitable significant other is involved.

When will I be able to buy a 7/8" tablet, with USB2/3, and (micro)HDMI-out, with a 2.0Ghz quad-core, 4GB of RAM, and at least 64GB (preferably 128GB) of fast flash storage, that can function as both a tablet, and a desktop (when "docked" with charging, USB, and HDMI cables). Oh, and it should cost under $120.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I buy lots of different stuff, because I'm never quite satisfied with the PC parts I have. But maybe that's because I mainly play in the budget-build pool.

Yeah, I think I mostly 2nd what IDC said. You're picking up devices that are chock-full of compromises, and then running sort of head-first into the compromises.

Compromises are fine. I'm happy that not every product on the market is MBP kind of expensive. But they're tautologically compromises

 

[futurefields]

Buy a 4790K + 16GB of DDR3 + high quality Z97 board + nice AMD/NVIDIA GPU + great storage subsystem and I'd be shocked if you weren't satisfied.

and then Windows Update fails, and the itch comes back...

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

For me, its about "I wanna know" how this thing runs. Just seems I have learned so much from being a PC enthusiast, I hope to never stop learning. I too could build a X99 but am not, I have spent to much before. Currently I am ex hailing my PC gatherings, the likes of which include some 40 or so GPU'S, about 10 motherboards, countless odd parts.

 

[Cerb]

When will I be able to buy a 7/8" tablet, with USB2/3, and (micro)HDMI-out, with a 2.0Ghz quad-core, 4GB of RAM, and at least 64GB (preferably 128GB) of fast flash storage, that can function as both a tablet, and a desktop (when "docked" with charging, USB, and HDMI cables). Oh, and it should cost under $120.

No time soon, given that you cannot get such a thing at any price today (granted, 1.9GHz base clocks are available for $1k+ ).

But, why not just forgo the new cheap PCs and toys* for a little while, and build a nice midrange desktop; or if you want IGP+DP, buy a used/refurb OEM one (quite a few big OEM business desktops have 2 DPs for the IGP to use, while even having 1 is rare for white box parts)? Or, do a bit of both with a Lenovo TS140 or TS440 from Computer Upgrade King, if you'll not need much or any GPU power.

* if it doesn't have an accurate digitizer, and a place to put the stylus, a tablet is a toy, IMO.

 

[Maxima1]

I have some N2830-based laptops too

And if I recall, you also had X amount of these and that... Why are you buying a bunch of crappy products?

 

[VirtualLarry]

And if I recall, you also had X amount of these and that... Why are you buying a bunch of crappy products?

Compromises, mainly, due to budget. I was planning on getting rid of my Q9300 desktops, and at the time, replacing them with laptops. Those laptops were affordable at the time, and they had somewhat adequate specs. (4GB / 500GB, but I would have preferred a Celeron 1007U to the N2830, TBH.)

But now that the $60 7" Win8.1 tablets became available, I decided that I wanted those as desktop replacements. They are more sluggish for web browsing, because they only have 1GB RAM, and Win8.1 takes nearly 700MB of that for itself. Commit charge hovers between 1.3-1.4GB, with maybe 4-5 tabs open. But interestingly enough, the tablets can play back 1080P YouTube without stuttering, whereas the N2830 laptops could not. Then again, the tablets have quad-core CPUs, which is pretty impressive for the form-factor.

Edit: Even if the tablet had 2GB of RAM, that would make it like 2x better for web browsing. I guess the Winbook 801 does have 2GB RAM, USB3.0, and 32GB eMMC. But it's $140. More than 2x the price of the TW700.

 

[Burpo]

Happy w/purchase=X58
So Happy, built one for the kid too!

 

[ctsoth]

Buy a 4790K + 16GB of DDR3 + high quality Z97 board + nice AMD/NVIDIA GPU + great storage subsystem and I'd be shocked if you weren't satisfied.

This guy knows what he's talking about....... I picked up a 4790k + mobo at microcenter yesterday, replacing my llano system. I am shocked by how fast this processor is. People who say you can't tell the difference between in processors while performing daily tasks or light usage are full of..

 

[escrow4]

I'm thinking of buying a $1500 Lenovo x240 . . . . . for ebooks. Only laptop on this planet that can crack 20hrs light usage with dual batteries. What? Its SO not excessive . . . . .

 

[ninaholic37]

I'm thinking of buying a $1500 Lenovo x240 . . . . . for ebooks. Only laptop on this planet that can crack 20hrs light usage with dual batteries. What? Its SO not excessive . . . . .

Wow, 10 USB ports? Oh wait, that just fan vents to keep the i5 cool.

 

[Soulkeeper]

you might need a new hobby Buying happiness thru pc hardware has gotten hard for me. I tend to buy tools or things I use outside anymore.

I try to avoid buying stuff by only wanting things that won't be released for a long time (Like an AMD desktop cpu as fast as ivy bridge).
Granted my system isn't the fastest, but if i'm truly honest it's "fast enough".

 

[MongGrel]

Happy w/purchase=X58
So Happy, built one for the kid too!

:sneaky:

 

[StinkyPinky]

No, I've never really disliked any of the pc I've build. They've always been reliable with acceptable performance. I never go budget though. I prefer to mid to upper tier as I believe that's the best price/performance ratio.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm thinking of buying a $1500 Lenovo x240 . . . . . for ebooks. Only laptop on this planet that can crack 20hrs light usage with dual batteries. What? Its SO not excessive . . . . .

Kindle PaperWhite?