- Joined
- Oct 28, 2001
- Location
- Columbia, SC 29063
So, does anyone use their notebook as their main system? Tell us why and how you like it.
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Notebook as main computer?
- Thread starter S_Wilson
- Start date
- Joined
- May 3, 2003
I actually use my netbook (Eee pc 701) as my main machine. I do a lot of photoshop work on it (ctrl-+ is my best friend) as well as some video encoding (slow but gets the job done) every now and then. Mostly I just do my online jobs and surf the web anymore so I don't really need a bunch of Ghz.
OP
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2001
- Location
- Columbia, SC 29063
- Thread Starter
- #3
Wow, that's pretty hardcore doing photoshop and encoding on that.
Something I would never attempt. 
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2003
- Location
- Frederick, MD
Yes, I have for the last few years. Works fine and it's portable. Plus when I bought this thing, it was faster than my desktop. I have a T7400 (C2D @ 2.16ghz) in my primary laptop and a 1.8ghz C2D in my second laptop iirc. I've been looking at netbooks as was wondering how if photoshop would work on one; I guess Taz answered that question!
I have used my iBook G4 as my main system for a few years now. If I'm at home I browse the net on my server because its sitting at my desk, but most of the time its just crunching rosetta@home and serving up media files. Pretty much all "real" work I do on my iBook. It has been a good computer, and the portability is the main reason it is my main system.
I just bought a 16" MSI a few weeks ago, once I get Win7 loaded it may become my main system just because its faster and has a BD-ROM drive. But, maybe it won't. From a build quality standpoint it is inferior to my five year old iBook, and the battery life is nowhere near as good (two-and-a-half hours tops compared to three-to-four hours on the iBook). Either way, a laptop will be my main system. Gotta have that portability.
Netbooks don't interest me, other then modding one to be a hackintosh, and it would have to at least include a dual-core Atom, which I haven't seen in any of the netbooks under what I would be willing to pay for one ($300 tops, no more).
I just bought a 16" MSI a few weeks ago, once I get Win7 loaded it may become my main system just because its faster and has a BD-ROM drive. But, maybe it won't. From a build quality standpoint it is inferior to my five year old iBook, and the battery life is nowhere near as good (two-and-a-half hours tops compared to three-to-four hours on the iBook). Either way, a laptop will be my main system. Gotta have that portability.
Netbooks don't interest me, other then modding one to be a hackintosh, and it would have to at least include a dual-core Atom, which I haven't seen in any of the netbooks under what I would be willing to pay for one ($300 tops, no more).
I've been using my Thinkpad as my main machine for a few months now. Most of my time is spent doing office work (Office suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Quickbooks) and in my free time I usually browse the internet and watch movies. The x200 is more than capable for all of those things (the onboard can play HD movies well too) and having a good SSD means I rarely feel like I'm on an underpowered machine. I have 2209WAs both at work and at home so it's usually hooked up to one of those and I don't have to use the laptop screen too often, but when I do 12" @ 1280x800 is a pretty sweet spot for most things. And, the portability is a big plus with about 3-4 hours and 3lbs on my 4-cell, and 8-9 hours and 3.7lbs when travelling with my 9-cell.
The one thing I do that my laptop can't do is game, but since I only have time for that on the weekends my file server can be used as a gaming machine for those days.
The one thing I do that my laptop can't do is game, but since I only have time for that on the weekends my file server can be used as a gaming machine for those days.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2002
My tablet pretty much is my main system for most things like office and light graphics work. I draw on it and edit pictures, catalog them ect. hell, i can even play ut and stuff on it heh.
I use my desktop for the odd game, and archiving. otherwise, it belongs to the wife.
used to be all into ocing and building killer rigs, then i baught a car and got a girlie he he. laptop is more than enough.
I use my desktop for the odd game, and archiving. otherwise, it belongs to the wife.
used to be all into ocing and building killer rigs, then i baught a car and got a girlie he he. laptop is more than enough.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2001
- Location
- Corona, CA
Unless you game, any quality notebook can be your main system. Decent Core 2 Duo, 4GBs of ram, Intel SDD 80GB for OS and a 2.5 500GB External for storage and you have a system that can match most any desktops.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2008
I have an Gateway MP8708
17 Inch
T7200
1.5GB RAM
It does pretty much what I need it to do. And I got this laptop for $200 or so im quite happy with it. I sold my desktop after I got this thing, the pros on a laptop serving as a desktop is ofcourse as everyone knows it, its more portable. And what I hate the most is the battery aging process. So I keep the thing plugged in most of the time unless I really need to take it out of the house or move it somewhere. Since the laptop is 17 inch widescreen, I decided not to buy a screen. But I have to admit, I miss my desktop. I could actually play games at an affordable build, as gaming laptops will empty my wallet!
17 Inch
T7200
1.5GB RAM
It does pretty much what I need it to do. And I got this laptop for $200 or so im quite happy with it. I sold my desktop after I got this thing, the pros on a laptop serving as a desktop is ofcourse as everyone knows it, its more portable. And what I hate the most is the battery aging process. So I keep the thing plugged in most of the time unless I really need to take it out of the house or move it somewhere. Since the laptop is 17 inch widescreen, I decided not to buy a screen. But I have to admit, I miss my desktop. I could actually play games at an affordable build, as gaming laptops will empty my wallet!
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2009
- Location
- Washington
Hmm... I've been using my laptop as my main for the past 3 1/2 years... I can't play the best games maxed on it... but I can still play them decently... but going to start building a pc this coming summer(may/june), Reason i've used this as my main was cause I was in the marines... and wasn't in the same place very long and didn't have a place to plug up a tower in iraq and such... but oh well it works ah I do still have a tower at my parents house lol
ah I do still have a tower at my parents house lol
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2002
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
at work, i have a laptop for my primary computer. it is a typical core 2 duo 2 ghz with 2 gb of ram. i am on call fairly frequently so it is a necessity. i have a docking station at work and one at home so i can work from either place. my job is one of those that requires that i work no matter what the weather is so i have to work from home sometimes. i am pretty used to working on a laptop since i have an extra monitor at both locations as well as a keyboard and mouse.
my actual workstation that i use when i am not working is a dell inspiron 9100 (p4 2.6 ghz, 2 gb of ram) which is technically a laptop but it is desktop replacement. right now, the screen is broken and it has been for the past 3-4 years. i actually finally ordered a new screen to finally fix it hopefully i can start using it around the house again once i get a new battery as well so it will return to laptop function instead of just basically being a desktop.
pros: lightweight, energy friendly, quiet, portable, acts as its own UPS
cons: not as wide of upgrade possibilities, smaller screen when using laptop only
my actual workstation that i use when i am not working is a dell inspiron 9100 (p4 2.6 ghz, 2 gb of ram) which is technically a laptop but it is desktop replacement. right now, the screen is broken and it has been for the past 3-4 years. i actually finally ordered a new screen to finally fix it
hopefully i can start using it around the house again once i get a new battery as well so it will return to laptop function instead of just basically being a desktop.pros: lightweight, energy friendly, quiet, portable, acts as its own UPS
cons: not as wide of upgrade possibilities, smaller screen when using laptop only
I sold one of my desktops and bought a Lenovo G530 on sale for $330. I don't game (I've been clean for four years) so it does everything I need it to for college and I love the portability. I don't need a flashy laptop (I'm a minimalist), and I also used the price difference to buy other goodies.
OP
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2001
- Location
- Columbia, SC 29063
- Thread Starter
- #13
So this is more widespread at OCF than I thought.
I've been bouncing back and forth between desktop and notebooks for the last 1 1/2 years because it has been kind of hard to find a notebook that suits my picky tastes.
There are many reasons I want to use a notebook over a desktop and mbently's pro list hit pretty close. My two primary motivations are that I like saving energy and money but also when it comes interstate moving, which we tend to do from time to time, there will be less to pack and load with all the desktops gone.
I've been bouncing back and forth between desktop and notebooks for the last 1 1/2 years because it has been kind of hard to find a notebook that suits my picky tastes.
There are many reasons I want to use a notebook over a desktop and mbently's pro list hit pretty close. My two primary motivations are that I like saving energy and money but also when it comes interstate moving, which we tend to do from time to time, there will be less to pack and load with all the desktops gone.
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2003
i had a dell inspiron 9100 laptop, Intel Pressy 3Ghz,1.5Gh of ram and a60G 7200RPM hd i used as my main work rig for about 3 years, i loved it, 15' 1920 x 1200 res screen, ws great!
OP
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2001
- Location
- Columbia, SC 29063
- Thread Starter
- #15
Man, 1920 x 1200 on a 15" screen, I don't know how you guys handle those. I did that res on a 17" for a while and couldn't deal with it, lol. 1680 x 1050 at 17" works ok but for a 15" it would have to be around 1440 x 900. Guess my eyes are getting to old.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2003
- Location
- Frederick, MD
When you move between different locations frequently, laptops quickly become your machine of choice. I'm always going between school, home, work, and other universities. I also use my laptop to take notes and distract me in boring classesSo this is more widespread at OCF than I thought.
I've been bouncing back and forth between desktop and notebooks for the last 1 1/2 years because it has been kind of hard to find a notebook that suits my picky tastes.
There are many reasons I want to use a notebook over a desktop and mbently's pro list hit pretty close. My two primary motivations are that I like saving energy and money but also when it comes interstate moving, which we tend to do from time to time, there will be less to pack and load with all the desktops gone.
- Joined
- May 8, 2004
Slap a SSD in there, and have fun . If you really need heavy-handed CPU power, then I might consider a desktop Quad for the heavy lifting and a cheap C2D for your Laptop.
Keep in mind that "Desktop Replacement" laptops will have poor battery life, aren't exactly light, cost a lot, and are generally outperformed by a cheap desktop.
Whatever you choose - BACKUP YOUR DATA! It seems that lots of people with Laptops never backup their data (likely the case across the board ). This is more important with a laptop as they see more physical stress, generally run hotter, AND you have a HUGE chance of loosing the entire machine (or stolen, whatever). Back up that data, peeps
. If you really need heavy-handed CPU power, then I might consider a desktop Quad for the heavy lifting and a cheap C2D for your Laptop.Keep in mind that "Desktop Replacement" laptops will have poor battery life, aren't exactly light, cost a lot, and are generally outperformed by a cheap desktop.
Whatever you choose - BACKUP YOUR DATA! It seems that lots of people with Laptops never backup their data (likely the case across the board
). This is more important with a laptop as they see more physical stress, generally run hotter, AND you have a HUGE chance of loosing the entire machine (or stolen, whatever). Back up that data, peeps 
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
- Location
- Brandon Mississippi
I can use my Netbook as my main machine for a while, but not permanately. I have to have my 19inch of goodness to really be comfortable, but it's not that hard to get adjusted to my Netbook's screen (10.2inch). I spend the weekend away from the house a lot, so it sees a lot of work there (remote managing server, photoshop, light video editing, youtube, one or two small games, ect)
Oh, and WoW, i HAD to put WoW on a 16gig flash drive so i could carry it around with me. Pushes that little Atom up to 90% load, but even so, i can run that game for about an hour on it and still have 20% battery left. Fan gets loud though :/
Oh, and WoW, i HAD to put WoW on a 16gig flash drive so i could carry it around with me. Pushes that little Atom up to 90% load, but even so, i can run that game for about an hour on it and still have 20% battery left. Fan gets loud though :/
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2009
- Location
- Washington
haha I use 1650x1050 on a 17"
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2003
Man, 1920 x 1200 on a 15" screen, I don't know how you guys handle those. I did that res on a 17" for a while and couldn't deal with it, lol. 1680 x 1050 at 17" works ok but for a 15" it would have to be around 1440 x 900. Guess my eyes are getting to old.
i loved it, could have so many windows open!
