Laptop advice

[Sabres Fan in NS]

The number of old people who don't know much about programming/IT stuff is by no means a little loop :nana:

 

I object to this elder abuse!!

 

Besides, 11 isn't even that old.

[TrueBlueGED]

I object to this elder abuse!!

 

Besides, 11 isn't even that old.

 

I apologize for the further abuse, but all I'm picturing now is you and 11 as the Mandelbaums.

[ubkev]

I object to this elder abuse!!

 

Besides, 11 isn't even that old.

Don't let him get to you, NS. I'm 30 and I can barely turn my computer on.

[LGR4GM]

So I am thinking about getting a Microsoft Surface. I am looking at the Surface Pro 3 and the Regular Surface 3

Surface 3

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.314885500#buy-product

 

Surface Pro 3

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Refurbished-Surface-Pro-3/productID.326105600

 

I don't really understand the differences with computers. I know that the i3, i5 and i7 are different processors and the i5 and i7 are better/faster. I also understand that I am going to want to upgrade to the 128GB storage with 4GB RAM. The Surface has a Quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor and the Surface PRO has a Intel i5 version with a Solid state drive (SSD). The price difference is 550 for the Surface3 and 800 for a REFURBISHED surface PRO3.

 

Is it worth spending 250 more for the Surface Pro3 or will the Surface3 be good enough?

[WildCard]

So I am thinking about getting a Microsoft Surface. I am looking at the Surface Pro 3 and the Regular Surface 3

Surface 3

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.314885500#buy-product

 

Surface Pro 3

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Refurbished-Surface-Pro-3/productID.326105600

 

I don't really understand the differences with computers. I know that the i3, i5 and i7 are different processors and the i5 and i7 are better/faster. I also understand that I am going to want to upgrade to the 128GB storage with 4GB RAM. The Surface has a Quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor and the Surface PRO has a Intel i5 version with a Solid state drive (SSD). The price difference is 550 for the Surface3 and 800 for a REFURBISHED surface PRO3.

 

Is it worth spending 250 more for the Surface Pro3 or will the Surface3 be good enough?

You can't upgrade either, I believe they're soldered onto the board. 

 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro-surfgetstart/is-it-possible-to-replace-the-64gb-or-128gb-ssd/2b66b8b3-ad6c-4ff2-bece-f54f34a926e1

 

Get a laptop is my advice. You can find touch screens, for cheaper, and upgrade them. 

[MattPie]

The Surface/Surface Pro is a pretty cool piece of tech, but as Wildcard points out you're essentially locked into what you buy. No upgrades, I'm not even sure you could install a different OS is that's your thing. You're paying a premium for thin and light as well, since a similar spec 2-in-1 laptop will be cheaper. It's all about what your priorities are. To answer the question, an Atom Surface will be fine if you're looking for a very portable device to do the basics on for the next few years. If you have more-than basics in mind (games, photoshop, etc. etc.) or plan to use it as your primary system for more than a few years, it may struggle.

[LGR4GM]

But I am not going to upgrade my device. I don't have the technical knowledge or time to do that. I want something portable that I can use for the next 3-4 years that will run Microsoft office.

[WildCard]

But I am not going to upgrade my device. I don't have the technical knowledge or time to do that. I want something portable that I can use for the next 3-4 years that will run Microsoft office.

Then get the cheaper option if all you're doing is using the web and Office. There are a lot if websites where you can compare processors

[LGR4GM]

Then get the cheaper option if all you're doing is using the web and Office. There are a lot if websites where you can compare processors

But is there some other option I should consider? portability is important to me but I don't want to have to spend hours setting it up or anything.  I know just enough about computers to be dangerous to myself.

[MattPie]

But I am not going to upgrade my device. I don't have the technical knowledge or time to do that. I want something portable that I can use for the next 3-4 years that will run Microsoft office.

 

So essentially, you need to decide how portable you want to be, and how much you plan on using the keyboard vs tablet mode. One thing to watch out for with the surface is the price doesn't include the snap-in keyboard. Amazon has that item at $125, the tablet at $450. For similar money, you could buy a Core i5 8GB 13.3" 2-in-1 (where the keyboard folds back to make a fairly large and heavy tablet), same full-HD screen, and a larger but spinning storage (that's probably a wash). i can't make that decision for you, if you truly see yourself being very mobile and not using the keyboard very often, the Surface probably wins. I don't find a 13.3" laptop to be very un-portable and I'd much rather use a keyboard 90% of the time, so that'd be my choice for that price range. Actually, it was my choice (if you don't mind a refurb). As far as I can tell, this is the model I have at home and it comes in almost exactly the same price as the Surface + keyboard.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-7000-Touchscreen-Refurbished/dp/B015MA2E3S/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1459878486&sr=1-8&keywords=dell+inspiron+13+7000

 

Choose! :)

[WildCard]

But is there some other option I should consider? portability is important to me but I don't want to have to spend hours setting it up or anything. I know just enough about computers to be dangerous to myself.

It all depends on what you want. I need speed and space, so I targeted that. Portability isn't a factor to me at all, so mine is a little heavier. Personally, I think Surfaces are expensive for what they are. But again, I don't like touch screens, and portability isn't an issue. Also, if all you're storing is Office docs, space isn't an issue for you at all; they're only tens of KB each. If you want music, and videos, well you'll need space. 

 

 

I think MattPie has it right, go with the 2-1 if you want portability.

So essentially, you need to decide how portable you want to be, and how much you plan on using the keyboard vs tablet mode. One thing to watch out for with the surface is the price doesn't include the snap-in keyboard. Amazon has that item at $125, the tablet at $450. For similar money, you could buy a Core i5 8GB 13.3" 2-in-1 (where the keyboard folds back to make a fairly large and heavy tablet), same full-HD screen, and a larger but spinning storage (that's probably a wash). i can't make that decision for you, if you truly see yourself being very mobile and not using the keyboard very often, the Surface probably wins. I don't find a 13.3" laptop to be very un-portable and I'd much rather use a keyboard 90% of the time, so that'd be my choice for that price range. Actually, it was my choice (if you don't mind a refurb). As far as I can tell, this is the model I have at home and it comes in almost exactly the same price as the Surface + keyboard.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-7000-Touchscreen-Refurbished/dp/B015MA2E3S/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1459878486&sr=1-8&keywords=dell+inspiron+13+7000

 

Choose! :)

500GB SSD, very nice.

Edited April 5, 2016 by WildCard

[LGR4GM]

hmmm that might be a better option then

What does a 500GB SSD hybrid do that makes it so awesome?

[MattPie]

It all depends on what you want. I need speed and space, so I targeted that. Portability isn't a factor to me at all, so mine is a little heavier. Personally, I think Surfaces are expensive for what they are. But again, I don't like touch screens, and portability isn't an issue

 

 

I think MattPie has it right, go with the 2-1 if you want portability.

500GB SSD, very nice.

 

Not SSD, spinning rust storage on that one. At some point I'll upgrade; it does feel like it's holding it back a bit compared to my very-similar-but-SSD-equiped work laptop.

[TrueBlueGED]

I can't imagine doing serious Office work without a physical keyboard.

 

 

hmmm that might be a better option then

What does a 500GB SSD hybrid do that makes it so awesome?

 

They're mostly marketing. It's a regular spindle drive that has some small amount of on-board flash memory that functions mostly as cache to speed some things up, but it's still much much closer to a regular drive in speed than a true SSD.

[WildCard]

hmmm that might be a better option then

What does a 500GB SSD hybrid do that makes it so awesome?

Solid State Drive. HDD use magnetic disks to r/w memory. SSD use flash memory. So it's much, much faster. It's more expensive, and has less space though. I believe you can buy an external drive for storage though

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404258,00.asp

 

Edit: Didn't see 'hybrid'

Not SSD, spinning rust storage on that one. At some point I'll upgrade; it does feel like it's holding it back a bit compared to my very-similar-but-SSD-equiped work laptop.

It says SSD right on it though? 

 

 

Edit: Didn't see 'hybrid'

Edited April 5, 2016 by WildCard

[LGR4GM]

The one he links to says this:

"500GB 5400 rpm SATA Hybrid Hard Drive with 8GB Cache"

[Weave]

I can't imagine doing serious Office work without a physical keyboard.

 

 

 

this.

[LGR4GM]

You can buy a physical keyboard so that's not much of a negative

[LGR4GM]

so would it be worth it to spend 50$ more to go from a 500gb hard drive to a 128gb solid state drive?

[Drunkard]

so would it be worth it to spend 50$ more to go from a 500gb hard drive to a 128gb solid state drive?

 

It's really a matter of speed vs size. Solid state drives are faster but you are spending $50 more for a hard drive that's 1/4 the size. If you value speed over storage space it's worth it and if you value storage space or the extra cash it isn't.

[LGR4GM]

It's really a matter of speed vs size. Solid state drives are faster but you are spending $50 more for a hard drive that's 1/4 the size. If you value speed over storage space it's worth it and if you value storage space or the extra cash it isn't.

I feel like I can always get a flash drive or an external hard drive later if I run out of space. I am not one for keeping a lot of music or movies on my computer. Would 128gb be enough for a general computer user?

[nfreeman]

Speaking of the Surface:  I just pulled the trigger on a Surface Pro 3.  I should be receiving it tomorrow.  I'm pretty psyched -- a friend of mine has one and loves it.

 

My primary needs are (i) having a tablet to use around the house for email, internet, netflix, etc. and (ii) having the tablet "flex" into a laptop when I travel and want to work while traveling (which is pretty frequently during the summer).  I wanted a Windows product because my work system is 100% windows-based, and my understanding is that the Surface will integrate very well with my work system.

 

I sprung for the i7 CPU, which comes with 8 GB of RAM, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll get 3-5 years out of it before it ages out.

 

I saved a good bit of cash by getting it on ebay, which carries its own special set of risks.  I've had good luck buying tablets and laptops on ebay previously, so I'm not that concerned, but of course anything can happen.

 

I'll report back once I've gotten it set up.

[Taro T]

I feel like I can always get a flash drive or an external hard drive later if I run out of space. I am not one for keeping a lot of music or movies on my computer. Would 128gb be enough for a general computer user?

You'd probably be ok. But you might want to check how big you current Program Files, Program Files (x86), & Windows folders are total. (Running Windows 7, those 3 take up ~50GB on my machine.)

 

I've got an ~240GB SSD drive on a computer that I primarily use for video editing & that is a good size for that function. (It's actually ideal for it.) If you aren't going to be storing a lot on the computer, the ~128GB will probably suffice.

[TrueBlueGED]

I feel like I can always get a flash drive or an external hard drive later if I run out of space. I am not one for keeping a lot of music or movies on my computer. Would 128gb be enough for a general computer user?

 

Yea you should be fine. And if not, like you said, there are plenty of other options for storage. Personally, I wouldn't buy a computer without an SSD unless I absolutely couldn't swing it & an external drive or flash drive financially. They're completely worth it.

[LGR4GM]

hmm okay, thank you.