Desktop or Laptop

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tshuck

Joined Oct 18, 2012
3,534
Dual screens are a blessing. They will rock your world! I'm never going back to single screen for my desktop.
Yeah, we use two monitors at work and it makes things so much better. I have a little, old 15" monitor I've been using, but I'd like to get two 22" monitors, but that's another thing entirely. :p
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
I passed on the laptop for home and went with a tablet + desktop. A bit more money (not much) but the best of both worlds.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
+1 on the dual monitors. I just got a second monitor for my PC, so I now have 2 1/2 monitors at my workstation. The 1/2 monitor is my laptop; I'm using Input Director so I can control the cursor and typing on my laptop with my desktop keyboard and mouse. It's an incredible improvement.

Matt
 

Brownout

Joined Jan 10, 2012
2,390
I passed on the laptop for home and went with a tablet + desktop. A bit more money (not much) but the best of both worlds.
I finally joined the tablet revolution. It's a nice appliance to have, but I don't see much use beyone entertainment and browsing.

I think it would be a terrific controller for my UP projects, but lacking a USB port messes that up.
 

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
Four monitors is a BLESSING. :D
I remember betting Jens to beat him in multimonitors. When u got a 28", 27" and two 22", u decide what I got. :)

two is just too old school.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
Four monitors is a BLESSING. :D
I remember betting Jens to beat him in multimonitors. When u got a 28", 27" and two 22", u decide what I got. :)

two is just too old school.
I would only consider getting more monitors if I absolutely needed them. At the moment I don't feel the need to have more than two, but I expect once I get back to my software development job, I'll consider getting a third, or even fourth. Two was not enough for that job.
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
My 17 inch laptop has a full keyboard ... my grandson's first computer was a notebook and that keyboard was difficult for these fat fingers.
 

Brownout

Joined Jan 10, 2012
2,390
HA!.... my notebook is for emergency use only.

Actually, I use it to test wireless network applications when I need a computer to receive and respond to messages.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
I'm a dinosaur, don't understand why you would need two monitors? Is there some software that lets one PC have two monitors at the same time or is it some kind of hardware?
 

t06afre

Joined May 11, 2009
5,934
I'm a dinosaur, don't understand why you would need two monitors? Is there some software that lets one PC have two monitors at the same time or is it some kind of hardware?
I like to work with 3 monitors. Very nice I can have something useful on one monitor. Skype and Facebook on one of the other monitors. And selecting music from Spotify on the third:p Well just joking. It can be nice to have say a schematic on one monitor, and the PCB you are routing on a another monitor. Or say the PCB and 3D model up at the same time. Just to give some examples
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
I'm a dinosaur, don't understand why you would need two monitors? Is there some software that lets one PC have two monitors at the same time or is it some kind of hardware?
Most modern graphics cards have more than one output. For example, I just bought a GTX 650 ti for my desktop build, it has two DVI outputs, an HDMI port, and a display port. The two DVI outputs allow me to connect to two monitors and have an extended display, which prevents needing to switch between windows. Having the ability to fit my windows side by side simplifies things significantly. You probably won't understand unless you use a 2+ monitor setup, then you'll never want to go back.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
Thanks guys. But I'm lucky to be able to just keep track of one at a time. :) I just use the HDMI out to a flat screen TV for a monitor. Eyes like every thing else on me are getting old.:(
 

Coleen89

Joined Sep 23, 2013
0
My opinion is that either you have a computer and a tablet or you have a laptop which combines the benefits of both. You can choose laptop that is powerful enough and you also get the mobility so you get the best of two worlds.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
My opinion is that either you have a computer and a tablet or you have a laptop which combines the benefits of both. You can choose laptop that is powerful enough and you also get the mobility so you get the best of two worlds.
The problem with that is that due to the way laptops are built, they do not last very long and tend to be difficult and expensive to repair. That's why I recommend getting a desktop AND a laptop, so you can have the laptop for portable needs, but do most of your work on a desktop. I also recommend using a hot-swap bay on your desktop so you can pop in your laptop hard drive and access the data readily. It makes things very convenient.
 
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