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Laptop Shopping

2018-01-30 17:45:12.481305+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments

Okay, the various cameras are starting to come in, I need to learn a little bit more about the different grades of network cable to see if I'll save long-term maintenance time by spending a little more for stuff to run outside the house (it's easy to get through the walls up in the attic, I'd rather staple cable along side the trim than open up wallboard to get things down to human head-height: My security cameras are going to take pictures of people head-on, not hat down).

Anyway, I'll write some reviews as I get those hooked up, but: My 7 year old laptop is starting to show its age. Sometimes the trackpad stops working, and then randomly starts again, and then yesterday while I was waiting for my car to get worked on it locked up and didn't recognize the SSD when I tried to reboot. And then later it did.

So it's time. I'm partial to ASUS 'cause this beast has stuck with me, and because a new keyboard is $25 and a paperclip to change it out.

But I'd like something with an (*&^% load of RAM, 16G minimum, 32G preferred. I like some of the refurbs I saw on Amazon that had two drives, an SSD and a big spinny one, but they only came in 17"+, and I want 14-15" so I can use it on the bus.

Linux as the primary OS. I'd prefer robust display over touchscreen; I don't want glass that'll crack if you look at it wrong. Probably AMD as the processor, 'cause I don't want the Meltdown patches to totally destroy performance.

If it has graphics chops, I'm more interested in how they'll be for OpenCV or TensorFlow than for gaming performance.

How do y'all laptop shop?

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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: Laptop Shopping made: 2018-01-31 12:37:00.584813+00 by: DaveP

This probably isn't helpful, but I buy a ChromeBook or iPad when I need a laptop. I've had three different sub-$300 ChromeBooks, each of which got used for a few months when I needed a laptop, then powerwashed and donated to someone who needed it more than me when my need waned.

They're not "real computers" but they serve as a means to write emails with a real keyboard in a portable manner, which is what many people use laptops for. The "real computer" stays on the desk in my office with the big-ass display so I can read stuff and program and such.

Probably not your use case, but it works for me. The main snag is that I have to remember multiple google accounts, one for work stuff, one for personal, and one for "none of the above" and log into the ChromeBook with the correct one so I have my "stuff" handy. Well, and I have to trust the goog with my "stuff."

#Comment Re: Laptop Shopping made: 2018-01-31 16:50:40.510611+00 by: Dan Lyke

I've ordered a refurb ASUS Zenbook, 16G of RAM, 500G SSD. Smaller form factor than I'd planned on, but I really loved my old Fujitsu tiny laptop, so I think I can adapt.

The big factor is that I want a solid development environment on whatever I carry around. If not for that, yeah, I'd go for a Chromebook every shortly.

#Comment Re: Laptop Shopping made: 2018-02-01 09:28:40.172316+00 by: DaveP

Yeah, I get that. For me, I don't want a dev environment with me. I'll carry a knife and a hunk of wood to whittle on instead. So a ChromeBook works for me today. Once I retire, I might get a laptop for OpenBSD work, but I also might quit screwing with computers entirely.

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