In general, the laptops that I've come across are usually quiet. However, I would like to know if anyone could comment on the noise of the ALIENWARE laptop (which uses a 3.06 GHz P4 -- a Desktop chip). Based on the ridiculously high-end components (for a laptop) of the beast, I would think that it would be a literal screamer due to the massive cooling probably used. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
in addition, if the cooling of this laptop was quiet (but not enough), would the high temps just hurt the PC's long-term lifespan and probably have really high cpu temps that would make the P4 automatically underclock itself to avoid damage? just a thought.
LAPTOP NOISE AND ALIENWARE
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Ralf Hutter
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All of those points are very true and you can add onto that the abysmally short battery life you'll get from a CPU that dissapates over 80W. You'd better have a spare battery if you plan on being away from AC power for any amount of time.
Why anyone would use one of these for gaming (or any other hardcore task) is beyond me. You're basically chained to a desk with that thing and you've got a box that's going to run REAL hot under load, filled with a bunch of second-rate (as compared to a desktop), mostly un-upgradeable hardware. I can't see the point.
Why anyone would use one of these for gaming (or any other hardcore task) is beyond me. You're basically chained to a desk with that thing and you've got a box that's going to run REAL hot under load, filled with a bunch of second-rate (as compared to a desktop), mostly un-upgradeable hardware. I can't see the point.
All I can see is it would let you bring home your very powerful desktop when you needed to work at/from home. I used to do a remote login to work from my old desktop and it was always difficult. Once I was given a nice laptop I carried it home most every night, always on weekends and if it looked like snow for tomorrow
Jim
Jim
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Ralf Hutter
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Then get yourself one of those little Shuttles and a 17" LCD monitor. You'll have a way better setup that's upgradeable too. It'll cost about 1/3 to 1/2 of what one of those Alienware laptops will.MGP wrote:o well, i wouldn't get the pc in place of my desktop...its just that i want to get the most powerful laptop possible (thats realistic and actually mobile) when I get crammed in a tiny dorm room when I go to college this coming fall.
I know this is off-thread/off-topic/off-Forum, but would be interested in general thoughts on a good form factor for a dorm room computer that doesn't have to be a gaming machine. (My son's also starting college this fall and "dad" is feeling generous!). Seems like the portability of a laptop would be very nice but as Ralf pointed out you also pay more for that portability and upgradeability is limited. It seems like a laptop would also be either easier to steal, or easier to lock up for safekeeping, depending on how you look at it. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Thanks.
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MikeC
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Personally, if I was a student in a dorm, I'd go for the laptop. No question. Portability & size are king. Upgradeability is often a trap, because unless you're doing it in say a year or sooner, the rest of the components are all outmoded anyway, so buying new is often better. Being able to take my projects home, or to a friend's on a weekend / holiday w/o worries of gathering files to burn, etc: It seems like a no-brainer.
But then I'm not 18 or at college. That was... a whole lifetime ago!
But then I'm not 18 or at college. That was... a whole lifetime ago!
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SometimesWarrior
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Well I'm in college 
, and here's what I have to say:
It is very pleasant to have a desktop with a full-size keyboard and nice LCD monitor. My case is pretty big, bit it fit in my dorm room just fine, under the desk. The only problem was computer noise (this was before I visited SPCR), so I had to turn off the computer at night.
If I want to work "on the go", or type a paper in another room because my roommate is sleeping, I use an old Thinkpad (Pentium 233). I don't need anything really powerful to type an essay. And as for watching movies on a laptop (or doing any computationally-intensive task)... you need a cozy place to sit and (usually) access to an AC adapter, and in that case there's usually a full-sized PC nearby that would be more suited to the task.
For the most cost-effective and reliable solution, I would suggest getting both a reasonably-powerful desktop PC and a cheap-but-useful used laptop. This setup has the added benefit of fault-tolerance: if one machine suddenly goes haywire (this usually happens right before a big assignment is due), the other one is still available. The downside of having two machines: the PC/laptop user needs to be a bit more adept with computers to keep all his/her files sync'd.
, and here's what I have to say:It is very pleasant to have a desktop with a full-size keyboard and nice LCD monitor. My case is pretty big, bit it fit in my dorm room just fine, under the desk. The only problem was computer noise (this was before I visited SPCR), so I had to turn off the computer at night.
If I want to work "on the go", or type a paper in another room because my roommate is sleeping, I use an old Thinkpad (Pentium 233). I don't need anything really powerful to type an essay. And as for watching movies on a laptop (or doing any computationally-intensive task)... you need a cozy place to sit and (usually) access to an AC adapter, and in that case there's usually a full-sized PC nearby that would be more suited to the task.
For the most cost-effective and reliable solution, I would suggest getting both a reasonably-powerful desktop PC and a cheap-but-useful used laptop. This setup has the added benefit of fault-tolerance: if one machine suddenly goes haywire (this usually happens right before a big assignment is due), the other one is still available. The downside of having two machines: the PC/laptop user needs to be a bit more adept with computers to keep all his/her files sync'd.
Also it really depends on where you're going to school, but if you're thinking laptop will let you take great notes you might be mistaken.
From my experience most profs have all notes/lecture material online now anyway so taking notes in class on a laptop won't really help you any. And I don't think laptops in lecture halls are really the norm, so you'll end up being the annoying guy clattering away on his laptop all lecture long.
You could really get something huge, and another concern might just be security too. I have no clue really what that Alienware laptop would cost but it would be alot, if you were to somehow misplace it or anything... damn that would just be rough.
I'd go with what SometimesWarrior says above me. Laptops are cool but really why do you want one. Think about what you could do in terms of bells and whistles with the money you'd spend on that 3.06ghz Alienware laptop.
Lots of this just depends on the School you're attending.
From my experience most profs have all notes/lecture material online now anyway so taking notes in class on a laptop won't really help you any. And I don't think laptops in lecture halls are really the norm, so you'll end up being the annoying guy clattering away on his laptop all lecture long.
You could really get something huge, and another concern might just be security too. I have no clue really what that Alienware laptop would cost but it would be alot, if you were to somehow misplace it or anything... damn that would just be rough.
I'd go with what SometimesWarrior says above me. Laptops are cool but really why do you want one. Think about what you could do in terms of bells and whistles with the money you'd spend on that 3.06ghz Alienware laptop.
Lots of this just depends on the School you're attending.
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jamoore9
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Couple of thoughts:
1) Don't try to take notes in class on a laptop. Unless you type at an absolutely superhuman/super-secretarial speed, you won't be able to keep up. "Short-hand" computer notes don't work, as they are often too diffucult to decipher and a single mistroke can leave an entire section completely incomprehensible. As such, you spend WAY too much time using the backspace. Trust me, I tried this in college (graduated in 2000). Its not worth the aggravation of lugging the thing all over campus. Besides, a full day of classes will sap even the best battery's life.
2) In the end, I used that little laptop (a cheapo dell that cost me like $170 on eBay) to type papers when I A) didn't want to be chained to my desk (usually because the Simpsons was on), or B) I was working on a research paper in the library and didn't want to check out 50 books or stack 50 books at one of the library's cramped terminals. It was very handy, just make sure you are running the exact same productivity software suite on both the laptop and the desktop, to avoid version conflicts.
3) Don't sweat not having enough space in a dorm room for your desktop PC. I've never seen a room yet that was so small that it didn't come with a desk, and if theres a desk, then there's room for a PC. In the end, its only the monitor that should take up deskspace, so if you really are concerned about it, get a 15 incher. I had a 17 inch monitor and a mid-tower PC all 4 years that I was in school and never had a problem (and we were at the cutting edge of LAN parties in those days, so I toted it around all the time. Duke Nuke 'em 3D! Ah, the good ol' days.) Seriously, avoid the Alienware. Get a cheap back-up laptop and a PC that will still be viable in 3 years (and that runs QUIET). You'll be happy.
1) Don't try to take notes in class on a laptop. Unless you type at an absolutely superhuman/super-secretarial speed, you won't be able to keep up. "Short-hand" computer notes don't work, as they are often too diffucult to decipher and a single mistroke can leave an entire section completely incomprehensible. As such, you spend WAY too much time using the backspace. Trust me, I tried this in college (graduated in 2000). Its not worth the aggravation of lugging the thing all over campus. Besides, a full day of classes will sap even the best battery's life.
2) In the end, I used that little laptop (a cheapo dell that cost me like $170 on eBay) to type papers when I A) didn't want to be chained to my desk (usually because the Simpsons was on), or B) I was working on a research paper in the library and didn't want to check out 50 books or stack 50 books at one of the library's cramped terminals. It was very handy, just make sure you are running the exact same productivity software suite on both the laptop and the desktop, to avoid version conflicts.
3) Don't sweat not having enough space in a dorm room for your desktop PC. I've never seen a room yet that was so small that it didn't come with a desk, and if theres a desk, then there's room for a PC. In the end, its only the monitor that should take up deskspace, so if you really are concerned about it, get a 15 incher. I had a 17 inch monitor and a mid-tower PC all 4 years that I was in school and never had a problem (and we were at the cutting edge of LAN parties in those days, so I toted it around all the time. Duke Nuke 'em 3D! Ah, the good ol' days.) Seriously, avoid the Alienware. Get a cheap back-up laptop and a PC that will still be viable in 3 years (and that runs QUIET). You'll be happy.
I'm surprised that people are recommending taking two computers to school. Who needs two machines (and all of the associated wires and clutter) in a 10x10 room? Not to mention the inevitable situation of not having the right file, e-mail message, application, etc. when you need it.
My recommendation would be a laptop that's thin and light enough to actually carry around on campus, with long battery life. If I were back in school, I'd be all over those new 12" Powerbooks in a second. Or even a used iBook.
The other reason why I'd recommend a laptop is because when I was a student, I was moving all the time. Into residence in September, back home in May, back to school in September, sharing a house with friends for the summer, etc. Not to mention heading out of school on weekends and holidays. Packing my computer into the car was a major PITA along with the risk of dropping it, etc.
The Shuttle + LCD may be a good compromise, but my vote is still with the laptop.
My recommendation would be a laptop that's thin and light enough to actually carry around on campus, with long battery life. If I were back in school, I'd be all over those new 12" Powerbooks in a second. Or even a used iBook.
The other reason why I'd recommend a laptop is because when I was a student, I was moving all the time. Into residence in September, back home in May, back to school in September, sharing a house with friends for the summer, etc. Not to mention heading out of school on weekends and holidays. Packing my computer into the car was a major PITA along with the risk of dropping it, etc.
The Shuttle + LCD may be a good compromise, but my vote is still with the laptop.
I thought I'd ad my 2c, being not terribly removed from college and having a wife and two good friends in grad and medical school.
It seems like there are several issues here:
I've known several people who have had laptops stolen from their dorm rooms/library (all of this is from personal experience and should be taken as such and is in no way indicitave of what others may have seen). While laptops are great, people who take notes on them in class are usually considered rude, so the main place one would use it is to the library. My wife usually uses her laptop at her desk. She only takes it to the library about once a month since she finds it easier to write in the quiet of our study. I had a self-built mid-tower for my university years and didn't have a problem with moving it around (for price reasons more than anything else). My personal experiece with laptops is that they are more prone to crashing/problems than desktops.
If I were doing it all over again, I'd probably get a mini tower (or smaller mid-tower), build it for silence and get an LCD screen. From what I've been reading the shuttles seem to have heat/noise problems atm.
It seems like there are several issues here:
I've known several people who have had laptops stolen from their dorm rooms/library (all of this is from personal experience and should be taken as such and is in no way indicitave of what others may have seen). While laptops are great, people who take notes on them in class are usually considered rude, so the main place one would use it is to the library. My wife usually uses her laptop at her desk. She only takes it to the library about once a month since she finds it easier to write in the quiet of our study. I had a self-built mid-tower for my university years and didn't have a problem with moving it around (for price reasons more than anything else). My personal experiece with laptops is that they are more prone to crashing/problems than desktops.
If I were doing it all over again, I'd probably get a mini tower (or smaller mid-tower), build it for silence and get an LCD screen. From what I've been reading the shuttles seem to have heat/noise problems atm.
oh, and i also like to point out on the comment made way earlier in this post about the mini pc form factors (shuttle, etc.)
i know from a review by PCWorld that the case temps are high, and whiny fans must be used to keep high-end components in such as small enclosure cool. so having one of these suckers like the alienware one would probably take less room, cost more than a desktop, and be nearly impossible to silence!
i know from a review by PCWorld that the case temps are high, and whiny fans must be used to keep high-end components in such as small enclosure cool. so having one of these suckers like the alienware one would probably take less room, cost more than a desktop, and be nearly impossible to silence!
Cheap laptop strategy
Using a cheap laptop as an appliance seems like a nice application of available technology. If you need to (or must) get out of your room to do some work that would be facilitated by a computer, a $100 throwaway Toshiba Pentium 100 is just fine. I have shipped these to various folks for various projects, and I use when I want to work in some part of the house away from the desktops. For word processing, PowerPoint projects, most spreadsheet work, etc., these notebooks are, well, notebooks.
I love the 21st century.
John Coyle
I love the 21st century.
John Coyle