Desktops are dead ?

[bontempi]

It's a pity OP to have a wrong posts in a wrong time

But we may conclude:
[/LIST]

you've posted so many times the same thing in this tread you must feel threatened by what i've said

[*]Notebook is expensive for what you get. It will be an underperforming machine compared to desktop with the same dollar. It's been going on like forever and everyone (should) knows this already.

imac 21.5 geekbench score = 6600
macbook 13 geekbench score = 6000
underperforming ? that's a 10% difference.

[*]Making notebook as a primary machine between home and work can often be a painful process since you have to unplug and re-plug all the cable on your desks, every single day for a month? or a year?

a "painful" process is working in a factory assembling stuff in a noisy environment, doing the same task 1000 times per day for a low pay. it's not "painful", it takes 3 seconds

[*]Docking a notebook into something like ATD always ridiculously expensive. It's still the same notebook and often times they just don't have enough grunt, getting worse when it has to drive extra pixels. You get $2000 equipment for half or third performance of $2000 full fledged desktop.

i use my macbook in dual screen when i work with video and it works perfectly. i didn't even buy the extra monitor, it was unused so someone gave it to me.

[*]So .. the total price of a notebook = 50% performance + 50% portability tax. But some people are paid to be a mobile worker nowadays, so having a notebook is a necessity, and the "tax" pays for itself.

again, 10%, not 50%.


again, some people are obsessed about having the fastest car, and some just want one that gets the job done.

 

[Confuzzzed]

Does geekbench take into account GPU and other non-CPU related aspects which may in fact make a big difference in real world computing?

 

[iSayuSay]

you've posted so many times the same thing in this tread you must feel threatened by what i've said
....

Threatened? Hardly .. I was just concluding my points, so of course there were some repetitions because it was a TL;DR points of my lengthy posts before. But I'm pretty sure it's still not as repetitive as "people shouldn't need desktops" posted by someone here.

imac 21.5 geekbench score = 6600
macbook 13 geekbench score = 6000
underperforming ? that's a 10% difference.

And that's just CPU/RAM scores alone, Geekbench only score those. You don't see how much faster 6750M in base iMac to intel HD3000/4000 on base 13" MBP? And you don't include 21.5" on iMac for extra screen estate? Or extra RAM slots?

a "painful" process is working in a factory assembling stuff in a noisy environment, doing the same task 1000 times per day for a low pay. it's not "painful", it takes 3 seconds

Yes it takes less than a minute. It might sounds like 1st world problem from a super lazy biotch. But it's pretty boring to do the same thing over and over. While with a fixed workstation you don't have to do as much since some peripherals are still in place.

i use my macbook in dual screen when i work with video and it works perfectly. i didn't even buy the extra monitor, it was unused so someone gave it to me.

Not everyone can have someone else give their monitor unused, do they?

again, 10%, not 50%.

And also again .. you're not comparing apple to apples. You keep implying base 13" MBP + 22" display stands againsts 27" base iMac? Even with 21.5" iMac I get better GPU, faster HDD and more RAM slots. You call that a fair comparison?

People don't buy notebook because it's the fastest money can buy. It's the contrary. I thought it's an easy logic to admit notebook performance is lower than desktop for the same price?

again, some people are obsessed about having the fastest car, and some just want one that gets the job done.

Oh really? I can get $500 Acer notebook that outmatch base 13" MBP. And it costs half. So really, why didn't you get that instead? It gets the jobs done just like your MBP would. Add $200 display and it still only costs $700, you save almost 100% for not getting MBP+display. It's just a tool and all you need is to get the job done, remember?

 

[Seamaster]

What about people who need actual performance? My current Laptop has a 18.4 inch screen, has 32gb of ram, Dual Nivida GTX 680M's, 2 SSD's, and a 1TB hard drive, show me a tablet that can come close to that. And as far as the " gap being narrow ". Current workstation has 256gb of ram ( upgraded finally, yay! ), Dual 8 Core Xeons, liquid cooled, running at 4gzh each, 4 Quadro GPU's, and a total of 12 hard drives, and one boot SSD drive. So what laptop comes close to that?

Apple is a consumer electronics business. You're not the punter they're chasing.

 

[Lancer]

I want a big screen and full keyboard without having to add them to a MBP, for the same cost as the 15" MBP I can get a 27" iMac with all I want... well as soon as Apple updates them with Ivy Bridge CPUs and USB3.

 

[theluggage]

With a notebook, I have to wonder where I misplaced it, dig it out, clear space to put it, plug in the power supply, plug in the video cable, plug in the USB devices, wait for it to mount multiple terabyte drives, deal with chronically maladjusted power settings, etc. It's that "it just works" concept.

Hyperbole much? Not sure when you last used a MacBook but they alter their power settings automatically when you plug in the adapter. The USP of the Apple Thunderbolt Display is that it only needs two wires (hopefully Thunderbolt hubs will eventually come out at a sensible price for those who want to use third party displays). The "multiple terabyte drives" sounds like a good argument for a Mac Pro though.

However, if you'd have to go hunting for the notebook, that implies that you do have a need for portability...

Portability? iPad. It's with me everywhere, online all the time. Any use I need mobility for, it provides in a smaller lighter easier package than a notebook. If I must access the full computing power of the desktop machine, tap SplashTop and I'm connected via remote desktop.

I find that iMac + iPad provides excellent portability at optimal cost. For heavy projects the desktop is there, while for primarily communicative tasks I have a light, easy-to-transport tablet that can be restored from zero via the cloud in minutes if it falls in a storm drain or is taken by a miscreant.

I think that's the real debate now. "Desktops are dying" was definitely the groupthink a couple of years back - but tablets may have changed that equation.

If you absolutely don't need portability then desktops give you more bang per buck and look neater. End of argument. (Well... actually I've met some people who prefer the ergonomics of a laptop - usually people who need bifocal/varifocal glasses).

2. If you do need portability, then its:

Laptop only
vs.
Laptop + external display/keyboard/mouse
vs
Desktop + separate laptop
vs.
Desktop + tablet.

...and you need to factor in the cost of all components plus the hassle of keeping things synchronised.


Personally, I find that the iPad almost replaces a laptop up until the point that someone hands you a USB stick; that Powerpoint presentation doesn't quite work in Keynote; you need to show something that needs Flash; you suddenly need that document that you didn't put in Dropbox... or you ask the meeting organiser about WiFi and they react as if you've asked them for two pounds of antimatter and a bucket of dodo testicles. Then you get back to the hotel room, can't sleep because of jetlag and have an opportunity to get on with some proper work... I do use the iPad when I'm confident that I just want to take notes or refer to specific documents, but if there's any doubt then I prefer the laptop with everything on.

That screen is not marketed for broadcast work. It's not marketed based on Fogra pre-certification or anything like that. It does not have a validation package of any kind to prepare it for medical use such as viewing X-rays.

...and if you look up a dealer that does cater to the 'pro imaging' business, you'll find that the Apple Thunderbolt Display really doesn't look that expensive after all - you can easily pay twice as much for a 1440p 'pro' display from Eizo or NEC.

 

[iSayuSay]

Apple is a consumer electronics business. You're not the punter they're chasing.

With $100++ billion of resources, it's actually very easy for Apple to spend like 0.5% of the cash for MacPro R&D.

Starts with hexcore Xeon for $2500 MacPro and beyond (no more quad MP crap, please), insert GTX680 or Radeon 7970 is not a big deal for Apple.

Apple really really could do that, if they have the decency to do so. It would be like spend 0.01 seconds less for iOS devices to get the job done right with their MacPro line.
People who pay $2500++ for a Mac tower (and another $1000 for the display) deserve more time and attention than this.

 

[harcosparky]

Cables all over the place? One cable goes from the monitor to the MB. One single solitary cable.

Wrong ......
Power Cable to Macbook Pro
Power Cable to External Monitor
Video Cable from MBP To Display

So that is three cables per workstation.

We have 3 iMacs side by side on an 12' long table.

We have absolutely no cables on the work surface because our iMac power cables are routed straight down through a hole in the top of the work surface.

Of course if an external device is brought into service ( graphics table ) there may be a cable for that.

----------

Oh really? I can get $500 Acer notebook that outmatch base 13" MBP. And it costs half. So really, why didn't you get that instead? It gets the jobs done just like your MBP would. Add $200 display and it still only costs $700, you save almost 100% for not getting MBP+display. It's just a tool and all you need is to get the job done, remember?

Three years from now the 13" MBP will be running fine and looking like new, and probably could be sold for $500-$600.

That ACER ... well IF it is still running in three years you might be able to sell it for $150 assuming it shows little physical wear !!!!

I had a $500 Lenovo ( i5 CPU ), less than one year old, still under warranty, looked like brand new, all paperwork and box. Had a hard time getting someone to pay $300 for it.

This is that Lenovo - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchp...p=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

People don't seem to mind buying used Apple computers, but boy do they tear you up when selling another brand.

 

[mark28]

hi

what's preventing you all to go with the macbook route ?

back in the days, desktop were faster than laptop, but these days they're fast enough to do CPU intensive tasks such as Audio / Video.

i have an old iMac and a 2011 Macbook. i've started working on the macbook and the performance is excellent. i'm thinking of buying a display and saying goodbye to the desktop, which is i think a dying format anyway.

the Thunderbolt Display is too expensive, but these days monitors have HDMI / DISPLAYPORT / USB hubs / built-in speakers / Headphones out ... you can get an excellent 22" for 200$ ... and take your computer with you everywhere.

thoughts ? what's the thing that makes you wait for the iMac ?

So you spend $2200 on a laptop, yet a cheapo $1000 desktop will destroy that macbook pro for less than half the price.

Laptops are way too expensive in terms of performance if you don't need the mobility.

A desktop + iPad > laptop

 

[ihuman:D]

hi

what's preventing you all to go with the macbook route ?

back in the days, desktop were faster than laptop, but these days they're fast enough to do CPU intensive tasks such as Audio / Video.

i have an old iMac and a 2011 Macbook. i've started working on the macbook and the performance is excellent. i'm thinking of buying a display and saying goodbye to the desktop, which is i think a dying format anyway.

the Thunderbolt Display is too expensive, but these days monitors have HDMI / DISPLAYPORT / USB hubs / built-in speakers / Headphones out ... you can get an excellent 22" for 200$ ... and take your computer with you everywhere.

thoughts ? what's the thing that makes you wait for the iMac ?

1.Desktops have more upgradability.

2.Better GPUs,when the iMac gets upgraded I bet that the GPUs will be faster than those in the Macbook Pros.

3.Heat if your sitting at a desk with a Macbook it will get hot while the iMac will stay cool.

4.Some apple laptops are bad value for money while iMacs are not.

5.Some people do not need portability.

 

[Matador Red]

I cannot believe I am responding to this obvious troll thread started to piss off iMac users but here goes.

First off, I think a MBP+27 TBD is a great solution if you need portability for work as you obviously do. I wouldn't waste my time with the $200 monitor you listed.

You seem to base your premise on portability and the assumption that everyone, in your mind, is meeting with clients daily at remote locations or a student at starbucks. I am neither of these and do neither of these. My work requires absolutely zero work out of the office so my iPad covers all of my portable needs quite well.

Since I don't need portability, I am not willing to pay more for it. How hard is that to understand? How hard is it to understand the everyone in the world does not fit the same use case as you? This seems to be a growing problem in the world. The idea that if someone does something differently than you, they are doing it wrong and must therefore be stupid. Glad you came here to set us straight.

 

[Doggman]

I also cannot believe I'm replying to this troll thread but here goes.

To the OP: desktops are not dead and won't be anytime soon. Professionals need them as well as gamers. With that said there is absolutely a time and place for laptops - school for instance.

 

[jvmxtra]

Desktop will not die.

There are lot of people who needs to work on some serious stuff. Hey, even people who work on spreadsheet all day needs big time screen space. Laptop? That's mostly for people entertaining themselves or looking at one small portion of their work or school stuff.

Having multipole screen is infinitely better than one laptop tiny screen.

 

[damir00]

This seems to be a growing problem in the world. The idea that if someone does something differently than you, they are doing it wrong and must therefore be stupid.

It's not a "growing problem", it's how humans operate, and have always operated.

 

[dontcallmyname]

My first computer was a desktop, and I really loved it. I loved that I could come home from school and use my computer. I loved that it had power. Yeah, it sucked that I couldn't take it with me, but I didn't really notice. I ended up finishing high school at boarding school, so a laptop was needed. Despite having a laptop, I still used my desktop everytime I went home, which was every weekend. Why? It was a better machine.

Over time I used my laptop more and the desktop less. It wasn't because I preferred the form factor, but more because it just made more sense... if I had the opportunity to use the desktop more than two days every week, it would have been a different issue all together.

When I left school and went to uni, I took my laptop. I didn't even consider taking my desktop because it was, by this time, old. My laptop struggled on a very regular basis and was a POS. By this time I hadn't been using a desktop for a long time. When I replaced my laptop (with my first mac), there really was no point in considering a desktop. I was a student - everyone else had laptops.

After a while I realised that wasn't quite true. Yeah, heaps of people had laptops, but many (most) of my classmates were still living at home and had a desktop that they had used through highschool, and still used as their main computer. Their laptops were just for working on campus.

I also worked out that working from a laptop wasn't the best way to work. I soon bought a monitor and an external mouse, keyboard and, later on, trackpad. When I worked out that this setup worked well, I soon stopped taking my laptop with me everywhere. Yeah, it sounds lazy, but unplugging all the devices and monitor wasn't really worth the effort. I had numerous external hard-drives in addition to everything else. If I wanted my desk to look nice and have decent cord management, I'd need to buy another charger so I could leave my charger in place. It just didn't work as nice as I'd like.

At this point in time, I decided that I would be buying a desktop when I moved off campus. It wasn't necessarily going to be an iMac (in fact, a major reason I wanted ta desktop was for upgradability). A desktop would mean I wouldn't have to unplug my printer and harddrives on a daily basis and wouldn't have to worry about whether everything was plugged in properly. I wouldn't have to untangle cords everyday.

After a year of primarily using my laptop on the desk, I started to take my laptop to the library. Of course, after a year of running straight off power, my battery was pretty much rooted. Yeah, I could have replaced it, but I didn't have the money.

That was a year and a half ago. I've moved off campus but I haven't bought a desktop... yet. My old laptop battery life got so dodgy that I stopped even trying to take it with me. It wasn't worth the effort. I had acquired an ipad and tried using that for writing any essays or classwork I needed while on campus, and it didn't work. Sure, it worked great for some things, but not for this purpose.

My laptop died a month or so ago and I strongly considered getting the new retina mbp. I didn't. I decided now was my chance to get a desktop. Of course, I do a lot of work where I need a laptop. It's not a matter of wanting to use one, or preferring one, but needing. I looked at a few of my friends who have a laptop and a desktop and many have those little netbooks/small laptops instead of a full-featured one. I decided to get an 11"MBA. It is small and can fit in my handbag. It fits perfectly on lecture tables (anything larger doesn't fit well) and it means I can take a computer with me to the library. Yeah, it doesn't have a heap of features, but that is why I chose an Air. I've always said I wouldn't want an air as my main computer. After using one for a month I still stand by that sentiment.

I'm getting an iMac. I am goign to try and wait for the new model, but if there isn't one available a few weeks into the semester I will get the 2011 model. I want a desktop. My laptop will be reserved for working away from the house, or on the rare occasion that I want to do something on my computer outside of my room. I will be syncing everything with dropbox/icloud/usbs/whatever works best for me (haven't fully decided this yet). I figure I'll get a longer life out of a laptop used this way. After having a huge iTunes library take up a giant chunk of my old laptop's hard drive, my new laptop won't have the same issue. I'll finally be able to use my mac the way I want to without worrying about runnign out of hard drive space anytime soon. Furthermore, it's goign to encourage better study habits; with a laptop it is too easy to go and work in front of the tv or on the bed. With an 11" screen vs a 27", there will be no way that I will choose the tv over the desk.

Oh and I did some sums and worked out that I can come out better financially by buying an iMac and an air... even if I get a 27" (which I'm not 100% sure I will do yet)... you can't beat that!

tl;dr... I've been laptop only for such a long time and I don't want to be constrained. I want the best of both worlds. As a student, an iPad doesn't work for me (in terms of laptop replacement... it certainly has other uses). With the current technology, why can't you use both?

 

[monoskier]

try connecting 3 external monitors, a real keyboard (with an actual number pad), mouse, printer, ethernet and an external drive to a laptop. oh yeah, you cant.

and that doesn't even factor in the screen flickering that happens if you do anything with video with 3 monitors attached

 

[mrsir2009]

MacBook Pro + Thunderbolt display = £2400

iMac 27" = £1400

Simple.

Bear in mind that Apple's Thunderbolt displays are horrendously overpriced

 

[iSayuSay]

Bear in mind that Apple's Thunderbolt displays are horrendously overpriced

Well, now a few PC mobo had TB support too, so I just hope Dell would jump the wagon soon and bump their Ultrasharp line with Thunderbolt capability. I really like U3011, plan on getting one for my next upgrade.

I don't like the price tag either but right now ATD is the only display that also works as Thunderbolt dock. Regular 27" like U2711 + Thunderbolt dock end up the same price. Sad.

 

[chrono1081]

hi

what's preventing you all to go with the macbook route ?

back in the days, desktop were faster than laptop, but these days they're fast enough to do CPU intensive tasks such as Audio / Video.

i have an old iMac and a 2011 Macbook. i've started working on the macbook and the performance is excellent. i'm thinking of buying a display and saying goodbye to the desktop, which is i think a dying format anyway.

the Thunderbolt Display is too expensive, but these days monitors have HDMI / DISPLAYPORT / USB hubs / built-in speakers / Headphones out ... you can get an excellent 22" for 200$ ... and take your computer with you everywhere.

thoughts ? what's the thing that makes you wait for the iMac ?

Laptops aren't near as powerful as desktops. I know a bunch of people will jump up in arms and shout heresy but when you do things like 3D modeling, rendering, matchmoving, compositing, etc you'll see quite a difference in speed between the two. Not to mention you generally want multiple large monitors for such tasks.

 

[mrsir2009]

Well, now a few PC mobo had TB support too, so I just hope Dell would jump the wagon soon and bump their Ultrasharp line with Thunderbolt capability. I really like U3011, plan on getting one for my next upgrade.

I don't like the price tag either but right now ATD is the only display that also works as Thunderbolt dock. Regular 27" like U2711 + Thunderbolt dock end up the same price. Sad.

Perhaps thunderbolt displays aren't popular enough for third parties to jump in?

 

[Confuzzzed]

My first computer was a desktop,

good luck with whatever you decide to do next. Sounds like you are trying to justify your next purchase because perhaps you can't afford it. Anyway, for future reference, sometimes less is more. Remember the old T.S. Eliot quote "if I had more time, I would write less"

 

[G51989]

Perhaps thunderbolt displays aren't popular enough for third parties to jump in?

Indeed, most people who buy Dells aren't interested in something like a TB display, its not worth it for dell to put it in their systems.

Trust me, Thunderbolt will be another firewire, yes. Its ****ing great. But its just to expensive for most people. Who the hell wants to buy a 45 dollar cable? I can buy a ****** external USB hard drive for htat.

 

[damir00]

I can get $500 Acer notebook that outmatch base 13" MBP. And it costs half.

Can I get a link for this? Because I have a hard time finding MBA or MBP equivalents for even the same price, never mind half the price.

 

[jji7skyline]

The display is very important to me, so I will probably never get a laptop as my main machine unless it's the retina.

Also, even the entry level iMac which I have is much faster than a mid level macbook pro.

 

[iSayuSay]

Can I get a link for this? Because I have a hard time finding MBA or MBP equivalents for even the same price, never mind half the price.

You can check here http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchp...=960&ci_src=11138&ref=39&CJPID=4169666&loc=01
I know it's the usual plasticky crap, panel with bad colors, and trackpad is utter crap too with vent strip laid anywhere on the body. That wasn't my point anyway.

I didn't mean to start another Mac vs. PC debate. But I was simply being sarcastic to the post I quoted since the OP claim to only care about computer as a pure tool. So I asked him why not get a $500 notebook which get the job done just as the same.