5 ms·

Try buying a laptop for CAD rendering sometime. So many people where I work didn't want to settle for last gen speeds of "workstation" class (think, AMD firepro

by legodt 10y ago

Try buying a laptop for CAD rendering sometime. So many people where I work didn't want to settle for last gen speeds of "workstation" class (think, AMD firepro and Nvidia Quadro cards) and now pay the shame price of rainbow LEDs, red plastic, and gaudy keyboard fonts. Thanks user persona centered design!

slantyyz 10y ago
Sadly, the PC companies are following the money. I guess it's mainly gamers who are forking out cash for high end hardware these days. The keyboard and mouse on my work desktop are gamer gear, as is my work laptop (my next one might even be an Alienware). And boy, do I hate their radioactive glowing.
- legodt 10y ago
  If you already live the glowing light life and aren't getting out anytime soon (and why would you? It's not like anyone else is selling high quality computer stuff like this), MSI has been putting out fantastic laptops in terms of performance to dollar recently AND they don't skimp on the port selection, something I love about my workstation type laptop. Some of my co-workers brought these in recently and it only furthers my endless disappointment that good hardware can't come in sensible a package.
  - slantyyz 10y ago
    Because the laptop would be for work, I care about warranty and support. The MSIs are nice (as are Razers, etc), but I'll probably stick to a major vendor like Dell (Alienware), Lenovo or HP - in other words, a company with an established support infrastructure. I've also been super impressed with the physical touchpad buttons, port array and OLED screen on the Alienware 13 R3. The catch is that it's relatively heavy and ugly. BUT, the heaviest I'm willing to go is around the weight of my old 2011 15" MBP (~5 pounds and change), and it comes in around that weight. The new XPS 15 with 1050 also is a top contender for me, although the ports leave me wanting. -- edit - forgot to mention that the lack of touchscreens also put MSI's GS series near the bottom of my list.
    - legodt 10y ago
      WOAH the XPS 15 comes with a 1050 now? I might pay the huge price premium to get my hands on that (and then some more to turn that USB c port into all the useful ports I'm losing).
      - slantyyz 10y ago
        It got leaked a week or two ago, but I'm guessing it should be on sale in a month or so.
HarryHirsch 10y ago
Try getting the gamer PC past Internal Controls at your university when you are a structural biologist. There's some fast talking to the beancounters involved.
- PopsiclePete 10y ago
  "No, I swear, I don't care about Call of Duty....no...no..yes, you can use that video card for games but....what? Steam? What's that?"
  - slantyyz 10y ago
    I totally get your point, but there are some serious apps (non-games) on Steam too. I bought my license of DisplayFusion (multiple monitor utility for Windows) [1] on Steam because it was cheaper (during one of those regular Steam sales) and the license allows me to run it on any of my machines with Steam installed. [1] https://www.displayfusion.com/ https://www.displayfusion.com/

by legodt 10y ago

slantyyz 10y ago

Sadly, the PC companies are following the money. I guess it's mainly gamers who are forking out cash for high end hardware these days. The keyboard and mouse on my work desktop are gamer gear, as is my work laptop (my next one might even be an Alienware). And boy, do I hate their radioactive glowing.

legodt 10y ago
If you already live the glowing light life and aren't getting out anytime soon (and why would you? It's not like anyone else is selling high quality computer stuff like this), MSI has been putting out fantastic laptops in terms of performance to dollar recently AND they don't skimp on the port selection, something I love about my workstation type laptop. Some of my co-workers brought these in recently and it only furthers my endless disappointment that good hardware can't come in sensible a package.
- slantyyz 10y ago
  Because the laptop would be for work, I care about warranty and support. The MSIs are nice (as are Razers, etc), but I'll probably stick to a major vendor like Dell (Alienware), Lenovo or HP - in other words, a company with an established support infrastructure. I've also been super impressed with the physical touchpad buttons, port array and OLED screen on the Alienware 13 R3. The catch is that it's relatively heavy and ugly. BUT, the heaviest I'm willing to go is around the weight of my old 2011 15" MBP (~5 pounds and change), and it comes in around that weight. The new XPS 15 with 1050 also is a top contender for me, although the ports leave me wanting. -- edit - forgot to mention that the lack of touchscreens also put MSI's GS series near the bottom of my list.
  - legodt 10y ago
    WOAH the XPS 15 comes with a 1050 now? I might pay the huge price premium to get my hands on that (and then some more to turn that USB c port into all the useful ports I'm losing).
    - slantyyz 10y ago
      It got leaked a week or two ago, but I'm guessing it should be on sale in a month or so.

HarryHirsch 10y ago

Try getting the gamer PC past Internal Controls at your university when you are a structural biologist. There's some fast talking to the beancounters involved.

PopsiclePete 10y ago
"No, I swear, I don't care about Call of Duty....no...no..yes, you can use that video card for games but....what? Steam? What's that?"
- slantyyz 10y ago
  I totally get your point, but there are some serious apps (non-games) on Steam too. I bought my license of DisplayFusion (multiple monitor utility for Windows) [1] on Steam because it was cheaper (during one of those regular Steam sales) and the license allows me to run it on any of my machines with Steam installed. [1] https://www.displayfusion.com/ https://www.displayfusion.com/