Laptop vs. Desktop vs. Barebones

dingbat

I'm in the process of moving to a new place. I'm leaving my present pc to my brother and am going to get me a new one as a moving present to myself.

Uses:
Internet
Word/Excel/Access (some Excel/Access work would be heavy duty number-crunching)
Some games, not cutting edge stuff
DVD
Music

Requirements:
I'd like the new AMD 64 processor to future proof the machine to an extent, after that I'm looking at a minimum of 512Mb of RAM, 80Gb 7200RPM, a decent graphics card, a DVD writer and a 17" TFT screen.

It seems to me that once you go for a 17" screen on a laptop the prices skyrocket. So, I'd kind of settled for another desktop and getting a custom build place either here in Dublin or in the UK to put it all together for me. However, I have just learned of these SFF or "barebones" PCs and they sound as if they'd be perfect for what I need. Has anyone any advice on a barebones system? Can you actually buy one with all the RAM, HD and DVD drive already loaded up?

The other thing that really interests me is that new Linux software enabling a system to play DVDs/CDs without having to boot up the whole machine. Is such a thing freely available or does one have to depend on it being pre-installed on a machine?

RE*AC*TOR

How much money you looking at spending?
Barebone pcs are just cases, psu's and motherboards. You still need to buy CPU, RAM, HDD, Optical Drive (DVD-ROM), Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor etc. The Aopen XC Cube AV edition can boot into "Instant Mode" for dvds, music etc (possibly TV with a tv tuner) .... (http://solution.aopen.com.tw/products/XC/EA65/en/enjoy.htm). But it doeesn't support AMD64.

dingbat

I'd like to try to keep it below the €1000 mark. I'm budgeting about €400 for the monitor - I don't know if it is possible to get a decent 17" TFT for much less, is it?

BadCharlie

www.overclockers.co.uk have a 17"TFT on special this week. Looks good and has a responce time of 12ms thats good.

RicardoSmith

Well for gaming a laptop is always going to be slower than a Desktop or a barebones. The bare bones Asus Terminator T2-P also does that music thing. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Asus_101.html

The only problem with a barebones is that they are more expensive, less expandable, and run hotter than a desktop. They don't really take much less space either.

Another option is get a 15" laptop and a 17" TFT and run it in dual mode. I have a 16" laptop and a 17" and for work its great. Dual monitors is a real productivity boon. For games its less good, since it only has a fx5600. Stuff like COD is ok, but some newer titles are too slow.

RE*AC*TOR

Under a grand I wouldn't bother my hole with a laptop. You'd just about squeeze in a decnet barebones system (shuttle or the like). But unless you have a fetish for really good looking PCs or have a limited amount of space then save a few quid on the case / mobo and splurge a little on stuff that makes more impact - monitor for example.

RicardoSmith

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Under a grand I wouldn't bother my hole with a laptop. You'd just about squeeze in a decnet barebones system (shuttle or the like). But unless you have a fetish for really good looking PCs or have a limited amount of space then save a few quid on the case / mobo and splurge a little on stuff that makes more impact - monitor for example.

Yeah I'd agree. Though I'd spend it on the best gfx card you can afford. IF you were into games, which you're not really.

dingbat

Yep, I know I'd have to go a good bit above the €1000 for a laptop with the specs I mentioned. That's the main reason I went back to looking at desktops.

So the best option is a desktop with a decent monitor (I've already got some decent speakers) and lots of room to be adaptable? Also, how does that dual monitor thing work?

RicardoSmith

dingbat wrote:

Yep, I know I'd have to go a good bit above the €1000 for a laptop with the specs I mentioned. That's the main reason I went back to looking at desktops.

So the best option is a desktop with a decent monitor (I've already got some decent speakers) and lots of room to be adaptable? Also, how does that dual monitor thing work?

You need two monitors, two gfx cards, or a gfx card that can run dual monitors. But with 1000 you might aswell forget it, unless you you've a massive desk and are going to stick two CRT monitors on it.

greglo23

anyone using a laptop would do well to check out this site http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/ .it`s a tweak for running your laptop at full speed.i found this tweak on this site. http://lists.gpick.com/

secret_squirrel

RicardoSmith wrote:

They don't really take much less space either.

Disagree with this - my bare bones sits on top of my desk and takes up much less space than my laptop. It looks million times better that my midi tower, and doesnt need to be hidden under the desk. Its also portable in a pinch too. Im also not aware of any of the bigger cases that play music with out booting up.

RicardoSmith

secret_squirrel wrote:

Disagree with this - my bare bones sits on top of my desk and takes up much less space than my laptop. It looks million times better that my midi tower, and doesnt need to be hidden under the desk. Its also portable in a pinch too. Im also not aware of any of the bigger cases that play music with out booting up.

Must be some laptop if a barebones, screen and keyboard take up less room

If its smaller than the laptop, you'd expect it to be more portable than it too!

CyberGhost

greglo23 wrote:

anyone using a laptop would do well to check out this site http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/ .it`s a tweak for running your laptop at full speed.i found this tweak on this site. http://lists.gpick.com/

Thanks for the link!

RicardoSmith

greglo23 wrote:

anyone using a laptop would do well to check out this site http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/ .it`s a tweak for running your laptop at full speed.i found this tweak on this site. http://lists.gpick.com/

Thats only for mobile P4m processors I'm guessing?

M@lice

If the pc is going into your living room then the barebones is the only way to go. Kit it out with a tv card or an AIW card, get a decent sound system for it and then it turns into a complete home entertainment system. You can even record your fav programs onto the computer or burn them onto dvd if ya like.

Duffman

RicardoSmith wrote:

Thats only for mobile P4m processors I'm guessing?

Great app for extending battery life, gives me an extra hour..

It's only for Pentium M (centrino) lappers though..

fintan

M@lice wrote:

If the pc is going into your living room then the barebones is the only way to go. Kit it out with a tv card or an AIW card, get a decent sound system for it and then it turns into a complete home entertainment system. You can even record your fav programs onto the computer or burn them onto dvd if ya like.

I would really like to do this, can anyone recomend a step by step guide to build one? or can they be bought off the shelf?

secret_squirrel

Its very easy..easier than a building a fullsize pc from scratch, although having smallish hands can help.

Just pop open the case drop in the bits (cpu, memory, drives, ATI AIW card) and away ya go. My shuttle came with full instructions if I remember right.

Any problems just search/post on this forum ... hell some of the guys here would probably offer to build it for you for a small fee.

Just bear in mind that fan noise might be an issue in a living room scenario, so check out reviews on the noise each case, graphics card and HD makes.

M@lice

Putting a shuttle together is like lego technics! The Manual gives a step by step guide with pics that's very easy to follow. If you know anything about the inside of a pc at all it'll be a piece of cake!

gamer

its better to go for shuttle because graphics ,cpu ,can be upgraded in future ,if u buy laptop for games in 2 years time it will struggle to play the latest releases and and parts memory are cheaper to get for desktop,its riduculously expensive to upgrade laptops,i think the whole point of a pc is its expandable as new technology comes to the marketplace.better to use ur money to buy a high quality display fast cpu.