Calling it deadnaming implies Twitter chose the name X. Twitter did not make that decision, thus calling Twitter Twitter is in no danger of offending Twitter.
That myth is still pushed by many TV shows to this day, unfortunately. I believe that most public emergency defibrillators work automatically, so that is nice.
BF players: yeah, they are good for gunshots, knife stabs, if blown up by mines, run over by a jeep or pulverized by a sabot round. And agains lethal falls.
Yep. Used to record all sorts of TV shows on my computer using them. Though they aren’t nearly as prevalent since Internet streaming has taken over. I doubt I could pick up more than 2 or 3 channels over-the-air where I live anymore.
Karl Marx got drunk one night and, after being kicked out of a bar in London where he got drunk, went around London and almost got arrested sabotaging the lamp posts with rocks with his colleagues who were also drunk.
1st thing I’d do is set your requirements. What are you using this laptop for? Do you need to run specific software for it? What does that software need to run well. You mentioned CAD, I had a look at the System Requirements for AutoCAD and most of this is very easy to pick out on a spec sheet and as long as you’re not picking the cheapest machine you should be fine. The only specifically weird one is the bandwidth requirement for the GPU, but pretty much any chip less than 5 years old should be fine. You can search the model on wikipedia for the bandwidth figures.
As for the whole laptop vs desktop debate, laptops give you portability, whereas a desktop is more erganomic; a laptop can be taken anywhere and as long as you’re not using super power hungry parts you should be able to get a few hours out of it without needing mains power. A desktop allows you to place the keyboard, mouse, and screen in a way which is more comfortable for you, but you can’t move it.
Either way, you need to set some minimum specs. I’d say 1920x1080 screen (also known as full HD), 16GB RAM, SSD storage.
For buying a laptop, avoid Apple. Their reliability has gone down the drain over the last 10 years with each model having a reliability issue. (butterfly keyboards, dust ingress into screens, STORING THE BIOS IN NAND) and that’s before the overpriced RAM cost. Used business laptops are a good deal and can be repaired fairly easily. If you’re feeling up to it, many of them can have their RAM upgraded with only a screwdriver. For specific processors, look for Intel Core i3/i5/i7 12th gen or 13th gen or the Intel Core Ultra 5/7 for the newest parts, just check that the processor model number ends in a ‘U’. This means it’s not going to eat your battery in less than an hour. For AMD, look for model numbers in this format ‘7x40U’ where the x is either an 8,6,5, or 4. These use AMD’s latest technology, are more power efficient than Intel and give excellent performance.
For a desktop, don’t by from a big brand. HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer all use proprietary parts which makes fixing these machines impossible and that is only the start of the issues. Smaller builders will use off the shelf parts which can be replaced and upgraded easily. Cyberpower PC has a fairly cheap PC which should run everything even if it’s a bit old and ugly here. Just remember, you need a screen, desk and chair.
Choosing a web browser is just an illusion of choice. Almost every browser is based on Chrome (included Microsoft Edge) with Safari merely being a cousin of Chrome ( Chrome’s browser engine Blink is a fork of Apple’s WebKit used on Safari). The only exception is Firefox which uses it’s own. Firefox is pretty good, it’s no slower than Chrome and has better extension integrations (no Manifest V3 shennanigans) just make sure you install uBlock Origin.
You’d pretty much be stuck with Windows 11 as an Operating System which is shite. Unless you’re willing to have your phone open looking up how to bypass the Microsoft Account requirement and then spend an hour fixing Microsoft’s stupid default settings, you’ll have to put up with it and all it’s awfulness. But there isn’t any othe choice, Linux is a pain to setup unless you know what you’re doing (I use Arch, I don’t recommend any distro for casual use) and will likely not support any CAD programs.
You mentioned CAD, I had a look at the System Requirements for AutoCAD and most of this
Keep in mind that AutoCAD is only 2D and many of the core controls are different from what you’d normally find due to Autodesk trying to cater to people who started using it in the 90’s. AutoCAD’s requirements are going to be different from modern packages like NX or Solidworks
A number of posts have mentioned brands, but it’s very important to consider the line within the brand. Consumer-oriented lines from HP (Pavilion, Essential), Dell (Inspiron, Vostro), and Lenovo (Idea pad, Legion) are absolutely terrible. Plastic everything, difficult/impossible repairs, no upgrades, etc. Every corner that can be cut, has.
Instead, look to the enterprise lines. Lenovo Thinkpad (my preference)/Think centre, Dell Latitude/Precision, HP Elitebook. I usually find the older ones (3-5 years old) that are off-least after enterprises are done with them, do a minor upgrade, and I’m good to go for a long time. Obviously that will depend on your needs, skill set, and desires.
Even Lenovo dropped the ball on their latest Thinkpads. Terrible thermal design, they messed up their BIOS (long boot times, Lenovo support just told my colleague to roll back to an older version, lol. Then the next support call they wouldn’t give support because he wasn’t on the newest version). Overall total bullshit for fully decked out $3000 machines.
Personally I’d never buy a laptop if I can avoid it, desktop parts are just so much better and cost less.
GoT because I’d read the first two books and got bored of a medieval soap opera where the writer substitutes misery porn for a plot.
Breaking Bad because Bryan Cranston vaguely irritates me (I don’t know why, I’m sure he’s a lovely man).
Zombie related stuff because seriously, it was non-stop shit zombie movies for almost a decade and I’m bored of it. It’s just become another lazy trope. Exception: Zombieland.
Everything I’ve seen and heard indicates that he is in fact a wonderful person. But I’m not going to argue with you, because I have such an intense hatred for Hugh Grant and Richard Gere. And I don’t have a rational explanation as to why.
Desktops have a lot more bang-per-buck than laptops, and are significantly more repairable/upgradable. Laptops make a lot of compromises to squeeze everything into a portable form-factor that runs on batteries. However, only you can say whether that outweighs the space/portability benefits of a laptop, for your use-case.
I’m a sysadmin, I work with Linux every single day, and I say to you: do not go Linux. It isn’t designed for what you want it for; it’s somewhere between the hobbyist/industrial spaces, whereas you want and need something consumer-focused. Get a nice straightforward Windows box.
Macs are also decent, though they’re even more bucks-per-bang than laptops, and there aren’t mac versions of every application; you’d need to check what’s out there.
Operating systems come with the computer if you’re buying them retail; you can buy them separately if you’re building from parts. Linux is free to download.
Laptops can be ergonomics hell; tiny keyboards, little screens right at desk level - if you’re working at them all day, a proper monitor and keyboard are de rigeur - at which point, you may as well have a desktop, unless you need to take your computer with you when you go places.
Brands, ehh. HP and Dell are decent, but whatever. Or if you’re a getting a desktop, you could build your own and save a packet, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole of complexity to dive into.
You need SSD, not HDD. HDD is slow as hell, physically fragile, makes annoying grunting noises… just don’t even consider it. SSD is unbelievably faster and better in every respect. A little more expensive, but worth every penny. Don’t go less than 500GB, preferably 1TB.
RAM, you need 16GB at the bare minimum; consider 32GB.
Monitors: preferably 27", at least 1920x1080, consider 2560x1440 or even 4k. You don’t need high refresh rate, you do want an IPS-type panel. Having two monitors will greatly improve your quality of life, if you can swing it.
CPU: there’s a million and thirty different ones out there. Just get something released in the last couple of years, you’ll be fine in most cases. There’s usually a shoulder in the price-performance curve about 75% of the way up the rankings; that’s the optimal place to buy if you want something that will keep you going a good while without getting ridiculous.
His advice is fantastic but I have to mention 1 thing… HP is TERRIBLE. I’m a repair technician and we get so many of these damn things, it’s like 10% to 20% of our business, and we repair iPhones, androids, iPads, Mac’s, PC desktops, laptops, gaming PCs and even vintage computers.
This is because of how HP laptops are designed. All of the components and hinge assembly are attached to this thin flimsy plastic palm rest, it has the rigidity of a wet newspaper. During use, opening and closing, the plastic flexes constantly and over time the plastic gives, snaps and the laptop can no longer stay open.
Not only do they break frequently but the repair is expensive. Since everything is attached to the palm rest a technician needs to gut, then reinstall every component onto a new palm rest. Around 1-2 hours. Troubleshooting and testing afterwards also takes longer, as every component has been “fooled around with” there’s a high likelihood for mistakes.
It stings when I have to tell customers that the repair for their $500 laptop is like 250 or 300$.
Oh: if you’re doing fancy-schmancy 3d industrial CAD stuff for designing car engines or the like, you’d want to make sure you have a nice GPU, which is typically in the ‘gaming laptop’ category if you’re going laptop.
However if you’re just doing ordinary diagrams and stuff, then onboard video will be absolutely fine.
All of that is solid advice. As someone who builds their own PCs for gaming, runs Apple laptops for when I leave the house, and was a former Linux user in a past life, I will add that if you choose that the laptop format is the right choice for you, don’t write off Apple immediately, budget permitting. Yes, they are expensive. They compete at the high end laptop space, not at the low end. If you have a strict budget then yes, better value can be found from other brands. However, in the high end space, they are very competitive for what you actually get. Pros are great battery life, high build quality, and one of if not the best trackpads on any laptop out there. I don’t know the specifics of your situation, but Apples accessibility features are also excellent. Yes, they gouge you on RAM and SSD upgrades, which is inexcusable. However, last time I checked, Microsoft with their Surface line and Dell charge the same upsells, in one case for Dell, even more egregious. So we can hate on the industry as a whole for that.
All that being said, for the absolute best value for your money, it’s 100% a desktop PC.
As much flak as I may get for this, I also second the Apple rec for laptop hardware. Install whatever OS you want on there, but in general their build quality is very high. I have a Macbook Pro that has been going strong for 11 years now. It’s no longer my daily driver and the battery life isn’t what it once was, but it still works really well.
Ironically, I can’t speak to the build quality of the newer laptops because my current one has lasted so long, but I believe they are still up there.
With all the die hard Linux enthusiasts in the fediverse, it’s nice to see such a sane and reasonable take. Linux is great for hobbyists and for specific use cases and I’ve been there, but it doesn’t really make sense for the general consumer who just wants shit to work.
Breaking Bad, Parks and Rec, Harry Potter Movies, Twilight Movies, 50 Shades Movies, Arrested Development, and roughly 90% of everything Tarantino has made with the exception of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction (The guy’s a douche whose entire oeuvre is two-plus hours of patting himself on the back for how film history literate he is)
Breaking Bad was amazing. Arrested Development was funny as heck, great cast. Parks and Rec season 1 was meh, got wayyy better after the first season. Also you should try and watch Kill Bill 1+2, they were really good and over the top as heck. Also Django Unchained and Inglorious Bastards were really great too.
Lots of great recommendations here. I’ll add some things:
Windows will be a great choice for something you are familiar with, but the current iterations are definitely heading in the direction of being advertising-filled messes. So it’s not a bad idea to look at alternatives.
Apple should be a good choice for a “just works” system without a lot of junk in it. But if you’re new to it there will be a learning curve. Software options are also more limited. AutoCAD looks to be your only major commercial CAD option there.
If you want to explore Linux, try a live usb stick and see what you think. It will feel very different and there will be a larger learning curve, but a liveUSB should be a risk free and relatively easy way to try it out and see if you love the difference or hate the change. If you still are interested at that point consider dual-booting or repurposing an older system for something to tinker with.
CAD in particular might be a sticking point. Windows will give you the most options. You didn’t mention whether you’re tied to a specific system as is common for a profession / livelihood or whether you’re open to options. If you’re able to look at alternatives— AutoCAD is on Mac and Windows, SolidWorks is on windows only. QCAD is a smaller option for 2D CAD on all three platforms and I’ve been happy with it for everything I’ve tried to do.
Thank you for your input! I’m hoping to do some 3D work, but I have the same view as you of Windows’ future. I will have to determine what I can live with: ads in the OS or 2D CAD.
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