Computer Setup Ideas

[Zx2guy19]

Well as the other threads are indicating, looking to make the jump into FT real estate soon. So looking for the tech guys to help me out here.

 

I've come to realization that my old laptop just won't cut it. So, I'd like to get a decent laptop to use at the office, as well as a tablet to use while out showing houses (perhaps a combo??...). I have unlimited data through Verizon, so I can use my phone as a hotspot to power a tablet in case I need internet while I'm showing houses (or maybe I can't- you tell me).

 

I'm kind of set on an iPad as the tablet, but really open to suggestions. If there's a great combo out there that I'm missing, let me know. I do have to have Microsoft Office (at least Word, Excel and PP), so I need stuff that's capable of that.

 

All in, I'd like to be under $1200 with tax. What's out that there that would satisfy all my needs?

[Supplicium]

I love the Microsoft Surface Pro, new ones are baller imo

[STEVE-O]

I use a surface pro every day and I would not recommend it for what you will be doing. Screen glare and resolution are not great and the detachable keyboard is boardeine useless

[Rally Pat]

Surface Pro's have tons of random issues all the time, the latest being bricked by the 1803 update. We had lots of them in service and almost all of them have been turned back in because people are sick of the little issues it has.

 

For your budget you have a ton of options. You could get a really nice Dell XPS. If you need a tablet, there is also the Dell XPS 2 in 1. We have had 0, ZERO, issues in production with any of our XPS' and we have a big mix of them (13's, 15's, 2 in 1's).

[ShowHBK]

resolution are not great and the detachable keyboard is boardeine useless

 

I am not sure what parallel universe you are living in... but the Surface has a screen 2736x1824 at 267 PPI and the almighty iPad Pro has a 2732 x 2048 with 264 PPI. The Surface Pro 4's screen is drop dead gorgeous with near perfect color accuracy and plenty of color depth. OP said he would want to use the tablet for showing houses and the Surface Pro would be amazing indoors with the Surface Pen (which is included in the box... looking at you Apple :eyes: ). The only benefit of the iPad pro would be it's higher refresh rate then the Surface Pro, but I would argue that the apps would not be as good as their "Desktop" counterparts.

 

My point is, The Surface has an AMAZING screen and the detachable Keyboard makes life easy when you want to show a client multiple tabs in Chrome or Edge (Yes, Edge is not as shit as you think). The benefits of the detachable keyboard for OP would be that when talking to clients you have a device in your hand that is roughly the size of an 8.5/11 piece of paper that is a FULL, no compromises device. I highly encourage OP to at least look into a surface because you mentioned that you need office. The versions of Office for the iPad are mostly gimped versions of their Windows counterparts.

 

Surface Pro's have tons of random issues all the time, the latest being bricked by the 1803 update. We had lots of them in service and almost all of them have been turned back in because people are sick of the little issues it has.

 

I would honestly be interested to know more about the issues you are experiencing. I have 8 deployed in my building and I personally own one and have never had any issues. the i3 models have been rock solid for our art department and my i5/8GB version has always been reliable. 1803 actually made my i5 version wake much faster and I notice overall performance improvements.

 

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My recommendation based off what you will be doing are the following:

• Surface Pro 4 - Amazing portability. Great screen. Poor Value. Touch Cover not included.
  
• Surface Laptop - Great build quality. Same great screen as the Surface Pro. Touch Input. Needs the (free) update to Windows 10 Pro out of the box. Microsoft installs a Gimped version that NEEDS a free update to unlock x86 apps.
  
• Macbook Air - Battery that last longer then a Honda Civic. Priced for budgets in mind. Rock solid Software reliability. One of the worst screens out there by today's standards. Limited support down the road.
  
• iPad Pro 10.5' - Great screen. Portability. Hugh Apple App store. Unable to run full desktop apps. Content consumption device, NOT a serious work device no mater how you look at it.
  
• Dell XPS 13 Touch - 2-in-1 are not all that bad. Great build quality. Fast NVMe SSD for quick boot times. No pen included in the box. meh battery life.
  

 

Happy hunting man. I HIGHLY encourage you to take a trip to Microcenter or the Microsoft Store at Easton and play with the devices before you buy them. Just well the sales guys to bugger off at Microcenter and you will be free to look in your own peace and quiet. A little unknown secret at the Microsoft store is that you are allowed to pick up, unplug, and hold the floor models. They don't have alarms on them and the employees encourage it.

[STEVE-O]

I never said I would go with a iPad either

 

Any amount of sunlight that touches a surface pro kills the screen you can’t see anything to save your life, and the mighty detachable keyboard randomly cuts out and feels like your typing on cardboard

 

And our surface pros also my favorite feature it probably has will decide to randomly shit down and restart whenever it pleases to do so... and no it is not corrupt causing this issue it has had fresh installs updates the works they still do it doesn’t matter

 

Almost everyone has gone out and bought a chrome book because they hate the surface pro we use

[ShowHBK]

I never said I would go with a iPad either

 

Any amount of sunlight that touches a surface pro kills the screen you can’t see anything to save your life, and the mighty detachable keyboard randomly cuts out and feels like your typing on cardboard

 

And our surface pros also my favorite feature it probably has will decide to randomly shit down and restart whenever it pleases to do so... and no it is not corrupt causing this issue it has had fresh installs updates the works they still do it doesn’t matter

 

Almost everyone has gone out and bought a chrome book because they hate the surface pro we use

 

This is honestly sad to me. My i3 versions have been AWESOME in the two years we have had them in the building. They stay nice and cool and students love them for Photoshop and other drawing apps. Actually, I have had more complaints this school year for our 23' iMacs because "Planned Obsolescence", am I right? wink wink...

 

Finding the perfect middle ground is hard though. Usually finding the "no compromises" device is hard. The Surface on one hand has great build quality, but on the other is a very poor value for what you get. The Macbook Air is a much better value, but lacks future support from Apple. For business/work use, I often find that a aluminum build, NVMe SSD, and Windows 10 often yield the best results out in the field. The XPS 15/13 are near perfection, the only thing holding them down in my book is the $1800 price tag for that 4K touch display *sigh*, if only?

[Rally Pat]

not to mention those trash docks that glitch out every other day

[Zx2guy19]

I do actually have a Surface Pro 3 now that I've used on occasion. I just don't know that any of the Surface Pro's have the ability to doc and be a main hub computer...is that the case now? Can I hook a monitor up to it when I'm at my desk?

 

I'm intrigued by the Dell XPS- looks like a really good option. The battery life isn't too concerning as most of the time it'll be docked and I can charge it overnight- I'll probably only use any of these on the go like 25% of the time.

 

Thanks everyone for the input! Mike, keep this feedback coming brotha.

[Rally Pat]

I do actually have a Surface Pro 3 now that I've used on occasion. I just don't know that any of the Surface Pro's have the ability to doc and be a main hub computer...is that the case now? Can I hook a monitor up to it when I'm at my desk?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-PD9-00003-Surface-Dock/dp/B0163HP38W/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AG8Y4FCGT6EAMF1QH7M4

 

But just like everything else with a Surface Pro, it is glitchy and breaks down all the time.

[ShowHBK]

I do actually have a Surface Pro 3 now that I've used on occasion. I just don't know that any of the Surface Pro's have the ability to doc and be a main hub computer...is that the case now? Can I hook a monitor up to it when I'm at my desk?

 

In short... no... I would not subject any human to using the Surface Pro as their full desktop via a dock without it looking like Dr. Frankenstein's Dongle Life Monster.

 

Could you do it? 100% yes! The Sky Lake CPU and GPU would be more then enough to power two 1080p displays via the Surface Dock. I wanted to do it so bad for a long time, but Rally Pat is correct when he says the dock is glitchy and inconsistent at best. The reason I simply can't recommend the Surface for a desk PC would be that on the off chance you have a client in front of you and your dock is not powering your display it really makes you look bad. I personally have used the Surface Dock at work and I hated it's proprietary connector and I also had a problem where I overloaded the dock with iPad cables for imaging and my Surface would fail to charge. I unplugged it to go to a meeting and the battery was actually depleting all day while I thought it was charging. MASSIVE fail on my part for overloading the dock. *pukes*

 

In the event you want to chase the Dell Idea, they have a website called the "Dell Outlet" where you can get massively discounted items directly from Dell. The reason the XPS systems are so cheep on there is because Dell deals in the business sector so much that they often have overflow, returned items, or incorrectly configured items returned. Dell has to turn then around fast so they slash the prices and you still get the warranty... all because some guy forgot to put the correct RAM in a system. The XPS 13 2-in-1 is going to $750 on there with a 256GB NVMe SSD which is a killer value for what you get. If you really want to be a baller, the $1900 version is down to $1150 on there right now at the top of your budget... But I would hold off until you know exactly what you want. No sense in rushing it. =)

[Rally Pat]

If you like the Surface form factor, there is the Dell version that is almost identical but a lot more reliable. We affectionately call them "Durface". You can use a regular dell DisplayPort dock with it.

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/latitude-12-5290-2-in-1-laptop/cto25290132n1us?cid=309068&st=&gclid=CjwKCAjwiurXBRAnEiwAk2GFZoLAfoGbeWVmmZUN_RDRmQlDHG_DisiZcgKKdAFcWRIG-fQ6hIyfWhoCi9MQAvD_BwE&lid=5842890&VEN1=sbzEMTm25,165145792987,901q5c14135,c,,CTO25290132N1US&VEN2=,&dgc=st&dgseg=so&acd=12309152537501410&VEN3=810904400236802294

[Zx2guy19]

So what’s the big difference between the XPS and the Latitude?

[Rally Pat]

So what’s the big difference between the XPS and the Latitude?

 

Latitudes are buisness oriented, XPS' are high end Prosumer devices.

[Trouble Maker]

We have a chrome-book at home for general use? I've been toying around with the idea of a newer one that's a convertible (2-in-1). Honestly, if I had to use this thing for work I would have destroyed it in a fit of rage already, but that's because I do a ton of heavy power-point and excel work. That said, it really depends on what you will be doing with it.

 

I think it could make sense for you to get something with a cell radio/sim slot in it. I would think doing the hotspot thing could be kind of a PITA. IIRC most (grandfathered) unlimited plans don't let you hotspot? Maybe the new plans are different, IDK, I've been with Google Fi for ~ 2.5 years now, so I haven't followed the new plans.

 

Good call on microcenter, they have a ton of actual devices to try across the spectrum of brand and type.

 

Does anyone know if any pico projectors are worth a shit yet? This could be an interesting use case.

[Trouble Maker]

I'm surprised by all of the Dell suggestions, it seems like Dell's build quality has improved?

 

I'm still permanently scared by my (personal and work) experiences from ~10 years ago. They were.... fine for personal use. For work use, or anything where you travel with the device, move around a lot, NEVER AGAIN. As soon as we switched over to IBM, the only issues we ever had were hard drives when using HDDs. Now that we've moved to SSD, we have very little issues. There's no way I wouldn't get a Lenovo if I wanted a full laptop that I moved around with. We beat the piss out of these things (Lenovo T-Series) and they are very reliable.

[Rally Pat]

I'm still permanently scared by my (personal and work) experiences from ~10 years ago.

 

I don't know what field you work in, but you can't have this mentality in IT. Things improve over time. You are doing yourself and your company a disservice if you don't regularly check what is going on out of your echo chamber. I fight this every day from old timers who don't want to pull their heads out of their asses to see if we could be saving money and/or improving our end user experience.

 

Example: The Dell XPS's from around 6 or 7 years ago were hot garbage, but the ones that they have now are arguably the best laptops on the market for power and portability. I had an uphill battle to prove that technology progresses to "BUT A LONG TIME AGO [insert where the bad man touched you here]" types. Now? All of our users are madly in love with them and we have a stack of request for them a mile high.

[l36tols1]

We have a chrome-book at home for general use? I've been toying around with the idea of a newer one that's a convertible (2-in-1). Honestly, if I had to use this thing for work I would have destroyed it in a fit of rage already, but that's because I do a ton of heavy power-point and excel work. That said, it really depends on what you will be doing with it.

 

I think it could make sense for you to get something with a cell radio/sim slot in it. I would think doing the hotspot thing could be kind of a PITA. IIRC most (grandfathered) unlimited plans don't let you hotspot? Maybe the new plans are different, IDK, I've been with Google Fi for ~ 2.5 years now, so I haven't followed the new plans.

 

Good call on microcenter, they have a ton of actual devices to try across the spectrum of brand and type.

 

Does anyone know if any pico projectors are worth a shit yet? This could be an interesting use case.

 

I have a Samsung chromebook Pro and it was the best $500 (on sale) that I have spent.

[ShowHBK]

Dell is actually making a comeback in terms of their build quality. the XPS 13 and 15 have almost ZERO screen and keyboard flex and they really do give you a nice premium feel when you pick them up. If I had to compare it to anything, they feel "Apple" levels of quality. Also... They are cheep (relative compared to the competition). Dell just recently released their G5 and G7 systems to replace the 7000 Gaming series and the white and blue one looks AMAZING!

 

HP has fallen behind to me and I honestly have a hard time recommending them. Their product line is confusing at best and their marketing needs help for sure.

 

There is a possibility that I could recommend Lenovo as well. I use Lenovo systems and they are great for business use. the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is something that I have been drooling over for some time now. The laptop is mostly carbon fiber and gets a battery life of up to 6 hours (according to Lenovo). The feel of the system is very business oriented and practical with plenty of ports. Not something you can take for granted these days.

[Trouble Maker]

I don't know what field you work in, but you can't have this mentality in IT. Things improve over time. You are doing yourself and your company a disservice if you don't regularly check what is going on out of your echo chamber. I fight this every day from old timers who don't want to pull their heads out of their asses to see if we could be saving money and/or improving our end user experience.

 

Example: The Dell XPS's from around 6 or 7 years ago were hot garbage, but the ones that they have now are arguably the best laptops on the market for power and portability. I had an uphill battle to prove that technology progresses to "BUT A LONG TIME AGO [insert where the bad man touched you here]" types. Now? All of our users are madly in love with them and we have a stack of request for them a mile high.

 

That's exactly why I said it was 10 years ago and put the comment above what you quoted about not knowing if their quality has improved.

I don't know if you could tell, but I was being a bit hyperbolic.

I'm just a user. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Still, if they were to change here, it better be backed up with data about reliability. Our laptop use is not a 'normal' environment. Anyway, I'll have to use whatever they give me and be 'happy' about it.

[Zx2guy19]

Thanks for all the info again guys. I'm leaning towards one of the Dell 2-1 systems, and am 100% okay with going with something from the outlet, including Refurbs. Once again, the problem is, I just don't know what the fuck I'm looking at.

 

Like looking at these, why are there 3 models for $935, one of which is 2TB (non-refurb) of SATA HD and the other 128 GB of SATA HD (refurb)...like why would those be the same price? Not sure what I'm missing.

 

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ArbOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdTp6fYErj616g6ehtfeEv1a7x0kw9Weq0XPWbnWT6XIsuQGpOMjmBtSW4CzBtTDMOOcVn7JqL%2fzmW%2fB%2bRLqIk%2flDGkodAZgrjcjuBXSaEVoKV5XLCVfkhXSDj2tmw%2fhSkgn42kwxVCypVN5tuPQppTu5cV7Yg%2fkBgNJYorDe954tFrab6ksEn0qRzosoMUDBVTLPoxOIqexrudQVZZTS4zdwMZ%2fcONYJoJ8YZtS1UPG%2b%2frEmH2MzBsGeBLzj%2bJlSPcDQVUE7OCS7Pz9dSWnTRGJNJ%2f5rxD%2fx8jBJwuB5QyOoq4WCBuZFXpYNyMPkfyHi2SUFEpeBC9Pf

[Rally Pat]

Thanks for all the info again guys. I'm leaning towards one of the Dell 2-1 systems, and am 100% okay with going with something from the outlet, including Refurbs. Once again, the problem is, I just don't know what the fuck I'm looking at.

 

Like looking at these, why are there 3 models for $935, one of which is 2TB (non-refurb) of SATA HD and the other 128 GB of SATA HD (refurb)...like why would those be the same price? Not sure what I'm missing.

 

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ArbOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdTp6fYErj616g6ehtfeEv1a7x0kw9Weq0XPWbnWT6XIsuQGpOMjmBtSW4CzBtTDMOOcVn7JqL%2fzmW%2fB%2bRLqIk%2flDGkodAZgrjcjuBXSaEVoKV5XLCVfkhXSDj2tmw%2fhSkgn42kwxVCypVN5tuPQppTu5cV7Yg%2fkBgNJYorDe954tFrab6ksEn0qRzosoMUDBVTLPoxOIqexrudQVZZTS4zdwMZ%2fcONYJoJ8YZtS1UPG%2b%2frEmH2MzBsGeBLzj%2bJlSPcDQVUE7OCS7Pz9dSWnTRGJNJ%2f5rxD%2fx8jBJwuB5QyOoq4WCBuZFXpYNyMPkfyHi2SUFEpeBC9Pf

 

One is a Solid State Drive, the other is a mechanical hard drive. Never buy anything with a mechanical hard drive. If you need large storage, get an external hard drive. Solid state drives are what make a computer feel "fast".

 

Also disclaimer: Can't speak to the reliability of the Inspiron line.

[ShowHBK]

Yea, For "Work" go with a Latitude, or XPS. The Inspiron line of products are CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP COST SAVING MATERIALS CHEEP CHEEP. not All SSD "Solid State Drives" are created equal.

 

To put things in "car" terminology. some SSD are slower then others. You might have an SSD that is the equivalent to a 4 cylinder engine. Reliable, but not very fast. In the SSD world, the 4 Cylinders would be most common SD Cards, low end Hybrid Mechanical drives, or non-NVMe SSD. But, the NVMe drives in (most) XPS systems are the LS3 V8 monsters of the disk storage world. Fast transfer speeds, punchy load times, and enough read/write options to make your head spin...WHOOOOOOO BABY!!!!!!

 

All jokes aside. Quality "buzzwords" to look for in good Solid State Drives would be "NVMe" "M.2" or "Pro" in the name of the drive.

[Zx2guy19]

I really wish that site had the XPS 2-1 15" model. 13" feels very small. I could be wrong though...might swing by Microcenter tonight and test drive a couple of these babies.

[El Karacho1647545492]

For an alternative, I believe you can get the HP Elitebook x360 1030 with 4G LTE service. Just add that bitch on your Verizon plan and forget the phone.

 

 

I've got a bunch of attorneys (as clients) who have them and they love them. One of them claims he can squeak 12 hours of battery out of his.

 

 

I'm agnostic when it comes to brand; HP, Dell, Lenovo, they're all Chinese built crap, but Dell has good warranty support. Just make sure you buy a ProSupport Plus warranty so you actually deal with someone in America.