# Advice needed on laptop purchase **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** computer-hardware\ **Created:** [November 30, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961 "2024-11-30T01:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/21 "2024-12-01T20:00:38Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I had not heard of the Intel issues. We’re hoping to order a new computer today and most of the units are Intel versus AMD. Yeah, I had noticed (I just bought a new laptop as I mentioned in the gaming laptop thread) and initially all the discounts were on Intel chips, and none for the AMD. And I’m not deeply into the research regarding the Intel issues, just have the advantage of hearing rants from friends who are actually involved professionally with the issues, and who make purchasing decisions where the expectation is that a 2 year life before a chip fries itself for business is unacceptable. Again, Intel -claims- (as of late October) that they fixed the problem, after ignoring it for _years_. So, may not be an issue, but you takes your chances. Did you chip never have the problem? Did it get the fix before any damages were done? Your odds when buying a brand new computer are probably very good, don’t get me wrong, but… yeah. Good will is gone on my side for a while at least. I won’t comment on the rest of your needs or wants, because what I look for in a laptop (dedicated GPU, high RAM, etc) aren’t appropriate for your needs, but will comment on one issue that you and I seem to share: Storage Anxiety. Just like with E-vehicles, sometimes, you worry that you just don’t have enough storage. And my new laptop only came with half a terabyte! NOT enough given modern game size. But really… have you looked at how fast, and how cheap external (USB) hard drives are these days? And they’re SMALL. Here’s something I have on my wishlist right now - > **[Amazon.com: Crucial X9 1TB Portable SSD – Reads Up to 1050MB/s, PC & Mac,...](https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-1TB-Portable-SSD-CT1000X9SSD902/dp/B0CGW1FQV4)** > > Amazon.com: Crucial X9 1TB Portable SSD – Reads Up to 1050MB/s, PC & Mac, Lightweight and Small Storage for backups, Photos & Games – USB 3.2 External Solid State Drive – CT1000X9SSD902 : Electronics That’s a high-speed external drive, smaller than a half a deck of cards, with a TERABYTE of storage for under $100 US. You cand double that for $70 more. And if you want something slower, your costs go down. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/22 "2024-12-01T20:41:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I had not heard of the Intel issues. We’re hoping to order a new computer today and most of the units are Intel versus AMD. I thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink the issues are with the higher end chips, the i9s, i7s, and K-series i5s. i5s without a “K” in their name and and i3s SHOULD be ok… if you’re the gambling type. Double-check my research, though. Personally for a cheap consumer laptop ($500ish or under), I would be willing to take the risk. I would not for a high-end gaming machine or business laptop meant to last many years. I’m not really sure what is going to happen to Intel. They seem to be going through a Boeing-style meltdown right now and who knows whether they’ll still be solvent in a few years. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Biggest qualm is the size. I’ve got two work laptops, the “little Lenovo that can’t any more”, plus all the peripherals, on a wire shelving rack. Everything shares a keyboard/mouse/monitor via a KVM switch If you’re not using them as laptops (i.e. you don’t need their keyboard and screen since you use a KVM), have you considered smaller desktops instead? The Intel "NUC"s (Next Unit of Computing, whatever the hell that means) or AMD “mini PCs” (not an official name, just a generic term for them) might fit the bill. They can be cheaper than laptops and offer better performance, while also being much smaller in width & length, but thicker in height. (They’re basically the PC versions of Mac Minis). If those don’t quite fit the bill, there is also a market segment called a “small form factor PC”. And for higher-end/more reliable stuff (you probably don’t need this, but if you just have money burning a hole in your pocket) you can also buy something called a “1U server”, which is a rack-mounted server-grade computer meant for data center use, but you can get one for home use and put it on, well, a rack. Dell sells a lot of these, both old and new, and you can often get them refurb or on fire sales after a tech business closes down (check Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace). They usually have more reliable server-grade hardware with a faster processor and more reliable (error-corrected) memory, and most can run Windows. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/23 "2024-12-02T02:09:27Z")
Thw two laptops are issued by work (one by my employer, one by the client) so there’s no real choice. They live on the top shelf of the “rack” unit (8 inch deep wire mesh) that I built when I knew I’d be getting a second laptop. The smaller PC is what I’m considering now. The larger Dell seems like it would last us a while but I may need to go for a smaller one - either the Inspiron, or a similar Lenovo etc. Expandability isn’t a major concern, reliability is. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/24 "2024-12-02T07:20:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Well, if you want quicken, you will need a pc running Windows. So that’s a starting point. No Macs, no Linux boxes. Then why does the “[Quicken Classic for Mac](https://www.quicken.com/products/classic-premier-deluxe-mac/)” page call it the “best personal finance tool for macOS”? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/25 "2024-12-02T12:23:19Z")
Oh, huh? Maybe they’ve started supporting it again? Mt husband used it for years and dropped it because it wasn’t adequately supported. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/26 "2024-12-05T01:07:04Z")
Well, I took the risk, and ordered an Intel-based (i5) desktop computer. Crossing fingers that it either is NOT an affected one, or it has been patched successfully. We won’t exactly be putting it through its paces - it’s for routine household tasks. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/27 "2024-12-05T19:56:52Z")
Does anyone have any experience or opinions about laptops using the Snapdragon processor? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/28 "2024-12-05T21:22:07Z")
If you’re getting Windows, I wouldn’t recommend it (yet). Snapdragon is an Arm CPU that’s not inherently compatible with Intel and AMD computers. This means Windows on Snapdragon will be emulating some apps. They will generally work, but with a performance penalty. Some apps won’t work at all. But wait a few years and maybe that won’t be an issue anymore. It’s kinda like how Mac apps had a transition period when they moved from Power Macs to Intel, and then again when they moved from Intel to Apple Silicon. Windows is experimenting with that transition right now, but you don’t have to be their guinea pig. There’s no guarantee the transition will “stick”, and you don’t want to be stuck with an unsupported architecture. Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn’t control most Windows PC hardware, and unless a critical mass of the OEMs also move to Arm, it will always be a second tier citizen. > **[Here's what emulated x86 software is really like on Snapdragon X Elite](https://www.xda-developers.com/x86-emulation-snapdragon-x-elite/)** > > From Lightroom Classic to Slack, here are the ups and downs ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/29 "2024-12-05T22:54:22Z")
Thanks. Looks like we will be getting the AMD version of this laptop. A bit cheaper, and the battery performance of the Snapdragon isn’t needed. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961/30 "2024-12-06T14:12:38Z")
(nm. didn’t realize I already said this earlier) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-needed-on-laptop-purchase/1010961.md?page=1)