Laptop vs. desktop

[happypamama]

I currently have a desktop machine, and I'm looking to replace it.  I'm looking at two used items from ebay, one laptop and one desktop.

 

Pro of desktop: Better machine.  $20 cheaper.

Pro of laptop: Portable.

 

Both are way better, spec-wise, than my current desktop and have very good hard drive space for my needs (much more than my current machine's main HD).  I also have a 1TB HD that was the secondary drive for my current machine, and I could use it with either replacement, although it'd be harder with the laptop.

 

I do have and adore my iPad for its portability, but sometimes I need a full featured OneNote, which the iPad doesn't have, and I could use the laptop for group video watching at lunch because it's several inches bigger than the iPad screen.  I am envisioning keeping it on my desk in the schoolroom where I keep my current desktop, hooked to my current monitor, and then just moving it when needed occasionally.  DD could take it to her room for schoolwork (this is starting to become an issue -- she needs a quiet space AND a computer for a lot of her work now, and any public areas are hard to get that with four younger kids), and I could take it to my room for working at night when the schoolroom gets chilly.

 

But it's not quite as good, spec-wise, as the desktop I'm considering.  And that's really the main question.  We've talked about getting a laptop for kid use down the line anyway; I'm just thinking I could kill two birds with one stone now.  I hadn't thought a laptop of decent specs would be in our price range right now, but post-holiday sales are better than I thought.

 

*For those concerned about kids and privacy and portable devices, I feel pretty confident that the multiple safety programs we have will mitigate any major issues with portable devices in rooms, and I'm not terribly concerned about that right now.

 

If you've been through this thought process and can tell me why you went with desktop over laptop or vice versa, I'd appreciate it!

[Arcadia]

We went with laptops only. The reason is our local libraries host free programming and web designing classes. My boys prefer to bring their own laptops for those classes than use the limited loaner sets the library owns. My boys have also done online homework at the library while waiting for a sibling attending class nearby.

My kids have their own laptop bags.

[Lanny]

I love big Towers (easy for me to work inside them and they have lots of expansion room) but we began switching to Dell Latitude laptops, during March 2014.  We now have 5 laptops and DD also has a Mini Tower "Desktop".   My wife has a 20" LED Monitor connected to her primary (faster) laptop and an external USB keygboard and an external USB mouse.  DD has an external USB mouse attached to her laptop.  I have an external USB keyboard and an external USB mouse connected to my primary (faster) laptop.  

 

Note: I would like to have an external LED monitor for this laptop, it would be easier on my eyes than the 14.4" display this laptop has.

 

If one is frequently (daily) moving the laptop to go mobile somewhere else, and also using it on their desk, for the Dell Latitude series they make "Docking Stations" and one can have their external monitor, keyboard and mouse hooked up and just place the laptop onto the Docking Station.

 

We purchased three (3) Dell Latitude E6400 laptops from Blair Technology Group. They are REFURBISHED, have a new, fresh, legal copy of Windows and a one year warranty on everything except the battery.  Highly recommend. BlairTG on Amazon and on eBay and on their own web site. I believe they sell most of their items on eBay.

 

Starting in September, we have won two (2) Dell Latitude E6410 laptops from an eBay Seller in Hughesville, PA.  They have about 5 eBay accounts that I know of:. gilco4040, etc.  Also MergTechLaptops or something like that. I won this one the night of December 5th. These are later models and much faster. Highly recommend.

 

The models that we have were built for and sold/leased to Enterprise (Corporate) customers so they have higher quality design and components than models designed for and sold to the Consumer market. Parts are readily available and they are very easy to service.  They have "Matte" panels so there is no glare from lights when looking at the display.

 

These are WORKHORSE models.

 

Oh, we are in South America, so we need U.S. English operating system and keyboard, which are not available here, and the shipping on a laptop from our Receiver/Forwarder in Miami to our house in Colombia is only $28.00.  For a Desktop PC the shipping cost would be much higher so that's one motivation for our shift to Laptops.

 

GL with whatever you decide to buy!

Edited January 5, 2016 by Lanny

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have both.  I pretty much only use the laptop if I want to bring it somewhere though.  I hate using laptops.  I hate the keyboards.  I just find them so uncomfortable to use. 

 

 

 

 

[Lanny]

We have an external USB Samsung DVD Burner, and we have an external USB Western Digital 1 TB hard disk drive for backup.  This used E6410 had a 160 GB HDD in it when I got it 2 weeks ago. I'd purchased a "New Other" 500 GB 7200 RPM Seagate HDD on eBay for < $35 with shipping in the USA..  It had 1 or 2 hours of use in the first machine it was installed in.  There is not much "expansion" room inside a laptop (this one has a card for Cell Phone Broadband, which I wish I could afford to use) and a Fingerprint Reader and a Web Camera and Microphone, in addition to an Nvidia discrete video card and an upscale panel in the display.

[Lanny]

I have both.  I pretty much only use the laptop if I want to bring it somewhere though.  I hate using laptops.  I hate the keyboards.  I just find them so uncomfortable to use. 

 

In the house, we usually have an external USB keyboard hooked up to our laptops.  I have an Egonomic Microsoft keyboard on this laptop (the faster one).  We don't travel a lot but when we do we use the laptop keyboard and bring an external USB mouse along.  And, the laptop cooler...

[happypamama]

Thank you all! I'm really leaning toward the laptop at this point. I feel like the portability is worth sacrificing the small amount of speed.

 

Lanny, thanks for the tips! The Dell Latititude e6410 is exactly the model that caught my eye and which I was considering before I asked here, so I'm glad to hear that you're happy. Shipped from PA is even better, so I will look for that seller. Can you confirm that they do hold up to 8GB RAM? They come with 4, so in a few months, I figure I'll spend the $40 to change to 8 if 4 is lagging.

 

I have a perfectly good USB keyboard and mouse and a decent monitor (actually, it's a smallish TV), so I'm thinking I'll just keep them all plugged into the laptop unless we want to move the laptop. If it becomes a hassle, we can get a docking station for it. Printer is wireless, so that's not a concern.

 

I think, bottom line, we'd get a better laptop this way than if we decided to get a barebones one mostly for word processing in addition to a desktop for me, so this seems like it should meet all of the needs for the most reasonable outlay of cash.

[happypamama]

Okay, after talking with DH, we decided to go for the laptop, so it'll be here in a few days. Exciting! Thanks for the input!

[Carrie12345]

Yes, laptops are essential for us.  Space is severely limited, many kids, few quiet spots.
I should probably get smarter about choosing my personal laptops in the future but, as far as the kids go, we haven't found any need to pay extra for more anything.  If my 8yo really gets into computers the way he says he wants to, that may change eventually.  But my 3 older, basic users?  Never an issue.

[Mom22ns]

Okay, after talking with DH, we decided to go for the laptop, so it'll be here in a few days. Exciting! Thanks for the input!

 

Congratulations! We are an all laptop family. It is a transition, but once we made it, we could never go back.

[happypamama]

Congratulations! We are an all laptop family. It is a transition, but once we made it, we could never go back.

 

Yeah, I'm wondering if we will eventually get to that point. . .   DH still has his desktop up in the office/music room.  My "new" laptop will be better than his desktop, and I'm wondering if he will ever feel the need to go to a laptop just for extra portability.  He works from home sometimes and needs a specific CAD program, but I think he could probably use a laptop just fine and just keep it attached to his good mouse, keyboard, and monitor unless he wants to move it around.

 

I use my iPad 95% of the time, so I expect that using a laptop will be a fairly easy transition for me, with the added benefits of a full-featured OneNote and room to download my camera.  Also, now I can multitask in my room in the evening and work on OneNote/the internet/Quicken on the laptop while playing music or TV on the iPad. 

 

Now I just want the thing to get here, LOL!  Should be here Monday.

[AngieW in Texas]

My dh is the only still working on a laptop at this point, although he does also have a macbook. He used to use his macbook extensively, but he doesn't anymore.

 

My 17yo has a monitor hooked up to her laptop so she can have things going on two screens at once.

 

[Lanny]

OP I just spent about 45 minutes replying to you and then when I submitted my post, there was an issue and something wasn't right according to the WTM Server and I was logged out. That should teach me that if I am going to write a long reply, I should do it in "Notepad" or something and not Online and not risk losing what I'd written like that.    :-)

 

YES.  The Dell Latitude E6410 my wife has (the one I won on eBay on September 10th for her) has 8 GB of RAM in it. 

 

Note: When you install Windows 7, you need to install the 64 bit version, because the 32 bit version can only support 4 GB of RAM as I recall.

 

My E6410 has 4 GB of RAM. Eventually I will buy 8 GB of RAM for it from Crucial.com for $40.    The E6400 can also hold 8 GB of RAM but Crucial charges $240 for 8 GB of RAM for an E6400, which is why the 3 E6400s we have all have 4 GB of RAM in them.

 

This is the eBay URL for the SERPs for that eBay Seller this morning for Dell Latitude E6410 laptops. They always include "INCOMPLETE LAPTOP" in their listings. They always wipe the hard drives. They always charge $24 to ship a laptop within the lower 48 states.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Computers-Tablets-Networking-/58058/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Dell+Latitude+E6410+%2B+INCOMPLETE+LAPTOP&_sop=1

 

Before I bid on the one for my wife on September 10th, I paid $6 for one year of the Gixen.com Sniping service for their Mirror service. I set both servers to submit my Maximum bid to eBay, 15 seconds before the end of the auction. Before that, I used the FREE Gixen Sniping service.

 

LOOK AT THIS LISTING for their eBay auction tonight for a Dell Latitude E6410:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6410-Core-i7-2-66GHz-4GB-RAM-250GB-HD-NO-OS-INCOMPLETE-LAPTOP-/231787875956?hash=item35f7a24e74:g:-mwAAOSw5IJWdB~k

 

 

The E6410 in their auction tonight doesn't have an AC Adapter. Mine didn't either. I had a Spare AC Adapter I'd purchased from laptopz-outlet on eBay for $7.30.  

 

 

NOTE: The E6410 in their auction tonight DOES HAVE the Nvidia Discrete video card and the upscale high resolution panel. You can see that in the photos of the BIOS they include.  The Nvidia card and upscale high resolution panel are things that I wanted.

 

NOTE: It has the A03 BIOS. I think both of ours had the A06 BIOS.  The latest BIOS is A16. But, I discovered that you need to update to A09 (?) and then update to A16.  

 

NOTE: LIke mine, it has 4 GB of RAM and if you want to upgrade to 8 GB of RAM, as I will probably do eventually, you will need to remove all of the RAM currently in it.  8 GB of RAM from Crucial.com is $40.

 

Mine had a 160 GB HDD and I won it for $112.68.   Plus the $24.00 for shipping within the lower 48 states.

 

This one has a 250 GB HDD.  If you are interested I think your MAXIMUM bid should be about $125.00 and then they will charge you $24.00 additional for shipping.

 

You will need to Reinstall Windows 7.  I bought a Reinstall DVD for Windows 7 from someone in San Francisco on eBay for $6.99 and I've used it to "Clean" install  Windows 7 on 4 laptops, without issues.

 

The one tonight has the same i7 CPU that mine has. It looks pretty nice...

 

These are not "Refurbished" laptops and they DO NOT HAVE a one year warranty and support. One like that would cost A LOT more.

 

You will need to Reinstall Windows (and then do all the Important (Security/Stability) updates for Windows 7. You will need to buy an AC Adapter ($7.30 from laptopz-outlet on eBay).   

 

The battery in my E6410 is good.  It might be the original battery Dell installed in the factory.  But, if you need a new battery, you can buy one from laptopz-outlet on eBay for $12.39.    The same battery is used in the E6400.

 

The one tonight has a WiFi card and like mine it also has a card for Cellular Broadband. I can't use that, because I'm not wealthy or working for an employer who will pay for Cellular Broadband...

 

In the last photo you will see a Yellow thing. They always place that over the Microsoft COA (Certificate of Authenticity) which has the 25 digit Product Key you need to Activate Windows 7 with Microsoft.

 

HTH

[happypamama]

Lanny, you're the best -- thanks for all of that great information!

[Lanny]

Lanny, you're the best -- thanks for all of that great information!

 

 

You are welcome!   After I posted that this morning, I read more posts in this thread and it looks like you purchased an E6410 from someone last night.  I hope that you (or your DH) are as happy with the one you receive as I am with this E6410 I received 2 or 3 weeks ago!

 

Note: If you ever want to replace the Hard Disk Drive in an E6410 (and probably many other models) with a "Thin" (7 mm) Hard Disk Drive or an SSD, as I did in this E6410, I wrote on our blog how to do this. It has to do with the position of the SATA Connector and Gravity.  I wasted 2 or 3 hours trying to get the HDD into the SATA Connector correctly, before I learned how to do it...    Gravity...

http://computer2.com/installing-a-thin-7-mm-hard-disk-drive-or-solid-state-drive-in-a-dell-latitude-e6410-laptop/

 

Always have your laptop(s) sitting on a Cooler. That will extend the life of the laptop(s).

Edited January 6, 2016 by Lanny

[Lanny]

After your E6410 is delivered I strongly suggest that you do these 2 things. This would be the same, if it was a Brand New Laptop that you custom ordered from Dell.com, or if it was a Refurbished Laptop that you bought from Blair Technology Group, or, if it is Used, as in the case of the one you purchased and the 2 we purchased from the eBay seller in Hughesville, PA

 

After you unpack it and inspect for Shipping Damage (especially to the Panel), the first things you should do are:

 

(1) Run Diagnostics on the RAM (Memory) with memtest86.   Download the .ISO file from their web site and burn a CD.  If you have not burned an .ISO file before, Google that.  Boot from the CD you burn and run at least one (1) Pass on the RAM.

http://www.memtest86.com/

(Download the FREE Edition)

 

(2) Run Diagnostics on the Hard DIsk Drive.  It is best to use the Diagnostics of the Hard Drive manufacturer, IF they have available something you can Download as an .ISO file and boot from.  If not, I tend to use Seagates SeaTools for DOS and because that runs on many brands of hard disk drives, I bought a Seagate 500 GB drive that I installed in this E6410.

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-dos-master/

 

 

IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES STOP THERE, until you eliminate those issues.

 

 

I usually take about 30 days to get confidence in a machine that is brand new or is new to me, but with this Used  E6410 I began making it  "my" machine, after 5 days.

 

Also, with the Dell Service Tag number (letters and numbers actually) on Support.Dell.com you can put in your Service Tag and it will tell you which Drivers are available.  The latest BIOS for the E6410 is A16.  Mine was on A06 (?) and I had to first download A09 (?) and Flash the BIOS to that, and then Download A16 and Flash the BIOS to A16.

 

Buy a Cooling Pad BEFORE your Laptop is delivered and use the Cooling Pad AT ALL TIMES.

 

In the  event that you ever need Replacement Components, they are readily available on eBay at low cost.  The Panel is the most expensive component for one of these laptops and if I needed one, I would probably just buy another Used E6410, and use the one with the bad Panel for Spare Parts. Commonality suggests that if your family buys another Laptop, it should also be a Dell Latitude E6410.

 

GL with your E6410!

[happypamama]

I did order a cooling pad, and I ran the two things you recommended, Lanny -- no problems!  It is working great so far!  So fast!  It already had the BIOS set to A16.

 

It came with a Windows reinstall CD.  I also followed the directions on the Control Panel to create a System Repair disc.  Once I have more on it, I will create a System Image disc.  Is there anything else I should create to have as a backup or repair?

 

Thanks for your help!

[happypamama]

Update: I've spent most of the past three days working on it, arranging things, making the network work, etc.  LOVE!  It's so fast!  I'm just getting a couple more files transferred to it, and then the last thing I need to set up is how to hook it to my existing bigger monitor.  I think I am a convert to the laptop thing now. :)