PC preferences

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What is your PC preference?

  • Laptop: bigger is better

    Votes: 9 60.0%

  • Laptop: Smaller and lighter is better

    Votes: 4 26.7%

  • Mini PC:

    Votes: 1 6.7%

  • Full sized PC:

    Votes: 1 6.7%
  • Total voters
    15
sawdust123

sawdust123

Moderator
Staff member
Nov 10, 2006
2,300
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Ventura County, CA
I'll be picking up a new PC soon. My preference is small and light, 14" and under 3 pounds. The problem is the available ports at this size. I want HDMI, USB-C and USB-A because I hate adapters. Many small and light models only offer USB-C. I have been checking the recent models introduced at CES and so far, I am not seeing anything standing out. I'll be traveling a lot the next three weeks and will make a choice when I am back.

One of my key requirements is a 5-year next day in-home service plan. Some vendors just offer these on their "business" model PCs, not consumer models. They can add 15% or more to the cost, but have always got my money's worth from them.
 
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Depends on what you are using it for. Home use I prefer a full size PC. DJ I prefer a big laptop
 
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sawdust123 said:
I'll be picking up a new PC soon. My preference is small and light, 14" and under 3 pounds. The problem is the available ports at this size. I want HDMI, USB-C and USB-A because I hate adapters. Many small and light models only offer USB-C. I have been checking the recent models introduced at CES and so far, I am not seeing anything standing out. I'll be traveling a lot the next three weeks and will make a choice when I am back.

One of my key requirements is a 5-year next day in-home service plan. Some vendors just offer these on their "business" model PCs, not consumer models. They can add 15% or more to the cost, but have always got my money's worth from them.
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I have a Lenovo ThinkPad E16, which, at 16” is slightly bigger than what you’re looking for. However, it has all the ports you’re looking for. Service plans are dependent upon the place you purchase it. I think Staples sells such a plan as you require, and they have decent prices. My Lenovo is the fastest laptop I have ever owned, and it’s the lightest weight. I’m pretty happy with it.
 
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I used to be bigger is better for both laptops and desktops now a days you have to buy a real piece a junk (aka Wal-Mart special) for it not to be able to handle web browsing, email, office, and stuff like that. My last few of desktops have been reconditioned boat anchor Dells off Amazon with a SSD, and an additional 1TB HDD out of the box, with dual monitor support. One was a small Dell form factor tower.... I guesstimate it was about 2/3rds of the full size boat anchor. All were were decent enough. i7 processors,16-32GB of RAM and $350ish out the door. Not bad at all.

I bought a 15" IdeaPad a couple years back. It's on the Ryzen 7 platform. I'm still very impressed with the performance for a sub-$500 laptop. It has HMDI, 2 USB-A, 2 USB-C and charges via USB-C. I bought small 4 port USB-A hub that I keep in my laptop bag. I was worried about only two ports. I haven't used it once.
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The mini PCs that I see on Amazon have amazing specs if I ever buy another desktop and that's a BIG IF I think it'll be a mini that can be VESA mounted to the back of the screen.
 
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I want to make a purchase in the next few days but I am beginning to second guess my first choice. It has all the features I want but reviews say its performance is just ho-hum for its price. There are thinner models with better battery life and performance in the same size and weight class (14" and 2.5 lbs). They require me to sacrifice on the internal HDMI and USB-A port though. Perhaps external port replicators aren't so bad. Anyone have any bad experiences using these?

My biggest reliability fear is USB-C ports breaking. My current laptop has had a USB-C port replaced twice under warranty (requiring a new motherboard). One those ports is out on my current PC and my warranty finally expired. The best repair place in town expressed doubt they could fix it without a new motherboard which is not worth the money. The model I have been considering has these ports on a small, easily replaceable (by me) daughter board but perhaps I am placing too much value in that one feature.
 
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sawdust123 said:
I want to make a purchase in the next few days but I am beginning to second guess my first choice. It has all the features I want but reviews say its performance is just ho-hum for its price. There are thinner models with better battery life and performance in the same size and weight class (14" and 2.5 lbs). They require me to sacrifice on the internal HDMI and USB-A port though. Perhaps external port replicators aren't so bad. Anyone have any bad experiences using these?

My biggest reliability fear is USB-C ports breaking. My current laptop has had a USB-C port replaced twice under warranty (requiring a new motherboard). One those ports is out on my current PC and my warranty finally expired. The best repair place in town expressed doubt they could fix it without a new motherboard which is not worth the money. The model I have been considering has these ports on a small, easily replaceable (by me) daughter board but perhaps I am placing too much value in that one feature.
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I’m not your guy sorry I’m still rocking my Commodore 64🤣
 
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I was doing more research last night and found out that the new Intel Panther Lake Ultra Series 3 processors are just about to hit the streets. They offer big gains in speed and efficiency. It may be worth it to wait for these models.

ASUS has an ExpertBook model (B9406) coming out that is just about 2.2 lbs, over 24 hours battery life and all the ports I want. They also offer 5 years of on-site support for business users. I have to call to find out if a home business qualifies to get that. I've seen other vendors that offer great business support plans but it requires a minimum purchase of 50 PCs. I have never used an ASUS before. I have always thought of them as more consumer grade than professional grade.
 
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I’d love an ultra small laptop, but the software demands more power!

I tried out both MacBook Air and Pro m4s over the last 6 months. Both worked fine for basic mixing, but really stumbled once I tried to also run videos and visuallizers and stem separation in real time.

A dedicated GPU is a must have for me, and that means a gaming laptop, basically. I’ve found Lenovo and Sager to be the best options in terms of stability and performance.

I tried out over 15 laptops over the last year, btw. Lenovo Legion and Sager are the only ones I would buy at this point
 
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Lenovo makes great products but they have been accused of leaving backdoors for the PLA (Chinese Peoples Liberation Army) in some of their products. I know one of the largest financial institutions in the US went from primarily using Lenovos 10 years ago to banning them outright in favor of Dell and Apple.

Some of the new Intel Panther Lake processors have the new Intel Arc Pro B390 graphics. Early reviews say they are pulling ahead of Nvidia. I don't mix video so this really isn't a concern for me. I am finding that the biggest limit to my choices are finding an HDMI port and USB-A port on an ultralight. Asus has a model that will ship in April that looks pretty good @ 2.2 lbs. I think Dell screwed up with their new XPS line with only USB-C ports.
 
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I believe all future PCs will come AI Enabled. Actually, I believe eventually TVs will go from "Smart" to "Super Smart" with AI tech in them too. Eventually, keyboards will be done away with everything will be spoken, and the only option for a keyboard will be a virtual one on the screen itself. Gaming will change a lot with this as well.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I believe all future PCs will come AI Enabled. Actually, I believe eventually TVs will go from "Smart" to "Super Smart" with AI tech in them too. Eventually, keyboards will be done away with everything will be spoken, and the only option for a keyboard will be a virtual one on the screen itself. Gaming will change a lot with this as well.
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How will I type and take notes quietly while in the company of others that I don’t want to hear what I am entering ??
 
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tunes4046 said:
How will I type and take notes quietly while in the company of others that I don’t want to hear what I am entering ??
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Virtual Keyboard, OR set up a wireless link between your mind and your computer. Eventually it will be reading your mind. ...Our devices already do this to a degree.

Ever NEVER EVER talk about something you were thinking about, and that very item came up as a suggested item for you in a google ad on the side of the screen, OR ever have a reel or ad for that item pop up on Facebook or Insta? ...I have! People are posting videos about that very thing. That the algorithm can somehow read or detect or thoughts and then wala...it is showing us items that we had only thought about...never ever talked about in the presence of our devices.
 
This is often explained by your IP address being identified. Let's say you have a home network that is connected to your phones, PCs and a host of other smart devices in your house (TVs, Amazon Echo, etc). They all share the IP address of your router. Something done on one device can cause ads to show on other devices hooked to the same router. I disable listening features on my devices that let me but my wife still uses Siri on her phone. Do you recall 10 years ago, Samsung got into some hot water because their voice recognition feature had privacy issues?
 
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sawdust123 said:
Lenovo makes great products but they have been accused of leaving backdoors for the PLA (Chinese Peoples Liberation Army) in some of their products. I know one of the largest financial institutions in the US went from primarily using Lenovos 10 years ago to banning them outright in favor of Dell and Apple.

Some of the new Intel Panther Lake processors have the new Intel Arc Pro B390 graphics. Early reviews say they are pulling ahead of Nvidia. I don't mix video so this really isn't a concern for me. I am finding that the biggest limit to my choices are finding an HDMI port and USB-A port on an ultralight. Asus has a model that will ship in April that looks pretty good @ 2.2 lbs. I think Dell screwed up with their new XPS line with only USB-C ports.
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I have had a few Asus PCs and one (I think) laptop they all ran pretty good
 
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Smaller and lighter every time for me. I'm lugging enough gear to gigs without adding a heavy laptop on top. Currently using a 14" and it's the sweet spot for size vs screen space. Agree on the ports though, having to carry a dongle bag defeats the purpose of going light. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s has HDMI, USB-C and USB-A if you haven't looked at that one. Business model too so you can get the extended warranty you mentioned.
 
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BrainstormCJG said:
Smaller and lighter every time for me. I'm lugging enough gear to gigs without adding a heavy laptop on top. Currently using a 14" and it's the sweet spot for size vs screen space. Agree on the ports though, having to carry a dongle bag defeats the purpose of going light. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s has HDMI, USB-C and USB-A if you haven't looked at that one. Business model too so you can get the extended warranty you mentioned.
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Wait a few years, you’ll want that 17 inch screen
 
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I use an external micro keyboard and trackball mouse, and a USB-C monitor (about 15" from memory). I've always preferred the laptop to be hidden away.

I'm upgrading this year, keep the older laptop as backup, and going with a mini PC and a UPS of some sort permanently mounted inside a rack.

The reason for the UPS is so I can power up the PC at home without unpacking the entire roadcase, then remote into it to update music, VDJ, etc. Will cut down my set up time too, everything loaded ready to go in a single case on wheels.
 
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sawdust123 said:
I am finding that the biggest limit to my choices are finding an HDMI port and USB-A port on an ultralight. Asus has a model that will ship in April that looks pretty good @ 2.2 lbs. I think Dell screwed up with their new XPS line with only USB-C ports.
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USB-C is the leading connection now, and it is assumed users will be using a multi-port dongle.
I have these in just about every kit that is or will be in any way involved with PCs. Removing all these ports from the PC is what allows the device to become smaller and lighter. Mobility is the priority today - people no longer takes "notes" to a meeting - they bring their device.

The dongle also offers some port protection for users moving between fixed sites - much the way a docking base did with earlier products. We can simply make on connection to all our peripherals at each location.
 
To each their own. I have more USB adapters/port replicators than you can shake a stick at. The one I am looking for is always somewhere else (e.g. my other bag or on my wife's desk). They each have different feature combinations such as PD pass through, multiple HDMI, 4K, RJ45, DP, etc. I had a superlight laptop that required a mini to full size HDMI adapter and it drove me nuts.

The one place I do prefer to use port replicators is in my DJ rigs. This is so I only need to run a single wire to the PC. All the other connections are tucked away in the case.

The PC I am looking at weighs 2.2 lbs, is 11mm thick and has all the ports I want. Now I just need it to go on sale. I believe it will be in the next week or two. If not, HP has a fairly similar model already on sale but with less battery life.
 
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sawdust123 said:
To each their own. I have more USB adapters/port replicators than you can shake a stick at. The one I am looking for is always somewhere else (e.g. my other bag or on my wife's desk). They each have different feature combinations such as PD pass through, multiple HDMI, 4K, RJ45, DP, etc. I had a superlight laptop that required a mini to full size HDMI adapter and it drove me nuts.

The one place I do prefer to use port replicators is in my DJ rigs. This is so I only need to run a single wire to the PC. All the other connections are tucked away in the case.

The PC I am looking at weighs 2.2 lbs, is 11mm thick and has all the ports I want. Now I just need it to go on sale. I believe it will be in the next week or two. If not, HP has a fairly similar model already on sale but with less battery life.
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The trick is to make them "stick" meaning you have a separate adapter kit in every location or FOH box rather than trying to make them follow the computer as it moves from place to place. The only thing in my computer bag is a single 9 in 1 multi-port for times when the computer is the only thing in motion.

For example. there is a pouch full of the same adapters in every FOH kit, and a video specific pouch is added to every trunk that goes to a gig that involves video presentation. Same for DI's and other core converters or adapters - they are already in every kit so these basic but critical link tools won't be overlooked in a rush or stressful situation.
 
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