[Opensim-users] current recommendation for laptops
Nebadon Izumi
nebadon2025 at gmail.com
Sat Apr 7 02:52:44 UTC 2012
I don't disagree that Lenovo has nice machines, but they are more
expensive, I have had my hands on both Lenovo and Toshiba, and I can tell
you from first hand experience, Toshiba quality and reliability and
durability matches and in some case exceeds Lenovo in certain classes of
machine, and with Toshiba you get a lot more computer for your money. If
your looking for a business class machine Lenovo is the way to go for sure,
if your looking for a Game/3D Level machine then Toshiba blows Lenovo out
of the water hands down.
On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Dr Ramesh Ramloll <r.ramloll at gmail.com>wrote:
> Thanks for all the fast and detailed responses. I am absolutely grateful.
> I also found this info that am sharing. Looks like Lenovo is currently
> the most reliable choice as well.
>
>
> http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx
>
>
> Manufacturer U.S. Computer Market Share2
> (Percentage of Share computers shipped) RESCUECOM Computer Repair Share1
> (Percentage of service calls to 1-800-RESCUE-PC) Computer
> Reliability Score1
> LENOVO/IBM 7.3% 2.6% 281
> TOSHIBA 10.3% 5.4% 190
> SAMSUNG 1.7% 1.1% 156
> APPLE 11.0% 7.3% 151
> ASUS 3.8% 3.0% 126
> HP/COMPAQ 23.2% 23.3% 100
> DELL 22.6% 33.2% 68
> SONY 2.2% 3.4% 64
> ACER 8.2% 20.7% 40
> On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 8:01 PM, Patrick Elliott-Brennan
> <mail at elliott-brennan.id.au> wrote:
> > I have to say that I agree with Sean and his reasoning.
> >
> > Excellent summary, Sean.
> >
> > I've seen lots of various makes in a very 'hands-on' profession which
> > required the laptops to be used by many people on lots of different
> > environments.
> >
> > The Thinkpads did best.
> >
> > So much so that when it came to buying our first new laptops, I bought my
> > wife and I an X200 each.
> >
> > That's not to say other machines aren't good, just that the Thinkpads do
> > very well in multi-user environments.
> >
> > Note: I avoid laptops generally as I find the 'use' argument usually
> more of
> > an 'excuse' argument. ie. Most people who have them don't really need
> them
> > and would be better served (money wise) with desktops.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Patrick
> >
> > On Apr 7, 2012 10:27 AM, "Sean McNamara" <smcnam at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> For workloads involving OpenSim and/or Second Life derived viewers,
> >> you will definitely want a discrete graphics card in the laptop. This
> >> increases cost, weight and size of the unit, as well as reduces
> >> battery life, but it's well worth the downsides. Using integrated
> >> graphics with a simulator is just unwise; the experience will be...
> >> unpleasant. Maybe Ivy Bridge CPUs will change that, but don't count on
> >> it.
> >>
> >> I personally have a very low opinion of the build quality of all
> >> currently-available retail laptops except for two brands which really
> >> stand out: the Panasonic Toughbook, and the Lenovo ThinkPad (notice:
> >> *NOT* IdeaPad!).
> >>
> >> Notice I said *build quality*. This says nothing about:
> >> -Value/price
> >> -Weight
> >> -Battery life
> >> -Performance
> >>
> >> What IS build quality? Build quality is a trait of a laptop which is
> >> measured by judging how well the laptop withstands the pressures of
> >> typical use and typical accidental damage / misuse. To me, build
> >> quality goes far beyond the physical characteristics of the unit.
> >> Build quality encompasses things such as:
> >>
> >> -The reliability of the parts. Will your HDD last 2 years, or 8? This
> >> is a build quality question.
> >>
> >> -The robustness of the firmware and drivers for all of the parts. Will
> >> your wifi card have a bug that randomly hangs the entire system when
> >> it scans for new networks? Will your BIOS have a bug that refuses to
> >> boot from USB flash drives? These little annoyances can add up to a
> >> completely unusable product, if build quality is not a constant point
> >> of attention by the manufacturer.
> >>
> >> -The ability of the hardware to survive in more extreme environments.
> >> Is your laptop only going to survive if you keep the internals
> >> completely clean of all dust and dirt, and keep it on a flat,
> >> heat-conducting table at all times? Or will you be able to hold it at
> >> odd angles against your knee (both a poor conductor and a small
> >> surface area) for extended periods while running intensive
> >> applications? Will the unit overheat if the temperature in your house
> >> or lab is over 80 Fahrenheit? If you accidentally drop the unit, will
> >> it shatter into a million pieces, or will it sustain a dignified scuff
> >> mark on the case? All of these are build quality questions.
> >>
> >> -The degree to which your hardware was tested during development,
> >> believe it or not, is a build quality question. The more well-tested a
> >> device, the longer its time to market; but at the same time, the end
> >> result will be far superior in reliability and will be able to support
> >> more general use cases than products that are rushed to market only
> >> expecting the top few most common use cases.
> >>
> >> Personally, I think there is a tragic disease in the laptop and
> >> embedded device market today, that build quality is being thrown out
> >> the door, in favor of other factors, such as:
> >>
> >> -Reducing cost
> >> -Reducing time to market
> >> -Reducing weight
> >> -Reducing the labor-intensive parts of product development
> >> -Increasing the "raw stats" (MHz, number of cores, amount of RAM, etc)
> >> in the unit without increasing price
> >>
> >> This disease is as damaging to the overall satisfaction with a device
> >> as it would be to eat a diet of pure sugar with no nutrients. Build
> >> quality is the nutrients, fiber and protein of computing: it makes the
> >> device *usable* in the same way that protein allows you to *survive*.
> >>
> >> I won't disagree directly with Nebadon, but let's just say that I
> >> definitely, positively would not recommend Toshiba as a laptop
> >> manufacturer, especially with the target of a "lab" environment where
> >> people who may not have your organization's best interests at heart
> >> (or whom may not care about accidental or purposeful damage they might
> >> attempt to inflict upon the units) will have regular access to the
> >> PCs.
> >>
> >> It is for these reasons that I encourage you to think carefully about
> >> build quality, and not just cost and specifications, in your selection
> >> of laptop; and I urge you to look at Lenovo ThinkPads and Panasonic
> >> Toughbooks should you be interested in a unit with very rugged build
> >> quality which I can proudly recommend from years and years of personal
> >> experience.
> >>
> >> Aside from that, chances are good that, getting down to specs, any
> >> unit with >= 4GB of RAM, >= 200GB HDD, >= 2 cores, a discrete (and
> >> current-generation!) GPU, is going to be more than enough to enjoyably
> >> run a workload such as OpenSim alongside a Second Life derived viewer.
> >> For such a unit, you might look at the ThinkPad T-series laptops.
> >> They're even fairly price competitive these days, if you omit frills
> >> like fingerprint reader, bluetooth, and an SSD.
> >>
> >> Best of luck to you.
> >>
> >> Sean
> >>
> >> On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 5:44 PM, Dr Ramesh Ramloll <r.ramloll at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >> > Hey there,
> >> > I am a little sheepish when it comes to buying laptops. Couple of
> >> > years ago, I bought about 24 alienware latops for a lab based on the
> >> > recommendation of a hardcore gamer that I trusted. Within a short
> >> > period, about 50% of the machines developed various issues from basic
> >> > cracked screens because of over tight hinges, failed hard drives
> >> > etc..., over heating.
> >> > Now am on the market for some more. What are your recommendations?
> >> > Needless to say am staying clear of Alienware ...
> >> > Thanks for your time.
> >> > R
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> > 'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'
> >> > Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate
> >> > Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
> >> > 83209 Tel: 208-240-0040
> >> > Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile
> >> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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>
>
> --
> 'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'
> Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate
> Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
> 83209 Tel: 208-240-0040
> Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile
> _______________________________________________
> Opensim-users mailing list
> Opensim-users at lists.berlios.de
> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-users
>
--
Michael Emory Cerquoni - Nebadon Izumi @ http://osgrid.org
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