Looking for a New Laptop

**monochrome** · 05-17-2019, 06:14 AM

Originally posted by Merv-O

If you're pumping 32gb RAM that should be enough for all but the most dense of programs. Sometimes it's not the computer per se, it's also the bandwidth of your wifi provider. I know at the office we have very fast machines, but as we are in a large high rise in Center City Philly, the bandwidth does slow down occasionally, whilst the computer is fine. I have to assume that you aren't talking about WiFi applications, but if you are, it may be your 3rd party provider as the culprit.

Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head.

Last edited by monochrome; 05-17-2019 at 07:11 AM.

**acoufap** · 05-17-2019, 08:23 AM

Since 2008 I mainly use Mac computers at home. Started with a white MacBook Early 2008, then the late Mac Mini 2012 (quad core i7, updated myself to 16GB RAM and Fusion Drive) still running great! The MacBook retired when I couldn't upgrade to the latest MacOS anymore.

Long time I hesitated to buy another MacOS Laptop - why? Mainly because of the prize for a maschine that would have the power I wished to workout my photographs, making slide show videos and music etc. Most sources recommended at least a quad core cpu. Until last summer the MacBook Pro 15" was the only Apple Mac System that delivered the power in combination with a Retina display - but very expensive. And what I read about keyboard problems didn't press me to buy.

Then Apple brought the newest MacBook Pro 13" using a i5 quad core processor. The configuration I thought about was 16GB RAM and 500GB ssd - but also very expensive. Then I saw a black friday deal for the MacBook Pro 13" entry level model - quad core i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB - 1750,- € - yes I know, doesn't sound too sophisticated. But I'll give it a try I thought, bought it and added an external SSD 500GB USB-C drive that I built from a housing and cheap Samsung 500GB ssd.

Experience until now: the MacBook 13" is a lightweight nice silent and fast enough maschine. Until now no problems with the restriction of 8GB - on a unix maschine like this (MacOS) swapping should work very well in conjunction with the internal ssd if needed. No problems with the new overhauled keyboard. But the mechanics are a bit loud, guess because it's real mechanics that will (hopefully) last longer than a standard rubberpad-based one. This MacBook Pro is a flawless running good choice IMO - if you are not a game player. Also a great solution to use my external color calibrated eizo monitor in addition.

**Merv-O** · 05-17-2019, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head.

I agree. For all that re-configuring, you might as well just hold on for another year or two. Amazing what the planned obsolescence is in computers these days. I think we re-configure every 2 to 3 years because of speed and/or program compatibility issues. Even my venerable MacBook Pro from 2016 is getting sluggish, and that has a Intel 7 chip in it.....Well good luck. It's worse than the camera market. At least a 10 year old camera, if kept pristine, will function well for many years. Computer: no way.

reh321 · 05-18-2019, 11:07 AM

Originally posted by gatorguy

FWIW the Dell XPS 13 or 15 is considered comparable to the new Apple hardware but a few hundred dollars less.

I have an XPS13 on order, preloaded with Linux. Dell tells me it should be here some time next week.

reh321 · 05-18-2019, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head.

The desktop computer I'm typing from is a computer our daughter constructed last year, starting with her husband's {"boyfriend" at the time} former gaming computer. I'm still mad at Microsoft for the way they tried to push Win10 on me, so she preloaded it with the Ubuntu variant of Linux. It was slow at first, and it was complaining about disk space, so I moved all my data to an external disk. That didn't fix anything, so I took a deep breath, reminded myself that at one time I was system manager for a HP-UX computer that academic users at a small college depended on, did some research, then repartitioned the main hard disk {made the swap and boot partitions larger}, reloaded the operating system, and now everything is great! I would advise against operating on data from an external drive, because going through USB to an external drive tends to be slow, but having the data out there is what gave me the courage to "fix" the swap space and boot sector sizes, which turned out to be the primary issue.

**monochrome** · 05-18-2019, 11:50 AM

Originally posted by reh321

The desktop computer I'm typing from is a computer our daughter constructed last year, starting with her husband's {"boyfriend" at the time} former gaming computer. I'm still mad at Microsoft for the way they tried to push Win10 on me, so she preloaded it with the Ubuntu variant of Linux. It was slow at first, and it was complaining about disk space, so I moved all my data to an external disk. That didn't fix anything, so I took a deep breath, reminded myself that at one time I was system manager for a HP-UX computer that academic users at a small college depended on, did some research, then repartitioned the main hard disk {made the swap and boot partitions larger}, reloaded the operating system, and now everything is great! I would advise against operating on data from an external drive, because going through USB to an external drive tends to be slow, but having the data out there is what gave me the courage to "fix" the swap space and boot sector sizes, which turned out to be the primary issue.

In a very general sense increasing the boot and swap partitions is what I had in mind. MS seems to have hidden the actual controls behind front-end Menus. Since I don’t Know what the menus will actually do under the hood I’m reluctant to start.

If I could find a local tech who would just do what I want instead of wanting to send me to MicroCenter with a list of hardware upgrades to buy before starting I’d pay pretty much whatever was asked.

reh321 · 05-18-2019, 08:43 PM

Originally posted by monochrome

In a very general sense increasing the boot and swap partitions is what I had in mind. MS seems to have hidden the actual controls behind front-end Menus. Since I don’t Know what the menus will actually do under the hood I’m reluctant to start.

If I could find a local tech who would just do what I want instead of wanting to send me to MicroCenter with a list of hardware upgrades to buy before starting I’d pay pretty much whatever was asked.

I was fortunate - I did an Internet search on something like "change partition Ubuntu" and found instructions telling me exactly how to do it - otherwise, I'm too old for all that excitement all at one time.

It turned out that the Ubuntu already installed on my computer has a tool to generate a bootable USB flash drive.
Booting off that allowed me to run a program already on that drive to manipulate partitions.
Maybe Windows has something similar.

gatorguy · 05-19-2019, 04:30 AM

Originally posted by reh321

I have an XPS13 on order, preloaded with Linux. Dell tells me it should be here some time next week.

Congrats! That should hold you over for awhile.

I've had the 15" version in and out of my cart so many times the power cord is already frayed before I get it.

05-17-2019, 08:23 AM	#17
acoufap Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Munich, Germany Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,191	Since 2008 I mainly use Mac computers at home. Started with a white MacBook Early 2008, then the late Mac Mini 2012 (quad core i7, updated myself to 16GB RAM and Fusion Drive) still running great! The MacBook retired when I couldn't upgrade to the latest MacOS anymore. Long time I hesitated to buy another MacOS Laptop - why? Mainly because of the prize for a maschine that would have the power I wished to workout my photographs, making slide show videos and music etc. Most sources recommended at least a quad core cpu. Until last summer the MacBook Pro 15" was the only Apple Mac System that delivered the power in combination with a Retina display - but very expensive. And what I read about keyboard problems didn't press me to buy. Then Apple brought the newest MacBook Pro 13" using a i5 quad core processor. The configuration I thought about was 16GB RAM and 500GB ssd - but also very expensive. Then I saw a black friday deal for the MacBook Pro 13" entry level model - quad core i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB - 1750,- € - yes I know, doesn't sound too sophisticated. But I'll give it a try I thought, bought it and added an external SSD 500GB USB-C drive that I built from a housing and cheap Samsung 500GB ssd. Experience until now: the MacBook 13" is a lightweight nice silent and fast enough maschine. Until now no problems with the restriction of 8GB - on a unix maschine like this (MacOS) swapping should work very well in conjunction with the internal ssd if needed. No problems with the new overhauled keyboard. But the mechanics are a bit loud, guess because it's real mechanics that will (hopefully) last longer than a standard rubberpad-based one. This MacBook Pro is a flawless running good choice IMO - if you are not a game player. Also a great solution to use my external color calibrated eizo monitor in addition. Last edited by acoufap; 05-17-2019 at 08:28 AM.

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05-17-2019, 06:14 AM	#16
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by Merv-O If you're pumping 32gb RAM that should be enough for all but the most dense of programs. Sometimes it's not the computer per se, it's also the bandwidth of your wifi provider. I know at the office we have very fast machines, but as we are in a large high rise in Center City Philly, the bandwidth does slow down occasionally, whilst the computer is fine. I have to assume that you aren't talking about WiFi applications, but if you are, it may be your 3rd party provider as the culprit. Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head. Last edited by monochrome; 05-17-2019 at 07:11 AM.

05-17-2019, 09:47 AM	#18
Merv-O Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Philadelphia Photos: Albums Posts: 2,098	Originally posted by monochrome Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head. I agree. For all that re-configuring, you might as well just hold on for another year or two. Amazing what the planned obsolescence is in computers these days. I think we re-configure every 2 to 3 years because of speed and/or program compatibility issues. Even my venerable MacBook Pro from 2016 is getting sluggish, and that has a Intel 7 chip in it.....Well good luck. It's worse than the camera market. At least a 10 year old camera, if kept pristine, will function well for many years. Computer: no way.

05-18-2019, 11:07 AM	#19
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Originally posted by gatorguy FWIW the Dell XPS 13 or 15 is considered comparable to the new Apple hardware but a few hundred dollars less. I have an XPS13 on order, preloaded with Linux. Dell tells me it should be here some time next week.

05-18-2019, 11:21 AM	#20
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Originally posted by monochrome Hardwired. 20Mb/s Service. It’s the program loads, especially PSE. I suppose it needs to verify the catalog before it opens. Office is slow. Firefox seems fine. I suppose Defrag is in order and possibly moving image files to an external drive to expand the swap file size. If I had the cojones I’d add an SSD Drive, wipe the main drive and mirror both. Move all the images to a 2Tb external and use a separate backup drive. But building that is over my head. The desktop computer I'm typing from is a computer our daughter constructed last year, starting with her husband's {"boyfriend" at the time} former gaming computer. I'm still mad at Microsoft for the way they tried to push Win10 on me, so she preloaded it with the Ubuntu variant of Linux. It was slow at first, and it was complaining about disk space, so I moved all my data to an external disk. That didn't fix anything, so I took a deep breath, reminded myself that at one time I was system manager for a HP-UX computer that academic users at a small college depended on, did some research, then repartitioned the main hard disk {made the swap and boot partitions larger}, reloaded the operating system, and now everything is great! I would advise against operating on data from an external drive, because going through USB to an external drive tends to be slow, but having the data out there is what gave me the courage to "fix" the swap space and boot sector sizes, which turned out to be the primary issue.

05-18-2019, 11:50 AM	#21
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by reh321 The desktop computer I'm typing from is a computer our daughter constructed last year, starting with her husband's {"boyfriend" at the time} former gaming computer. I'm still mad at Microsoft for the way they tried to push Win10 on me, so she preloaded it with the Ubuntu variant of Linux. It was slow at first, and it was complaining about disk space, so I moved all my data to an external disk. That didn't fix anything, so I took a deep breath, reminded myself that at one time I was system manager for a HP-UX computer that academic users at a small college depended on, did some research, then repartitioned the main hard disk {made the swap and boot partitions larger}, reloaded the operating system, and now everything is great! I would advise against operating on data from an external drive, because going through USB to an external drive tends to be slow, but having the data out there is what gave me the courage to "fix" the swap space and boot sector sizes, which turned out to be the primary issue. In a very general sense increasing the boot and swap partitions is what I had in mind. MS seems to have hidden the actual controls behind front-end Menus. Since I don’t Know what the menus will actually do under the hood I’m reluctant to start. If I could find a local tech who would just do what I want instead of wanting to send me to MicroCenter with a list of hardware upgrades to buy before starting I’d pay pretty much whatever was asked.

05-18-2019, 08:43 PM	#22
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Originally posted by monochrome In a very general sense increasing the boot and swap partitions is what I had in mind. MS seems to have hidden the actual controls behind front-end Menus. Since I don’t Know what the menus will actually do under the hood I’m reluctant to start. If I could find a local tech who would just do what I want instead of wanting to send me to MicroCenter with a list of hardware upgrades to buy before starting I’d pay pretty much whatever was asked. I was fortunate - I did an Internet search on something like "change partition Ubuntu" and found instructions telling me exactly how to do it - otherwise, I'm too old for all that excitement all at one time. It turned out that the Ubuntu already installed on my computer has a tool to generate a bootable USB flash drive. Booting off that allowed me to run a program already on that drive to manipulate partitions. Maybe Windows has something similar.

05-19-2019, 04:30 AM	#23
gatorguy Moderator Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Central Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,094	Originally posted by reh321 I have an XPS13 on order, preloaded with Linux. Dell tells me it should be here some time next week. Congrats! That should hold you over for awhile. I've had the 15" version in and out of my cart so many times the power cord is already frayed before I get it.