Just Bought a Dell XPS 8700

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by RAM PhD, Jun 22, 2013.

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  1. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Although I have an HP laptop for traveling, an iPad2 for fun (it was a gift), an iPhone5 to keep in touch with my better half, and an HP PC at my business office, most of my computer related work is done from my home office. So, after 3 years I decided to upgrade my home office PC to a new Dell XPS 8700. This is my fourth Dell, and have always had good service from them.

    The new Dell was $749 (sale and coupon), with the following components:

    Attractive black/silver tower
    2 24" Monitors (Dual Monitor Set-up)
    Windows 8 OS
    4th Generation i7-4770 CPU @ 3.4 GHz
    16 GB of RAM
    AMD Radeon HD 7570 Video Card
    3.0 USB Ports
    Microsoft Office 365 University

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I find a 24' moniter great for my business because I can have two documents side by side on the screen (also customer drawings are easier to review on this size monitor).
     
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Nice! First thing I'd do is stick Linux on it, but to each his own. :smile:
     
  4. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Steve, I've never used Linux, but will check it out.

    Ian, Yes, the 24" monitor is nice. I have two of them in a dual monitor set-up. This allows me to have 3-5 programs open (which I often have) and on the screen at one time.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Awfully big for a laptop. Does the screen pop up? Or do you just project to a blank wall? :)

    Seriously, I didn't know anyone still bought desktop computers. I use a Toshiba Portege 935 with a 128 gig SSD drive. Less than three pounds and runs almost all day. Fast and boots up immediately. If I need more storage, I use either a portable hard drive or a cloud drive.
     
  6. LGFlood

    LGFlood New Member

    Rich,

    I have to admit I'm one the guilty ones in this area, as well -- and often get ribbed for it. I just can't get used to typing on a laptop for some reason. I am much quicker on a keyboard. Otherwise, I would love a laptop.
     
  7. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    I'm with Lance on this one, Rich. I have a laptop, but seldom use it except when traveling. If I'm in my office (work or home), I much prefer a keyboard and larger screens.

    Now, when Toshiba releases a laptop with 2 24" monitors............I might be a candidate. :)
     
  8. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    I have a Lenovo laptop with dual monitors at work. Also an external keyboard and a mouse.

    The trick is that the laptop came with a docking station.
    The two monitors, keyboard, mouse, and speakers all plug into the dock.
    Other peripherals, like a graphics tablet or an external hard drive, could be readily added as well.

    When I leave the office, the laptop pops out of the dock and can be used independently.
    When I return, it pops back into the dock, so it can be used with dual monitors and the keyboard and mouse again.

    The laptop + dock combination has almost completely killed the desktop at my place of work. At this point, the only employees who still use desktops are the ones who do high-end graphics work. They want powerful and replaceable graphics cards, and such cards aren't typically found in laptops.

    Hard-core gamers also tend to prefer desktops, for the same reason.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 23, 2013
  9. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    A laptop just can't compete with this set up. :)

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I have a laptop (Toshiba) and a mini-laptop (Dell). At work I move between various desktops depending on where I'm sitting at any particular moment. My mini moves with me. My laptop stays at home. I know that someday I'll probably have a little device that covers it all but for now I'm all good.
     
  11. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I don't know what a "mini-laptop" is. It is not a term in common usage.

    Laptop? Netbook? Ultrabook? My guess is a netbook, like a Dell 9 or an Inspiron Mini.
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  13. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    That article is from 2008. Is that right before the term "netbook" became popular for subcompact laptops?
     
  15. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Could be, my point is that the term "mini laptop" is not out of the loop.
     
  16. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    it's a freaking tiny laptop. why are we hung up on the label? it's perfect for my needs. mostly taking notes in meetings, sometimes longer reports. pop up emails. easy to carry but versatile. in a waiting room or a traffic jam it can do anything that i need. in a pinch it can mimic anything else i do. plus, the price was pretty low. very reliable (but it does get a little hot after extended use). the 10 inch screen is big enough to be useful and the keyboard is big enough so that i can sprint type without too many typos.
     
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    PC Magazine--as an authoritative source as there is, has a category called "Laptops." It then breaks it down like this:

    Type

    General Purpose
    Media
    Value
    Ultraportable
    Business
    Netbook

    No "mini laptop." The term is seen elsewhere, but almost always associated with netbooks. The 2008 article from PC World cited above was also about netbooks--both in the computers they reviewed and in the text of the article where they're called "netbooks."

    "Mini laptop" might have been in use briefly awhile back as another term for netbook. But "netbook" seems to have won out. Of course, the entire form factor--tiny computer running on a slow Atom processor--is largely dead. I sold one of mine (an HP) and have put the other (a Sony) on the shelf. Ultrabooks are just as light, way faster, and are larger.
     
  18. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    OK. So you're really going to try to create an argument over what to call a bunch of chips? Why is this an issue for you? I showed you an example of how it's called a mini. I didn't invent it. I just know what they called it when I bought it. It works great. I'm happy with my mini. Why are you so upset about this?
     
  19. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ah, so if someone offers a countering view, he/she is "upset."

    Here's a question: why is it important to you?

    A better question: why are you starting an argument where none exists? Note that the first poster to direct a comment about another poster in this thread is.....wait for it....you. A moderator. Until your post, it was about the discussion. No one was personal about it.

    Now, to avoid getting wrapped up in yet another flame war started by you, a moderator, I'll just back away from the thread. Enjoy you mini laptop.
     
  20. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    I shared the PC Mag article only to note that the term "mini-laptop" is indeed an adequate and familiar descriptive for the smaller laptops (also known as netbooks, mini-notebooks, little bitty laptops, tiny notebooks, smaller than normal laptops, cute little netbooks, half-pint notebooks, etc. :smile:).

    My XPS 8700, i7, 16 gb RAM, 2 24" Samsung monitor set-up (the subject of the OP) is not a mini. :)))))))))
     

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