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- From: sean@pet.mni.mcgill.ca (Sean MARRETT)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
- Subject: REQUEST - 1st PC - Notebook or desktop system for home?
- Message-ID: <1992Dec12.014154.6286@sifon.cc.mcgill.ca>
- Date: 12 Dec 92 01:41:54 GMT
- Sender: news@sifon.cc.mcgill.ca
- Organization: Positron Imaging Labs, Montreal Neurological Institute
- Lines: 69
- Nntp-Posting-Host: lear.mni.mcgill.ca
-
- I find myself in a philosophical quandary at the present time. Or maybe
- I just have a very bad case of wanting to have my cake and eat it too.
- Here is my situation:
-
- Some folks in my lab and who I consult for are willing to fund the
- purchase of a computer for home/personal use, up to some limit (Assume
- the limit, for all practical purposes, is $3500.00 (U.S.) (~= $4500.00
- (Canadian), including currency +GST +PST). It is unlikely that I could
- fund the purchase of such a machine from my own pocket, so the machine
- I purchase is going to be *it* for now. Hopefully it will be a machine
- that is useful for my wife, as well, who is also a student who
- occasionally needs to use a computer for some word processing tasks.
-
- The tasks for this system are (in descending priority):
-
- 1) Use it for text processing (using TeX and WP)
- 2) Use it for thinking about data and models (MatLab and some other
- modelling software
- 3) Use it for communicating with the machines in my lab (primarily
- with a terminal emulator, bit possibly also SLIP)
- 4) Use it for programming in a C/C++ environment (using Borland C++ or
- similar product)
-
- Requirement (1) means that I would like to get a deskjet or a
- bubblejet, since TeX on an impact printer does not seem like a useful
- way to go.
-
- requirement (2) implies that I need a math co-processor and a
- reasonable amount of memory (minimum of 8 megs)
-
- requirement (3) implies a decent communication system (at *minimum* a
- 2400/9600 faxmodem)
-
- requirement (1-4) implies a minimum amount of disk space (at least 170 Mbytes)
-
- the decision I have to make is, given that this is the *one* machine I
- will have purchased in the next 12 months, what is the best set of
- options to go with:
-
- Option 1) A solid desktop system with 24 bit graphics and a deskjet
- printer (This can be had for $3200.00 (Canadian) locally - leaving me,
- theoretically, with $1300.00 (Canadian) for a notebook).
-
- Option 2) A good quality notebook with an external keyboard and
- monitor for home, along with a good printer(which can be purchased for about
- $4200.00 (Canadian). This does *not* buy me a printer or a good
- quality external monitor/keyboard. It also would only give me 120 Mb
- of disk space (based on a quote for a Dell 325N).
-
- I find myself staggering from Option 1 to Option 2 and all points in
- between. The convenience of the laptop is fantastic, and will allow me
- tremendous flexibility in where I work and think. On the other hand, a good
- notebook system is just too darned expensive.
-
- So, if you have made it this far, what is your advice to a PC
- neophyte (I work on X-terminals /SGI workstations in my lab). Which
- way would you jump, and more importantly, how would you rationalize.
- Any cheap alternatives that you can think of?
-
- Thanks for any help. I will summarize any responses I receive.
-
-
- Sean
-
- --------------------------------------------------------
- Sean Marrett email: sean@pet.mni.mcgill.ca
- wb213, PET Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute.
- 3801 University St., Montreal, Quebec. H3A 2B4
- tel:(514)-398-1537,1996 Fax: 8948
-