No wonder PC sales are dying - look at the latest specs

jimbo45

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HI there
No wonder PC sales are dying currently -- nothing to do with Windows 8 or the OS -- it's just the HARDWARE being put in these just seems to be going backwards.

I've been looking at some "Convertibles" -- guess what -- the reasonably portable versions (anything bigger than 14 inch screen IMO is a no no for real portability) seem to be fitted with CELERON processors for Gawds sake -- I'd want probably an i5 at a minimum on a new piece of kit although if the price was really cheap I probably could get away with a decent i3 processor. Then they fit a SLOW IDE 5400 RPM type 500 GB drive -- I'd want an SSD - especially with a lower powered processor. and then the screen resolution is a stinking 1366 X 768. I'd want at least 1080P HD (1080 x 1920) these days.

Don't people ever do their marketing properly or have the been listening to GARTNER's again.

Spec for me is 11.5 or 14 inch NATIVE 1080 X 1920, SSD, Touch (although not mandatory), i5 processor (i3 just about tolerable) USB3 X 2 if poss but certainly 1 USB 3 slot, 8GB RAM (if it's got 6 I don't care as I can swap the memory), HDMI output (whether via a Mini HDMI or standard connector I don't care), and preferably in a convertible form factor (but that's not mandatory either. I don't need a DVD drive either.

Now Laptops with this type of spec seem to be as rare as Hen's teeth -- what sort of marketing says put an ATOM CELERON in some modern gear or were these the processors they had left over after the popularity of "Netbooks" waned two or 3 years ago.

Seems even if I WANT to get a new laptop it isn't easy to find one I want.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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I take it the Surface Pro doesn't appeal to you? The Dell XPS 12 Convertible Touch Ultrabook seems close to what you list, but it isn't cheap. HDMI may be a problem as it seems they're moving away from HDMI and towards Display Port/Mini Display Port instead (I wish manufacturers would stop changing ports).

XPS 12 convertible 12" touch Ultrabook

I guess it boils down to price at the end of the day and for a lot of people they just stick with a normal laptop.
 

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Hi Jimbo, I just bought an Acer Aspire notebook, (but as big as a normal laptop at 15.6") with I3, although I wanted i5, but it seems fine to me! But I certainly get your point about the other things.
 

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I take it the Surface Pro doesn't appeal to you? The Dell XPS 12 Convertible Touch Ultrabook seems close to what you list, but it isn't cheap. HDMI may be a problem as it seems they're moving away from HDMI and towards Display Port/Mini Display Port instead (I wish manufacturers would stop changing ports).

XPS 12 convertible 12" touch Ultrabook

I guess it boils down to price at the end of the day and for a lot of people they just stick with a normal laptop.

Hi there
I'm looking for something about up to 600-800 USD mark -- there's some good ultrabooks out there now but I really don't want or need to spend 1200 USD on a PC at this stage.

I don't mind about the mini display port provided it can connect to the HDMI port of a smart TV with full HD resolution.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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People want cheap, they don't need a lot of power to surf the web.

I bought wife a machine like you are mentioning last week. Samsung series 7, 128gb SSD, 13.3 1920x1080 with touchscreen, has 4 gb of ram with 1 free ram slot, Intel hd4000 graphic, can be taken apart and upgraded. But it was $999.
 

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HI there
No wonder PC sales are dying currently -- nothing to do with Windows 8 or the OS -- it's just the HARDWARE being put in these just seems to be going backwards.

I've been looking at some "Convertibles" -- guess what -- the reasonably portable versions (anything bigger than 14 inch screen IMO is a no no for real portability) seem to be fitted with CELERON processors for Gawds sake -- I'd want probably an i5 at a minimum on a new piece of kit although if the price was really cheap I probably could get away with a decent i3 processor. Then they fit a SLOW IDE 5400 RPM type 500 GB drive -- I'd want an SSD - especially with a lower powered processor. and then the screen resolution is a stinking 1366 X 768. I'd want at least 1080P HD (1080 x 1920) these days.

Don't people ever do their marketing properly or have the been listening to GARTNER's again.

Spec for me is 11.5 or 14 inch NATIVE 1080 X 1920, SSD, Touch (although not mandatory), i5 processor (i3 just about tolerable) USB3 X 2 if poss but certainly 1 USB 3 slot, 8GB RAM (if it's got 6 I don't care as I can swap the memory), HDMI output (whether via a Mini HDMI or standard connector I don't care), and preferably in a convertible form factor (but that's not mandatory either. I don't need a DVD drive either.

Now Laptops with this type of spec seem to be as rare as Hen's teeth -- what sort of marketing says put an ATOM CELERON in some modern gear or were these the processors they had left over after the popularity of "Netbooks" waned two or 3 years ago.

Seems even if I WANT to get a new laptop it isn't easy to find one I want.

Cheers
jimbo
I actually don't agree with you that much. The point of having a hybrid is portability. Having an i5 processor defeats this purpose. What's the point of getting a hybrid and then getting a measly 3 hours out of it? What's the point of getting a hybrid if you constantly have to worry about not blocking the vent when you hold it in tablet form?

The question is what do you want to do with an 11.6 screen computing device? I sure as hell don't want to spend hours doing autocad drawings on such a screen. That's what desktops with 20-some inch hd screens are for. Honestly, who wants to run heavy duty tasks for hours and hours on what's suppose to be a portable hybrid?

And what about the screen resolution? Most people can't tell the difference between 1366x768 and something like 1920×1200. I've tested this. If you don't mention the screen resolutions, they won't be able to tell. The so-called retina display is just a gimmick. Every time I let someone use my hp envy x2 tablet, especially someone that has an ipad 3, they would think my screen has the same resolution as theirs. Same with people I know with 1920x1200 screens. Every time I ask them how does this screen compare to theirs they all have said they look the same. It's only when I pointed out that mine has a lower resolution did they put the two tablets up against their faces and cross eyes to notice.

And have you actually used one of these clover trail hybrids? Let me give you a hint. I plug mine via hdmi to a 24 inch 1920x1200 monitor and play star craft with it. Most people when hearing the word atom think of those old cheap plastic extremely low resolution netbooks.

I challenge you to find something with an i5 processor that would allow me up to 12-14 hours of use without having to plug it in. Not everyone has a nice comfy office job. I almost had a mental breakdown working in an office setting. I had to seek out a new career path that allow me to travel around. No lag at all when using office. When I have time, I edit and compile codes with this thing while on the train.

Look up asus transformer book tx300. It has the specs you want. I'll tell you this. After spending several months with my hp envy x2, I wouldn't trade it for the tx300. First of all, there's no way in hell the tf book battery can last anywhere as long. It's priced at around 1200-1400. Got my x2 for $525.

Try to think of it this way. If you just need a car that takes you to work 10 miles away every day, would you get a $150k race car for it or would you get something nicely falls within your budget?
 

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You would have to be very non technical to not tell a difference between 1920x1080 and 1366x768. Sitting side buy side with 1 web page open well be clearly visible by nearly everyone. Many won't care.

My wife went from 1280x800 to 1920x1080 and it is night and day. So much easier to have multiple things open.
 

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You would have to be very non technical to not tell a difference between 1920x1080 and 1366x768. Sitting side buy side with 1 web page open well be clearly visible by nearly everyone. Many won't care.

My wife went from 1280x800 to 1920x1080 and it is night and day. So much easier to have multiple things open.

I'm not saying they can't tell the difference side by side. I'm saying most people don't look for it so they can't tell the difference when they're not side by side.

To me, having that high resolution is pure gimmick. I used to own a device that was 1920 by 1200. I don't miss it.
 

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Jimbo - Don't you remember my "I Hate Vista" tirades? This is exactly what MS did when Vista came out - Vista was designed specifically for the 32-bit Original Core Duo/Centrino. Within that scope, it worked well.

But... I went to my customers and a few of them had new Vista machines- With 512 ram and Celerons! And, it ram crappy. Upping the ram gave marginal improvement, SP1 a little more. Out went the Vista and IN went the XP until 7 came out.

I'e got a Celeron machine, 2 GB Ram, had Vista on it, was slower then blazes until I upped to 7, now it is really fast for being a celeron. It's a dual core Celery. Damn I remember my first 300A Processor, I clocked it to about 580 Mhz. Those were GOOD. But the later ones could not be overclocked.

Windows 8 is a bit more accessible for older systems, runs well in a Pentium D, so Im sure it will run great in that Celery system.
 

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HI there
No wonder PC sales are dying currently -- nothing to do with Windows 8 or the OS -- it's just the HARDWARE being put in these just seems to be going backwards.

I've been looking at some "Convertibles" -- guess what -- the reasonably portable versions (anything bigger than 14 inch screen IMO is a no no for real portability) seem to be fitted with CELERON processors for Gawds sake -- I'd want probably an i5 at a minimum on a new piece of kit although if the price was really cheap I probably could get away with a decent i3 processor. Then they fit a SLOW IDE 5400 RPM type 500 GB drive -- I'd want an SSD - especially with a lower powered processor. and then the screen resolution is a stinking 1366 X 768. I'd want at least 1080P HD (1080 x 1920) these days.

Don't people ever do their marketing properly or have the been listening to GARTNER's again.

Spec for me is 11.5 or 14 inch NATIVE 1080 X 1920, SSD, Touch (although not mandatory), i5 processor (i3 just about tolerable) USB3 X 2 if poss but certainly 1 USB 3 slot, 8GB RAM (if it's got 6 I don't care as I can swap the memory), HDMI output (whether via a Mini HDMI or standard connector I don't care), and preferably in a convertible form factor (but that's not mandatory either. I don't need a DVD drive either.

Now Laptops with this type of spec seem to be as rare as Hen's teeth -- what sort of marketing says put an ATOM CELERON in some modern gear or were these the processors they had left over after the popularity of "Netbooks" waned two or 3 years ago.

Seems even if I WANT to get a new laptop it isn't easy to find one I want.

Cheers
jimbo
I actually don't agree with you that much. The point of having a hybrid is portability. Having an i5 processor defeats this purpose. What's the point of getting a hybrid and then getting a measly 3 hours out of it? What's the point of getting a hybrid if you constantly have to worry about not blocking the vent when you hold it in tablet form?

The question is what do you want to do with an 11.6 screen computing device? I sure as hell don't want to spend hours doing autocad drawings on such a screen. That's what desktops with 20-some inch hd screens are for. Honestly, who wants to run heavy duty tasks for hours and hours on what's suppose to be a portable hybrid?

And what about the screen resolution? Most people can't tell the difference between 1366x768 and something like 1920×1200. I've tested this. If you don't mention the screen resolutions, they won't be able to tell. The so-called retina display is just a gimmick. Every time I let someone use my hp envy x2 tablet, especially someone that has an ipad 3, they would think my screen has the same resolution as theirs. Same with people I know with 1920x1200 screens. Every time I ask them how does this screen compare to theirs they all have said they look the same. It's only when I pointed out that mine has a lower resolution did they put the two tablets up against their faces and cross eyes to notice.

And have you actually used one of these clover trail hybrids? Let me give you a hint. I plug mine via hdmi to a 24 inch 1920x1200 monitor and play star craft with it. Most people when hearing the word atom think of those old cheap plastic extremely low resolution netbooks.

I challenge you to find something with an i5 processor that would allow me up to 12-14 hours of use without having to plug it in. Not everyone has a nice comfy office job. I almost had a mental breakdown working in an office setting. I had to seek out a new career path that allow me to travel around. No lag at all when using office. When I have time, I edit and compile codes with this thing while on the train.

Look up asus transformer book tx300. It has the specs you want. I'll tell you this. After spending several months with my hp envy x2, I wouldn't trade it for the tx300. First of all, there's no way in hell the tf book battery can last anywhere as long. It's priced at around 1200-1400. Got my x2 for $525.

Try to think of it this way. If you just need a car that takes you to work 10 miles away every day, would you get a $150k race car for it or would you get something nicely falls within your budget?

I agree with this.

There is a lot of marketing behind screens, of course thanks to Apple the marketing bullsh*t king who can sell a comb to a bald with cool design and advertising.

1366x768 with a decent screen quality is no difference with higher resolutions in almost all laptops, specially small ones. Same about TVs and smartphones. The important thing is the screen quality, not the resolution.
 

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My wife went from 1280x800 to 1920x1080 and it is night and day. So much easier to have multiple things open.

I guess that is the reason that Metro only allows one fullscreen app.

There is a lot of marketing behind screens, of course thanks to Apple the marketing bullsh*t king who can sell a comb to a bald with cool design and advertising.

Nice.

:roflmao:
 

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My wife went from 1280x800 to 1920x1080 and it is night and day. So much easier to have multiple things open.

I guess that is the reason that Metro only allows one fullscreen app.

There is a lot of marketing behind screens, of course thanks to Apple the marketing bullsh*t king who can sell a comb to a bald with cool design and advertising.

Nice.

:roflmao:
I don't understand what's so hard about choice do people have such a hard time understanding? If you don't like metro, use desktop.

Apple marketing is the king of bullsh*tting. Remember when iOS 5 came out? They added the notification bar... renamed to center and there were apple fans that honest to god believe apple invented it. They added twitter directly into the OS and there were a dozen or so articles by mashable and other iFan tech sites on how good it is that people now have no choice but to have twitter as an app. The choice was taken away from iOS users, and it was suppose to be a good thing.

Apple came out with a high resolution display they dubbed as "retina display" and OMG everyone has to have it. Again, most people don't really care about the high resolution or are they capable of telling if it's that high of a resolution unless it's right side by side to something else. My x2 screen is a pretty darn good display at a lower resolution and every time I give it to an ipad 3 user they always thought the x2 has a "retina display". Shows it's nothing more than a gimmick. I used to have a 1920 x 1200 display device (the asus transformer infinity) and after I sold it to get my hp envy x2 I don't miss it. The human eye can only see so clearly before it becomes redundant.
 

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I don't understand what's so hard about choice do people have such a hard time understanding? If you don't like metro, use desktop.

If you use Windows 8, as provided, you can't start in the desktop, you can't use a desktop menu, you can't avoid the MPI (Mobile Phone Interface).
 

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Exactamundo!
 

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I don't understand what's so hard about choice do people have such a hard time understanding? If you don't like metro, use desktop.

If you use Windows 8, as provided, you can't start in the desktop, you can't use a desktop menu, you can't avoid the MPI (Mobile Phone Interface).
Here's the thing. If you install classic shell, you will boot directly into desktop.

But it's a third party app, and it's an abomination to install a third party app, you say. Yes, it's an abomination to install a third party app, that's why nobody ever install any third party app ever and everybody always only use what comes with windows and nobody ever change any settings whatsoever.

And even if you don't install classic shell, desktop is 1 click away. OMG, 1 click is too much work!
 

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Here's the thing. If you install classic shell, you will boot directly into desktop.

But it's a third party app, and it's an abomination to install a third party app, you say. Yes, it's an abomination to install a third party app, that's why nobody ever install any third party app ever and everybody always only use what comes with windows and nobody ever change any settings whatsoever.

And even if you don't install classic shell, desktop is 1 click away. OMG, 1 click is too much work!

I use Classic Shell and I've tried ModernMix, but that's not the point; these are programs designed to reintroduce something that should not have been removed in the first place. In one of the early iterations of Windows 8 (prior to final release) it was possible to bring back the start button/menu natively. Microsoft immediately changed the coding to remove that option and so we now have to use these third party programs.

Who is to say that in their stupidity, Microsoft won't introduce more coding changes to foul up these programs? Also, the desktop is not one click away, every time that you want to open up a program, you need to go to the MPI, a completely new screen which is a crap fest as far as visual and organisational effectiveness is concerned. I have been using the final version of Windows 8 since Oct 12 and simply can't stand the MPI. It is an utterly useless piece of crap on a desktop.
 

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Here's the thing. If you install classic shell, you will boot directly into desktop.

But it's a third party app, and it's an abomination to install a third party app, you say. Yes, it's an abomination to install a third party app, that's why nobody ever install any third party app ever and everybody always only use what comes with windows and nobody ever change any settings whatsoever.

And even if you don't install classic shell, desktop is 1 click away. OMG, 1 click is too much work!

I use Classic Shell and I've tried ModernMix, but that's not the point; these are programs designed to reintroduce something that should not have been removed in the first place. In one of the early iterations of Windows 8 (prior to final release) it was possible to bring back the start button/menu natively. Microsoft immediately changed the coding to remove that option and so we now have to use these third party programs.

Who is to say that in their stupidity, Microsoft won't introduce more coding changes to foul up these programs? Also, the desktop is not one click away, every time that you want to open up a program, you need to go to the MPI, a completely new screen which is a crap fest as far as visual and organisational effectiveness is concerned. I have been using the final version of Windows 8 since Oct 12 and simply can't stand the MPI. It is an utterly useless piece of crap on a desktop.

I'm sorry, I've been using windows 8 just as long as you have and I've no problem with it at all. You know what, aren't you glad we live in a world of choice? Downgrade to windows 7. Again, I don't understand this total lack of understanding with choice. You can go back to windows 95 if you want. No one will stop you.
 

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HI there
No wonder PC sales are dying currently -- nothing to do with Windows 8 or the OS -- it's just the HARDWARE being put in these just seems to be going backwards.

I've been looking at some "Convertibles" -- guess what -- the reasonably portable versions (anything bigger than 14 inch screen IMO is a no no for real portability) seem to be fitted with CELERON processors for Gawds sake -- I'd want probably an i5 at a minimum on a new piece of kit although if the price was really cheap I probably could get away with a decent i3 processor. Then they fit a SLOW IDE 5400 RPM type 500 GB drive -- I'd want an SSD - especially with a lower powered processor. and then the screen resolution is a stinking 1366 X 768. I'd want at least 1080P HD (1080 x 1920) these days.

Don't people ever do their marketing properly or have the been listening to GARTNER's again.

Spec for me is 11.5 or 14 inch NATIVE 1080 X 1920, SSD, Touch (although not mandatory), i5 processor (i3 just about tolerable) USB3 X 2 if poss but certainly 1 USB 3 slot, 8GB RAM (if it's got 6 I don't care as I can swap the memory), HDMI output (whether via a Mini HDMI or standard connector I don't care), and preferably in a convertible form factor (but that's not mandatory either. I don't need a DVD drive either.

Now Laptops with this type of spec seem to be as rare as Hen's teeth -- what sort of marketing says put an ATOM CELERON in some modern gear or were these the processors they had left over after the popularity of "Netbooks" waned two or 3 years ago.

Seems even if I WANT to get a new laptop it isn't easy to find one I want.

Cheers
jimbo

These are not workhorse machines. Most of these types of touch/tablet type devices are for emails and web surfing only.. not for Photoshop tasks, video editing, CAD, etc. There are high end builds but you will have to pay more.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 (64) : Win 7 (64) : Vista (64) : Android JB 4.2 : iOS 6
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AX Series & HP i-5 2400s
    Screen Resolution
    Main PC - 2x Sony PS3 3D LED Displays + 1x 22" Philips; HTPC - 47" HDTV w/ 17" LCD secondary display
    Hard Drives
    Internal- 1TB on each system; 1x120GB SSD on main PC
    External (network attached)- 1x2TB Seagate backup; 1x1TB ext. storage; 1x500GB,
    Other Info
    http://tinyurl.com/br4uxrk

    http://tinyurl.com/cwj93pj
I'm sorry, I've been using windows 8 just as long as you have and I've no problem with it at all. You know what, aren't you glad we live in a world of choice? Downgrade to windows 7. Again, I don't understand this total lack of understanding with choice. You can go back to windows 95 if you want. No one will stop you.

We don't have a choice, as far as Microsoft is concerned, it's the MPI or nothing. The fact that third party providers have to play with the fundamental performance of the OS in order to return what could quite easily have been retained, and therefore given users a choice, is a poor move on Microsoft's part. It's a poor move as far as consumers are concerned.

I already use Windows 7 as well, but for how long will Windows 7 be available for purchase, so that those who buy new machines can install Windows 7 instead of Windows 8? Eventually, all that you will be able to buy is Windows 8, then there will be no choice. When was the last time you saw Windows 95, XP, Vista sold in any store? Choice? Really?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
I'm sorry, I've been using windows 8 just as long as you have and I've no problem with it at all. You know what, aren't you glad we live in a world of choice? Downgrade to windows 7. Again, I don't understand this total lack of understanding with choice. You can go back to windows 95 if you want. No one will stop you.

We don't have a choice, as far as Microsoft is concerned, it's the MPI or nothing. The fact that third party providers have to play with the fundamental performance of the OS in order to return what could quite easily have been retained, and therefore given users a choice, is a poor move on Microsoft's part. It's a poor move as far as consumers are concerned.

I already use Windows 7 as well, but for how long will Windows 7 be available for purchase, so that those who buy new machines can install Windows 7 instead of Windows 8? Eventually, all that you will be able to buy is Windows 8, then there will be no choice. When was the last time you saw Windows 95, XP, Vista sold in any store? Choice? Really?

First of all, I seem to recall the same arguments back when MS decided to launch straight into the desktop rather than DOS first.

The fact is only a hand full of people either love MPI or hate it. Most people just don't care. I've yet to find a single person in real life that I can interact with that feels either way. The only people I can find that either love or hate windows 8 are on the internet.

You do have a choice. Windows 7 will be supported for years to come. You can either use this time to get use to the new UI or you can continue to handsome frog about it until the very end. Your choice. There's that word again.

And don't even pretend like you can't get your hands on windows 95, xp, or vista. I'm sure you're not so naïve.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8
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