Do you own a desktop?

I wanted to direct this to Lenovo notebook computer owners.

We are a different breed.

Do you own a desktop computer as well?

What do you own?

 

No, I own a X200 docked on the ultrabase connected to a Dell 24" ultrasharp monitor and paired with Logitech MX5500 bluetooth keyboard and mouse

Will be upgrading to either the T420s, X220, or X220T soon. Not sure which one yet.

What's a desktop?

 

Kind of. It's more a workstation: IBM Intellistation 9228 (2 x quad-core Xeons, 4/8GB ECC RAM, 2 x Samsung SSDs, 2 x WD Scorpio Blues, 1 x OCZ Revodrive).

I only really need it when I'm doing lots of large builds or video encoding. Everything else is done on my ThinkPads.

 

I guess there is no point owning a desktop computer when a notebook computer can be connected to a monitor.

What exactly is needed to hook up a notebook computer to a monitor?

How is the picture quality?

What is an ultrabase? What does it do? Is it necessary to hook up a notebook to a monitor? I read the description on Lenovo.com and it does not seem like it is necessary? It seems you can do all the things it says without the Ultrabase?

Can you get a better picture on the monitor with the Ultrabase?

 

If you are using ThinkPads ( EDIT: Dell has docks too - I am guessing), there are the docks/ ultrabase etc. I have not used a desktop since around 1998 or thereabouts. I have used other people's desktops at their locations for minimal periods of time. Come to think of it, I have never owned a desktop in my life ( EDIT: Though my mom owns a desktop, which I hate using! It's a Lenovo too!)

 

I haven't used a desktop computer with any sort of regularity since 2004, when a family friend gave me a used 770Z. Haven't really had the need for one since then.

Right now I use my X200 for most of my day to day work, but my T500 sits on a dock connected to two monitors and my other peripherals.

 

I do have desktops, but none of them are "mine," per say: I have one hooked up to the TV downstairs, one in use as the family desktop, and two collecting dust in the attic. My brother also has one desktop as his primary computer. I have 3 laptops, one Averatec (which was my sole computer before my T500) doing torrent duty, my T500, and my X120e.

 

My y460 is my "desktop" computer as it hardly gets moved around anymore.

 

the first desktop i built myself was also my last. its a Pentium 4 1.5Ghz with 256mb of ram and a geforce 3. cost 2,000 US$ at the time and was cutting edge (bought it when p4 and the gf3 just came out)

it still works but is currently unused as i got my mum an inspiron 1525. she didnt need the power of a desktop and the inspiron was cheap enough. she appreciates being able to bring it down to the sofa and fold it away so it dosent take space on her desk, not to mention no tangle of wires that get very dusty.

since then i havent had a fixed base, i alternate every 3 months between two countries so i've been lugging 15" laptops with me.

now that i've bought a x201 maybe my next upgrade cycle i'll get a 17" laptop to be my desktop replacement instead since i have the x201 for daily mobility and will only need to lug the 17" one along when im going international

 

I own a desktop. Its a t400 (specs in sig).

As for actual desktops go yeah I own 2 and both are at work. One is a p4 box in a shuttle SFF shoebox and the other is a c2d e6850 in a danger den air box.

 

My i7 desktop serves as my super duper gaming rig. Gulftown i7 + 6970 2GB = gaming bliss

Vostro 1500 is my mobile gaming rig (hard lugging around a 70+ pound gaming desktop) for not super serious gaming.

But all my other laptops are actually laptops.

I actually got another Z61t ThinkPad...looking for space for it..

 

No desktops here and i haven't had one since my last system which was a Athlon 2400+ back in 2001 or so. I had a GF 4600!! Oh yeah baby, screaming fast! LOl I got tired of desktops when i had to constantly update them (i get bored with my systems too) so i got a Xbox for gaming and a Thinkpad T21. T22 then a T23 when they got cheaper

 

I feel like desktops have their place, but are pretty much useless for me as even at work Im not sitting still enough to utilize one. Heck Im sitting at my desk righ now and instead of using a much more powerful desktop Im using my x200s.

 

my laptops are used for out-of-office use and as a portable/small form factor test environment for personal use (work-related).

i still rely on desktops when I'm in the office or at home. My primary home rig is a tri-display system with a lot of extra local HD storage. the latter [meaning additional hd storage] is something that would be impossible to do with a laptop and docking station.

it'll be a very loooong time before a laptop can replace all that a desktop does for me.

[edit] added clarification

 

This is incorrect. A docked laptop can do as many LCDs as a single GPU desktop using either a splitter or vidock and even more with a more intricate setup. Also as far as storage goes laptops docked are limited just like desktops are by the amount of storage controllers they have. My t400 is no where near maxed on storage and it has 2TB, 160GB (might upgrade it soon) and 2 optical drives. I have room for more too, and the size of the drives is limited by technology and budget. But if I really wanted to get crazy I get 2 more 2tb drives (on my current setup, but given a bigger card I could get alot more), but that would be too extreme for my needs.

edit: Oh and technically I have 5 screens on the laptop right now. Between the cube and external LCD, just need to get off my bum and setup the second cube for 8 total.

This depends on what you use a desktop for.

 

No desktops here, just a couple of laptops. My last desktop was sold in 1999

 

I own a custom built desktop along with 2 ThinkPads. Apart from VMs, large backups and DVD burning I don't use my desktop often as my ThinkPads pretty much covers all the things I need.

 

my desktop has a 7 hd's and 2 dvd drives, plugged into the system board controllers and two PCI add-in cards. the hds were added one at a time over the years as i needed more storage. no docking bay in the world can accomodate that.

 

Desktop for my home office use and certainly for gaming. Laptop primarily for everything else.

 

I have a desktop at work, thats about it, we have a computer hooked up to our TV in the bedroom to stream... but that is about it..

Otherwise for personal use its my lenovo (temporary set back it is at the depot so I am using my macbook pro)

I do like using my newly acquired NEW TO ME iPad as well...

 

Basically the ultrabase or dock let's you connect your peripherals to it like the monitor, printer, USB sound cards, external drives, etc. All you do then is dock the laptop to use it like a desktop and when you want to take it mobile you just undock it. Makes it easier than having to unplug all the peripherals from the laptop itself everytime you want to take it somewhere.

 

Yeah, still have my desktop.

Intel Q9450
Intel X38 Motherboard
8.0 GB DDR3
1.0TB Hitachi SATAII HD (2 units)
ATI 6850 1.0GB Graphics
Creative Labs X-Treme Music
DVD & BD-ROM Drives
Samsung 23" LED Display
Bose Companion 3 Speakers
Lian-Li Full Tower

Gaming is just better since it has a better audio system and a larger display. The Lenovo keyboards have no equal on a portable platform, however I still prefer my desktop keyboard. When I want to listen to music, I don't have a radio so Itunes or the CD Player in the PC gets the go ahead.

I will say that I find less reasons to upgrade the desktop. It runs anything that I use with efficiency. It's actually quieter than my notebook. Do not know how some can use PCs whose fans sound like the engines of a Boeing 747.

C.

 

Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't had a desktop in years, but I picked up an IdeaCentre Q150 recently to attach to my TV.

 

Totally forgot about quality of the speakers and larger screen! Plus I don't fancy gaming on my ThinkPad's keyboard..

 

With a 4 port esata expresscard and advanced dock 7 sata hard drives using sata ports (not USB) can be used. Now add in a pci express esata or sata card and more can be added. Or you could add a GPU and run many monitors. So yes a thinkpad CAN replace a desktop.

 

I have couple of desktops at home.

Thinkcentre M55
Thinkecentre A62
Thinkstation S10
Dell Precision 390

 

My desktop specs are in my sig. I wanted something ultra-portable when I'm traveling and something ultra-capable when I'm home and gaming, so I got the best of both worlds. Just waiting on the new SSDs to come out so I can finally make use of my desktop MB's SATAIII ports.

 

I own a desktop. I do use the desktop alot when at home for multimedia and gaming.

Q6600 oc'd to 3.0ghz
8gb ddr2 dual channel
Asus P5N-D, (nForce 750i chipset, [had way too many problems with this chipset thank you Nvidia])
ATI 5850 reference design (used to be two 8800 GTS in SLI)
Creative X-FI fatility pro
500gb HDD

As far as upgrades go I do not plan to upgrade/buy a new unit untill mayby the next console refresh (gaming wise). As far as games are concerned there is really no reason for me to upgrade unless a cpu heavy game comes along like Shogun 2. Pretty much everything else I do enjoy to play works fine on max or close to max.

Everything else I use my Thinkpad for.

 

Even then the q6600 is still a very potent CPU and being quad core I foresee it working well for a while. Especially OC'd.

 

Vidock or no Vidock, gaming on a gaming PC can't be replicated on a docked thinkpad. It's just not the same.

However, given that I don't game anymore - NO MORE DESKTOP! I do have a htpc hooked up to my TV thought. Other than that, there's nothing a desktop can do that a laptop can't (for me) except game.

 

Thats an opinion statement. I personally prefer laptop keyboards to desktop keyboards, and while there is a thinkpad external it is not as responsive or the same experience as the built in board. But if thats not your cup of tea a docked thinkpad can be like any other system with a full keyboard, external LCDs and all the normal peripherals. I would be willing to bet a fully setup docked thinkpad could fool most into thinking they were on a full desktop.

 

I've got a Quad core AMD Phenom custom built rig for heavy duty work and gaming on my primary desk, running a dual head 19 inch LCD configuration. It used to see a significant amount of use compared to my laptop, but upgrading to the X201 with the dual core I7 closed the gap somewhat. I've moved everything work/school related - all my virtual machines, school software, etc, over to my X201 for the combination of portability and power. I haven't found myself wanting the desktop for much, outside of heavy gaming.

 

I have a home built I7-960 Quad core With an ASUS sabertooth x58 and 6gb gskill ram. its shweeet. I find myself using it less and less. mostly cause it needs a new video card to get the most out of it.

I really cant afford to get hooked on laptops as well. That is why I got the x120e, but now I am getting the fever to get a nice SB lappy. Oh, if I were a rich man da da da da da etc.etc.

 

I use a desktop on a daily basis, a Core 2 Quad rig with a GTX 460. I use it primarily for gaming and media storage/streaming. My laptops get most of the actual workload.

Like one poster said earlier, nothing beats gaming on a nicely-spec'ed out desktop. My T61 plays SC2 and Team Fortress 2, but on all low settings, and if nothing else is running in the background. The Quadro GPUs in the ThinkPads aren't the best for gaming (wish I could resolve that).

My T61 is a brick though, so it doesn't leave my desk often. If it does, it's to my office/lab and stays there for a while.

 

People still use desktops?

 

Certain Quadro drivers are better than others and my friend modified a GeForce driver so it would see Quadro chips.

Oh btw my i7 rig;

i7 970
Gigabyte X58A-UD5
6 GB Dominator
Visiontek 6950 2 GB (BIOS flashed to 6970)
Lian Li PC-A77F black full tower
30 GB Vertex, 750 GB Barracuda, 1.5 TB Caviar Green
Megahalems cooler
CM Silent Pro 1000 watt modular

 

My X200 is my main computer set up right now, and it handles all my needs and then some. Love it.

The only time I can truly justify owning a desktop is to play video games. These days though I don't play many games, if I do I just play my PS3.

 

The latest Verde reference drivers seem to work decently, straight from NVIDIA's site, no modded INF.