Computer/Storage Solution Advice
 

I need to pick some brains -

I have a laptop and a desktop running XP. Both are in need of replacement (yes, one person needs 2 computers). I'm having trouble deciding how I want to do this and could use some input.

My current laptop has a small HD - about 150GB. My desktop has an even smaller HD, it's a low end machine purchased to write papers on. Due to some utter stupidity on my part, the machine is fried.

My music (about 110GB) and photos are stored on an external drive (120GB drive). My end goal is to be able to manage all my music through iTunes and photos on one machine.

So, my options (as I see them, please suggest better ones if you have them) are:

1) New laptop with a large HD (500GB seems standard). Manage everything on the machine, use external drive as back up & secondary storage. No new desktop.

2) New laptop & new desktop both running the same OS - use desktop as file server to manage music and photos. Use external drive as back-up only.

3) New laptop & new desktop using some version of Windows home server. Which of course I'd have to confirm that iTunes actually works with it.

If I go with option 1 I'll need to buy a new external drive, which I'll probably have to do anyway for redundancy.

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Second quandary - do I wait for 7 to be released? I'm half tempted to just buy it with Vista then toss XP on it instead. I don't really want to deal with the "7 upgrade" that the machines will be "eligible for". I don't care how they are marketing 7, anything coming from Microsoft worries me until it's been around for awhile.

And no, buying Apple is not an option at this time.

Budget?

And yes, at this point I would wait for Windows 7 to be released if you are planning on a new PC.

The laptops I am looking at are about $1100. I currently have a Dell 700m and I want a small (13in or so) one again which will increase the price. I do get a nice discount on Dell's and HPs so that's what I am looking at. The desktops are about $300-$400.

I don't have to get them both at once. Just want to do one with plans to do the other.

Too bad they don't have a "buy a laptop get a desktop for free" deal. That would be awesometastic.

Absolutely, positively, no question about it, wait for Windows 7—it's only 9 days away from release.

As for the other issue, I've heard good things about the new version of Windows Home Server from Paul Thurrott, so based on his experiences, I'd say go with that.

Some of the new stuff coming out for Windows 7 is pretty nifty.

Depending on how "nice" of a discount you get, I would look at:

Desktop: HP Touchsmart 600

Laptop: Perhaps the Dell Adamo XPS although it might be a tad too small for your needs.

If you have the two PC system, I would look at setting up ORB on your homebound PC to live stream your iTunes and Photos to your Laptop. (Assuming you have followed GD's lead and freed yourself from Apple's DRM)


If your discounts are not quite that "nice" I can suggest some more budget friendly systems. If they are, How many PC's can your purchase? :D

Another option is what I've done at home which is house all you rmedia on the desktop with the desktop connected to a good stereo system. Then you can login to the desktop from the laptop using Windows Remote Desktop and launch music from there. That way you have the flexibility of being able to control the music from the laptop while not having to either play your music on crappy laptop speakers or tie your laptop to a stereo.

Orb is for when you are away from home. Assuming you have Internet access your laptop can stream all your iTunes/photos or in my case, all 300+ Fios cable TV stations (ok, not the HD ones but you get the idea....) from your home PC to pretty much anywhere. It also works via an iPhone or (with some difficultly) an Android phone.

I'm already DRM free. Desktop is in my bedroom and unless someone wants to come and run wires for me it won't be able to be plugged into my stereo. I do run my iPod off my stereo though, so there is that. I will look at ORB too.

I'm not really concerned about running music off of either machine at this time - if I ever get a house or a place with a different set up (no, I am not moving any time soon ;) ) then that would be an option. So I'm not looking to buy a machine with that purpose, though having it as an option would be nice. I was thinking if I do go with the laptop/desktop option then I'd get a low end desktop just to manage everything.

So are we leaning towards the laptop/desktop vote vs. just the laptop for everything?

I really hate being a techie sometimes. It gets expensive.

Discount is about 7%, stackable with coupons. Moonie, they have an education discount that is the same, you should use your kid to buy your computers for you. dell.com/epp I believe.

I'll wait for 7 (and then for the holidays... man I want a lot of fancy toys this holiday season).

I know one person running 7 at this point and their initial reviews are good.

I know this person as well, very well in fact, and they are so damn happy that their laptop is no longer running Vista. VAST improvement in boot speeds. Do not buy a laptop with Vista!

I know different people running 7 and they are happy too. It's that whole first Gen OS/Vista cluster that has me worried regardless.

IF I were to buy something with Vista I'd just dump XP over it. But I'll sit tight and wait for 7, since it's coming out in a few days and I wasn't going to buy it this week.

One person? Dude you need to get out more.

Oh, and you can make that count at least 2. ;)


(unless you are a stickler for the RTM version)

I wonder of it is the same person? ;)

Hasn't it been MS's history that they get every other OS (mostly) right?

Working backwards:
Vista: Sucks
XP: Not bad
ME/2000/whatever other name they used*: sucked
98: not bad

* Yes, I know these were different OS's and that there some other ones worked in there. But in my conversations with other propeller-heads, they tend to get lumped together.

Good point Kevy.

Since I am waiting anyway I'll be able to hear initial reviews from non-techies. The only people I know who liked Vista were techie people.

So, back to what I should do.

I think I am going to stick with my "basic desktop with a huge HD" to be used as a file server" plus "laptop for daily use" plan. And buy a TB external drive for redundancy/back up.

Though I could just get by with keeping all my music on the laptop (with a large HD) and an external drive. I just want the second computer to run my printer, networking stuff, blah blah blah. Just easier.

If a genuine propeller-head mixes up Windows Me and Windows 2000, they need to turn in their beanie! Windows Me was a POS but Windows 2000 was wonderful. The letter being aimed at the corporate/IT crowd, the former being their "consumer version".

Oooh slap that bitch down. :D

Happy Windows 7 Day!!

You'll want to have a gander at all the new Windows 7 hardware...

Oh. crap.

Huh. Not quite the response I was expecting.

Were you looking for this:

;)

Ok, I think I decided to go with a laptop and an external drive for back up... for now.

There are way to many media managing options for a desktop that I can't even take advantage of yet s0 I decided to hold off and save the money.

On an unrelated note we were upgraded to Office 07 at work and I am not digging it.

Once you get the hang of it it's actually really great. It takes a bit to get into the mindset but once you do, there's a lot less digging through menus to be done, much more stuff right at your fingertips.

Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux are the two main OS'es of the Nuclear Muffin Test Kitchen now. I've also (still) got the Amiga 4000T running AmigaOS 4.

But... but... but... I know where everything was in Office 03.

I suppose I should actually play with it before making a judgment. It's been so slammed that I downloaded it and haven't had a chance to mess around with it.

I'm embarrassingly out of date with the new hardware. I'm looking at something like this Dell Studio XPS 13.

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P7450 (3MB cache/2.13GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
• Edge-to-Edge 13.3" HD WXGA LCD with 2.0 Megapixel Camera
• 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
• 500GB1 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9500M - 256MB
• High Definition Audio 2.0
• Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini-Card
• 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

(there is a processor upgrade to an 8400. Worth it?)

Thoughts?

I, too, am completely out of touch with actual hardware specs these days. The last new computer I bought was Jennifer's Mac Mini earlier this year, and I just bought the midrange model and upgraded the RAM myself. Before that it was my MacBook Pro, where I bought the midrange model and upgraded the RAM myself...

It's insanely difficult to interpret hardware specs these days. There are so many different types of processor technology that two processors can have wildly different speed ratings, yet the "slower" one could actually be the better performing chip, depending on whether it's multi-core, hpyerthreaded, what the bus speeds are, etc. etc. etc. There is simply no way anymore to make direct stats comparisons between system configs.

However, the flip side of that is that it no longer matters as much anymore. It's my perception that a couple years ago, hardware finally started to outpace software in growth. Meaning that (for the most part), as long as you're not getting the lowest of the lowest end and as long as you're not going to be a power gamer or looking for top-end multimedia performance, you're hard pressed to find a system that can't handle your every day requirements. As long as you've got at least 4GB of RAM and a decent sized hard drive, you're probably good to go.

And that's what I told my parents, who don't do much more than check email and go out to the internet once in awhile.

But me, I have the IT curse. I want better, bigger, faster, more, Hasbro's Best Thing Ever! even if I don't need it.

So I'll go with the mantra "everything is faster than what I have now, make sure I have enough HD space and I'll be good to go".

Thanks!