Laptop as a primary home computer?

[Ronstar]

I'm having issues with my 2013 iMac. (3.2 ghz, 16gb ram, 1TB drive, 27" screen) Slowing down. I've reviewed activity monitor and cpu usage is not out of line.

I use it for email, surfing online, runs our IP camera software 24/7, and I use it for downloading/processing photos. Not uncommon to download a hundred photos or so at 50 mb each. Downloading to 2 TB external drive.

Also use it to create videos from GoPro files. Video files up to 5gb each. It does process photos and videos faster when no other apps are running, but I don't want to shut down the ip cameras any time that I want to upload photos or videos.

I also have a 2018 MacBook pro. (2.6 ghz, 16gb ram, 500 gb drive, 15" screen). It is faster at photo and video than the iMac. Sometimes a lot faster. Bought it to use at our snowbird place. Sold the snowbird place, so the Macbook doesn't see much work.

I've run "clean my mac" and loaded Catalina os on the iMac. It is running a lot better than before, but still not as fast as the Mac Book.

I'm thinking about making the Macbook my main computer. And keeping the iMac just to operate the ip camera software, maybe the scanner. I'll need a bigger monitor (32"), and a bluetooth keyboard for the Macbook setup.

As an aside, I'm running Time Machine for backup, where the iMac HD and external HD are backed up to another external drive (2 TB). Macbook pro backs up to yet another external HD.

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

 

[pb4uski]

I'll let Apple users respond, but in short we have not had a desktop for many years... I took a job traveling and was issued Thinkpads and we have been going with IBM/Lenovo laptops ever since.

 

[easysurfer]

I prefer a desktop setup over a laptop (I'm talking Win machines, if that makes any difference). With a desktop, I like the larger physical size and spacing of the peripherals also easier to self repair and upgrade.

There were a few times I've used a laptop/netbook for extended periods. In these times, I ended up plugging into an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Once the motherboard of my desktop went kaput so I had to rely on a laptop until I could repair the desktop. This lasted a couple of weeks. Also, I used to travel away for weeks at a time and the tiny netbook was driving me nuts, so I hooked that up to external peripherals.

If I could only get one machine, I'd probably get a good laptop to cover both when at home and travel. But I'm not limited to just one machine, so have at least one of each.

 

[HI Bill]

After having a desktop workstation provided by my employer for years, the new laptops now provide hubs and dual 4K monitor support; some have solid state drives, lots of RAM, and separate graphics cards. While more expensive, and less upgrade-able than a desktop, they certainly can replace them for most applications. Only if I were into heavy video editing, or animation, would I really consider a desktop a requirement today.

• I leave mine on 24/7, except on weekends when I'm not at w#rk.
• Laptops usually fail depending on how heavily they are used in travel; laptops with SSDs have much better liklihood of lasting longer; At w#rk, they tend to last about 5 years (Dell).
• Less interaction on your iMac probably won't have much effect on its lifespan.
• Yes, you'll need a hub to attach more than a couple of peripherals.

 

[El Jacinto]

I have a ~6 year old Asus gaming laptop that serves as our home computer. Since I don't really game anymore, it's been a bit inconvenient. It can't run without being plugged in anymore, and it occasionally (hasn't happened in a few months actually) gets a blue screen of death that I believe is related to the RAM.

I put it to sleep whenever I'm not using it. I assume that Apple products have a similar feature. And 6 years seems like a pretty good life for a computer. At the time I got it, the life for one was shorter, just because of rapidly-changing technology for gaming computers.

We're planning to see what the price is for Chromebooks on Black Friday. If we can find a good deal, we'll snag one. However, it's not a need, since we barely use the home computer right now. My wife and I do most stuff on our phones or work computers.

I can't really answer the rest of your questions, as they all relate to Apple products.

 

[braumeister]

1. Yes, and I have for at least ten years.
2. Yes.
3. I habitually replace it every 3-4 years, but they would last much longer.
4. Irrelevant. Usage has practically no effect. See #2.
5. I use a powered hub.
6. What's the issue? Just partition the external drive. I make multiple external backups in addition to Time Machine, which is on its own external drive. No cloud backup.

 

[Cobra9777]

I prefer a desktop setup over a laptop (I'm talking Win machines, if that makes any difference). With a desktop, I like the larger physical size and spacing of the peripherals also easier to self repair and upgrade.

There were a few times I've used a laptop/netbook for extended periods. In these times, I ended up plugging into an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Once the motherboard of my desktop went kaput so I had to rely on a laptop until I could repair the desktop. This lasted a couple of weeks. Also, I used to travel away for weeks at a time and the tiny netbook was driving me nuts, so I hooked that up to external peripherals.

If I could only get one machine, I'd probably get a good laptop to cover both when at home and travel. But I'm not limited to just one machine, so have at least one of each.

+1

We will always have a Windows desktop in the office as our primary home PC. It has three 22" monitors and a nice sound system. I built the PC several years ago.

We have a laptop, but I can't remember the last time I booted it up. Not even sure where it is right now. It reminds me too much of work.

Anyway... serious computing happens in the office on the desktop PC (spreadsheets, documents, online banking, taxes, photo/video editing, etc). For casual computing, we just use our smartphones (email, social media, sharing photos, web browsing). We don't even take the laptop when traveling anymore. The phones do everything we need.

 

[bloom2708]

We haven't had a desktop since 2005.

A powerful i5/i7 laptop can do everything you need. Unless you are a high end gamer.

We have 2 HP Elite X2 1012 G2 i7 laptops. 16gb RAM and 1 TB of HD space for each. One for my wife, one for me.

I remember the day in 2005 I send the desktop to the thrift store. Monitor, UPS backup system, speakers, all the cords, even the big old desk went out the door. Freedom!

I purchased the 2 laptops from a trusted eBay reseller who specializes in demo models. They are essentially new but were used at a trade show or other demo environment. Can no longer be sold as new. I have the same laptop (2 in 1) at work. Super fast and powerful.

Many non-desktop options.

 

[SunBlueSky]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer? Yes, MacBook Pro 2012 I purchased in late 2017.

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7? No, I shut it off after using.

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use? my 2008 MacBook lasted until 2017 when the underside of the battery case started bulging out.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

Well, I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10+ computer systems (laptops, desktops) so I am not "typical". But I worked at mega-corp doing software development and then sales and now teach computer science. I have Windows Laptops (both Windows 10 and 7 pro), Linux laptops, a Hackintosh (Mac OS running on a Lenovo Thinkpad), a real (2012 Macbook Pro 17), ... I also make use of virtual machines on these to run/test other environments or as sandbox environments.

1. I almost *never* use a desktop. Why? Because I like to do work wherever I am. I don't need a bunch of monitors to do work (including software development) and I don't like to be tied to a desk. Others couldn't stand this, but I value the freedom of working where ever I want over the larger screen. However, with HDMI and now Thunderbolt, one can have nice monitors and use a laptop at the same time. For instance, the new Lenovo Thinkpad P53 supports up to six monitors.

I am doing a build of a desktop as a gaming development system, but even then would likely do most of the work on my (new) gaming HP Omen (laptop).

2. I typically leave my #1 laptop on overnight, as I do nightly local and cloud backups overnight. Sometimes I will suspend the system and just let the backups run in the morning (if I don't need to go to school to teach right when I get up).

3. I'm still rocking a Thinkpad T420 and T430 (circa 2012 and 2013 respectively). GREAT machines (but finally getting old in the tooth processor speed wise). These machines, made in 2012 have tons of parts, support 16GB of memory, and with a SSD, M.Sata and removable drive can have tons of fast storage. For example, my T430 has a 1 TB SSD, 400 GB m.Sata card (SSD), and a 2 TB HD. It boots to windows from power on in 15 seconds.

4. Not a significant factor. However, you might be able to get a bit more speed out of it by upgrading the drive to a SSD. (I don't know how arduous the process is, but see here for possibilities: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-tapered-edge-faq/how-to-upgrade-imac-hard-drive-aluminum-2012-2013.html)

5. I believe so, for example: https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Adapter-Reader-Delivery-MacBook/dp/B07Q2CT4W8/ref=asc_df_B07Q2CT4W8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=344022943810&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2280834191568844471&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004604&hvtargid=pla-750448645608&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69534739336&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=344022943810&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2280834191568844471&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004604&hvtargid=pla-750448645608

+1

We will always have a Windows desktop in the office as our primary home PC. It has three 22" monitors and a nice sound system. I built the PC several years ago.

We have a laptop, but I can't remember the last time I booted it up. Not even sure where it is right now. It reminds me too much of work.

Anyway... serious computing happens in the office on the desktop PC (spreadsheets, documents, online banking, taxes, photo/video editing, etc). For casual computing, we just use our smartphones (email, social media, sharing photos, web browsing). We don't even take the laptop when traveling anymore. The phones do everything we need.

I do very serious work and have done so for many years on laptops. I have to laugh that "online banking" and "taxes" are considered serious work in terms of taxing (pun intended) a system. I'm doing game development on a laptop.

 

[COcheesehead]

I do everything off an iPad.

 

[Dawg52]

I haven't owned a desktop in years. I have an Acer windows laptop that is somewhat old and I use it to compute my income taxes. I turn it off. But for everything else, I use a Lenovo Chromebook. I've had it a couple of years and rarely turn it off unless going out of town.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I used a laptop as primary computer, radio, TV, etc for about 12-15 years. Never had an HD fail, but replaced them about every 3-5 years. They ranged from $150 Chromebooks to $1,500 gaming rigs. The gaming rig lasted longest, at least 7 years, and I sold it in good condition when I built my own PC.

I shut it down every day, but if new models have SSDs or the even newer PCI-ish cards, I'd probably be fine leaving it on but havingthe screen go to sleep.

They were never as mobile friendly as I'd like with poor battery lives, except the Chromebook that can go 5-9 hours without a recharge.

I was always been very happy with laptops, but few are made not to be disposable and can't be upgraded except maybe for the hard drive.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

Yes Both Me and DW (No Desktops at all) Both Windows Machines

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

No

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

Only ever used Lenovo Laptops, last forever, but I get the itch for new ones so they are no older than 5 years. For Traveling I use Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with the Type Cover Keyboard (But would not buy another).

4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

No Idea, Allergic to "iAnything" AKA Apple Jail

5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

No Idea, Allergic to "iAnything" AKA Apple Jail

6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

No Idea, Allergic to "iAnything" AKA Apple Jail

 

[W2R]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer? YES; haven't used a desktop as my primary computer since the last century.

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7? YES

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

I don't know - - I love getting new laptops and setting them up, so I buy one every couple of years or so just because I can. That's my idea of fun.

Two died before I got around to replacing them. I had one that fried its motherboard during the second year. And then, I dropped an entire 12-oz glass of milk into the keyboard of another one (not advisable!). But usually they are still doing just fine by the time I get tired of them.

Questions 4, 5, and 6 are about Macs, I think, and I am a PC person so I'll leave those for others to answer. Sorry I could not be of any more help.

 

[MBAustin]

I used my 2011 MacBook Pro as my only computer until mid-2017 (then replaced the battery and swapped the HDD for an SSD and gave it to DD who used it for 2 more years). My current MacBook Pro has an SSD and I would expect it to last as long or longer, although I may replace it sooner just for fun.

 

[Lsbcal]

Our solutions:

Desktop PC for my serious investment work and surfing where I need to type a bit (like right now). For me this is better ergonomically. I always put it in sleep mode when leaving the room for security reasons.

iPad for easy chair reading and surfing and vacations.

iPhones for mobile needs.

 

[OldShooter]

It has probably been thirty years or more since I had anything but a laptop or a tablet. Currently I have a MS Surface Pro 3.

I have docking stations in my home office and at our lake home. When I was working I also had one in my work office. All are set up with full size keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers and a variety of USB peripherals. In my home office I have a flatbed scanner, a sheet fed scanner, a wacom tablet, a networked color laser printer and a networked B&W laser printer. There are also two Synology NAS boxes on our home network. These are used for backup and for sharing folders with DW via the Synology Cloud Station software. I turn stuff off when I am not using it.

When I travel internationally I usually take only a small Nexus 7 tablet just because so much of my life is on the Surface, but I routinely take the Surface to my SCORE mentoring sessions, nonprofit investment committee meetings, to the investment classes I teach, etc. I have a Surface Arc Mouse that works as well as any other full-size mouse, though the smaller display and chicklet keyboard are no joy I can work with them "on the go" as necessary.

Every morning I sit in my recliner with coffee and the Surface tablet (keyboard detached) and the tablet pen and read a variety of news sites, using the pen like a mouse. The character recognition is very good, so I can respond to emails simply by writing on the screen with the stylus, but for lengthy emails my typing is much faster so I will usually wait with those until the tablet is docked in my office.

There is no chance that I will ever again use a box computer as my primary machine. YMMV with Macs but certainly you can get very close to the way I use my Surface and, before that, my various laptops.

 

[Lakedog]

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

1. MacBook Air has been primary since purchased in 2012.
2. Yes
3. Bought my 2012 model new, no issues so far except battery (original) only lasts about 2.5 hours now
4. no idea
5. Straight from laptop
6. Only use thumb drives for backups (a few docs, spreadsheets, photos)

I plan to replace the MacBook Air with a new version at some point so laptop works very well for my use.

 

[Freedom56]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

No. I have a desktop, my wife has as separate desktop. We have several laptops including one that I bought last week to do 4K video editing while on travel. It's a gamer laptop with two SSDs

2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

Never


3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

We still have our Sony Vaio laptops from 2005 and 2008.
The only thing I have done is swap the hard drives for SSDs. They run much faster with SSDs. My desktop has a SSD for the primary boot drive and a hybrid SSD/HDD for the secondary storage.

4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

I have found that leaving a computer on 24/7 shortens the life of the hard drive. The OS and other applications are doing continuous housekeeping which involves disk reads and writes

5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

I use external USB 3.0 drives for back-up. We went paperless about 12 years ago. We back-up to external hard drives and also SD cards for all our critical documents.

If you don't already have a SSD drive on your desktop, I would recommend buying one. It really speeds up performance. If you really want high performance, buy a computer with an AMD Ryzen 9 processor or if money isn't an object one with an AMD EPYC 7742 processor which is the fastest computer available

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I've been using Lenovo ThinkPads as my primary personal machine for about the last decade but also have a desktop as a secondary machine I use sparingly. I'm currently using a W series and previously used a T series.

I essentially have it on pretty much all the time but it obviously does go into sleep mode. It's generally only off (but still plugged in) if I'm travelling or after a system update.

YMMV due to your MacBook own spec's, as every machine is different but I've had to replace the battery after about 3-4yrs as the battery loses its ability to hold charge. Lenovo batteries aren't cheap. It's debatable whether or not it's worth buying an "off-brand" battery due to all the issues around overheating and fires.
In theory, you can extend the service life of your battery by setting it to not fully charge and trying to keep the battery cool.

The rest of my laptop has held up pretty solidly, however, the keys have gotten a bit worn and my left click button works but I don't get as solid of a click anymore. No problems with the display or performance on my current machine.
On my last machine, I think the video card was starting to have problems. Everything else was generally fine.

 

[Jerry1]

I have a desktop because I had it built and it is a quiet PC. It is small and has no fan but it is plenty powerful. If I could find a laptop without a fan, I would consider it for my main computer. I would dock it and have a regular keyboard and monitor. I like sitting at my desk if I have to do much typing. I just gave my MacBook Air to my DD because I wasn’t using it any longer. Sit at the desk for my main computing needs, sit in my chair with my iPad for everything else.

My opinion is that laptops are every bit equal to a desktop unless you have some specific special need. For example, high end video editing or top end gaming. Even then, you may be able to get by with a laptop, but the ability to work on and customize a desk top would probably win out over a laptop.

 

[Aerides]

if I didn't need a gaming PC setup I'd totally go laptop. As it is we have 2 desktops, a laptop, chromebook, tablets, etc.

But even if my primary was a laptop, then I'd probably still set it up for home with a dock, nice big screen(s) and keyboard/mouse combo.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Do it. DH has used a MacBook plugged into a 27” monitor, external keyboard, and mouse since 2009 as a “desktop” computer (same MacBook) and does a lot of design stuff on it. The Apple store told him what he needed and how to configure it. He loves it; I’m trying to talk him into upgrading the MacBook as it’s on its last OS possible, and the monitor to retina display, but he thinks it’s fine.

 

[mpeirce]

Questions:

1. Do you folks use a laptop as your primary computer?

I don't, but DW has recently retired her iMac and is using a MacBook. She did this because the large screen on the iMac (my favorite thing about the iMac!) is hard for her to see with her bifocals. The smaller screen on the MacBook works much better for her.
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2. If so, do you leave it on 24/7?

"on"? We never power down any of the main computers. We do let them "sleep" which uses almost no power.
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3. What is your experience as to life expectancy of a laptop with regular use?

I used to use one for work and they always lasted for years. Usually they were retired for being "too old" or "too slow" or "too heavy", not because they wore out.
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4. Will my iMac last longer if running ip camera software 24/7 is the only thing it does? (Does less interaction extend its life?)

Once a spinning hard disk lasts the first week or so it's pretty good for lasting for years and years - technical term is infant mortality.

SSDs actually wear out faster in heavy use since they have a set number of read/write cycles that a spinning hard disk don't have.
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5. Macbook related - I only have USB-C ports on the MacBook. Do you run your peripherals through a hub/port or straight out of the laptop?

I don't really have many plug in peripherals these days. Everything is on WiFi (printer and internet) or BlueTooth (keyboard and mouse).

Using a dock/hub makes sense if you like to carry it around and also set it on the desk and use it there connected to some set devices.
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6. Do you know of a way to back up the iMac and Macbook pro to the same external HD via time machine as separate partitions? Do you use a cloud based backup for safe offsite storage?

If you need to backup plugging in a cheap big USB 3 spinning hard drive works great for backups. You'll need to unplug of course if you carry it around some. That's where a hug might be useful.

If you are using a single hard disk connected by USB to backup both the MacBook nd the iMac it'll work find just plugging it in to one than the other, and repeat over time. No need to partition the drive, you'll see folders at the top level for each machine. I've done that lot int the past.

Honestly, I don't bother backing up the MacBook any more. I keep all my daily use files on iCloud and share it across the various devices I use (iMac, MacBook, iPad, and iPhone) - that's VERY handy. I do have archived data on a giant hard drive for occasional access and it's duplicated for redundancy.
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