Tag Archives: computers

i5 vs i7

24 Thursday Sep 2015

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hp dilemma (1)

As some of you may recall, I’ve been going through a computer upgrade dilemma all summer, trying to decide whether to go with another 17″ laptop or an all-in-one 23″ desktop. That question has been decided – I’m definitely going with another laptop. But now another techy-geek dilemma has reared its baffling head… which processor should I get?

Behold two lovely laptops by HP. Both have 17.3″ screens, 12 GB Ram, 1 T memory as well as other similarities. The only difference is that the one above has the new Intel Core i7 processor and the one below has an i5. Oh, and the one above costs 300€ more.

My question is… is the i7 processor worth spending an extra 300€? I mean, I almost hope it is because the Envy above is way prettier than the Pavilion below, but I also don’t want to spend an extra 300€ just for a pretty exterior.

Help? If it matters, I do use my laptop every day for many hours, so speed is important. Also, I do a lot of photo editing and hope to be getting into video editing soon. The other thing is that if I don’t decide which one to purchase by Saturday then I’ll have to wait until another special offer comes along. Right now Fnac is offering a 20% discount.

hp dilemma (2)

upgrade dilemma

06 Thursday Aug 2015

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update dilemmaIt’s computer upgrade time! Not so much for myself, but flatmate Peter has been using trusty six-year-old Shadow since I bought the Greyhound, and it’s looking like Shadow is about to give up the ghost, so if I upgrade then I can pass the Greyhound on to him. But I’m not sure which way to go. I saw an older version of an HP all-in-one desktop (different than the one shown above) awhile ago and thought it might be nice to have a larger screen to work with, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to lose the portability option of a laptop. Though it must be said that the Greyhound has seldom left the desk in the past three years. So I thought I had finally decided on going with this newer desktop version with a 23″ touchscreen, but then I saw this 17″ laptop that is a bit cheaper and seems to have more “stuff” (RAM, memory graphics, etc) so would it be better to go with the laptop instead and keep the portability option? Do I really need 12 GBs of RAM? Help?

hp envy 17

hp envy 23

la anchoa

10 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in computers, gadgets, geekiness, retail therapy, shopping

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satellite-nb10Meet the newest member of my ever-growing Toshiba family… Anchoa!

This is my first ever notebook/netbook with an 11.6 inch touchscreen and weighing in at just 1.3 kgs. Plus lots of other cool specs that made me suddenly eschew all reason and splash out on this rather spontaneous purchase. I’d actually spotted her the other day in FNAC (for some reason gadgets are always either clearly male or female to me) and thought what a pretty new toy she’d make, but of course I couldn’t think of a good reason to buy her. But with a trip to Málaga coming up, and a few other trips planned over the next few months, it started to seem like a Good Idea to have a small travel computer. The last few times I’ve gone away I’ve taken Shadow with me, which left flatmate Peter using a now very slow and clunky Sexy Beast (sorry, nobody but me uses the Greyhound). But Shadow, although reliable, is quite heavy to lug around and so the thought of this sleek little number started appealing even more. Then on Thursday morning I got an email from FNAC saying they were offering members 12% off Toshiba products… and well, it was a sign, right? So off I went and bought the wee thing!

I’m still going through the throws of setting up a new ‘puter, which is never without a few glitches – like when I raced back to the store in a huff after spotting a nick where the screen fits into the lid. It was the microphone (duh!). And I’m not sure I like Windows 8.1, though I wasn’t ready to pay twice as much and have to get used to the whole Mac system. Also, since I won’t be needing Shadow anymore, I was able to remove all my files and programmes, which put the C-drive back into the Blue Zone, so that should improve things for Peter too. Win-win!

For awhile I was stuck for a name for the new arrival and then it came to me… small, shiny and silver just like a little fish. Anchoa! I almost went with Boquerón, which would have been very fitting as her first trip will be to Málaga (Malagueños are called boquerones, another name for anchovy) and I also love Málaga so much that my friend Victor calls me a media-boquerón. But to me Boquerón sounds like a boy’s name… so Anchoa it is.

anchovy

my passport hd

26 Thursday Sep 2013

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my passport hd

About a year and a half ago I bought a new Lacie external HD (that I named Scarlett), which I thought would be more than sufficient for my needs with 500 GBs. But no. Or at least, it’s fine for a couple of back-ups, but I realised I wanted/needed more space and have been waiting for FNAC to do one of their “member’s days” in which members like me get an extra discount. And today was the day! Don’t think I’ll name this guy… “Passport” is good enough. As it always goes with gadgets, this 1TB model cost 75€ while the 500 GB Lacie cost 100€ “back in the day”. I almost opted for the 2TB model but may start using more cloud options.

So on my way home from the hospital today, floating on the very happy news that I have another healthy six months ahead of me, I decided to stop in at FNAC to pick up this baby and also stock up on printer ink.

And now I am going to meet my friend Saray to partake of Croqueta Week at one of my favourite tapas bars, Becerrita. Well, why the hell not? There are seven special croquettes on offer: bulltail, jamón, chistorras (small chorizo), mussel, anenome, beef & gorgonzola, and anchovies & condensed milk… Me? I’m up for anything at this point. How’s your day going?

sexy beast, shadow & the greyhound

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in computers, home, music, work

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sexy beast, shadow and the greyhound

Today I did a bit of tidying up. My little laptop family may seem a bit excessive but anyone who has followed The Saga will know that Shadow was bought when Sexy Beast had to go to computer hospital and there was no way I could be without a working computer for over a month. In any case, SB was already getting a bit tired so it was probably time for an upgrade. When I got SB back I added some RAM and passed her on to Peter as his old HP (aka The Brick) had kicked the bucket. Likewise when I recently bought The Greyhound, Shadow became Peter’s work laptop. Except sometimes I still need all three. Like today.

First of all I needed some printing done, which can only be done on Shadow as I’ve lost the installation discs for my printer (can probably find it online but bleh…) and I also wanted to add some music to my iPod, which can only be done on Sexy Beast. The last one is more of An Issue than the printing. So if someone knows of an EASY way of moving my iTunes library over to The Greyhound, I’m all ears. It’s ridiculous that you can’t sync your iPod on more than one computer, for all kinds of obvious reasons.

But on the bright side I spent a good hour cleaning out old files from Shadow so that he should run a lot faster for Peter now. And t’s also given me a chance to update a lot of stuff on Sexy Beast that needed doing, not the least of which was installing the latest version of iTunes. So I am feeling quite accomplished in the way you feel after you’ve cleaned out some unruly closet space.

What did you do today?