Dilemma: better hardware vs better accessories

Not sure if this should go to OT , but since NBR has a accessories forum, I just post here ~~.

Recently, I find myself spending more and more on accessories.
Spend around 200 for a external monitor
20 for a color calibrator on ebay
70 for a keyboard
some money on headphone
20-30 on mouse

While my laptop only costed me 500 (600with upgrades)and the accessories are not really "necessary". This come to me as a deliemma as I can dump all those money and get a better machine.

How would you guys decide/weight more if you have a limited budget.

 

my money would be on the accessories, if those make real difference say a big external monitor or a more comfortable keyboard or a more enjoyable headphone.

but as usual, different people place different weight on different things.

 

It all depends on what you want. Spend the money you need to to get the hardware to suit your needs, then spend on accessories. I used to be an all for the machine kind of guy, but now after getting a couple of decent mice and other gear, if you are going to use those accessories on a daily basis, getting good ones is definitely worth the expense. However, those accessories won't serve you much if your laptop can't keep up with the workload you put it through.

 

A balance is what I will aim but I would still focus on getting a good machine. For accessories, the biggest things to invest is the monitor and the mouse in my honest opinion. If it comes down to a good $100 mechanical keyboard or gaming headset vs. a SSD or a good bump on the GPU, then I would really take precedence on the SSD or GPU over getting the keyboard or the headset. Try to balance the two, but still focus on the hardware, where most of the magic exist.

 

I voted for balance, though my approach has been patience. I have been adding accessories to my laptop over time. I made sure my laptop was good enough to last me a while, and have since bought an external monitor, keyboard, and laptop stand. A new mouse is soon to come, and I am greatly looking forward to an SSD.

One thing I try to keep in mind with accessories is that they should outlast my laptop. Whenever I replace my current laptop, I'll already have my accessories ready to go.

And let me see if I can save you some money on accessories.
keyboard - Sidewinder X4 $40 (at least it was $39.99 last week when I ordered it)

Headphones: Monoprice $28.50 (shipped)
^I don't own these, but I've read great things about them

 

I say spend as much money as you can on the machine. The only accessory I ever needed was a good mouse. When you purchase a new laptop, just make sure you get a full HD display and upgrade it to 95% color gamut. It will be so pretty, you won't need to purchase a external monitor. Unless you just can't live with 17".

If I had to either choose upgrading my GPU to a GTX 580m or purchasing a external monitor, I'd take the 580m all day long.

 

I find laptop screen really not ideal for long time use as I use my external monitor more extensively. Simple height adjustment + IPS screen is phenomenal. Even non-ips with height adjustment.

570m+ good monitor vs a 580m ?

P.S my poll option is bad ~~, but cant edit poll owell xD

 

Good monitor? Besides the height adjustment my 90% NTSC Color Gamut on my MSI would like to disagree.

Yes I would rather have the 580m than the 570m with a external monitor. I personally don't understand using a laptop with a external monitor unless you absolutely need a large display. In the end, yes I would take the better performance over the option for height adjustment any day of the week. Lastly, if I were to purchase a external monitor, it wouldn't be a IPS panel. I care more about gaming performance than I do viewing angles. Just give be a Samsung 120hz TFT.

 

Nope no difference. Unless you just say you don't like laptop screens since an opinions don't have to be rational.

Other than that, hardware first then accessories.

 

There isn't an 'all on everything' option. I am disappoint

 

Well, that would assume a high budget which i believe is contradictory to the OP's initial question of where to spend a limited budget. If you can going all out is of course the best way to go.

 

Well in that case we need an alternative 4th option "Phish a bank"

 

I could write something neat, but Star Forge already stated my exact thoughts on this matter.

 

When it comes to laptop computers, focus on hardware first.

The only time you really have a chance to select laptop hardware components (CPU, GPU) is at the time of purchase. You can always upgrade accessories at any time in the future.

 

Sure a monitor is nice, but then why even get a laptop?

I go for "hardware" because my laptop is used on my lap, in bed, etc.

Unless physical monitor size is an issue, all the accessories just get in the way.

 

I'm a little bit confused on where to draw the line between accessories and hardware.

If I intend to spend a serious chunk of money on a laptop, I'll want to make sure it has a good display, a good trackpad, a good keyboard. Do those count as accessories or hardware? Are you talking about computation hardware versus interface hardware?

the way it *works* is that you buy to cater to your needs. You buy as much computation hardware as you need to perform the required tasks, and then you get whatever interface hardware you need... money isn't really a primary factor unless you have to start cutting corners I suppose. Or if you have someone who has no idea what they need.

 

If it's built in to the laptop, then I consider it hardware.

The laptop built-in display is hardware.
The laptop built-in trackpad is hardware.
The laptop built-in keyboard is hardware.

A separate external monitor that you connect via VGA / HDMI is an accessory.
A separate external USB trackpad is an accessory.
A separate external USB keyboard is an accessory.
A separate external USB mouse is an accessory.


My recommendation is to focus the money from your initial purchase on getting the hardware you want. If there is extra budget beyond that, then you can consider accessories.

The important thing to remember is that you can always buy an accessory (external monitor / keyboard / mouse / headphones, etc) and begin using it at any point in the future without compromise. However, in general, the laptop hardware you buy on day 1 is the laptop hardware that you are stuck using for the life of the machine.

 

I'm of the same mindset.

My Priorities are the Machine itself, then niceties. A Decent mouse is a nice to have, but i still don't want to pay more than $50 for it.

A decent monitor wont break the bank either.

The only thing i splurge on is Audio gear, i don't mind paying $200 for a good set of ear-buds.

But otherwise.. the Return on Investment for most high-end accessories is suspect IMO.

 

Because a notebook can go with me ANYWHERE but my work pattern is usually between fixed locations(and even for unfamiliar locations like client/friend places, finding a monitor is easy).

I don't think anyone is in their right mind do drag along a non-notebook( even a Mac mini) ;-)

 

Yes, for some people, the use of a monitor with a notebook is no big deal and it can be handy depending on your needs. However, realize that most people purchasing a laptop are just using the built in display. In fact, I would say 99% of laptop owners just use it's built in display. I would just rather upgrade the built in display. That way, you can have a good display every were you go.

 

If this is the way you are approaching it, then what does it really mean to balance towards hardware or accessories? Obviously you should lean towards hardware so you don't waste your money. Getting one good display is more cost effective and useful than buying a bad display and a good display.

I would recommend getting a decent mouse, but those aren't very expensive. Other than that, everything else you need, for a laptop in particular, you should try to get right the first time.

I/O devices don't become obsolete nearly as quickly as computational components (GPU, CPU, memory, etc).

Also, if you're using a ton of accessories to get by with your laptop, you really are compromising, particularly on portability.

If you're going to depend on an external keyboard, mouse, and display to be able to do your work, you might as well just get a desktop, because it will be way more cost effective.

 

That was kind of my point.

You can only enjoy the monitor at your desk while you're at your desk...

So...do you want to upgrade your display and use it 100% of the time, or upgrade your monitor and use it whenever you can...which may be 10-20% of the time?

 

Well based on my experience, modern display makes very little difference beside size. I spec all my work displays(i.e. not my money) to be IPS only and use elcheapo TN(don't even care the brand) ones at home.

I don't notice the difference given that I am sitting in proper angel most of the time.

In the laptop's context, how can you upgrade ? a 14" to a 18" ?

And for the situation where say an IPS makes a difference, a laptop display would be too small(photo editing for example where I need lots of screen real estates).

Sure there are odd situations like working under bright sunlight outdoor but those are in general not the norm.

 

And a car to transport it everyday ? Doesn't sound cost effective to me.

 

you can save up later for the accessories! for now focus on the hardware!

you don't want to be outdated that quickly!

 

Above average hardware, EXCELLENT monitor and mouse. Really a good monitor and mouse is all you need.

 

I say go all out on the hardware if budget permits. Accessories like a monitor, mouse, and a keyboard can wait. Its a laptop anyway.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

so, you won't need a car to transport your external monitor and keyboard? are you going to carry your external monitor and keyboard around with you every day instead?

To go back to the original point - let me put it this way, if you were buying (or building) a desktop computer, I would definitely be willing to spend big on the I/O devices that you actually interact with. Hardware selections for me are generally made with the mindset of "minimal need" - because hardware performance / cost is grows so fast over time. A good monitor or mouse will last a long time by comparison.

 

So you bought pretty much cheapest monitor, mouse etc and you are asking if you should spend more on hardware?

I mean are you not sure if you need external monitor or not? I can understand when people are spending $100 on exclusive luxury mouse pads but cheap monitor and mouse are bare minimum in my book...
I am myself am absolutely sure that i need monitor & keyboard & mouse else i simple cant work.

 

Don't mean to over-analyse this.. but...

Seems to me, the best way to budget this out would be to simply take stock of what is important to YOU, figure out YOUR budget and and get what makes YOU happy with it.

 

Hardware for sure. Don't pay for software especially if there's free open-source stuff available.

 

Noop.

I have monitor and keyboard/mouse at the locations I carry my laptop to.

 

I can't imagine that this is a common case, but this certainly makes sense for you then.

 

luckily it works for me. The idea was copied from IBM during the 90s when they started the idea of mobile desk(no one has a room/desk permanently but every desk was equipped with these basic things sans thinkpad).

 

it's genius if you're in the right environment. makes perfect sense.

 

Personally, I'd say balance would be better. Or at least, upgrade each side little by little.