Using T60 As Main Computer

Hi there!

I have a T60...purchased last fall.

My desktop is very old and very slow. No more slots to put in additional memory and a 1600+ AMD processor. slooooow.

Can I use my T60 as a main computer, and leave it on all day?

Will it reduce the life of the T60 to leave it on?

Is it better to just get a new desktop???

Thanks for the input Lisa

 

If you leave your laptop on all day everyday, it will deteriorate over time...take the battery for example.

If you're planning on using a computer at home everyday for long periods of time, I think getting a new desktop would be better.

 

I leave mine on _all_ the time.

 

If its just plugged in, its you know time on the MTF for the parts, but there is nothing inherently fragile about laptop parts. In most cases, I'd say you could leave the laptop on 24x7 and if it were just sitting on a desk plugged in it would be obsolete far in advance of dieing electrically. If you are talking about physical damage, from you pushing and taping it (keys), then that's another thing all together, that I can't know, that depends on how hard you are on things as a user.

 

Oh, but in general I like to have a desktop too, I don't know any 21" IPS screen laptops... or ones with 500 GB of space... Depends what you need.

 

what are MTF parts?

I wasn't sure if the parts were as sturdy as a desktop. after buying this T60 so recently, I don't want to put out the cash right now, if I don't have to, for a desktop, also.

If I decide to turn off the desktop, I'll probably be using an external keyboard...and plugging the external monitor into it, as well. If it works out, I'll get a docking station or port replicator---i'm not sure which is which.

just need to back-up the desktop in case i missed copying anything. i think i should get one of those external hard drive things for that. the burner on the desktop is limping on it's last leg

Thanks for your responses!

 

For the past 2 years, I've been using laptops as my only computer. I sure do back things up more frequently than I did with a desktop, but that's just common sense.

I've got the mini dock, and I'm using it with a 20" Dell monitor (2005FPW, DVI), my ethernet cable, and a bunch of USB devices. The mini dock even comes with its own power adapter, so I take one with me and leave the other one plugged into the dock at home. It's nice and easy.

 

Mjacob has a good plan, docking stations save the ware and tare on the keyboard and so one, while letting you have big LCDs. As long as you back things up your data will be safe.

MTF -> mean time to failure. (also called MTBF B is for Before) You can normally look it up for parts. Here is an example:
Seagate Momentus 100GB 7200.1 Hard specification
Key Features
Average Seek Time 12.5 ms
Compliant Standards N/A
Service & Support Details 5 Years
Cache/Buffer Size 8 MB
Average Latency 5.6ms
Form Factor 2.5" - Internal
Dimensions WxDxH 70x100x9.5mm
Mean Time Before Failure 600,000 POH

I assume POH means power on hours, but I don't know. That would be about 68 years... Now I've had hard drives die, so its a fair point that the mean doesn't tell you everything you need to know. If you have one drive that lasts "forever" then it would make the mean infinite. Soooo, its good to know the width of distributions to. This isn't published, but the idea here is long MTF parts are more sturdy if you can look it up...

But back to making your laptop last. No I guess you don't need a desktop. If you want to get a dock, a keyboard/mouse, some external storage and a LCD you can essentially have all the benefits of having a desktop I guess, if you think the performance of the laptop is good.

That will still cost you a chunk of change though... I may one day go the central network storage laptops and docs route, but for now desktops still have a massive performance/cost advantage. Its nice to not be computer less if you laptop breaks or is stolen etc etc. But then I can't function without a computer really...

 

Hmmmm. A lot of think about. I really don't want to ruin my laptop. It took monthos of research to be sure I got the right one...I'm pressed for time right now, and researching desktops isn't going to fly right now.

Thanks for the responses. Gives me food for thought!

Lisa

 

I also leave my T60 on 24/7. I occasionally shut it off but only when I'm commuting.

 

Like my T30, my T60 is always on. There are two things that will probably happen. One, your battery life might be reduced somewhat, so you might have to buy a new battery sooner. Second, if you use the LCD a whole lot, the backlight might give out before you've decided to throw it in the dumpster. Of course, it'll still be 4 or 5 years, but still.

I have this server appliance that is essentially a laptop without an LCD (or keyboard), and it still works fine after being left on for 6 years, so I don't think the parts (mainly the hard disk) are inherently less reliable, although they are more susceptible to being broken by being dropped, since you're more likely to carry around the laptop.