A true "Desktop Replacement PC" But...

[salomon]

Hi everyone:
This company named CYBERNET www.cybernetman.com (http://www.cybernetman.com) claims that his "DESKBOOK" line of laptop computers is not really a laptop; It is instead a "Portable Desktop replacement PC" system. According to Cybernet, the Deskbook uses a Standard Desktop Intel Pentium 4 processor. And, unlike a typical laptop, the Deskbook is upgradeable.
The big QUESTION is: Is this Portable Desktop replacement feasible for AUDIO?
Your thoughts & recommendations.

[diminished]

THE site looks good,better than those greedy priced notebooks.you know the big 5 or 6 or 7 or whatever the number is with the bunch.even tho i have bought from them out of no other choices.no matter where you turn those laptops are extremely overpriced.welcome to the american greedy market i guess,it should not be the latest news.anyhow,coming back to the question.
it all depends how much of a daw you want to be able to put together.whether a comlete,portability,light tracking a few,plug ins etc.
with laptops these days,that is if you want it for a complete daw ,they are limited in many areas.pci slots,bandwith transfer expension etc.among others.
so you need to set your goals as to what is to be achieved as a final goal(production).if not,then desktops are the way to go with and cheaper in most cases than laptops among a lot of other achievable things.
oh btw,the site you posted has great prices comparing to those greedy ones.and yes they are using desktop cpus everywhere now as a desktop replacement but not a desktop daw replacement.so please pay attention on daw issues specialy.gl.

[salomon]

Diminished-
The price of these systems is one of the thing that also caught my attention.
An Intel 4, 1.6GHz, 15" XGA TFT, 256 MB DD Ram, 10GB UDMA, 8X DVD, Rom, 56k, 10/100 Ethernet, 4 USB, Firewire port, 3 year warranty is being advertised for $999.00 in the Laptop magazine. The only thing is that the Deskbook system does not seem to have PCMCIA slots which will be a requirement if one wants to use let say the RME Multiface w/ PCMCIA.

[diminished]

I cant imagine without pcmcia slot,even on desktop replacement.i have 2 desktop replacements and one of them has two pcmcia slot.its a given in notebooks.but i'll check the site and the info again in this case,since you mentioned it.

[rhing]

One thing to consider is that this is a desktop version Pentium 4 processor sitting in a confined laptop chassis. Typically, Intel constructs their mobile processors to be more energy efficient and cooler than their desktop counterparts. With a hotter processor, a laptop's fan is likely to activate very frequently and possibly interfere with audio quality. Remember that heat is one of the worse enemies to electronic components.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the system board (if I can call it this) may or may not be compatible with pro audio interfaces like the RME Hammerfall series, the Echo Layla or VX Pocket 2. Most audio interface manufacturers use laptops from popular manufacturers like Dell, Compaq and IBM. Based on the provided specifications, it appears that the chip set uses shared memory for graphics. This will tap out the processor when you're trying to edit audio and display graphics simultaneously. RME Audio strongly recommends that users stay away from laptops using shared memory for graphics processing.

On top of that, there are no PCMCIA CardBus adapters. There's almost no excuse for leaving out PCMCIA slots in a laptop chassis PC (even if it is called a desktop replacement).

If you're that concerned about price, why not consider a factory-waranteed refurbished unit from Dell or IBM? At least you know it will work. For the money you would spend on one of those DeskBooks, you could get a nice refurbished Inspiron or ThinkPad. Remember also that most audio software was written for PIII processors, so these 2.0 GHz P4 processors really won't get you that much more performance unless you like to play action games on your PC too.

[Nick Driver]

Over in a Linux forum I saw a thread discussing Sager laptops (www.powernotebook.com)... seems the Linux guys love them.

[diminished]

I have noticed since this thread,most laptop manufacturers dont even list pcmcia in their specs,is it because its a given?i would be surprised if any manufacturer not incorporating pcmcia in laptops.btw,i called the 800# of the site listed above to find out on this,but it was out the business hours.so,why dont you give em a call and find out.let us know the sitiuation.most of the business hours i am asleep and wont catch em.

[This message has been edited by diminished (edited 12-12-2002).]

[diminished]

Nick,thanks for the site its intresting.
sometimes i wish that they would have an os dedicated just for daw use.i am sure someone will catch up on the idea.

[This message has been edited by diminished (edited 12-12-2002).]

[salomon]

Rhing-
You have made some good points. Made a lot of senses.