In previous articles on the subject of how to buy a new computer I have written about the main uses for a computer, for at least 80% of the people 80% of the time, as well as the operating systems available, such as Windows 10, Chrome OS and Linux O/S’s, such as Ubuntu. Ubuntu is my particular favourite.

In this final post I am going to look at the types of computers available, from desktop computers, lap tops, small form factors and, all in one types and so called two in ones or laptop / tablet hybrids. So, first things first, the desk top.

Desktop Computers.

Desktop computers have been, for the vast majority of the last twenty years, the go to option for the home computer market. And with good reasons. Desk top computers often offer the best value for money with the greatest range of hardware options. There is a massive range of configurable options, from processors, amounts of memory, graphics, sounds, storage, outputs; the list goes on. Ideal for those who wish to to build there own machines. An excellent choice. There are also a huge range of pre-built machines, from small living room machines, such as the Acer One RL85, as reviewed in The Register and the minuscule HP Pavilion all the way up to this, frankly massive Hyper Liquid I9 TRansformer. A price range of circa £250.00 up to circa £8000.00. Yes, the price of small new car from Romania. Or four Indian cars.

The point about desktop computers is that they provided the greatest range of options, the most configurable solutions but also some of the best value ways to get a computer. They can be used for pure office type work, as media centres in the living room or as machines for people who want some level of future proofing, by allowing the swapping of hard drives, adding extra memory and usually have the most connectivity options, for USB B and C ports, a variety of monitor or TV outputs and often the highest levels of sound, often with dedicated sound cards and the ability to plug in any level of external speaker one wishes. There is one thing to note about buying a desktop computer, which is either a positive or a negative, depending on ones point of view. Desktop computers do not have, by their very nature, monitors, not keyboards nor a mouse. The disadvantage is that there is yet another choice to make, and money to spend, however, the positive is that one can buy exactly the monitor one wants and can choose a keyboard which is best for their needs and typing styles. A keyboard is not a throw away decision, but may be the most important thing one buys. It is, after all, the one piece of technology that one interacts with most often. A good or poor quality keyboard can make or break a desktop purchase.

Laptops and All in One machines.

I have decided to put laptops and so called All in One machines into the same thinking. After all, there is very little difference between the two, except the level of portability. Both types of machines contain all of the hardware in a single box, horizontally in the case of a laptop, vertically for the All in One machine, the screen is a “this is what you get” built in screen, with its size determining the over all size of the entire package. The resolution often controls the price and is, by the definition of the formats, not upgradable. Laptops can of course be used as pseudo desktops, where an additional monitor can be added, with an external keyboard and mouse, but this is really missing the point of a laptop.

For both types of machines, one stakes a claim in the technology roadmap and there one stands from now until system failure. Neither laptops nor All in One machines take upgrades or swaps of hardware very easily. There may be the option to add more memory, but often not. Similarly, there may be an option to swap, not add, a larger hard drive. As with all machines, an external, USB hard drive can be added. Swapping the hard drive of course removes the O/S and therefore there will need to be a certain amount of knowledge required to migrate the contents to a new hard drive and install that, with the required motherboard and other other drivers. It is not surprising that 99.9% of laptop and All in One users do not swap or add hardware. When it fails, it becomes landfill.

The overwhelming majority of laptops and All in One machines come pre-installed with an O/S; mostly Microsoft Windows and small percentage of Chrome O/S and Apple O/S. There are also a small selection of laptops which come with Linux pre-installed, such as those from Dell, or from this selection, which includes the excellent Purism machines.

All in One machines tend to be touch screen devices, often intended to be media hubs or machines intended to placed in central places, like living rooms, kitchens and other similar places. Of course, they are perfectly usable office machines and can be used as perfectly suitable machines for reading content, writing documents, managing email and all the other things home machines are used for. Just the same as the vast majority of laptops. All in One machines often come with a poor quality mouse and keyboard and an upgrade for these may be a worthwhile purchase. All in One machines can be quite large and heavy, which really means that once they are in their place, that is where they will sit. On the other hand, the laptop is a portable all in one machine, which it’s own built in keyboard. When buying a laptop it is important to experience the keyboard and touch pad, to see if they are comfortable. If not, the machine may still be a good purchase, with the addition of an external keyboard and mouse. Of course this limits its portability.

When thinking about buying a laptop it is good to think about just how portable a machine one really needs. Will it be used as a pseudo desktop, spending 90% of its life in one place with occasionally making its way to the couch to watch the occasional video or will it be a John Candy road warrior, forever being moved from bag to desk, to airport lounge to hotel lobby? If the former then perhaps a dedicated desktop with an additional purchase of a decent tablet maybe the answer. If the latter then the best laptop one can afford, with the longest battery life maybe just the ticket. There is really no right or wrong answer tot his question, it is all about matching the device to the needs of the user.

Small Form Factors.

Small form factor machines come in two main types. Firstly there is the miniature desktop. These are full desktops in a very small box; often the size of a dozen or so CD cases stacked vertically. Like a desktop computer they come with a selection of options to choose from, with processor and memory options with storage limited to one hard drive, either traditional discs or more often SSD. The form factor was initially devised by Intel with its eponymous NUC, which was devised as a low power, low coast device, has spawned a range of similar machines from a range of manufacturers, such as this Alpha LiteBox. The entry level version of the Litebox packs an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. It has an aluminium case, HDMI and DisplayPort, and three USB 3.0 ports. All for half the price of an Apple I-Pad. The HP Elite Slice tackles the answer from a slightly different angle; the same CD box sized machine providing the basic needs of the user, but with the option of adding further slices of tech’ stacking each slice on top of another. There are no upgrade options or swap options, as each slice is contained within its own bespoke packaging, but none the less, it is a clever, capable machine which would not look out of place either in a work place nor next to a television, as part of an all round media environment.

Each of these machines is more than capable of being a one machine for everything need, just as long as that need does not including online gaming. But then again, despite what you may have seen on You Tube, the vast majority of people do not do on line gaming. If that is your need, then you will need to look at dedicated gaming machines, of which there are many. As with desktops machines, one will need a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse, but, for under €300.00 one could buy a small, competent machine that will preform almost everything any user will need of it. Machines such as the Zotac, Tronsmart or ECS would all provide plenty of change from €300.00, even after a reasonable monitor etc is added to the kit. With an Intel i3, or better, with 4gigs of RAM and change from €300.00 it is hard to see how one could be disappointed.

There is one other type of small form factor to consider, which is the stick. Intel, again, lead the way with an entirly new type of computer, which is a computer on a stick. Almost literally. The Compute Stick is about the size of a large USB thumb drive and plugs directly into the HDMI port of the monitor or your television. It has one micro USB port which is used to power the device, two full USBs, one micro SD slot which will take a card up to 128GB, Bluetooth and a micro Kensington lock. The keyboard and mouse can be connected either via the Bluetooth connection or, through a separate powered USB hub, via one of the full size USBs. It is possible to run the keyboard and mouse through one each of the USBs put it can be a little impractical having the cables running round to the back of the monitor. Currently, Digitec are selling the entry level device for CHF 139.00, or about €120.00. The Asus VivoStick is primarily the same machine, with an Asus badge on it. However the Kangaroo Mobile Desktop mini PC takes this format and expands on it by allowing modular additions to be made, and, interestingly and internal battery. The battery is not enough to actually power the device whilst using it plugged into to a monitor or television, however, it has enough capacity to allow an elegant shut down should there be some external power issue or if somebody pulls out the power lead.

Each of these machines come pre-installed with Windows 10, usually Home edition, which means they are a fully functioning, office centric device capable of off the usual tasks, including some limited gaming. If either space, or budget are an issue, of if you are the sort of user that is happy with just the working minimum €240.00 will buy you a fully functioning computer, keyboard, mouse and monitor, such as this BenQ and just about enough change for a vegan lunch from Pret.

And finally.

After these three posts about how to choose an appropriate computer, what is it that I use? I have an Acer One RL85, with Ubuntu 16.04, a Philips 271P4Q 27″ monitor through which I can use the built in web cam and microphone. I don’t use the monitors speakers, instead I have a pair of Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speakers and a Microsoft Curve 2000 keyboard. I’ve added a 128GB SSD as the primary drive, on which Ubuntu boots in under three seconds and a second 1TB drive for music, podcasts and image storage. So far, I have not yet found anything I can not do with this machine.