OT: 2 in 1 Laptops?

ebergerly

Okay so I've been kinda sorta thinking of buying a tablet, only because I've wanted one for a long time but don't really need it but still I want it. And I'm kinda sorta thinking of tossing my piece of junk laptop (i3 with 2GB ram) and buying a decent laptop with 12GB or something. But my piece of junk is actually fine since I rarely use it except when I travel and I don't really need (nor will I use) a powerful laptop. 

However, now I'm trying to convince myself that I can get both and save some money if I get one of the new (?) 2 in 1 laptops that act like tablets and I guess you can draw by hand on the screen or something? 

So my question: Can you use these as a tablet for your desktop? In other words, instead of buying a tablet can I connect this with a USB or something and use a stylus as input to my desktop instead of the mouse? And since the one I'm looking at has an i7 and 12 GB and 15.6" screen it would be a really big tablet. 

Anyone? 

agent unawares

No, you can't use it as an input to your desktop and still retain any decent capabilities. Every year or so I check whether I can use my Surface tablet as an input to a desktop and all the options out there are still severely lacking. The best way is using a remote desktop app but that comes with all the issues those have, so works like crap for drawing etc, might be fine if you are not expecting a good display and just want to control the other PC.

ebergerly

Thanks. And it looks like these don't even come with an ethernet port. Geez. 

dragotx

The closest I've seen to what you're talking about is the Cintiq line from Waccom:  https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Cintiq-21-Inch-Display-DTK2200/dp/B008HB5K5O/ref=lp_16034531_1_20?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1511048697&sr=1-20 but I'd have to hock a kidney to afford one.  I've seen a lot of artists talking about them, and they all seem to absolutely love them though.  But these are strictly hooked up to a computer, they are not standalone I believe

ebergerly

Oh yeah I think I saw one of those big monsters. I saw a video of the guy who does Dilbert I think draws his cartoons on that. 

JamesJAB

It is doable...
The Micorsoft Surface line have what they call the "Surface-Dock"
This little toy plugs into the charging port on your Surface Pro, or Surface Book and gives you the following:
4x USB 3.0
2x Mini Display Port
1x Gigabit Ethernet
1x 3.5mm audio out port
1x charging plug

You would just leave this on your desk and just plug your Surface into it when needed.
The Surface Book 2 is kinda crazy... if you are willing to fork out the cash:
15" 3240 x 2160 screen
Quad core i7
Geforce GTX 1060 6GB
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
Up to 17 hours video playback on battery power
Surface Pen (active stylus)

AllenArt

dragotx said:

The closest I've seen to what you're talking about is the Cintiq line from Waccom:  https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Cintiq-21-Inch-Display-DTK2200/dp/B008HB5K5O/ref=lp_16034531_1_20?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1511048697&sr=1-20 but I'd have to hock a kidney to afford one.  I've seen a lot of artists talking about them, and they all seem to absolutely love them though.  But these are strictly hooked up to a computer, they are not standalone I believe

Monoprice puts out a knockoff of the Cintiq that's supposed to be pretty good at a fraction of the price of the Wacom (but still a bit pricey in it's own right - about 400 bucks for the 22" model).

Laurie

ebergerly

 Thanks all. The thing about buying laptops (or any tech stuff) is that you really have to think how you'll use it and read the fine print. For example, for anyone who has done much travelling in hotels, you probably have encountered a LOT of hotels whose Wifi is almost useless. Can't connect, drops out, slow as molasses. Even the big chains. Which is why I now travel with an ethernet cable, because some may have wired ethernet but there's no cable to connect to. 

So it looks like the more portable laptops now are going for smaller and thinner, which means they cut back on external connectors. Like ethernet. I guess the assumption is that the entire world is this magical place covered with perfect wifi everywhere, and ethernet is this old outdated technology for people who are stuck having to plug in wires. Not even close.

nonesuch00

I bought the Asus EP121 and it remains the only tablet PC I've had that actually overheated to the point of the gorilla glass melting and cracking. The lithium ion battery attempted to explode but the gold colored metallic failsafe envelope the battery was encased in prevented that from happening although it did greatly expand in volume. Considering it's cost, when I include the upgraded 256GB SSD disk I added it was over $1200 and wasn't upgradable so it was a very poor value for the money.  It attempted to exploded less the 3 years after purchase and they dropped hardware & software (meaning ASUS and Intel) a measly 1 1/2 year after I purchased the tablet. They are really luxury items to all but masters of using digital pens in apps for digital sculpting and drawing apps.

agent unawares

AllenArt said:

dragotx said:

The closest I've seen to what you're talking about is the Cintiq line from Waccom:  https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Cintiq-21-Inch-Display-DTK2200/dp/B008HB5K5O/ref=lp_16034531_1_20?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1511048697&sr=1-20 but I'd have to hock a kidney to afford one.  I've seen a lot of artists talking about them, and they all seem to absolutely love them though.  But these are strictly hooked up to a computer, they are not standalone I believe

Monoprice puts out a knockoff of the Cintiq that's supposed to be pretty good at a fraction of the price of the Wacom (but still a bit pricey in it's own right - about 400 bucks for the 22" model).

Laurie

I have a Huion GT-190 that works really well. Also around $400.