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I need hardware advice

Started by September 03, 2014 12:00 AM
5 comments, last by Gian-Reto 10 years ago
I'm buying a new tablet and I'm trying to decide between a Tegra k1 powered Shield tablet with Android and a Core i3-4020y powered Dell Venue 11 Pro tablet with Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 would give me much more options in developing games and playing them. The Android tablet would probably be zippier for general use and would probably have less OS problems in my honest opinion.

What is your primary intended use of this tablet?

SlimDX | Ventspace Blog | Twitter | Diverse teams make better games. I am currently hiring capable C++ engine developers in Baltimore, MD.
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As a computer. I no longer have one. I will be gaming and making games. Although with Android, I would be stuck with AIDE probably. I think I can maybe type without a keyboard and if I can't, maybe I'll figure something out.

The Dell Venue is around $500, at that price you could buy a real laptop with a keyboard.

Stay gold, Pony Boy.

If you really want something tablet-ish, I'd look at something like:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/list/2-in-1-PCs/categoryID.62685500

Going to a purely tablet setup as your primary computing device seems insane to me, especially as a developer. Although it looks like the Venue is more along the lines of what I suggested. So my vote would be against the Tegra and for an x86 based system.

SlimDX | Ventspace Blog | Twitter | Diverse teams make better games. I am currently hiring capable C++ engine developers in Baltimore, MD.
When I started this topic, I was leaning toward the k1 tablet, which is just honestly more a toy. However, I found a Venue with a better processor at only a little more money. I might get that.
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I only tried Android development for a very brief time, but it was when I got my Android tablet, thats why I wanted to start developing ON the Android tablet.

The lack of any OS Level Explorer / File Navigator type function drove me nuts! Gave it up in a few hours.

Sure, there is an app for this, as for almost everything else. But chances are a) the app is crap, b) littered with ads or expensive (for a throw-away software tied to your Google Account and maybe even the device), c) it might take you a while to even find anything, as names are often nondescriptive and the search function sometimes MEH!

You can complain about Windows' insecurity, instability and whatnot all you want... at least you get all the basics built-in, and as long as you have the cash, access to all the applications you could need for virtually every task.

Next I am not yet 100% convinced about the Tegra K1 and about the new wave of "super-powered 64bit ARM CPUs"... I still think they cannot match up to even a normal intel core (though the fact that people consider this alone is a feat, if its just a marketing feat alone only time will tell), and besides the Tegra 3 all Tegras to date were not really matching up to expectations.

Sure, we hear lots of good things about the K1.... but it seems its Power has been bought with increased battery drain as in some Tegra 4 devices last year. If its not really cheap, there is little point in picking that over the newest, quite efficient Intel CPUs.... IMO.

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