Viability of using a Pyra as a hybrid/main computer?

[TrashyMG]

I do all my tasks at home between the OMAP5 Devboard and my Commodore Amiga (Vampire accelerated A600) as both are located conveniently near my electronics work bench I spend a lot of time at ... I have a moderately powerful Linux Gaming machine that collects a lot of dust lately.

 

[second exodous]

For me I think I will. I'll keep my PC for games/Blender(video editing). I only play games once in a full moon and hopefully I'll be able to use Blender on my Pyra and only use my PC with Blender when I need to get a video done fast. Even when I was home I'd render on my much much slower notebook anyway so I think the Pyra might eliminate my notebook.

Right now I use Ubuntu Studio, just a ubuntu spin with Xfce and a few other libraries so the Pyra should do everything I need.

With my current computing habits the Pyra should become my main computing device.

 

[rygD]

We are talking about general daily tasks. Even ED admitted that the Pandora is slow for web browsing https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/gpd-win-2.81854/page-2

If something can't even function decently for web browsing then it's not up to par for a main daily driver unless you don't use web browsers, and that would be an incredible low amount of people. You can't make magic happen, single core cpu's and <1gb ram are very very outdated specs in 2018 and won't handle 99.5 percent of people's daily driving tasks which is mostly browser based.

I get where you are coming from, but I can't fully agree with you. I was surprised what I was able to do with the the Pandora. I couldn't do a lot all at once, although if I was working on documents or spreadsheets from a short PDF (something I have done several times on it) while running stuff from a terminal, and taking screen shots of results, it worked fine. I also used it for writing a few papers, although most of my sources were physical books, so it was great for carrying with me instead of lugging around a laptop.

The same is true for some light web browsing, although the slow downs are unbearable if I try to browse the way I prefer (possibly dozens of tabs generated in a single session, indiscriminately opening bloated modern pages). It just depends on how and where you are visiting.

As for the RAM, 4GB isn't needed, and nothing shown so far demonstrates that we need more than 2GB even for unrealistic use. @TrashyMG made a video showing that, and @Grench regularly reminds us that we don't need as much as we want. The reason we have the 4GB option is that many of us, myself included, asked for more RAM (why not, we can have up to 8GB with this SoC), and some of us feel there may be some situations where we could benefit from the increase. This hasn't been seen with the actual hardware, though. Since we don't know where things will be in 5 years, it is quite possible that the Pyra will not have an upgrade by then and it won't be feasible for certain daily tasks...like taking and posting pictures of your breakfast to Facebook and such.

Coincidentally, part 1 and 2 of Moebius. I've seen all of SG1 and Atlantis over and over and over and over, and all of Universe twice. I'm extremely obsessed with that show.

SG:Universe sucks, by the way.

How dare you! I can totally understand why people don't like it, and it made even more sense back then due to what had recently been on the air (like they were trying to make a SG version of BSG or something). I personally liked it. It was Atlantis that I couldn't get into back then, probably because something about the first season or two rubbed me the wrong way. I skipped the first season when I recently returned to it (mainly because I didn't set up my DVR recording until after that), and it has been much more enjoyable for me. It is also possible I am not trying to compare it to SG1 in some back corner of my mind, and that is why I like it better. (I am pretty sure I did that with DS9 back in the day, and all the war stuff didn't really fit with what I thought was the original idea of ST. I am really not sure where I stand on the new one. I enjoy it, but so many things seem wrong for ST to me, kinda like the recent movies, although they tried to cleverly for those in while making them their own thing, which I feel they failed at.)

 

[trix]

Yeah the Pyra will definitely be a LOT better at tab-happy browsing and things like Facebook if that's your cup of tea. Pandora slows down a LOT when doing that in Pale Moon. Personally, I like that the Pandora forces me to finish one thing before I start another, but yeah for most people Pyra will be a much more effective Desktop alternative. Since the OP's question was about using the Pyra rather than the Pandora, I figured describing why the Pandora is already 90% there would help show that the Pyra is likely to be very capable of the role the OP wants for it.

---

SG Universe had too many overdramatic and annoying characters. It was like a bad BSG. Given your tastes however, I suspect you'd really like The Orville. It's a Seth Macfarlane parody of Star Trek The Next Generation that is hilarious and quite good.

 

[rygD]

Yeah, I have mentioned The Orville around here once or twice. Although it is a parody, they still include the social commentary and message (in a rather serious way...remember the baby?) that was found in earlier ST series. I don't think of ST when watching it, except when I see the idiotic ship design.

 

[Arctic20]

Personally I don't share this multi-tasking craze. I am only one person and have only one monitor/keyboard/mouse and only do one thing at a time, generally. The difference with something like the Pandora vs the Pyra is simply that you have to save and exit what you are doing prior to doing something else, rather than just backgrounding it.

As for web browsing, most of my web browsing is forums and wikipedia and searches so links -g works wonderfully (and very very quick even on internal wifi) for me. However, yes, the full Pale Moon (firefox) experience which I sometimes use does take a bit longer to load pages.

Anyway my point was that the experience is 90% there already with the Pandora, so to answer your original question yes the Pyra can replace a Desktop PC easily, if you do things it can handle. If you spend most of your time on the latest x86 games, not so much. At this point your posts indicate you've come to this conclusion already so, welcome to the wait list!

Also if you are impressed with how far mobile devices have come since the original Pandora, just imagine if it had been modular like the Pyra will be. In 8-10 years from now when mobile devices are even crazier than we currently believe is possible, I wont even have to buy a Pyra 2 (or 3 or whatever) but instead just upgrade the SoC on the cheap with the latest and greatest features. And a much smaller wait from order to delivery.



Coincidentally, part 1 and 2 of Moebius. I've seen all of SG1 and Atlantis over and over and over and over, and all of Universe twice. I'm extremely obsessed with that show.

SG:Universe sucks, by the way.

Yeah the Pyra will definitely be a LOT better at tab-happy browsing and things like Facebook if that's your cup of tea. Pandora slows down a LOT when doing that in Pale Moon. Personally, I like that the Pandora forces me to finish one thing before I start another, but yeah for most people Pyra will be a much more effective Desktop alternative. Since the OP's question was about using the Pyra rather than the Pandora, I figured describing why the Pandora is already 90% there would help show that the Pyra is likely to be very capable of the role the OP wants for it.

---

SG Universe had too many overdramatic and annoying characters. It was like a bad BSG. Given your tastes however, I suspect you'd really like The Orville. It's a Seth Macfarlane parody of Star Trek The Next Generation that is hilarious and quite good.

I appreciate the help, I see a lot of tech reviewers who often deem a lot of products not worthy of "laptop replacement" status and I'm sitting here like "why not?" for example this is what I am currently using.


I see reviewers claiming this can't replace a laptop but it's a nice device running a full desktop os and can handle average tasks including tons of games that will run on it.

So I came here to get a consensus on if using a Pyra was a viable "laptop replacement" or not. After all it does cost over $700 and at that price I can't see it as just merely a secondary machine ONLY.

 

[rygD]

Ok, getting down to it, it is probably fine for an average person that just uses their smartphone for stuff. It probably isn't a good option for people who use a computer for certain tasks at work, v especially if they need windows or proprietary software. The same for gaming, really, too: not good for latest windows games, excellent choice for many older games and homebrew stuff. For me personally it will probably be what I do most of my personal stuff on.

Just be sure you know what you are getting into. Stick around, and maybe look at some of the older threads. As @trix said, Pandora is pretty close for some of us, and the Pyra will have more for us to throw at things.

 

[levi]

I appreciate the help, I see a lot of tech reviewers who often deem a lot of products not worthy of "laptop replacement" status and I'm sitting here like "why not?" for example this is what I am currently using.


I see reviewers claiming this can't replace a laptop but it's a nice device running a full desktop os and can handle average tasks including tons of games that will run on it.

So, do you consider than not to be a laptop replacement? I'd imagine the battery life is lacking, but while you're next to a power point, I'd imagine what would suit me as a usable laptop form thing.

For those who are amazon-challenged on these boards, it's an Asus Transformer Mini T102HA-D4-GR. It has a 4 core Cherry-Trail Atom CPU, like the original GPD Win but slightly lower spec.

The Pandora will be more mobile than that, and potentially having 4G might be a decent smartphone replacement as well, provided you wear a big coat in winter and a bag in the summer. I don't think it'll be quite as powerful as that, but it'll have software that's especially targetted at it.

But at the end of the day, I don't think you should preorder a Pyra. We're relatively close now, and it won't be any more expensive when it's available from stock. I preordered because I wanted to bring this device to reality to support ED and the community of people here. The Pandora has reminded me of owning an old computer in the 80s and 90s like an Amiga, but the software's free. Now those machines could not do the things a modern laptop can do, so I didn't really consider whether the Pyra could replace my laptop (although thinking on it, it'll probably be faster than this old clunker).

 

[Arctic20]

So, do you consider than not to be a laptop replacement? I'd imagine the battery life is lacking, but while you're next to a power point, I'd imagine what would suit me as a usable laptop form thing.

For those who are amazon-challenged on these boards, it's an Asus Transformer Mini T102HA-D4-GR. It has a 4 core Cherry-Trail Atom CPU, like the original GPD Win but slightly lower spec.

The Pandora will be more mobile than that, and potentially having 4G might be a decent smartphone replacement as well, provided you wear a big coat in winter and a bag in the summer. I don't think it'll be quite as powerful as that, but it'll have software that's especially targetted at it.

But at the end of the day, I don't think you should preorder a Pyra. We're relatively close now, and it won't be any more expensive when it's available from stock. I preordered because I wanted to bring this device to reality to support ED and the community of people here. The Pandora has reminded me of owning an old computer in the 80s and 90s like an Amiga, but the software's free. Now those machines could not do the things a modern laptop can do, so I didn't really consider whether the Pyra could replace my laptop (although thinking on it, it'll probably be faster than this old clunker).

I do consider my Asus a laptop replacement well...because it IS a laptop, it's a budget 2 in 1. It's a much cheaper alternative to a surface, battery life is good when not gaming since that's one of the key advantages of an atom.

I wasn't gonna get a Pyra to replace anything exactly..I was considering it because I remembered how much I really wanted a Pandora back in the day but like I said my priorities should be to get a desktop or a decent laptop for around $600 that has a dedicated GPU (found one I'm eyeing) before getting something like a pyra.

My question came from more like "alright this costs, $700, is this good enough to be a main computer?"

 

[Silent-Hunter]

I sort of disagree with levi, if you like the Pyra you should go ahead and pre-order one if you want to. It probably won't be too long before it comes out, and you won't have to worry about fluctuations between currencies. Unless you live in Europe and don't have to worry about that anyway.

 

[Arctic20]

I sort of disagree with levi, if you like the Pyra you should go ahead and pre-order one if you want to. It probably won't be too long before it comes out, and you won't have to worry about fluctuations between currencies. Unless you live in Europe and don't have to worry about that anyway.

Slightly off topic but since you brought up the release:

I really hope the Pyra comes out soon with how much competition it has now, if I was an early pre orderer I'd be getting squirmy. Pandora had the advantage of literally nothing like it existing but GPD over here is about to release their SECOND device that's like the Pandora/pyra but plays full steam games. ED said himself he would not have made the Pyra if the win was a thing at the time, that's scary. I really love these projects and what they represent and I want the pyra to succeed. It seems money won't be lost on this product so that's good but if TOO few machines are sold then there won't be enough support I'd imagine.

I have to really think.that using a Kickstarter website would have been very very beneficial. The word would have gotten out and a lot more people would be pre ordering which means more mass production resulting in a lower price? That's how it works right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[levi]

As far as I've heard, a kickstarter in the future isn't out of the question, but a kickstarter is really intended to fund projects that are already at release candidate stage and thereabouts and fund that final 10% and also pay for logistics stuff in sending out deliveries. ED already has logistics sorted through his shop, but there is still a small risk that some problem pops up that is practically insoluble, and ED will end up refunding our deposits rather than ploughing on. That possibility seems exceedingly small at the moment, but the spirit of a kickstarter suggests that should be practically nil before going live with a funding round.

But talk of doing a kickstarter has been very infrequent recently, so the idea might not be on ED's radar at the moment. He could still run one after launch I guess though.

 

[Arctic20]

As far as I've heard, a kickstarter in the future isn't out of the question, but a kickstarter is really intended to fund projects that are already at release candidate stage and thereabouts and fund that final 10% and also pay for logistics stuff in sending out deliveries. ED already has logistics sorted through his shop, but there is still a small risk that some problem pops up that is practically insoluble, and ED will end up refunding our deposits rather than ploughing on. That possibility seems exceedingly small at the moment, but the spirit of a kickstarter suggests that should be practically nil before going live with a funding round.

But talk of doing a kickstarter has been very infrequent recently, so the idea might not be on ED's radar at the moment. He could still run one after launch I guess though.

Well there's also indiegogo which I hear you basically just need the idea to begin, I just lumped the two together. I think indiegogo would have been an excellent idea from the start, there's a lot of people who want a device with the amount of freedom,. functionality and versatility the pyra provides but I'm gonna guess that if I were to show most people the price of this they'd run away screaming which could have been avoided with bigger backing behind it. I know why it costs as much as it does but that info is so unknown to people on an already very niche product.

Would it have been possible to get this down to $300/300 eur if it was a indiegogo project from day one? I think people would have been accepting of that price especially since you can upgrade the board easily instead of buying a whole new device like the GPD win 1 to 2

 

[benoitb]

Would it have been possible to get this down to $300/300 eur if it was a indiegogo project from day one? I think people would have been accepting of that price especially since you can upgrade the board easily instead of buying a whole new device like the GPD win 1 to 2

I think doing a crowdfunding for the Pyra from the start on one of these high visibility platforms may have been a disaster. There have been a lot of delays which kind of works here because we are told from the start there is no ETA and we are a supportive community. Standard people could have brought more numbers and cash but also much more pressure and hate, don't you think ?

 

[Arctic20]

I think doing a crowdfunding for the Pyra from the start on one of these high visibility platforms may have been a disaster. There have been a lot of delays which kind of works here because we are told from the start there is no ETA and we are a supportive community. Standard people could have brought more numbers and cash but also much more pressure and hate, don't you think ?

I guess so, but then again there's also been much worse fiasco's on crowdfunding than simple delays. I'm just afraid the pyra won't even reach the exposure the Pandora got because like I said, there's competition that will suit most people a lot better than what the pyra is at much lower prices and don't forget that smartphones have giant screens now and are more than good enough for most people as "pocket computers".

Back to the crowdfunding pressure, ED has been posting regular updates on how development is going right? Well that's all that needs to be done to not anger too many people, silence is a bad thing for crowdfunding.

Maybe there could have been ways for a speedier development too if this was on a crowdfunding site, who knows.

 

[trix]

IMHO Craigx put a bit of a hex on kickstarter. I did make a kickstand for my Pandora. Out of folded paper and masking tape.

KS and IGG come with a huge heap of problems though. You have to know how long before final units ship and not be wrong by much, or people freak the fuck out. Each reward level requires an expected ship date. Nobody knows when this baby will start shipping because all the parts for it haven't been mass produced yet.

Also you may be missing the point of the Pyra. You say there's competition that will suit most people a lot better, at lower prices. This is correct, and was true in the Pandora era as well. Every week another "why not just get a psp??" post would pop up. The Pandora and Pyra aren't made for most people, and niche products are always more expensive.

Really though I think if you were within the intended niche you wouldn't need convincing that Pyra is better than X other device because it would be obvious to you from the start.

 

[NetBLOKS]

Just to add my opinion:
I think the pyra will be a very capable replacement for a main laptop.
It will be powerful enough for any task that a classical office pc can perform.
It will have very long battery life for usage on the go or at customers site.
It has a touchscreen with a stylus and a full mouse replacement.
It has a well thought out, BACKLIT keyboard, which really sets it apart.
Everything will be user replaceable which means, you don't habe to worry about handling it with excessive care.
You can attach a full desktop environment (Hardware, not software) with a big screen, mouse and keyboard.
Tons of software for day to day use will be available from the start... for free from the repos.
The sound will be much better than that of it's competitors.
I could go on, but I think what I am trying to say is: When you where happy with an atom powered laptop, you will be happy with a pyra... even more so.

 

[benoitb]

When you where happy with an atom powered laptop, you will be happy with a pyra... even more so.

Basically I was pretty happy with a atom laptop excepted for online video streaming.

 

[Arctic20]

Also you may be missing the point of the Pyra. You say there's competition that will suit most people a lot better, at lower prices. This is correct, and was true in the Pandora era as well. Every week another "why not just get a psp??" post would pop up. The Pandora and Pyra aren't made for most people, and niche products are always more expensive.

Really though I think if you were within the intended niche you wouldn't need convincing that Pyra is better than X other device because it would be obvious to you from the start.

? I never needed convincing to get a pyra. I just asked one question and that was more to get a consensus. I've done my research on the his

Regarding "competition" nothing like the GPD win existed during the Pandora's time and there was no ultra cheap windows tablets you could buy and have a full x86 desktop that plays steam and does everything else a PC can do for <$200. Anyone who thought a PSP was remotely similar to a Pyra was missing the point by a mile. I've always seen these devices as pocket PC's first and emulation machines second.

I could go on, but I think what I am trying to say is: When you where happy with an atom powered laptop, you will be happy with a pyra... even more so.

I would say happy is a BIT of s stretch, I am in dire need of something a lot more powerful that's windows based before I go and start getting a Pyra/GPD win ect. I'll either build a desktop or spend $600 on a laptop that has a MX150 GPU, 8th gen core i5, 8 gigs of RAM and an SSD.

 

[levi]

Basically I was pretty happy with a atom laptop excepted for online video streaming.

FWIW, using a combination of video url finder piped into mplayer gives me a player that can stream 720p youtube videos just fine, and that's on a nasty 1st generation Atom chip*

* It may turn out not to be so nasty if it's immune from Spectre attacks, but we'll see.