Does a Windows or a Mac system wear the HDD/SSD less?

Yes, that's correct, I would use the browser much less: most of the time I won't have internet.

Mike Binks said:

It seems that you have decided that 'Word' and 'Logos' are your two main programs.

Isn't there a difference?

Mike Binks said:

Logos is good on either the Mac OS or Windows.

My use of Word is not so advanced that Mac wouldn't do.

Mike Binks said:

But 'Word' is made for 'Windows' so that should be your path.

Is the UK spellcheck and grammar as good in Open Office? Can I make Personal Books with Open Office? The latter I think not, the former I don't know.

Mike Binks said:

However I don't see your logic! What should concern you is not 'initial cost' but total cost of ownership. Word is not the only capable word processor - the free 'Open Office' derivatives offer as good an experience and run on both Operating Systems.

I don't think that will work! The monitor of the laptop is in the way, where do I place the large monitor? I don't want to place it too high!

Mike Binks said:

It will be more cost effective to purchase a good quality laptop and increase the screen size at home by plugging in an external monitor than it will be to purchase (and maintain) a second computer.

It seems like if a computer is worn & doesn't have Word or LibreOffice installed, that the cheapest thing to do is to change the HDD to a new one with 7200 rpm!

Here's an example of a desktop computer: http://www.blocket.se/uppsala/Mac_mini_1_1_2_0GHz_41450015.htm?ca=11&w=3

Specs: Mac mini 1.1

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz (meets Logos official recommended requirement)

RAM: 2 GB 667MHz (meets Logos official minimum requirement)

HDD: 320 GB 5400 rpm

Graphics: Intel GMA 950 chip

DVD-player and CR-writer

Wlan Airport extreme 802.11

Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Price: 2100 SEK ~ $300.

RAM not expandable. Comes without monitor. I would connect at least a 1440 x 1024 monitor, preferably an Apple Cinema HD 1920 x 1280! The installation disks that come with it are not
compatible with L4. Can't handle OS-X Lion, but that's no problem
because this computer would not have to last until after the release of
L5. Specs: http://macprob.com/index.php?wiki/mac-mini-early-2006/ The CPU is changed from 1.66 GHz Core Duo. How slow would this computer run if I would keep only one program open simultaneously? At home most of my time goes just to reading, I click on for example Gk words, notes and don't do searching all the time. Keep in mind that this computer would not have to last very long, so if there's a bit of HDD wear that's OK. Is it possible in MacOS to make partitions on the HDD and use just one partition at a time? - That way I could use a new partition whenever I do a re-install, to spread the wear.

Mike Binks said:

It will be more cost effective to purchase a
good quality laptop and increase the screen size at home by plugging in
an external monitor than it will be to purchase (and maintain) a second
computer.

Yeah I bet i7 and the newer i5 are great when You run many programs and have the browser open simultaneously because they can handle at least twice as many threads. But the i5 newer generations CPU:s don't seem fast enough
to justify the difference in price + I simply can't afford i5 nor SSD.
All I need to do with the laptop is to use it in commuter traffic and
Church, that's not many hours a week. Also, the newer CPU:s don't seem to consume noticeably less battery.

" rel="nofollow">Keep Smiling 4 Jesus said:

For Logos 4 use, personally would look for an Intel Core i7 (any generation) or second/third generation Intel Core i5.

Yeah the benchmark results confirm that.

Dan Francis said:

i have heard from some friends in the PC word the i3 performance is a bit lack lustre.

No-one has answered my first question yet (I understand: it might be hard to know): Does a Windows or a Mac system wear the HDD less?

But isnt MacOS 10.5 a 32-bit operative-system? So it takes half as much RAM.

" rel="nofollow">Keep Smiling 4 Jesus said:

so a RAM upgrade to 4 GB should noticeably improve Logos 4 Mac performance.

Here's an ad with a reasonably priced laptop: http://www.blocket.se/stockholm/Macbook_Pro_13_tum_2_4_GHz_Intel_Core_2_Duo_41642020.htm?ca=11&w=2
Specs: MacBook Pro
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
RAM: 4 GB 1,067 MHz
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB
Monitor: 13" 1280 x 800 pixel
OS-X Lion 10.7.4
Price: 5000 SEK = $720
No scratches, bought 2010.

Wow! Look at the performance of this computer and the price!
http://www.blocket.se/stockholm/MacBook_Aluminium_med_SSD_harddisk_39192712.htm?ca=11&w=1
Specs:
Chassis: Aluminium Unibody
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
RAM: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
HDD: 160 GB
SSD: 40 GB NON-hybrid, installed instead of DVD-player. It says in the ad that it's nearly 50x faster, can that be true?
OS-X 10.7.3 installed on SSD.
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 9400M 256MB
Monitor: 13.3"
Keyboard: Swedish, without numeric keypad
Price: 4800 SEK = $690
With a computer like that I could install Catholic Practicum on the HDD temporarely connecting a DVD-player (temporarely installing Mac OS on the HDD) and download Original Languages, that way I would manage without a permanent DVD-player.

Would there be any noticeable difference with the size of my library (which is actually ~ 525 books and never going to be above 550) with an i5 second or third generation CPU?

As I wouldn't install many software, the storage space would be sufficient.

Stephen Chaffer said:

I set out last year to consider a purchase of a laptop: my choice of the Macbook Pro I5 with SSD 125 and 8 gig ram, really I should have bought 250 meg, my mistake! so I bought time machine and connected a large hard drive and (dropbox for my extended PPB Library), I also have a large monitor to connect to while in my study at home.

Also, still no-one has addressed my original question whether a Windows or a Mac system wears the HDD/SSD less?

Thanks, Daniel!

In my understanding the OS does more writing and re-writing to the same data areas on the disk than Logos or a word processor does, but I could be wrong?

Daniel Bergquist said:

A "disk bound" application will wear out the disk more quickly than a "CPU bound" application.

The reason I'm asking, is that I want to be able to install L5 on the laptop, when it's released and continue to use the computer for a period. Re-installing everything from scratch seems like a time-consumer to me - that's one point. The same with doing backups + the biggest reason being the continuous cost for having a backup. Seems also a bit pointless to do re-installing of the MacOS as there are no problems with viruses like in Windows systems (not that it plagues me anyway). I have a fire-proof safe, if the laptop is small enough I could put it in there or just the disk, depends on whether I prioritize protecting printed matter or the computer.

Daniel Bergquist said:

For the most part, you need not concern yourself with this issue, unless you're doing advanced stuff in a datacenter. [...]

And always have a backup system for your data. No matter how good the drive, there is always a chance it may fail early or be destroyed in a fire, etc.

Thanks for the advice! I have a bit of problems with heat, as I like to sit long hours, so that and the wear on the keyboard along with the monitor-size problem, are the main reasons why a combination of having a desktop Mac too, is the best sollution. A desktop computer isn't an as valuable investment so it can be an older computer that doesn't need to last as long as the laptop - just be a financially sound purchase, there's especially no need to be able to update the OS.

Daniel Bergquist said:

Do your research on the drives and make sure you pick one that is
reliable. Avoid getting the drive too hot, heat kills.

No problem, had laptops twice before and that was not what rendered them useless, I'm a quite cautious person.

Daniel Bergquist said:

Avoid physical
blows to the drives like the plague, especially for traditional HDDs.

I would still like to have a second opinion! No hurry though!

I'm looking at cheaper laptops. Windows laptops that can run Logos, range from $230-$380, the cheapest don't have antivirus and have a bit small HDD 80-120 GB, but that should be enough, Windows 7, some lack Scandinavian/Finnish keys. Mid-price computers probably have better battery-life, seem to come with larger HDD, usually 4 GB RAM, but 32-bit Windows 7. The $380 one doesn't have Microsoft Word, but has docking-station, car-charger, antivirus installed, Windows Vista, fingerprint recognition, 3 GB RAM, adequate monitor resolution (1440x900, same as what I recommended others who study), full keyboard. Fujtisu Esprimo.

I can get Word intalled for $46.

The internet use will be minimal. I won't purchase cellular broadband internet or ADSL broadband.

Should I consider a Mac instead as a more long-term sollution from start? Would a MacOS X 10.5 -system with 3 GB RAM wear the HDD less than a Windows Vista system with 3 GB RAM? I would pay slightly more for a Mac since I think the problems with viruses is a severe problem even though I would only use it minimally for internet (mostly at school), the first laptop I bought stopped functioning because of the previous owners viruses (came without antivirus and I didn't install antivirus).

The performance of used laptops seem to have developed surprisingly little in
1¾ years - they still don't come with fast CPU:s, good battery life, larger monitors.

The main reasons I'm considering the Fujtisu Esprimo is that the extra features would be fun, and the larger monitor resolution. School closes now so I don't have time to look up how much it weighs.

Now I'm considering an ASUS K53U. Unused in box. $275. Slow CPU. 2 GB RAM, expandable to 8 GB. Large HDD. Very bad monitor resolution.  Seller doesn't know if it's a 32-bit or 64-bit system because he/she (foreign name) is not at home right now.  The model is aproximately little less than 1 years old.

I understand Your recommendation. An Apple shop has just opened in a suburb close to where I live, the first real Apple shop in this country. But I can't afford a new computer nor an old maxed computer and/or with good performance and/or all possible features.

There is a Windows 7 laptop for sale now for $380. An SSD follows with it, 90 GB. Can I install the SSD? It has 4 GB RAM. I asked the seller a couple of questions.

I bought the laptop with an SSD early this morning (we were unable
to meet yesterday). It has a small 1366x768 pixel monitor. I didn't get a lower price, but the
seller worked with computers (surveillance cam installation), and had
worked with computer since the ago of 14/15. He is now 40. He gave
me a warranty on the SSD (which was unused in a sealed box) and installed
Windows 7 and the Samsung-specific functionality on it for me. He said that if I need to re-install Windows 7
any time in the future he'll send me it on a USB drive.

I installed Logos on the SSD, but set temporary files folder, documents,
and virtual memory to the HDD which is connected with USB 2.0. 16 GB virtual memory with the largest possible file allocation size, should be enough for good! I set the Logos program
scaling to 120% and the font to 90%

The seller said that this model is good because the manufacturer soon after changed the CPU type to
Celeron which is much worse than the Core 2 Duo this one has. He also said that this laptop would have cost ~$1900 as new if it would have been manufactured with an SSD back then. He bought 25 of them, and he got them sold quickly. This last one was unused for the last half a year. The latest antivirus he used on it is Microsoft Security Essentials.

So the speed of the CPU shouldn't affect the performance of Logos? What about responsiveness? When I used Logos in April-August 2012, from what I remember now of my experience three things annoyed me:
1) Closing tabs was slow
2) Some of the searches were slow
3) When typing a search my search-string didn't show up fast on the monitor
The computer was generally slow.

With my setup, what causes the most wear to the drives?

Dan Francis said:

Unix said:

What of the following makes the greatest difference in speed?:

• Larger HDD
• Higher GHz
• Newer CPU (for example Intel i3 dualcore)?
• 13" monitor instead of 11"

A larger computer doesn't bother me at Church and in the commuter-train (the only local-area trains over here with a socket for passengers to use electricity, the most typical distance I travel with it is 13-16 minutes)

Newer CPUs due tend to preform faster
[...]
when I tried out a macbook Air with SSD (all airs have SSD) even though it was only a 1.8 GHz machine Logos seemed to work much faster, even with less memory and slower processor speed.

-Dan