Right... I get the whole 'case' thing now... I'm such a fool. I was thinking the literal case. But, now that that's out the way, why is it that laptop hardware is slower than desktop hardware?
See below.
So mobile chips have nothing to do with mobile phones? I was waaaaay off. So... mobile chips are things like CPU, GPU?
See below.
How is it that mobile chips use less power and are typically slower? How does power relate to speed?
A mobile chip is defined by a device that is portable, and therefore mobile. A phone, tablet, laptop, phablet, whatever all utilize a mobile chip of some sort. A mobile chip in short and simple definition is a chip that is designed for portable devices using a battery for power and are designed for less heat. For instance, most phones use some sort of ARM based architecture chip which are extremely low power and high efficiency for long lasting performance. I sound like a damn deodorant commercial LOL. Because of this limitation a mobile chip is designed to utilize a certain power envelope and not go over that. Due to lower power constraints a mobile chip can't perform as high as a chip that has a constant power source. Heat plays a big role as well, as we all know phones and laptops do not have the cooling capacity as say a desktop computer. To retain power usage and heat development the speed of a chip is reduced quite a bit to maintain this. The less speed, less heat, less power usage. The same can be said for any dedicated GPU.
How do laptops not last as long as desktops performance-wise?
As mentioned above, since a mobile chip can't perform at the same speed as a desktop chip it will not seem as fast or capable as a desktop chip. Because of this people tend to upgrade mobile devices quicker than stationary desktops. The same can be said for GPUs.
How are the Core I7s different from laptop to desktop? If it's too technical to explain, never mind.
The best way I can put this is let's take the desktop Core i5 4690k and and the Core i5 4310u in my current laptop. Both running the same gen architecture (4th gen Haswell). The 4690k runs at 3.5GHz with a higher turbo clock, and has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 88W. That means under normal operation this chip is consuming and dissipating 88W give or take of power. 88W constant is a massive drain for batteries, and laptop cooling cannot handle something like this except in special circumstances. My i5 4310u on the other hand has an operating frequency of 2GHz and has a TDP of 15W. That's a big difference, and is what makes the chip capable of easily being run in a laptop with a slim design, slim cooler, and have decent battery life. Because of this the chip is inherently slower than the desktop counterpart and to most will not last as long performance wise. It's the same basic setup for an i3, i7, or AMD chip.
So, a server is basically just a computer or node of some sort? And you scan to make sure you don't have any infections? How is it you avoid all the nasties? See, my plan is to only use my laptop for seemingly safe places, like official sites.
A server is a machine with a dedicated task that usually has little direct user input
depending on the task at hand. It "serves" a purpose. In my case, my server is just a computer made with regular desktop parts running Windows, hosting my media/games, hosting a dedicated game server (ARK Survival), and a Plex server. I also have another server that is a "blade" server that has dual processors and will be made into a hardware firewall and DHCP server. Servers have many different tasks from file hosting, game hosting, SQL database hosting, web hosting, network trafficking, you name it. This website is hosted on a server probably somewhere in a database. I think you get the idea. They come in many different form factors, purposes, hardware and software configurations.
Every 6 months I install the latest Avast and run a virus scan, and do the same with Malwarebytes since I do a lot of downloading with it. I avoid infection by safe browsing habits, running Adblock at all times to avoid nasty ads that could potentially be infected with Spyware, and just general long term experience with knowing what to look for when downloading or browsing grey area websites.
Is it possible to get rid of viruses already on a computer? I heard there're some that are invisible, if you like, to scanners, etc..
Yes, very possible. There are some circumstances where you can't get rid of a particularly nasty virus but if you don't browse the porn, torrent sites, click on win a free iPad type ads, or anything like that you should be generally "protected" from most potentially bad viruses and malware/spyware. Sparing the details for another discussion.
What about those guys who hack... how do you avoid them? Don't you need some kind of security active at all times for that?
There is a 0.01% chance they care about you. To get literally hacked you have to piss off the wrong person or go someplace you shouldn't be at. When running open ports like myself there are safeguards to put in place to protect from such instances but generally if they have the knowhow to hack you it only delays the inevitable.
Malwarebytes... is it free or paid for?
Free, just avoid the "try the premium trial" after installation.
So IGPs and dedicated GPUs are different? So, IGPs are the ones that need RAM, while dedicated GPUs have their own little subsystem VRAM for this... but still causes overheating if the motherboard isn't equipped with the correct heat-sinks, fans, PSU, etc.? That last part was me just thinking aloud, really. I know all that heat-sinks stuff is probably irrelevant, here, for just a simple laptop... or should I be worrying about that stuff?
If you get a laptop this isn't really the topic for it. A dedicated GPU has its own card, own RAM, own power system, ect. For a laptop, this can be in the form of an MXM add in board, or for desktop an add in card that can be put in a slot on the motherboard. IGPs and dedicated cards do the same thing by putting visual on your screen, just an IGP is build into the processor or motherboard (older systems).
