I am considering getting a new more powerful laptop to run Solid Works, Davinci Resolve and some Steam games. However, the tradeoff of portability vs power has me considering other options. One such option being controlling a powerful desktop that can run all the desired programs with an Ipad through remote access.
Is this a terrible idea? Also, given the advancements in streaming speed, could this become a common practice in the future? Using a really good light portable screen to stream from a powerful desktop?
I do this regularly with office applications using chrome remote desktop on my chromebook. For graphical applications I would suggesting using sunshine and moonlight. Steam link is also an option that is easier to setup but the latency is not as good as sunshine/moonshine. Using steam link over the internet is pretty straight forward, but sunshine/moonshine requires extra steps to work over the internet. YouTube is your friend here to figure out which service works better for you.
I left iPad once I started using remote desktop more. I switch to a Chromebook and despite it being a cheaper slower device than my iPad having a more standard desktop mouse and keyboard setup was more intuitive to me. That being said, chrome remote desktop and moonlight work great on chromebook, but steam link is a pain to setup (through linux or android). On iPad chrome remote desktop, moonlight, and steam link all work but I didnt like the way the mouse worked, although I’ve heard its gotten better. TBH to be safe, maybe just get a cheap refrub windows laptop, then you’ll have all the options ready to go with plenty of YT tutorials to get setup.
This will allow you to access the machine whether the remote services are working or not, and troubleshoot issues. The PiKVM has the ability to hook up to the ATX front panel headers on a desktop motherboard so you are able to power it on and off remotely. You might as well go for a desktop system as your remote server rather than a laptop. You can use Tailscale to maintain remote access to the machine without having to set up dynamic DNS or forward any ports. It’s also a good idea to put the PiKVM and the home router on a battery backup in case of power failure.
For Solidworks probably the best performing option is RDP (“Windows App”). You’ll have minimal input latency compared to using the KVM or Chrome remote desktop.
This is actually my current setup- and I had to move to this because I was forced to.
I own a 2020 MSI Katana, it’s super old, super bulky, doesn’t last me more than 2 hours even if I put it on battery saver mode. So I bought an ipad air M3 for editting photos and videos when I’m outside or when I’m on a couch, making presentations and other light tasks. I only use my laptop when I have to code or play games. I’ll upgrade it next year, probably go for a thin and light laptop because now I understand why battery life is important in a laptop.
Just because I do it doesn’t mean that his setup is good, i suggest you buy a powerful laptop that is portable enough- like the zephyrus G16, it’s powerful but still gives around 8 hours of battery backup on light use. Thin and light laptops are powerful enough for most things so I would suggest you to go for a traditional laptop.
This is actually my current setup- and I had to move to this because I was forced to.
I havent used an iPad for remote sessions since 2020. After the initial mouse support was released on iPad I gave up because it was so bad (or at least counter intuitive for a desktop user). I ended up switching to a cheap chromebook that I use as a thin client, but TBH the hardware on the iPad is just so much better (display, speed, etc).
How is the mouse support these days? Do you find it good enough to work productively when remoting into your computer? What remote desktop program do you use?
I don’t actually use the iPad for remote desktop at all; keeping the laptop awake just to use Jump Desktop feels like extra hassle I don’t need.
For me, the iPad is purely for everyday and light-creative work. The only demanding thing I do is photo and video editing (Final Cut Pro runs incredibly smoothly on the M3), and honestly, the 8 GB of RAM is the only slight limitation, but even that rarely slows me down in real-world use.
Beyond that, it’s just PPTs, browsing communities, staying on Discord, and doing LeetCode practice or running small Python/C++ scripts. Pythonista 3 and the C++ Compiler app handle everything I need perfectly.
My laptop pretty much stays shut unless I’m gaming or working on a huge codebase. The rest of the time the iPad handles everything effortlessly.
