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You're not looking at the current thread, are you? You're looking at the old, closed thread. The new thread's title says "Pick one: HP dm1z or Lenovo X120e."
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| # ? Mar 28, 2012 23:09 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 01:56 |
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Oops missed that, thanks
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| # ? Mar 28, 2012 23:14 |
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So it seems now that I'm looking for a small, <15" notebook with decent CAD graphics power.. I was looking at a Dell Latitude E6420 http://www.dell.com/au/business/p/latitude-e6420/pd since we have a Dell account, but the guy I'm purchasing this for wants more power than the NVS 4200M can offer.. Can anyone recommend me an OEM that offers a decent Quadro in a small-sized laptop? The guy essentially wants a Dell M4600 but doesn't want to carry a laptop. I love purchasing plastic poo poo for little sugar puff snowflakes. 
nyoron fucked around with this message at Mar 29, 2012 around 08:08 |
| # ? Mar 29, 2012 08:02 |
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I'm not very familiar with laptops, but I have a friend who is looking for a laptop that he could use as a desktop replacement. He's not really into gaming, but he does like recording his own music as a hobby. He would like a Windows laptop and his max budget is $1,000. Are there any particular laptops or features that I should be looking for him? I'm assuming that he'll want either a 7200 or SSD for music recording purposes and while it's not necessary, I'd like to find him a laptop with an IPS screen, though that's not mandatory. Would an ultrabook be the way to go? Edit: Is it the same deal with laptops as regular PCs where he should hold off for IvyBridge or is that going to be released at a later time than for regular computers? Aniki fucked around with this message at Mar 29, 2012 around 11:55 |
| # ? Mar 29, 2012 11:45 |
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nyoron posted:So it seems now that I'm looking for a small, <15" notebook with decent CAD graphics power.. I was looking at a Dell Latitude E6420 http://www.dell.com/au/business/p/latitude-e6420/pd since we have a Dell account, but the guy I'm purchasing this for wants more power than the NVS 4200M can offer.. HP EliteBook 8460W AMD FirePro™ M3900 with 1 GB dedicated DDR3 video memory
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 12:05 |
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Aniki posted:
Yep. Ivy Bridge is a die shrink so you're looking at less heat and longer battery life for the same price and same performance.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 12:25 |
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So this just happened: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/03/in...ly-been-leaked/ random blog, who trusts the internet anyways? posted:Thanks to what appears to be a leaked schedule of Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, it seems that we can expect a host of Intel Ivy Bridge chipsets to start launching between April 22nd and April 28th.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 14:12 |
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So basically, getting the 2500k a year ago was the best idea ever, yes?
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 14:16 |
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My Dell Studio 1555 is starting to go. The screen is getting blotchy, the HDD seems to have seating issues and is sometimes not recognized, and something with the sound is seriously broken as there's no audio input nor output in either Windows 7 or my USB Linux. I want to replace it before something catastrophic happens. Budget: About $800-1000, flexible if there really is bang for the buck. Requirements: I need to be able to play the games of yesterday at decent settings and make sure future games run without chugging mightily. Right now I play Skyrim on this laptop on low settings and though it isn't beautiful it runs just fine. Usage: I'm looking for as well-rounded a laptop as possible. This thing might go to class, or go to work. I also might be overseas a lot which means time on planes, and also that overseas it would be my main computer. Other thoughts: I really like my desktop's SSD and I know I'd appreciate having one on my next laptop. A laptop that comes with an extra bay, no DVD drive, or an SSD included at a reasonable price would be nice. For a 256gb SSD Dell wanted to charge me $420 above the included 720gb HDD price. It's been hard searching for a laptop that has that customizable bay and any pointers would be great, even just mentioning what companies are more lenient like that.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 19:30 |
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You're basically never ever going to get a decent price on an SSD (or RAM) from a dell, lenovo, or other vendor. The markups are usually massive compared to buying it yourself from newegg. As far as the "Ultrabay" goes, almost no laptops will list it as an explicit feature, outside of Thinkpads and a couple other business machines, with the official batteries, hard drive caddies, and so forth. However, you can get a conversion caddy to let you mount a hard drive in the optical slot of most all notebooks anyhow, they just come from aftermarket vendors, and support on the notebook itself as far as booting/SATA speeds etc might not be guaranteed. http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8130...?wconfigure=yes comes in right around the top end of your budget, and is probably the best option to maintain the ability to play games (You can also order it with a HD bay caddy inplace of the optical drive, which is nice). Unfortunately it's also pretty heavy and I don't think it supports Optimus, which means battery life isn't going to be amazing. The other option is something like a T4/520, which has a much worse video card, but much better options in all the other areas (Battery, build quality, weight, etc). XoticPC is also one of the only places that you can get the extremely high quality screen similar (Or exactly the same, even) as the one offered in the W520/T520. Which one to get just depends on how your priorities are weighted, really. Gwaihir fucked around with this message at Mar 29, 2012 around 20:35 |
| # ? Mar 29, 2012 20:27 |
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Why not just pick up a Dell 14 or 15Z?
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 20:28 |
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So, I'm one of the dudes who uses a huge fuckoff gaming laptop. But I have a good reason. My time is split 50/50 between home, and work which is an offshore drilling rig (28 day deployments). So I need a "desktop replacement" laptop. I've currently got a Toshiba Qosmio x505 or something like that. Its the big red/black 18.5" model with a 360M in it. I was allllmost ready to pull the trigger on Newegg today, on an Asus G74SX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16834230142 My budget is right around $1500. I had added an SSD drive to my order. Then I chickened out. the 600M series seems to have just been released, and I know Ivy Bridge is right around the corner. How long before I can reasonably assume that I can get something similar to the G74SX, but with a 600-series video card and/or Ivy bridge in the $1500 range? Christmas? Or soon
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| # ? Mar 29, 2012 23:15 |
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Soon, I think. Quad-core mobile IVB parts are dropping with the desktop ones second-to-last week of April(-ish). Mobile Kepler should be out in force then, too. I wouldn't be surprised if Asus had a G75 ready to go with at least a 660M or maybe a 670M/675M (rebadged 570M/580M). E: Apparently the G55 and G75 have been demoed, so they are almost definitely launching with IVB. Factory Factory fucked around with this message at Mar 29, 2012 around 23:31 |
| # ? Mar 29, 2012 23:29 |
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Bob Morales posted:HP EliteBook 8460W Cheers. I'll have to look into how this compares with the NVS 4200.
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| # ? Mar 30, 2012 03:38 |
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Bob Morales posted:Why not just pick up a Dell 14 or 15Z? Seconding this. If you must have a 1080p screen (as you should because its the only 16:9 resolution worth having for the size) then the 15Z won't do you wrong. It may not be as solidly built as a T520 but the 525M is quite superior to whatever NVS4200 thing Lenovo puts in most of the thinkpads and the entire thing is much thinner and sleeker. In fact, I got one to replace a 13'' thinkpad which was as thick as a dictionary. Had mine for half a year now with no problems and its even a refurbished one.
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| # ? Mar 30, 2012 14:37 |
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I'm looking for a laptop that will basically be a mobile media player with a bit of web surfing thrown in. I'm looking for a 15"+ screen, preferably 17 I think, relatively good speakers, and decent build quality. Battery life and screen DPI aren't really important at all. I've done a lot of looking but finding out what laptops have decent audio for this sort of thing hasn't been easy, and I'm not entirely certain what sort of power it'll need to stay useful for the next 3-5 years.
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| # ? Mar 30, 2012 17:32 |
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K8.0 posted:I'm looking for a laptop that will basically be a mobile media player with a bit of web surfing thrown in. I'm looking for a 15"+ screen, preferably 17 I think, relatively good speakers, and decent build quality. Battery life and screen DPI aren't really important at all. I've done a lot of looking but finding out what laptops have decent audio for this sort of thing hasn't been easy, and I'm not entirely certain what sort of power it'll need to stay useful for the next 3-5 years. HP Envy with Beatz or Toshiba Qosimo with Harmon-Kardon speakers
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| # ? Mar 30, 2012 17:40 |
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I need a laptop. I already have a desktop that I use for any heavy lifting, so basically my only requirements for it are cost and size. I'd prefer somewhere between ~13" and ~15", with smaller being a bit better. Aside from that, I'd like to stay as cheap as possible while not sacrificing quality and durability - it's just features that aren't that important to me. I'm not afraid of buying used/refurbished either. Any suggestions?
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| # ? Mar 31, 2012 20:08 |
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IuniusBrutus posted:Aside from that, I'd like to stay as cheap as possible while not sacrificing quality and durability - it's just features that aren't that important to me. What do you mean by "features" and what do you mean by "quality"? Since you don't want features, I assume the USB 2.0 + ethernet + monitor output + headphones port selection is sufficient, and you don't need a DVD drive. For "quality," there's quality of screen (is a crappy 1366x768 TN panel okay for you?) there's battery life (do you care about this at all?) there's the quality of the keyboard and trackpad, and there's general durability (which depends on how bad you're going to be abusing this thing).
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| # ? Mar 31, 2012 20:30 |
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shrughes posted:What do you mean by "features" and what do you mean by "quality"? Basically, USB and cd/DVD drive. Internal wireless would be welcome. Otherwise, I don't need exceedingly large amounts of storage, and battery life is pretty unimportant - it'll be going with me places, but no where I can't use an AC outlet. Something with a decent keyboard will be nice, as it will primarily be used for typing. Screen quality isn't too important, but I'd be willing to spend a bit extra to get more there. By durability and quality, I essentially just would like a model that isn't known to have excessive issues, and will hold up to moderate wear and tear.
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| # ? Mar 31, 2012 21:14 |
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ThinkPad T420 or T420s. The upgraded screen is not expensive and entirely worthwhile.
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| # ? Mar 31, 2012 23:28 |
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Bob Morales posted:HP Envy with Beatz or Toshiba Qosimo with Harmon-Kardon speakers Those seem awfully expensive for what will mostly be a Netflix device. Is the laptop market seriously still THAT poo poo?
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 05:57 |
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Laptop speakers are like laptop screens: almost universally lovely with fairly pricey exceptions. E: Sony announced a new Ultrabook today, the Vaio Q: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3qM05C9hMI Factory Factory fucked around with this message at Apr 1, 2012 around 06:23 |
| # ? Apr 1, 2012 06:04 |
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That Live View accessory is totally something Sony would make
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 06:56 |
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My ACER laptop that I had for a few years just finally decided to crap out on me. I had it for about 2 years, so it served me well for an Acer. Now I am looking to replace it, but I am pretty crappy when it comes to computer stuff. My partner sent me here to possibly find out what type of laptop I would want, but most of the technical speak I do not understand. (Yes I am computer stupid and I can openly admit it here and will except ridicule to the highest degree) I was intending to replace the acer in the fall anyways, so I am going to replace it now obviously. I already have at home an iMac, which I have learned to love. That is primarily where I would do any gaming stuff since the only game that I play is primarily World of Warcraft (feels the eyes rolling already). The laptop was primarily used for school activities like writing school assignments on word, thus it didn't get much more usage than internet browsing and office primarily. In a replacement I would like to be able to watch movies, primarily through streaming on netflix, which would be the only additional activity added to the laptop. I have been considering making the total switch over to only using macs because I seem to have less issues with them, but I am open to any recommendations for a possible replacement. My partner tried to recommend a netbook, since I am not using it for a lot of activities, but I don't like them at all and also prefer to have an actual drive in them. I have an open budget, so please just recommend away on appropriate replacements that might work for me. Another thing is that I would prefer something with a longer batter life than just a few hours, since sometimes in the running out of the door I do not always grab the power cables. I appreciate any recommendations that you may all have, since you are all much much more knowledgable than I!!!
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 16:14 |
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Any of the MacBooks would do fine for World of Warcraft or video streaming or office tasks or anything really short of "demanding games." The 13" model does not have a dedicated graphics accelerator, but it should be able to play World of Warcraft. A few people were having some issues with it, but it was playable. The 15" model would do whatever you wanted it to, but it's also $1800. You could typically get a comparable (spec-wise) Windows-model, like a Thinkpad ($800) or something, for around $400 less than the 13" model which is $1200. If you have (relatively) unlimited budget it's really a toss-up between if you want a Mac or not.
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 16:54 |
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Factory Factory posted:ThinkPad T420 or T420s. The upgraded screen is not expensive and entirely worthwhile. Those are on the top-end of what I want to pay (and size, as well). Am I missing anything with this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16834246287
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 19:39 |
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IuniusBrutus posted:Those are on the top-end of what I want to pay (and size, as well). It doesn't have the option of a higher-end screen and it's not quite as solid as a T-series ThinkPad, but otherwise it's still a really good choice. The keyboard is different but still excellent, and it's still a decent amount more solid than the average Best Buy display junker. The Last Unicorn posted:My ACER laptop that I had for a few years just finally decided to crap out on me. I had it for about 2 years, so it served me well for an Acer. Now I am looking to replace it, but I am pretty crappy when it comes to computer stuff. My partner sent me here to possibly find out what type of laptop I would want, but most of the technical speak I do not understand. (Yes I am computer stupid and I can openly admit it here and will except ridicule to the highest degree) It would be pretty dang convenient to stick with a Mac, and you can get refurbished Macbook Airs at a pretty decent price considering the hardware. The convenience lies in having just one interface between your two computers, getting to use your Mac App Store account between both and only having to buy software once, being able to stick within the iCloud/etc. ecosystem. And the laptops are built nicely. And AppleCare. If you have a local Apple store, AppleCare gets you service practically as nice as the next-day service on a business-class Dell or Lenovo computer. Getting a Windows laptop is also an option, and you don't need a particularly fancy one for your list of wants. A ThinkPad Edge is a good step down from a MacBook in price without being ludicrously worse. The E525 would be the best gamer of the bunch because of its higher-end AMD APU, while you can choose between the E220s and E420 if you want something more portable, with more CPU power but limited to "low" graphics in WoW. Even after you added a fancy warranty and an aftermarket SSD, one of those systems would still probably not cost as much as a basic MacBook Pro, and you'd get more oomph for your money. Part or most of which would immediately disappear to buy Office, but yeah. And then there's the ThinkPad T series for when you want MacBook Pro quality in a decidedly different, "I am an all-business person who uses this laptop for important things and want a machine built around that" package.
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| # ? Apr 1, 2012 21:18 |
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My apartment burned down a couple of days ago. I haven't been able to do much research as a result, since I only have my phone. I'd be extremely grateful for some advice. I'm a graduate student, so I do a lot of data processing and graphing. I had an i3 before but would like to go up to an i5. I'm not sure how much ram I need. I want a 13-15" laptop, $600-900, solid build quality, good screen resolution, good battery life. A gpu would be nice but not necessary.
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| # ? Apr 2, 2012 14:59 |
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T520 with integrated graphics. Depending on how well threaded your programs are you can get a nice quad in it. To get a quad core chip and the nice screen (The nice screen is very very worth it) you'll probably have to comb the Lenovo outlet for re-furbed machines. Don't buy ram from Lenovo, get it yourself aftermarket. That said, most any machine you find will likely have 4 gigs base. Whether or not you need more depends on how big the data sets you want to work on are, I guess.
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| # ? Apr 2, 2012 16:14 |
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I'm looking for a ~15" laptop that can handle Premiere Pro CS5 without chugging too horribly  Any recommendations for something around the $1k mark? I saw some folks on Adobe forums mention Dell Precision mobile workstations (M4600 I believe), but Dell and I have... A history  Anyhow, this laptop will probably be doing zero gaming outside of basic facebook stuff. Not sure if it's of critical importance, but I came across recent posts mentioning that Nvidia-card laptops really outperform ATI ones when it comes to Premiere Pro. Not sure how/why, but I guess it pertains to drivers and some such. On the same note, it sounds as though a system ideal for gaming and one ideal for video editing are pretty different. I'm kind of a clod when it comes to judging computer strength, though, so I could have just been reading posts by a few idgets for all I know. I'm just running Googles and scraping through Adobe/laptop forums in the mean-time. Any suggestions? Here's a basic run-down of what I have in mind:
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 11:25 |
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Geop posted:I'm looking for a ~15" laptop that can handle Premiere Pro CS5 without chugging too horribly Have you ever had a Dell Precision or just the Studio/Inspiron/XPS/Vostro models?
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 14:27 |
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I'm in the market for a laptop, and i'm thinking about choosing between these two: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pav...290823-pdt.html Intel® Core™i3-2330M processor (2.2 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache) 6 GB DDR3 RAM AMD Radeon HD 6490M Graphics card 500 GB SATA 5400rpm OR http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pav...884802-pdt.html AMD Quad-Core A8-3520M (1.6 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache) 6 GB (1 x 2 GB, 1 x 4 GB) RAM AMD Radeon HD 6620G + 7450M Dual GPU, 1 GB DDR3 dedicated Graphics card 750GB HDD I do want to play some games on it, but I'm not looking to play Crysis on full or anything. The most demanding i'll probably go is either TF2, or maybe CS:GO when it comes out, depending on how it's requirements. What do you guys think I should go for? (Bare in mind, the first one also has a FINGERPRINT reader, so I would feel like i'm in the future or something.)
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 15:13 |
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Bob Morales posted:Have you ever had a Dell Precision or just the Studio/Inspiron/XPS/Vostro models?  My experience with Dell computers is second-hand (ie: using a friend's, family member's, etc), but it's never really been all that stellar. My mother takes incredible care with her hardware, but she had two consecutive Dells that were horrendously unreliable.I'm guessing that the Precision models have more polish?
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 15:16 |
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Geop posted:The Precision is getting mentioned regularly. Sounds as though a "workstation" laptop is what I'm looking for (the label is new to me, honestly). I've never had one, though Basically, Precisions, HP Elitebooks, and Thinkpads may as well come from entirely different companies as far as the relationship that they have with the other laptops put out there by the respective manufacturer. No one here will ever tell you to buy an HP consumer laptop, because they are by and large piles of poorly put together poo poo, but their workstation machine is one of the best (If by far and away the most overpriced) out there. Same thing with the other lines. There are two reasons you want a workstation class machine like the Precision, the screen, and a Quadro graphics card. Precisions have an option for the best screen available in any laptop, a great high resolution IPS panel (Although you are not going to get it for $1000, it's something retarded like a 500$ upgrade.) The other thing is that premier (Along with Photoshop and Aftereffects) takes advantage of CUDA acceleration offered on nvidia cards. It's not a driver thing, it's just hardware acceleration of some stuff that Adobe only supports on nvidia cards. Unfortunately, because they're all much better quality than normal laptops, they're also pricier. The closest you can get right now for a system that has a quad core chip (Which you really want if you're doing video editing and encoding) is a W520 for $1091, but that only has a 1600*900 screen, and uses one of their weekly run coupons. The 1080 screen upgrade is an additional $200, but is 100% worth it in my opinion. Dell and HP are both even more expensive than this price. That also has a single 4 gig stick of ram (Which is good, the W520 has 4 slots for ram and you should never buy it from the manufacturer) and a 320 gig 7200 RPM hard drive. It's your best bet as far as a capable video editing machine. None of these laptops is going to match up to a desktop that you put the same amount of cash in to, but that's not anything new, I assume if a desktop was an option then you wouldn't be in the laptop thread
Gwaihir fucked around with this message at Apr 3, 2012 around 16:19 |
| # ? Apr 3, 2012 16:14 |
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Gwaihir posted:The closest you can get right now for a system that has a quad core chip (Which you really want if you're doing video editing and encoding) is a W520 for $1091, but that only has a 1600*900 screen, and uses one of their weekly run coupons. The 1080 screen upgrade is an additional $200, but is 100% worth it in my opinion. Dell and HP are both even more expensive than this price. That also has a single 4 gig stick of ram (Which is good, the W520 has 4 slots for ram and you should never buy it from the manufacturer) and a 320 gig 7200 RPM hard drive. It's your best bet as far as a capable video editing machine. None of these laptops is going to match up to a desktop that you put the same amount of cash in to, but that's not anything new, I assume if a desktop was an option then you wouldn't be in the laptop thread I'm not startled by something over $1k ($1360 is what it comes to with "default" choices, no frills, and the monitor upgrade), so no worries. I threw something together, but the "share" link details expired. It doesn't want to display properly. Anyhow, I went with the basic Quadro 1000M graphics card and stuck with 4GB of ram (I can get 16gb 1600MHz DDR3 off of NewEgg for dirt cheap anyhow. Case in point, $40-50 for pairs of 4GB sticks if I'm reading things right). Also, I took your advice and switched over to a 1080 display. Not sure how deep to dive in to the warranty offerings, though. Past the ram, I'm on the fence about getting a second hard drive. Any glaring criticisms/further advice?Yeah, I realize that a desktop would be better. I have intermittent downtime at my new job, though, and would like to do some hobby-related editing when I'm bored. I usually don't want to mess with it by the time I get home, so this'll keep things moving.
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 18:06 |
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So the backlight on my hp hdx16 just crapped out. Is it worth replacing, or should I wait another couple of months until I can afford a new laptop? I have a gaming desktop to use for now. I've wanted a macbook air for awhile since it seems like a good balance between power and portability.
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 19:27 |
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Geop posted:Thanks for the detailed response! It's a really bad time to buy a laptop right now. Can't you wait another month?
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 19:30 |
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Mu Zeta posted:It's a really bad time to buy a laptop right now. Can't you wait another month?
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 19:39 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 01:56 |
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No, new Ivy Bridge chips are coming out at the end of April, meaning likely price drops on current models, and new models with the improved chips in them coming out. That said, the biggest benefits to Ivy Bridge are lower power usage (better battery life) and much better integrated graphics (which are still less powerful than a discrete quadro chip not to mention useless for CUDA acceleration in CS5). I bought an SSD for my W520, and put the mechanical disk in the bay the dvd drive occupied. It's my ideal setup, but if you're dealing with a whole load of raw footage I'd go with two big mech drives and a micro-SSD like the Intel 310 for an OS. As far as lenovo purchasing goes, there are a number of different ways to snag an additional 5-10% off with pretty good regularity, like the shareholder purchase program (that does not check if you are a shareholder...) and various credit card sites like mastercard marketplace (which does not require a mastercard!).
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| # ? Apr 3, 2012 19:52 |
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