Peppar posted:

Starting a one-year grad school program in a week or so and just received word that they required a Windows-based laptop for the coursework. Being a (s)Machead for a little over a year, I'm hoping to buy something cheap and reliable with the following specs; was just wondering if anyone had seen anything recently that fit the bill and seemed to be a good deal.

My default option after sifting through this thread is a Lenovo G550 at about $550, although it seems to be too big a gun for what they're asking.

Specs are:

Coredump posted:

Check out the new core i5 Sony Viao Z. This laptop is wwwaayyy more expensive than what you put down, but it nails all your other point.

Dmar posted:

If you have a Mac produced within the last year, why don't you just put Windows on it and dual-boot? Any Apple laptop from within the last 2 years is going to meet those minimum requirements.

Peppar posted:

Because for some retarded reason the IT department at the school I'm going to doesn't allow that. I have no idea why.

CrazyLittle posted:

Which is why the second sentence I wrote was, "(I'm getting support+++ for it, and don't have much faith in Asus's customer support.)" Which means I will be buying that support plan. Look, I don't have any gripes about OSX. It's drat good software. The macbook pro's are nice too - I had one for two years. Applecare can go gently caress itself. Never again. If you want to nerd-rage about Dell, Lenovo, or some apple-persecution complex, perhaps this isn't the best thread for that?

So do any laptop makers offer

• a 14" laptop that's got a nice high-res screen (1400x900 or better since I'm coming from a 12" 1400x1050)
  
• on a core i5 CPU
  
• with discrete graphics
  
• and next-business day support and accidental breakage coverage

or no?

mrpeaches posted:

Pretty sure that the business lines from lenovo, dell, and HP all have you covered with those specs.

Personally, I just received my T410s with switchable graphics and it's amazing. Lenovo has great service options too.

CrazyLittle posted:

Thanks

I contacted Dell directly and the only model they have that's remotely close is the Alienware 15". Lenovo's got the T410 which I'm looking at. Do you know which specific model HP's I should be looking at?

thelightguy posted:

How would they even know? It's not like the mac address is 00IM_A_MAC_FB903 or something. Just load windows 7 on it and play dumb.

Bob Morales posted:

Is there a $500 laptop with a 15.4" 1440x900 screen out there?

1366x768

rscott posted:

no. You're going to have to spend at least $800 from what I remember to get something better than those garbage 1366x768 panels.

Dmar posted:

The Dell Studio 14 has a quad-core processor and meets all of my needs but because the stupid piece of poo poo doesn't have a 1440x900 display I'm going to go with a Macbook Pro that's $500 more expensive

fishmech posted:

Considering you're going to a 15 inch anyway, why not try out a Dell Studio 15? You can get those in 1920x1080 and d they'll be cheaper than a 15 inch MBP.

Dmar posted:

The logic in my head went like this: I want a relatively small laptop, so 14" was perfect because it's larger than a 13" but smaller than a 15.6". But, I can't get a 14" with the specs I want, so I'll look at the slimmest 15" that I can find, the MBP. I had an Inspiron 1520 about 3 years ago (I bought it for the nice 1650x1080 panel) but it was basically a behemoth, and I don't want to go down that "too heavy to carry around, doesn't fit in my laptop sleeve" path again. Plus, as a nice consolation prize, the MBP comes with a pretty good GPU while the Studio 15" doesn't have anything particularly impressive.


I just looked and the Latitudes can be configured with quad-cores and 1440x900. Maybe that's my best bet.

fishmech posted:

Considering you're going to a 15 inch anyway, why not try out a Dell Studio 15? You can get those in 1920x1080 and d they'll be cheaper than a 15 inch MBP.

WaveLength posted:

What's a good weight for a laptop that I'll probably be carrying around with me when I go to class? I type much faster than I write, so I'll probably be using a laptop for taking notes.

Tsyni posted:

Ok, after reading the thread more and looking around I have a feeling my request is hopeless, but may as well give it a try.

I am seriously considering the Sony Vaio Z, so I've grudgingly upped my budget to around $2500.

Things that I don't need that the Z has:
-optical drive
-biometric scanner
-SSD

Things that I want that the Z has:
-13" high-res screen(12"-14" would be acceptable as well)
-Low weight, great design, thin
-i5 processor
-the discrete graphics are a nice bonus, but they aren't necessary at all

Am I retarded for considering the Vaio? Is there anything comparable really? Most reviews and benchmarks seem to give the nod to the Vaio. I realize that a lot of my requirements are cosmetic, but I am willing to pay for something that I am happy looking at for a while. I would love to pay less, but if this is my only option then I am not totally opposed.

Also, I am Canadian, if that's a factor.

malefactor posted:

You look at the HP envi?

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ategory&v1=ENVY

LouietheCuban posted:

I heard this thing gets scorching hot where you rest your palms when you type. Other than that it looks pretty cool. I don't really trust HP with anything so...

malefactor posted:

You look at the HP envi?

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ategory&v1=ENVY

CrazyLittle posted:

How does the studio 15 compare to the Latitude E6510?

Umph posted:

Could anyone help me narrow down these five?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5E34-146-613-TS

Please?

malefactor posted:

id love too, but that link has ... in it

Zarkov Cortez posted:

He copied it instead of copying it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5E34-146-613-TS

Dmar posted:

Wow, finally, a 15" laptop with a numpad. I wish more of them had one.

Dorkopotamis posted:

I'm looking for a laptop for the gentleman gamer. Something that when I go to class and whip it out people will look at me as a fine and elegant man while not knowing that a degenerate nerd lies beneath the thin veneer of classiness.

Most of my peers opt for macs, but they are expensive for their hardware and overall just not my thing. This idea was inspired by the http://www.adamobydell.com/ but when I go to the buy page, it doesn't offer anything in terms of customization and I am left to assume it uses integrated mobo graphics.

I've been using a Dell XPS 1710 that's gotten me from my Freshman year of college to present day as a senior. It's gaudy and the graphics card takes a dump every year and needs to be replaced. It also looks like a Cadillac and I'm embarrassed for it to leave my room. It was also very expensive in its day

In all likeliness, the laptop wouldn't leave my room more than several times a term, so weight and battery life are not deciding factors. However, monitor size and all the other important specs are crucial. I'll take any suggestions.

LouietheCuban posted:

The only think I'm a little concerned about it latency with peripheral MIDI devices. I use an external sound card (lexicon lambda), and have some slight, but noticeable, latency issues on my current laptop when I use any midi-interface. On my friend's MBP, there is literally no lag whatsoever.

Would this go away with that Lenovo?

WaveLength posted:

Will the integrated GPU in the i5 be enough for the occasional game of civ 4? I'm looking at a Lenovo x201.

IndieRockLance posted:

Matlock posted:

I'm considering selling my laptop and getting a new one before summer's up. It has a 15.4" 1680x1050 screen, magnesium casing, Intel T7200, 4GB DDR2, 320GB 5400RPM WD drive. It has now just finished in the 3year warranty, and is actually almost like new due to warranty work. As of current, I would say the only original parts would be the hard drive and RAM I put into it and the nearly-dead battery.

The unit, thanks to warranty work, has no parts on it older than one year other than the previously mentioned HDD/RAM and battery.

Runs like a champ, but it's a little heavy for my tastes nowadays. Any idea what I should ask for it? $800ish sounds about right for the tech.