The laptop recommendation and discussion megathread

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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware / Software Crap > The laptop recommendation and discussion megathread

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Alfalfa posted:

So I am thinking of selling my 13" MacBook Pro Unibody just because I really want to go back to Windows 7 and don't like the way it runs on Bootcamp.

Just out of curiosity, what about Win7 under Bootcamp didn't you like?

# ¿ Mar 1, 2010 16:27

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# ¿ May 26, 2013 00:20

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Coredump posted:

I need some second opinions on a laptop I'm considering. I want something with a 13"-14" screen that can give me the most bang for my buck in the $750-$1000 range. Here is a computer I'm considering:
code:
Make/Model -  Dell 14z
Processor  -  Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53ghz
Graphics   -  Nvidia 9400m
Hard Drive -  250gb 5400 rpm
Ram        -  3gb
Display    -  1600x900 14"
Battery    -  8 cell 74 whr
OS         -  Win 7 home 64 bit.
Price      -  $814
The other thing this laptop has that I really like is a backlit keyboard. Its nice, but not a deal breaker. Also, I absolutely don't want to deal with Intel IGP. I doubt I'll do much gaming on the laptop but I want the option. Consider it an irrational want. My question is, tell me how I can do better. So far the I've been eyeing an Apple Macbook 13" at Microcenter for $800.

The last-generation processor would give me pause there.

# ¿ May 3, 2010 21:32

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

bomb posted:

The Intel Graphics is a big red flag. Especially with only 128MB dedicated RAM.

I use Lightroom on a machine with less RAM, a crappier processor, and a similarly lovely graphics card and it's fine. Photoshop I don't know about though.

# ¿ May 6, 2010 20:02

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

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:

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.

# ¿ May 13, 2010 22:03

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

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.

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

# ¿ May 14, 2010 19:38

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

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.

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.

# ¿ May 14, 2010 19:58

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

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

# ¿ May 15, 2010 17:55

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

1024x768 posted:

I'm pretty torn between building a new desktop for gaming or buying a laptop.

I'm a graduate student in chemistry and it would be fantastic to have the portability of the laptop, but the more I think about it the more I just want to buy a netbook and a desktop. How large is the performance difference between say a MSI GX640 and a typical gaming desktop (think HD5850 or so)?

I'd recommend desktop + laptop. Laptop gaming is an endless cycle of telling yourself that even though you're playing the game at 800x600 at the lowest resolution, it still looks pretty.

Also, if you end up having the money, I'd get a solid 13" laptop instead of a netbook. I've found that my netbook is great for using around the house but I'd end up throwing it out the window if I had to read PDFs or make presentations at 1024x600 on a bitty little 10" screen.

# ¿ May 17, 2010 17:56

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Mu Zeta posted:

My Thinkpad is stronger, has thick steel hinges, and can be used on your lap without burning your testicles in full power.

Your Thinkpad also features a style that emphasizes laptops built literally like bricks and is fairly unremarkable outside of its ability to reliably function normally.

# ¿ May 21, 2010 05:03

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Mu Zeta posted:

Yeah it functions reliably. How boring.

I'm just talking about build quality here, since the guy I quoted says Apple's build quality cannot be matched. Apple stuff has other bells and whistles that I like, but I can stand on my thinkpad and it would survive. Not the Macbook Pro. I'm not an Apple hater, my desktop is a 24" iMac.

This is also just anecdotal, but I've owned several iBooks, Powerbook G4s, and Macbook Pros. I've had much more trouble with those than my 3 Thinkpads.

Fair enough I guess. And it's true that the MBP will roast your balls. Different strokes for different folks.

# ¿ May 21, 2010 05:40

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Faceless Clock posted:

I just noticed Consumer Reports has their latest laptop reliability and tech support ratings up.

From most to least reliable:
Toshiba
Sony
Compaq
Acer
Apple
HP
Gateway
Dell
Lenovo

Tech support from best to worst:
Apple
Lenovo
Toshiba
Dell
HP/Compaq
Acer/Gateway

I put more stock int the tech support ratings from CR than I do the reliability ratings. It is a good point of reference but I've always been troubled by how vaguely CR qualifies its data. They basically say its just laptops between 2005 and 2009 and they adjust data to eliminate differences due to age, and that's all they say.

They also apparently don't have enough data to rank ASUS, which seems weird. Plus they say that differences less than three points aren't meaningful, and the difference between the most and least reliable laptop brand according to CR is 6 points.

Did they mention Sony's tech support?

# ¿ May 21, 2010 20:40

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Danger Kick posted:

The more I dealt with Dell over the phone the less I liked them. Somehow ordering on the phone always ends up costing more than getting it on the website for no apparent reason, and the education and business partner discounts were pretty crap. I was offered a small selection of pre-configured laptops with small discounts that were negated by the fact that these machines all included downgrades to XP. I could definitely understand when Vista came out, but give XP up already.

I hate their phone support. Incomprehensible and slow. But I've had great results from their web support chat.

# ¿ May 24, 2010 06:51

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Umph posted:

Your computer is flying around zapping people with lasers and raping them? Did you delete your cache and cookies and turn off your firewall?

To be honest, I don't even know what you're referring to, but I wish my lovely laptop was that cool.

# ¿ May 25, 2010 00:03

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Danger Kick posted:

Tech support exists to send you replacement parts if your computer is still under warranty.

This is what I use them for. The last time I used it, I opened the conversation with a quick synopsis of what occurred and an error code from the on-board diagnostics and they were overnighting me a new hard drive within 5 minutes.

# ¿ May 25, 2010 01:44

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

I don't even know where I'd find a reasonable bag for a 17" laptop. I'd just shy away from anything that large if you know you're going to be taking it places with you. If enormous amounts of screen space are a priority, then your best bet is an external monitor anyway, given that even relatively small external displays will outclass your laptop's panel for sheer size (19-22" is pretty standard now.)

# ¿ Jun 2, 2010 00:45

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Godzilla07 posted:

It'll last 2-3 hours doing Wi-Fi surfing. An hour gaming if you're lucky. It all depends on your definition of "decent."

Just for some perspective, 4-6 hrs of battery life isn't unreasonable to expect these days. 2-3 is definitely in "mediocre" territory.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2010 09:55

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

gaan kak posted:

The HP Envy 14, released the 27th, should be starting at $999, with an i5 and 5650 as well, and it has a little bit better battery life and a much nicer screen.

I want to get excited about the Envy 14, but my impression from this thread was that the Envy laptops sort of sucked -- wannabe MBPs that didn't really live up to the standard in build quality. Is this the case or are they good investments? $1000 is a good price point for a laptop like that.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 01:14

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

gaan kak posted:

I still think that the 13'' MBP is a great deal if you can get it for less than $1100, and when you bootcamp it, it's an excellent alternative to the more expensive Vaio offerings or the slightly cheaper Lenovo/Acer/Asus 13/14'' models.

I'd be happy with one, but I'm sick of 1280x800 and its 720p cousin. I've been looking at the Vaio Z because it's a small performance laptop with a 1600x900 screen, but I've been holding off because it's rather expensive, especially with a larger SSD. If the Envy 14 has something better to offer than 720p, I'd be even more interested.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 01:55

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

gaan kak posted:

The 14 should have a model with a "radiance"" screen (1600x900), but the one for pre-order on Amazon doesn't. It might drive the price up, too, but will probably still come in under the Vaio Z.

It's not hard to beat the Vaio Z for price ($1800 for the base model)

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 02:28

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Wade Wilson posted:

If I had $1,000 to burn on a new laptop, given your stipulations here (and the OP of this thread regarding brands to look into), I'd get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16834146765

I know there have been a few posts about how this is a bad idea, but here are some specifics:

1. The processor was at the bottom of the heap for last-generation processors. A modern Core i5, a processor that is easily attainable at the $1000 price point, will smoke that M320.

2. The graphics card compares favorably to low-end chips from a generation and a half ago. It will frustrate you to have a brand-new laptop that is already skirting the edge of obsolescence.

3. It's heavy and the battery life is not so good. 6lbs is a lot, and 15.6" is already large, so basically you are going to hate carrying it around. Your new friends will have Macbooks and Macbook Pros that weigh less and get 8 hours of battery life.

4. The hard drive is small. If you're heading off to college for the first time, you will fill 160gb in approximately 2 weeks, especially if you like to collect and watch movies and such.

The good:

1. It's really cheap!

2. It will fill your basic needs fine, in that it will word process and surf the internet fine, play movies, and a few older, less intense games too.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2010 01:52

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

zekezero posted:

just bought it... in midnight blue, which she picked... my three year old admitted throwing a baseball into the old laptop's screen... it was, "an ack - i - dent..."

thanks everybody.

It sounds like that Inspiron 1000 needed to be put out of its misery anyway. A quick googling shows that the base configuration got 1 hour of battery life -- when it was new, in 2004.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2010 01:25

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

strwrsxprt posted:

They're PCs. They run exactly the same.

Just don't expect the excellent battery life that Macs get under OSX.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2010 22:02

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

The Envy 14 just hit, and it is specced pretty attractively. 1600x900 default display!

# ¿ Jun 27, 2010 16:10

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

...but I'd probably go with the Compaq.

A cold day in hell

# ¿ Jul 7, 2010 01:31

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Texibus posted:

I'm trying something different this semester for my classes, and I bought all my books in .pdf format. I'd like to get an inexpensive notebook in order to view them in class, and I would like for it to run all of the office programs. I'm starting to think I might fall into the netbook purchaser field, but I found a few notebooks that are in my price range.

I could use help deciding whether I could get away with buying a netbook or which of the three following notebooks would be the best purchase?

1) Acer Aspire AS5517-5671
2) lenovo G550(2958-8GU)
3)Recertified: ASUS K50I-RBBGR05

all three side-by-side

I'm looking to spend about 600 bucks on the notebook and Microsoft Office. I have some wiggle room but not much.

Since you want to do a lot of reading on this laptop, I would urge you to avoid a netbook. They have small screens, which will frustrate you for two reasons:

1. You might find yourself wishing you didn't need to scroll around the textbook pages all the time

2. If you zoom out to put more on the screen, the lettering will be itty bitty on a 10-12" screen

As for the options you picked out, the refurb laptop is the most solid, but it only competes in price with the other two bargain-basement laptops because it's a refurb.

My first reaction when I looked at those laptops was to price out a low-end but current generation 15" laptop from Dell. The result is that you could get an Inspiron 15R with a modern Core i3 processor, 4gb RAM, 320gb HDD, etc for about $600. That sits on the edge of your price envelope. Maybe others can chime in as to whether the extra $200 is worth it for a new laptop with current-gen components instead of a refurb. Maybe something to think about.

quote:

and a 17.3" 1600x900 16:9 screen. It seems like quite the deal to me. It would be perfect if it had a blue-ray drive, eSata port, and full 1080p screen. Does anyone have any better suggestions for a laptop in the 800-1000 dollar price range?

As for you, that looks pretty sweet for sticking on your desk and playing Modern Warfare all night, but just remember that it's going to be a 17" behemoth that is going to get bad battery life and suck to take to class.

Dmar fucked around with this message at Jul 7, 2010 around 03:39

# ¿ Jul 7, 2010 03:37

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

Why don't you tell us? Is this behemoth ever going to be running without its AC adapter? Mobility really doesn't seem to be a concern.

The knee-jerk reaction towards 17" laptops here tends to be outright loathing at the concept, but honestly if you are totally cool with it being glued to your desk, then maybe a 17" laptop is what you want.

Personally, I found that having a heavy and large laptop that got 2 hours on a charge was not particularly advantageous in any way. A cheap desktop will outclass it and a $100 display can be larger than 17". When you have a presentation to prepare with classmates, it's going to be a real hassle to take it to the library with you. What about downtime you have in between classes at the student life center? You will see all of your classmates with their 13" macbooks on their laps, happily Facebooking away, sitting comfortably on sofas or plush chairs. That will never really be an option for you with a 17" laptop.

Yeah, exactly.
vvvvvv

Dmar fucked around with this message at Jul 7, 2010 around 04:05

# ¿ Jul 7, 2010 04:00

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Mile'ionaha posted:

Could you explain this post a bit? Bing, the search engine, has a deal?

In short: you search for a product on bing and follow the sponsored link at the top with the Cash back icon. Some sites have a banner saying that you'll get cash back on a purchase, others do not. You buy your product after clicking through on that link, set up a Bing CB account, and then some time later Bing will credit that account for the CB amount. 30% through HP basically amounts to a 30% discount on eligible purchases there.

I'm only seeing 5%, though -- where do you see 30%? That's pretty hefty.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2010 00:53

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Bob Morales posted:

Dell's Latitudes can be had with the pointing stick.

And last I checked they made pretty comfortable big blue pointing sticks instead of those stupid little red nubs anyway.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2010 19:05

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

precedence posted:

I got a dell studio 14 a week and a half ago and i love it. I got the i7 quad. it's pretty beastly and was just over 1000. Unless you just dislike dell, or just like HP seems like the studios are a lot better deal than the Envies.

Dealbreaker is that totally awesome 720p screen

# ¿ Jul 19, 2010 15:50

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

rscott posted:

I think the main problem people have with those is that 1) they're made by Acer and the build quality/reliability is pretty lovely and 2) They all have 720p screens which loving suck.

Exactly what was going through my mind as I read about them.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2010 18:05

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

rscott posted:

I think you're underestimating the performance of the SU7300 just a wee bit.

Still a last-gen processor, though. Aren't there supposed to be ULV Cores sometime soon?

# ¿ Jul 23, 2010 20:57

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Soul Glo posted:

Awesome, I'm also gonna pick up Doom 2, thanks.

Figured that much. Oh well, I'll just stick to chess when I don't have a console around.

There's tons of stuff on Steam that you should be fine to run. Basically Steam is the salvation of a crappy graphics card.

(Though I didn't know that they even put single-core CPUs in non-netbook computers anymore...)

# ¿ Jul 25, 2010 01:15

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Mu Zeta posted:

World of Warcraft and Source games on low settings. They should look pretty good at native resolution.

Isn't this a little conservative? My laptop with a 8400M (a terrible, poo poo-rear end integrated chip) can play WoW absolutely fine at native resolution.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2010 20:42

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

brainwrinkle posted:

It depends. If you feel you will need technical support they're probably good for peace of mind, but really the depreciation on a 3 year old laptop makes it worth probably only twice the cost of the warranty. If you're knowledgeable about computers you can probably do a better job troubleshooting than tech support anyway. Basically you have to determine for yourself if the risk of something breaking and being out of warranty is worth saving $XXX on the warranty.

I used to think that they were useless, then over 3 years basically every component of my Dell broke (some of them broke twice) and I think I would have either paid quite a bit out of pocket or just gotten a new laptop if I didn't have my extended warranty.

In fact I am chatting tech support for replacement power adapter #2 right now.

Dmar fucked around with this message at Jul 29, 2010 around 15:59

# ¿ Jul 29, 2010 15:54

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Next-Gen posted:

Mine overclocks just fine to 550 if need be, but the performance difference is something like... 10 percent between 450 and 550. It really doesn't matter that much and it is still faster than a 330m.

As for the optimus, typically it's only an issue if you're trying to use the gpu while on battery and have to right click the taskbar item and select the 5650 and confirm. it has an option to automatically switch between the integrated and gpu when you unplug it from power. That's not to say Optimus is not still a better solution though.

I have no idea why there are no professional reviews of the Envy 14. Can you report on how hot it gets under load? I'd love it if my laptop didn't scald my belly or my balls while I used it.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2010 05:40

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Zarkov Cortez posted:

You can also check this forum out in lieu of professional reviews

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/

Thanks for this. I was wondering about the i5/i7 difference too given that the MBP sees significantly shorter battery life on the i7 and it looks like it's the same for the Envy.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2010 07:48

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

FateFree posted:

Yes they will certainly not give me cash hah. Theres no reason for me to get anything under $2000. I've got it narrowed down to a tricked out ThinkPad W510 or a Dell Studio XPS 16.

"Comedy" MBP option?

# ¿ Aug 1, 2010 20:37

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

CadavericSpasm posted:

How difficult is it to replace a video card in a laptop? Is it recommended or should I just wait it out until I have the funds to buy a gaming desktop?

Currently I have a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop with an Intel Core2duo 2GHz CPU and an nVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT GPU. I've hosed around with it enough to know the basics of my laptop's hardware but I've read that you pretty much have to disassemble the entire machine to get to the gpu and finding the actual cards is the really difficult part.

It is practically impossible for 99% of laptops to replace their graphics cards.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2010 04:36

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Engadget (finally) reviews the Envy 14:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/03/hp-envy-14-review/

Hopefully we'll be seeing some more sites throwing out reviews soon too. Engadget is always a little light on the benchmarks.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2010 21:03

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# ¿ May 26, 2013 00:20

Dmar: Aug 19, 2004; yarg

Tedronai66 posted:

Do you know what your address would be? Couldn't you change your billing address to that one?

I thought it had to do with where your credit card has your address on file as.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2010 20:57

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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware / Software Crap > The laptop recommendation and discussion megathread