|
NeoSeeker posted:So is this a case where I should just wait another couple of months for the next best poo poo to come out? You could perpetually wait and get better and better deals...you just have to buy what's a good price at the time you need it. Of course if you CAN wait, you might as well.
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 12:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 20:02 |
|
|
Does it make sense to put linux on a Haswell laptop? Will I lose the touchscreen coolness that comes with those laptops? I cannot justify buying one of those and not use the touchscreen. I'm looking to have a laptop with all-day battery life, 15" screen, at least an i7 which I plan to develop software on. I am leaning towards the thinkpads, but they are so god awfully ugly 
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 16:59
|
|
|
YouAreCorrect posted:Does it make sense to put linux on a Haswell laptop? Will I lose the touchscreen coolness that comes with those laptops? I cannot justify buying one of those and not use the touchscreen. Depends on the laptop. Ubuntu for example works out of the box with many touch screens while others need some time spent in the command console. I love the look of ThinkPads, it's one of the things that drew me to getting one. Mega Comrade fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Jun 23, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 17:38
|
|
|
Thinkpads used to be pretty: But now they're just so drab: 
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 21:06
|
|
|
shrughes posted:Thinkpads used to be pretty: 'tis why I moved to MacBook Airs.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 22:02
|
|
|
I'm waiting on Haswell for the t450s. My first laptop was using my dad's think pad as a kid and I'm super excited to get my own after so many years.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 22:02
|
|
|
If anyone cares, I got a Silverstone TS-09 SATA hdd adapter for my Thinkpad R500 and it fits fine. The only thing is that it didn't come with faceplate and the DVDRW's faceplate's hooks are too short to latch on. Duct tape solved that problem for now. Anyways, if anyone has a thinkpad with the same Ultrabay as the R500, chances are that the TS09 will do the trick to swap your DVDRW for an extra HDD/SSD. The $10 no-name poo poo on ebay and amazon might work too, but who knows. At least Silverstone is a brand I've heard of and an extra $5 for a harmless bit of plastic is no big deal considering that Lenovo branded adapters sell for $70.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 22:21
|
|
|
Has anyone else been unable to create an account on the barnes and noble gold site? I've been trying to make one for the last week and when I hit 'create account' it just says 'please check the information in the fields below' even though they're all filled out.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 22:28
|
|
|
Yeah I tried to make one earlier and it didn't work. Signing up through the regular Lenovo site might work (I just used my old account, I was trying to get a new username as the old one was very, very old). Lenovo's site is pretty much hosed up 24/7 though in one way or another.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 22:32
|
|
|
As long as I'm cookied from the regular site, the BN site seems to work fine so far.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2013 23:08
|
|
|
mmm11105 posted:That is a Clevo W740SU underneath, I believe. Given that it's a clevo, I'm unsure how well the build quality will hold up, but drat that thing looks impressive on paper (1080p matte + Iris Pro). That's a really serious CPU in terms of TDP rating for an ultrabook. I'm holding out a faint hope that we see a Haswell-Yoga with a pen-digitizer. I was watching videos of handwriting on the Surface Pro in Onenote this weekend and it seems really cool. I'm already a heavy Onenote user and being able to doodle in them sounds pretty fantastic.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 01:18
|
|
|
I can't make an account through the B&N link, either. If those deals are dead (or signups are finished), that's gonna suck.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 02:18
|
|
|
surf rock posted:I can't make an account through the B&N link, either. If those deals are dead (or signups are finished), that's gonna suck. Are prices comparable on the B&N Lenovo link compared to the Lenovo Outlet? I was able to log in to my account I had made at some point in the past.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 02:38
|
|
|
johnny sack posted:Are prices comparable on the B&N Lenovo link compared to the Lenovo Outlet? I was able to log in to my account I had made at some point in the past. today's prices (click to embiggen)   
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 02:45
|
|
|
My mom wants a laptop with a numberpad because her current laptop without one is driving her crazy. Other than the numberpad she doesn't need too much power, but I'm worried about a 1080p screen being too small for her to read. Are there any 900p 15" laptops with numberpads? All I can see between Dell and Lenovo is either 720p or 1080p.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 03:31
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:My mom wants a laptop with a numberpad because her current laptop without one is driving her crazy. Other than the numberpad she doesn't need too much power, but I'm worried about a 1080p screen being too small for her to read. Are there any 900p 15" laptops with numberpads? All I can see between Dell and Lenovo is either 720p or 1080p. HP Probook
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:My mom wants a laptop with a numberpad because her current laptop without one is driving her crazy. Other than the numberpad she doesn't need too much power, but I'm worried about a 1080p screen being too small for her to read. Are there any 900p 15" laptops with numberpads? All I can see between Dell and Lenovo is either 720p or 1080p. Or consider an external / wireless numpad, which will open up the selection more. Also because built-in numpads are often weird to use and screw up the keyboard layout pretty bad.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 04:10
|
|
|
johnny sack posted:You could perpetually wait and get better and better deals...you just have to buy what's a good price at the time you need it. Of course if you CAN wait, you might as well. It's not of a perpetual nature. I'd just like to buy at the start of a new generation. The thing I'm really wondering though is it worth the wait, whatever it may be? How much better is the new hardware?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 04:54
|
|
|
Hi guys, I'd love some advice. My 7 year old Sony Vaio beast has about given up the ghost and I'm looking to get a netbook/ultrabook because I want something light to use on the couch and at coffeeshops to write on. The new Macbook Air is great, but I absolutely love the look of the Asus Zenbook Infinity gorilla glass thing. The only problem is I want something soon and I don't know when that will come out, how much it'll cost and if it will even be any good or have some fatal flaw like embedding glass in your crotch. So, should I go the safe bet or hold out?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 05:55
|
|
|
Advertiser posted:Hi guys, I'd love some advice. The Zenbook Infinity doesn't look like it will be out till towards the end of the year, the new Sony Vaio Pro 13" which is available now is also another alternative to the new MBA.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 06:03
|
|
|
I've heard poor reviews about the Vaio Pro keyboard and in Australia at least the i5 version is $1,400 with a 128gb SSD, 4 gigs of ram and HD4400 integrated graphics where as for the same price I can get the Air with a 256 gig SSD, 8 gigs of ram and the HD5000. Edit: Although the Sony does have a full hd display... hmm.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 06:11
|
|
|
I've seen reports of people getting the Vaio Pro 13" for $1250-1300 at JB Hi-Fi/Harvey Norman. Edit: The Good Guys selling 128gb/256gb Haswell MBA for $1118/$1318, so that seems crazy to pass up. Sendo fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Jun 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 06:47
|
|
|
Advertiser posted:I've heard poor reviews about the Vaio Pro keyboard and in Australia at least the i5 version is $1,400 with a 128gb SSD, 4 gigs of ram and HD4400 integrated graphics where as for the same price I can get the Air with a 256 gig SSD, 8 gigs of ram and the HD5000. The Air does have a better WiFi card in terms of standardization. My buddy got the 13", 128G Air and it is quite a machine. Doesn't Sony have terrible driver support, anyway?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 07:04
|
|
|
sports posted:The Air does have a better WiFi card in terms of standardization. Something along the lines of "You can only use drivers we release and absolutely nothing else" and then they go months without actually releasing anything. Terrible isn't really a harsh enough word for that kind of poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 07:22
|
|
I EVER SPENT
|
What's the general Goon opinion on this Beastie? http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/contents/en-us/d450_metabox-clevo-w230st-laptop-notebook.html
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 09:29
|
|
|
InstantInfidel posted:Something along the lines of "You can only use drivers we release and absolutely nothing else" and then they go months without actually releasing anything. Terrible isn't really a harsh enough word for that kind of poo poo. Stupid question, but what does "poor driver support" actually amount to? My last laptop's video drivers stopped updating, ooh, call it 2008, so I was never quite sure exactly what updated drivers did aside from help your system stay stable.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 13:26
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:My mom wants a laptop with a numberpad because her current laptop without one is driving her crazy. Other than the numberpad she doesn't need too much power, but I'm worried about a 1080p screen being too small for her to read. Are there any 900p 15" laptops with numberpads? All I can see between Dell and Lenovo is either 720p or 1080p. Thinkpad Edge 15" models have 10key numpads on them, and as a "bonus" none of them offer high res screens, either! I don't think you get 1600 * 900 though, sadly, it's just the usual 1366*768 dreck.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 14:48
|
|
|
qtek posted:What's the general Goon opinion on this Beastie? If you plan on being immobile/within 10 feet of a wall plug then go for it. Clevo/Gigabyte/Tianjin People's National Electronics Factory (whatever OEM this is) makes laptops for tons of well-known companies. The designs that don't get sold to a big name (Dell, Asus) get bought at a bargain by Clevo or Sager and other small companies iirc. To me, that price could net you a really really kitted out MacBook Air that, while not pushing as much triangles as that could, would otherwise be a functional, mobile laptop that you wouldn't have to worry about breaking. I'm guessing you are eligible for a student discount, too. Here's the new MBA 13" with a student discount. When configuring a laptop, RAM is arguably the most important spec- because the processor and integrated graphics both share it. Unless you're running Athena or Fortran plasma simulations or something, you'll probably be covered with 8G of RAM. Edit: Also, getting quad core hardware on a laptop isn't the best idea considering Intel dual-cores are recognized by an OS as quad cores and use hyperthreading. sports fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jun 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 15:38
|
|
|
So if I can afford it, is the 13" MBA the way to go as I was kind of interested in a Thinkpad, but beyond the Helix, there's no mention of when the refreshes are coming (like the T450). However, the MBA would have a far better screen from what I've read in this thread (and would a non-graphics guy like me notice this? I use this as my primary monitor for reference). My use-case is I want to be able to:
I believe the HD5000 can handle all that? What about the processor (would the cheaper one be fine or is it better to go more expensive). Same with RAM. Secondarily, would 256GB probably be fine for a laptop so long as I don't try and install every game in the world? I'm assuming it is, but I haven't had a real laptop in a long time, and my desktop has a ton of memory, so I've never really thought about it. Now I feel kind of silly asking this stuff. 
Master_Odin fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Jun 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 16:48
|
|
|
The Helix actually has a better screen, but that's about it. The MBA is less expensive, lighter and has better battery life. The Helix is a pretty terrible buy unless you need a tablet with a digitizer. For the price of the Helix you could get a MBA and a refurb iPad.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 17:00
|
|
|
Civ5 will run acceptably on Low on the HD4000, that's the only taxing game you listed. The Air has a HD5000 which is supposedly ~50% faster real world. I would pick up an external hard drive for $100 though. 256 is big for day to day word processing, but Steam games will fill up your drive rather quickly. DOTA and Civ 5 are each 8-12 GB, so that's 24gb (10% of your formatted drive) down the drain, not to mention OS, VMs, I imagine matlab is rather large as well.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 17:06
|
|
|
Master_Odin posted:So if I can afford it, is the 13" MBA the way to go as I was kind of interested in a Thinkpad, but beyond the Helix, there's no mention of when the refreshes are coming (like the T450). However, the MBA would have a far better screen from what I've read in this thread (and would a non-graphics guy like me notice this? I use this as my primary monitor for reference). My use-case is I want to be able to: Yes, an MBA 13 would be perfect for what you describe.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 17:08
|
|
|
Hadlock posted:Civ5 will run acceptably on Low on the HD4000, that's the only taxing game you listed. The Air has a HD5000 which is supposedly ~50% faster real world. Master_Odin posted:Secondarily, would 256GB probably be fine for a laptop so long as I don't try and install every game in the world?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 17:11
|
|
|
I roll with a USB 3.0 external drive for my MBA and store games/media/everything I don't immediately need on it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 17:18
|
|
|
Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:256GB is more storage than my desktop has. He gave a use case of Steam games and I made the suggestion of an external drive based on actual use and numbers for the games he mentioned. What is your use case and question, if any?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 18:14
|
|
|
Hadlock posted:He gave a use case of Steam games and I made the suggestion of an external drive based on actual use and numbers for the games he mentioned. What is your use case and question, if any?
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 18:34
|
|
|
Read the op, are there really no laptops I can get in like the 550$~ range? My laptop just got stolen which is pretty great and I can't afford to spend much. Really, all I do is social networks, schoolwork and like league of legends. I wasn't on this much of a budget for my first one unfortunately but at least I don't do too much.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 18:40
|
|
|
Hadlock posted:Civ5 will run acceptably on Low on the HD4000, that's the only taxing game you listed. The Air has a HD5000 which is supposedly ~50% faster real world.  ).Is the HD5000 not confirmed to be a better GPU as that "supposedly" makes me a bit apprehensive here. Though, I wouldn't get a non-haswell laptop at this point due to the massive other gains, so I guess I'd have to get a HD5000 no matter what.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 18:55
|
|
|
A cool drat horse posted:Read the op, are there really no laptops I can get in like the 550$~ range? Lenovo Outlet! You should be able to find a refurbished T430 or T530 for around $500.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 19:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 20:02 |
|
|
Anandtech posted their 2013 Macbook Air review and it looks like the HD 5000 GPU is about 16% faster than the HD 4000 which isn't bad. My only complaint with the Macbook Airs (and probably other laptops?) is that even when playing "small" games like DOTA or Civilization 5, the fan will gets very, very loud and the laptop gets quite hot on the bottom. When I'm not playing a game, the fan doesn't even turn on though which is nice.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 19:46
|
|
