|
DrDork posted:So I guess we should just stay with 1336x768, because it's "perfectly readable" and you can't figure out how to get more use out of your space, 'eh? Well, if that's what you believe, you're welcome to stick with your low resolutions and enjoy it. For the rest of us, we'll happily consider the high-resolution offerings available and make decisions from there. Should everyone buy an Ativ just because of the screen, or drop an extra $500 for a similar upgrade? Of course not--and no one ever suggested that such a screen was something that was appropriate for every laptop or every user. But that you cannot fathom how some people might like the extra crispness or utility of it is just flat out willful ignorance. There's a lot more than just reading blocks of text out there, too: being able to view multiple images side by side without having to downscale them, for instance. There's this thing called diminishing returns you may have heard of. The thing that makes it so that having a larger number does not make something an unambiguous improvement that's worth the additional cost. But please continue being a prissy jerk who gets mad and rages at strawmen when people have different opinions on what's worthwhile or not, especially when they're presented specifically as recommendations to an idealized "average user" to look before they leap.
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 13:52 |
|
|
Cream_Filling posted:There's this thing called diminishing returns you may have heard of. The thing that makes it so that having a larger number does not make something an unambiguous improvement that's worth the additional cost. But please continue being a prissy jerk who gets mad and rages at strawmen when people have different opinions on what's worthwhile or not, especially when they're presented specifically as recommendations to an idealized "average user" to look before they leap. Diminishing returns are, indeed, A Thing, but they certainly don't kick in at 1600x900, and the price difference of the 3200x1800 screen on the Ativ (relative to the rest of its hardware) isn't much more at all than the jump from 1600x900 to 1920x1080 on many other laptops.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:06
|
|
|
DrDork posted:But no one except you is talking about recommendations to an idealized "average user." Strawman, indeed. Uh, is there someone other than me who's getting jumped on by people with a weird need to justify their spending choices to others? My previous posts stated my personal opinion based on my own experiences with similarly specced screens that they're usually not that useful or worth the price, and I went on to say that the average user should definitely try before they buy. I have no idea why you are getting so angry. Not everyone has the same needs as you and you don't have to justify every purchase you make purely on utility either.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:12
|
|
|
You have argued several times that the higher DPI is useless, there's no possible extra utility to be gained from the higher resolution, etc. All of which may be true for you and your personal uses, but are not true in a generalized manner (iPhone comparison), let alone in a specialized manner for other people with particular needs or wants. Also you've jumped back and forth between trying to say you're just expressing your personal opinions, and making judgements/recommendations for an idealized average user, so forgive me if I'm not entirely sure which track you're trying to play. No one's trying to justify a purchase here, either. I'm just really confused as to why you have such a negative opinion of nice, high-res screens.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:20
|
|
|
blackflare posted:I skimmed through the OP, and admittedly I don't know a ton about laptops, but my friend is looking for some advice in buying one for herself soon. Her cousin suggested she buy this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231074 . She's looking for something that will play minecraft reasonably well and isn't a piece of garbage. The hardware here seems ok to me, but I thought it might be better to get another opinion before she spends a bunch of money. I can probably convince her to go up to around 600$ if the sub 500 range is as bad as the OP seems to suggest. That looks like a reasonable purchase. She would probably enjoy a higher resolution screen, in which case the next step up in that same price range would be a Sony Vaio.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
DrDork posted:You have argued several times that the higher DPI is useless, there's no possible extra utility to be gained from the higher resolution, etc. All of which may be true for you and your personal uses, but are not true in a generalized manner (iPhone comparison), let alone in a specialized manner for other people with particular needs or wants. Also you've jumped back and forth between trying to say you're just expressing your personal opinions, and making judgements/recommendations for an idealized average user, so forgive me if I'm not entirely sure which track you're trying to play. Because I've used them and don't think that they're that special or useful, either for me personally or for the average user. You go ahead and buy one if you like but it's silly to get so worked up about people who don't think it's that big a deal and dare to voice a dissenting opinion. If anything, I'd personally rather spring for better view angles, color reproduction, or contrast/brightness over resolution if I was given the choice for a premium screen option on a non-tablet laptop. I'm also not particularly convinced by the arguments that they somehow offer more utility to the general user. I'm not a fan of your iPhone example because first of all, smartphones are not computers and you don't hold a laptop up to your face. Secondly, there was no non-retina option for the iPhone 4. A better example for that argument would be the retina MBP, which as I recall has a far lower take rate compared to the non-retina MBP or other mac laptops. Not exactly searing proof either way considering the many other factors at play, but still better than the iPhone example. OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Aug 31, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 20:45
|
|
|
The point of the iPhone comparison was to note that even though there was zero extra utility gained from the resolution bump, people still gushed and loved it because of the increased clarity and crispness that it provided--that's all I was saying with it: that it's something that people do actually want, utility or no. How much they're willing to pay for it is, of course, an open question, but the desire for it is there. If you're going to make arguments based on sales numbers alone, then all anyone really wants is a poo poo-box <$500 Best Buy special with a 1336x768 TN screen, since those are what make up the majority of personal sales these days. Pretty sure we both know that's not really the case, though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:03
|
|
|
What does everyone think of this?: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8041979&CatId=4936
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:08
|
|
|
Good Canadian Boy posted:What does everyone think of this?: Also, it's substantially cheaper at NewEgg: $504 which is a much more reasonable price for it. I'd still suggest spending the extra cash on a T430, but $500 is a fair(ish) price for that ASUS.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:16
|
|
|
Speaking of high-res screens, does anyone know of up-and-coming user-serviceable laptops with high-res screens (2560x1440+) that -aren't- ultrabooks? So far I know of the Dell m3800 http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/04/campaigns/precision-m3800-workstation and the Apple rMBP. Everything else seems to be in the ultrabook category, complete with soldered components. I'd like to be able to upgrade to 16GB RAM, as one of the applications I'm working with eats around 7.2GB on its own easily. I also want to be able to put my own storage into the machine, and fix other components if needed. I'm under the impression that most if not all of these ultrabooks solder components directly into the machine, with even the new Lenovos having one of the two DIMM slots soldered. One more question -- I bought an old Lenovo T61P laptop to hold me over, but the battery's dead. I bought a replacement on Amazon but it doesn't fit well, and my laptop turns off/loses power if I bump it wrong. Anyone know of a good site to buy replacement batteries that work? Meltycat fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Aug 31, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:16
|
|
|
Other than the lack of driver updates, is there another reason not to get a Vaio Pro?
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:18
|
|
|
Meltycat posted:Everything else seems to be in the ultrabook category, complete with soldered components. I'd like to be able to upgrade to 16GB RAM, as one of the applications I'm working with eats around 7.2GB on its own easily. I also want to be able to put my own storage into the machine, and fix other components if needed. I'm under the impression that most if not all of these ultrabooks solder components directly into the machine, with even the new Lenovos having one of the two DIMM slots soldered.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:26
|
|
|
TomWaitsForNoMan posted:Other than the lack of driver updates, is there another reason not to get a Vaio Pro? I have used one a fair bit. It seems to be getting pretty frequently updated still. My biggest complaints are that there isn't a lot of travel on the keys, which is pretty common on superlight ultrabooks these days, and that the screen angle can't be adjusted back past a certain angle. For normal use that isn't a big issue, but sometimes I wish I could push the screen back a little further when working with it on my lap. The fan is a touch on the whiny side when it's going full tilt too, but that isn't very common. It's unbelievably light and the screen looks fantastic. Going from a 5-6 pound laptop to a sub 3 pound laptop makes your laptop bag feel nearly empty. It's pretty great.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:28
|
|
|
Good Canadian Boy posted:What does everyone think of this?: 14" 1366 x 768 screen with no graphics upgrade, and it's refurbished. Might as well go buy a new T430 for quite literally the exact same price ($640) but new.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 21:31
|
|
|
It looks like Sony quietly released non touch screen versions of both pro models. Anyone know if those will be matte?
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2013 23:58
|
|
|
DrDork posted:e; The rMBP is so expensive because it's Apple's top product, and honestly doesn't have a whole lot to do with the extra cost of the screen. It costs that much because it can. You can make similar complaints about pretty much any $2000+ laptop: basically no one actually needs them, no matter what their hardware specs are. Doesn't stop people from buying them because they want 'em, though.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 00:15
|
|
|
Naffer posted:I have used one a fair bit. It seems to be getting pretty frequently updated still. My biggest complaints are that there isn't a lot of travel on the keys, which is pretty common on superlight ultrabooks these days, and that the screen angle can't be adjusted back past a certain angle. For normal use that isn't a big issue, but sometimes I wish I could push the screen back a little further when working with it on my lap. The fan is a touch on the whiny side when it's going full tilt too, but that isn't very common. Do you have any issues with the flex in the screen or the keyboard? I don't doubt the strength or the lightness of the carbon fibre but I can't help feel like it would annoy me. And how is the battery life?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 00:28
|
|
|
VorpalFish posted:It looks like Sony quietly released non touch screen versions of both pro models. Anyone know if those will be matte? Negative -- they have the same Gorilla Glass covering. Folks with the touchscreen are reporting that the optional screen protector improves visibility in bright light.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 00:46
|
|
|
I'm trying to decide between a couple laptops. One has a 1600:900 resolution and the other a 1920:1080. Will I be happy either way coming from a 1366:768?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 01:29
|
|
|
voltron posted:I'm trying to decide between a couple laptops. One has a 1600:900 resolution and the other a 1920:1080. Really depends on the screen size. 1600x900 is great for 13" and smaller. At 14" I would prefer 1920x1080 but 1600x900 is usable. 15" laptops with less than 1080 just seem bad to me.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 02:20
|
|
|
Oh I forgot to mention screen sizes. I'm currently on a 14" using the 1366. I like the T440s, but I wish it had a 15".
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 02:25
|
|
|
DrDork posted:Terrible. A last-gen CPU, 1336x768 screen, no dGPU, and it's a refurb so you get a crap warranty. Yet it's still almost $600. For about $70 more, you can use the B&N link in the OP to get a baseline T430 w/1600x900 screen that will perform about the same, yet be of much better build quality and carry a full warranty. If he's linking Tigerdirect.ca, he can't use the B&N link and you need to adjust all of your reasonable price ranges a good 25% up. TomWaitsForNoMan posted:Hmm, are there alternative Haswell ultrabooks I should consider that have a >768 screen? I think the XPS 12 would be a bit too small at 12.5 inches but I'm open to other suggestions I don't find the XPS12's screen small at all, and that's with my work computer having 3 ridiculous 29 inch screens (I have no idea, I didn't buy them.) The issue I have with non-convertible touchscreen laptops is there just isn't a reason to reach over that screen and touch anything. Aphrodite fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Sep 1, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 02:34
|
|
|
Cream_Filling posted:Because I've used them and don't think that they're that special or useful, either for me personally or for the average user. They are useful for non-average users, though. You can have a couple main windows be a reasonable size but side windows with documentation or some terminals or other files be very tiny and fit a lot more information on the screen. You can also more finely control the font size at which you work on most operating systems.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 02:37
|
|
|
I apologize if this is answered in some obvious place, it wasn't in the OP. What time of year/month is best to buy a laptop?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 03:28
|
|
|
mind the walrus posted:I apologize if this is answered in some obvious place, it wasn't in the OP. June 13th at 4:30 pm. If you buy after that you're going to get screwed.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 03:38
|
|
|
Oh poo poo I guess I better take out a loan to make sure it doesn't get worse. Thanks.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 03:49
|
|
|
mind the walrus posted:Oh poo poo I guess I better take out a loan to make sure it doesn't get worse. Thanks. There is no 'best' time, in general. But there are a few 'good' times. You have things like Black Friday deals or back to school sales. Then you have things like when a new laptop comes out the old models are discounted. And then you have oddball deals on sites like SlickDeals that just randomly happen. Then again you can just buy it when you need it - worst case you pay full MSRP, that's a bad deal. Try to get some sort of discount/coupon/freebie/open-box.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 04:03
|
|
|
Fair enough. I wasn't sure if there was some regular time of year new models of laptops rolled out the way there seems to be with GPUs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 04:20
|
|
|
mind the walrus posted:Fair enough. I wasn't sure if there was some regular time of year new models of laptops rolled out the way there seems to be with GPUs. Basically no one has any loving clue.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 06:30
|
|
|
First question: what are the opinions on extended warranties? Obviously buying a $50 warranty on a $200 Chromebook doesn't make much sense, but what about an $85 3-year warranty (vs the stock 1-year) on something like the Y410P? Is this generally a case of "if it's going to die, it'll probably be in the first few months" sort of situation? The Y410P with the B&N link is $789 with the 1600x900 screen. Has it ever been this low? I think that the 1600x900 upgrade always kicked it over $800 in the previous sales I'm getting tired of waiting for more Haswell H5000+ laptops and am seriously considering this. I'm starting to run out of good reasons to wait; all of the HD5000+ laptops are probably going to be at least $1k, right?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 08:22
|
|
|
I've long past given up on the Haswell IGP if I can get a T440 with the 730M (or better). -s might be over $1k but I can't see the regular one being that pricy, and it seems to have enough spill/drop/whatever protection that I'd feel safer not getting any accidental damage warranty.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 08:33
|
|
|
QuarkJets posted:First question: what are the opinions on extended warranties? Obviously buying a $50 warranty on a $200 Chromebook doesn't make much sense, but what about an $85 3-year warranty (vs the stock 1-year) on something like the Y410P? Is this generally a case of "if it's going to die, it'll probably be in the first few months" sort of situation? If it dies, will you become broke? Extended warranties only make sense if you'll become broke if the machine dies or if you think you'll abuse it worse than the average person that gets extended warranties. In the case of laptops, this is a sign that you're buying a too expensive laptop. In the long run, companies make money off of extended warranties, not you.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 08:42
|
|
|
So here's a Forbes articlequote:Worth The Wait - Intel's Haswell Just Getting Warmed-Up In Notebooks It's true that the start of Q4 is right around the corner, but it sounds like we're probably looking at Q1 of next year before a large number of Iris laptops will be available
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 08:52
|
|
|
Cacator posted:Do you have any issues with the flex in the screen or the keyboard? I don't doubt the strength or the lightness of the carbon fibre but I can't help feel like it would annoy me. And how is the battery life? I should say that it's my significant other's laptop and I only use it occasionally, but the flex isn't really as bad as it's made out to be. Yes there is a little bit more give then you might be used to, but you don't notice it after using it for a day or two. If you primarily use it on a desk or tabletop, you'll probably never notice it at all. It's a bit more noticeable when you're using it on your lap.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 17:03
|
|
|
How often do these Lenovo laptops go on sale with the B&N program? I'm looking at a Lenovo Y410p with the 24gb SSD drive for $839, but with all these new laptops coming out should I wait to see what comes down the pipeline?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 18:41
|
|
|
I'm wondering the same thing. I'd really like to wait for the T440, but it seems nobody has any idea when it will drop.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 18:57
|
|
|
DeesGrandpa posted:How often do these Lenovo laptops go on sale with the B&N program? I'm looking at a Lenovo Y410p with the 24gb SSD drive for $839, but with all these new laptops coming out should I wait to see what comes down the pipeline? I don't know, but I would suggest not getting the version with the 1TB+24GBSSD HDD. Those things are worthless; the SSD is just used for caching and doesn't have a huge influence on performance like an actual SSD would. You'll get much better results by getting the 1TB HDD version (with the 1600x900 screen of course) and then upgrading to an SSD yourself. If you want the additional storage, put the 1TB HDD into the ultrabay slot and go without an optical drive. I'm in the same boat as you, but with the 1TB HDD version, which is about $50 cheaper. At < $800 this would be a great laptop. The uncertainty of releases for things like the T440 make me wonder whether waiting will be worth it. That Forbes article makes me suspect that we'll be waiting a long time for a lot of these models, so if you're looking for a laptop right now then you may as well not wait and jump on one of these deals while they last. e: At this point I'm pretty much just waiting for someone in the thread to tell me that this is a bad idea or something QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Sep 1, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 19:17
|
|
|
The new Y series stuff is only like 2 months old. Probably will be around the same sale prices for another good 6 months. If I had to guess.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 19:18
|
|
|
DeesGrandpa posted:How often do these Lenovo laptops go on sale with the B&N program? I'm looking at a Lenovo Y410p with the 24gb SSD drive for $839, but with all these new laptops coming out should I wait to see what comes down the pipeline? All the time, it tends to be a 3 or 4 week cycle. One week a laptop will be 10% off the next it will 25% the week after that I might be 20%. Normally the sales bounce between 20% and 30% off.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 19:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 13:52 |
|
|
Calidus posted:All the time, it tends to be a 3 or 4 week cycle. One week a laptop will be 10% off the next it will 25% the week after that I might be 20%. Normally the sales bounce between 20% and 30% off. What's the lowest price that we've seen the Y410P go for, though? The cheapest model is $739 with the B&N link, I don't think that it has ever gone that low before
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 19:22
|
|