|
foutre posted:Thanks for all the info on the Alienware Amp. Just buy a desktop christ.
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 02:00
|
|
Cat Army 
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 20:11 |
|
|
VR is DOA
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 02:04
|
|
|
I'm considering the ASUS zenbook flip UX360CA-DBM2T as a birthday gift for my girlfriend. She would only use it for microsoft office, youtube, facebook, etc, but I'm concerned about the strength of the Core M processor. Is it strong enough for all that and for a decent amount of multitasking?
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 02:15
|
|
|
It is, until someone writes the next Quake or StarCraft. Then it's game on. Right now everyone is writing a bunch of demos trying to figure out what you can do with it that's interesting but not repetitive for 2 hours. I give it 18 months for good 2nd gen device from a major manufacturer in the PC realm, although I suspect Google Daydream with your phone is going to make VR totally eclipse desktop in three years. 24 months before the next Minecraft, KSP, Call of Duty or even flappy bird is invented. It's a global race to a $2+ billion prize.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 02:17
|
|
|
foutre posted:Thanks for all the info on the Alienware Amp. On this whole subject, the thought that comes to mind is that this is exactly where the external graphics has a use. If you got the Amp now, used it with your current laptop for a while, then you could keep the Amp and video card to use with the next laptop once you grow out of it. Of course, this is partially negated by the fact that the Amp is a proprietary solution, so at best you'd have to buy another Alienware laptop, but the scenario would hold true with something like Razer's generic Core. Verus posted:I'm considering the ASUS zenbook flip UX360CA-DBM2T as a birthday gift for my girlfriend. She would only use it for microsoft office, youtube, facebook, etc, but I'm concerned about the strength of the Core M processor. Is it strong enough for all that and for a decent amount of multitasking? It's quite a nice convertible laptop, and the Core M is fine for all that. I think that if she's only using it for light applications like those you mentioned, then it's a little overkill for the price. There's nothing wrong with buying it as a gift, but if you had other things in mind she'd be fine with a $400-600 laptop and then you could spend the difference on something else. But yeah, it's just fine for the uses you mentioned.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 03:31
|
|
|
Atomizer posted:On this whole subject, the thought that comes to mind is that this is exactly where the external graphics has a use. If you got the Amp now, used it with your current laptop for a while, then you could keep the Amp and video card to use with the next laptop once you grow out of it. Of course, this is partially negated by the fact that the Amp is a proprietary solution, so at best you'd have to buy another Alienware laptop, but the scenario would hold true with something like Razer's generic Core. Yeah, that's true, the proprietary bit kind of messes up the flexibility aspect. Also, the keyboard on this laptop just stopped working entirely within the first week (the backlight, of course, still works) so I think I'm just gonna return this and get something more reasonable. Hadlock posted:People making long term investment plans regarding VR on laptops makes me irrationally angry. The Iron Rose posted:Just buy a desktop christ. Yeah, I think it was mostly my tech illiteracy giving me hope on this one. I see what you're saying, I'll stop thinking of it that way. Realistically, the point at which I have room for a VR set up I'll have room for a desktop anyway, or I can just get a mini-ITX or something instead. NewFatMike posted:XXXXU versus XXXXHQ processors Good to know, thanks. I didn't realize what that meant, just had a vague idea that one was better and definitely wasn't weighing that like I should have been.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 04:59
|
|
RIP ZEEZ
|
If you can return that laptop for a full refund and then get a non-proprietary alternative then by all means do it. If you were already stuck that wouldn't be the end of the world, but at this point you at least now have the choice. One potential issue is that the Razer Core itself is $500, or $400 with the purchase of a Razer laptop to go with it. Currently it's expensive to enter into the world of external graphics.foutre posted:Good to know, thanks. I didn't realize what that meant, just had a vague idea that one was better and definitely wasn't weighing that like I should have been. To expand on the mobile Intel CPUs a bit: U = ULV (low power, always dual-core, plus HT on everything except Celerons) Q = Quad-core More info here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/02/pentium-core-i5-core-i7-making-sense-of-intels-convoluted-cpu-lineup/ For an example, a 6770HQ has 4 cores, 8 threads, and Iris Pro 580 graphics. Atomizer fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Jul 9, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 05:19
|
|
|
The 'H' part doesn't mean hyperthreading it means BGA packaged (which all the current mobile CPUs are) Here's a quad core non-HT processor: http://ark.intel.com/products/88959
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 05:27
|
|
|
dissss posted:The 'H' part doesn't mean hyperthreading it means BGA packaged (which all the current mobile CPUs are) Hmm, you're right that that's a non-HT CPU. So H doesn't mean HT, which ultimately means for his purposes he can just ignore the H in any CPU models he shops for. Edited the previous post for clarity.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 07:08
|
|
|
I think there are one or two dual core H models too (35W) but they're very uncommon nowadays - pretty much everything is going to be a U or an HQ
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 07:24
|
|
|
Because of this thread i bought a thinkpad t430 a few years ago and im very happy with it. Thanks, thread.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 12:13
|
|
|
So my old laptop is getting close to the end of its lifespan after 7 or so years of faithful service and its time to get something new. I would like to get something that can play typical pc games well enough. I'm talking things like paradox games, total war games not on high settings, cities skylines, those sort of games. I'm not planning on running The Witcher on my small screen, but I want it more to complement my ps4. What are my options, and what should I pay special attention to?
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 13:15
|
|
|
After having a desktop for the last 5 years I am looking to buy a laptop for school related usage. So mostly office suite and internet browsing. Budget would be 5-800 or so. As long as it can run word, excel, firefox and not be slow it will be a good option. I don't want to overshoot when a cheaper $600 option would be perfectly satisfactory. Regarding Windows version, I haven't used a Windows 7 or 10 laptop ever. Is 10 actually good with all the fancy laptop stuff or should I stick with 7.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 18:38
|
|
|
kanonvandekempen posted:So my old laptop is getting close to the end of its lifespan after 7 or so years of faithful service and its time to get something new. I would like to get something that can play typical pc games well enough. I'm talking things like paradox games, total war games not on high settings, cities skylines, those sort of games. I'm not planning on running The Witcher on my small screen, but I want it more to complement my ps4. That's pretty much the scenario I'm in; I want to play Stellaris and Civ VI when that comes out and my current machine won't do it. If you want something right away, anything with a GTX 970m GPU is probably great, and you might be able to get away with a 960 or 965. (I've heard they're not that good, though, and the price jump from 960 to 970 is worth it in terms of the increased performance.) However, a retailer in Europe is already taking orders for an ASUS laptop with a GTX 1070 GPU in it. The price is around $2000 USD, so that's probably not what you're looking for, but as we get into September/October, I'd expect to see that price come down a little bit (or at least find more stripped down versions with less storage or worse displays). I'd also expect to see models with 1060 and/or 1050TI GPUs, as some info on those has come out. (Example: the Dell XPS line, which I really like, currently uses 960m GPUs. If they do a refresh with 1060s, that's probably a nice buy.) Additionally, AMD's Polaris GPUs are supposed to be really power-efficient, so something like an RX470 or 460 is probably on the horizon in notebooks. (Maybe just Macbooks? I don't know.) On the processor side, Intel's new Kaby Lake processors are supposed to start shipping in December, but there's nothing at all wrong with the current lines, so I wouldn't wait for that, but if your purchasing window is more around the holidays, then it's more new stuff to look at. TL;DR - Buy something now if you have to, but new stuff is right around the corner. Pretty much every major manufacturer has a sort of mid-range, "pro-sumer" model that, while not being a "gaming laptop" will play the games you want it to.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 18:45
|
|
|
kanonvandekempen posted:So my old laptop is getting close to the end of its lifespan after 7 or so years of faithful service and its time to get something new. I would like to get something that can play typical pc games well enough. I'm talking things like paradox games, total war games not on high settings, cities skylines, those sort of games. I'm not planning on running The Witcher on my small screen, but I want it more to complement my ps4. What CellBlock said: look for something with a 970m if you need it now, or wait for the 1060m or better. A quad-core i7 would also be a good idea, with 8 or 16 GB RAM and an SSD boot drive is a must. goodness posted:After having a desktop for the last 5 years I am looking to buy a laptop for school related usage. So mostly office suite and internet browsing. Win10 is like the best parts of 7 & 8 combined into an OS that runs better than either of those on older hardware. Don't stick with an old OS out of stubbornness. There was a decent $300 Toshiba convertible on meh.com a couple days ago but it's sold out, so I would suggest looking at the plethora of laptops available on woot: http://computers.woot.com/?ref=w_gh_cp_4_wp_8 If all you need is office and a Web browser then $600 is overkill. You can do all of that on a $300 laptop, and indeed a $300 Chromebook if you're ok with Office Home (https://www.office.com) or Google Docs, and Chrome over Firefox (although you can use Crouton to install Ubuntu and then run Firefox.) Asus Flip, Acer R11, Toshiba CB
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 19:22
|
|
|
kanonvandekempen posted:So my old laptop is getting close to the end of its lifespan after 7 or so years of faithful service and its time to get something new. I would like to get something that can play typical pc games well enough. I'm talking things like paradox games, total war games not on high settings, cities skylines, those sort of games. I'm not planning on running The Witcher on my small screen, but I want it more to complement my ps4. Wait until the 10 series GPU are released this fall, as it says in literally the first paragraph of the up to date OP
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 19:24
|
|
|
Also if AMD's new mobile cars are anything like their desktop ones... lol, don't get a laptop with one of those.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2016 20:23
|
|
|
Or do, just don't buy a dumb overvolted one.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2016 13:34
|
|
|
Any crazy good laptop deals for prime day? I've been looking at the $800 Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (7559) as per the wire cutters recommendation for a budget gaming laptop, but if wiser heads have noticed a deal please let me know.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2016 14:56
|
|
|
Shbobdb posted:Any crazy good laptop deals for prime day? I've been looking at the $800 Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (7559) as per the wire cutters recommendation for a budget gaming laptop, but if wiser heads have noticed a deal please let me know. Not 'crazy good', but Dell has this Dell Inspiron 7559 15 inch gaming laptop i7 1TB GTX 960M for $735 http://slickdeals.net/f/8915871-dell-inspiron-7559-15-inch-gaming-laptop-i7-1tb-gtx-960m-for-735?v=1&src=catpage
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2016 15:38
|
|
|
So when the 1070s come out, barring that $2000 first one, are they going to be noticeably more expensive? Or are the companies just gonna pop them into their current lineup at the same price? Cuz I know I said my $1000 budget is flexible, but $2000 is too rich for my taste. I've been thinking and I think the most I'm willing to spend is $1500.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2016 21:45
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:So when the 1070s come out, barring that $2000 first one, are they going to be noticeably more expensive? Or are the companies just gonna pop them into their current lineup at the same price? Even if they're a bit too pricey, the old models will probably drop in price a little once the new ones are released.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2016 21:55
|
|
|
The new 10 series GPU is a big enough improvement that it's not worth buying last year's model if you plan on actually using it to game on. Haven't seen the thermal specs yet but I would imagine you have dramatically better work units per BTU or whatever so there's less risk of overheating playing the same game at the same quality specs.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 01:46
|
|
|
SSD vs solid state hard drives? I've tried googling it but it all comes out moon speak. Solid state is louder and less good at bouncing around. SSD is "faster"(? Isn't that RAM?) and burns out after a few years. But, in practical terms aside from being a little louder and less drop friendly (are any computers drop friendly?), what is the downside to solid state?
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 02:02
|
|
|
Do you mean hybrid drives? They are garbage. No downside to SSD other than the cost
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 02:24
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:So when the 1070s come out, barring that $2000 first one, are they going to be noticeably more expensive? Or are the companies just gonna pop them into their current lineup at the same price? Probably not going to work - I don't believe the full GTX 980 laptops are in MXM format, so it's not exactly a drop in thing. That said, nobody really knows right now. AFAIK it's a rumor that it's going to be the same chip, but there haven't been any official statements about it yet to my knowledge.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 02:24
|
|
|
Bob Morales posted:Do you mean hybrid drives? They are garbage. No downside to SSD other than the cost I have no idea? It said solid state or something like that. It was between a better motherboard (i7 vs i5) or a normal hard drive and SSD. The last computer that I owned, not counting cell phones, was a gifted Dell Inspiron 1500 from ~2006. So I really have no idea what I'm talking about and when I try to educate myself people look at me like I'm from the moon and assume I have a lot oof knowledge that I don't have.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 02:59
|
|
|
SSD = Solid State Drive Don't buy anything else
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 03:43
|
|
|
Cool, why not?
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 04:35
|
|
|
Because anything else is slow as balls
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 04:39
|
|
|
SSDs have no moving parts, so they are far less prone to failure. They also run far less hot. They're also waaaay faster than a mechanical hard drive (or hybrid drive). The biggest single upgrade you can do to a laptop (within reason) is go from a mechanical hard drive to an SSD.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 05:20
|
|
|
Shbobdb posted:I have no idea? It said solid state or something like that. It was between a better motherboard (i7 vs i5) or a normal hard drive and SSD. also the i7 vs i5 thing refers to your processor. Generally in laptops the only difference between an i7 and an i5 is in clockspeed (literal speed), with the exception of some quad core CPUs in workstation or gaming laptops.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 06:14
|
|
|
Shbobdb posted:I have no idea? It said solid state or something like that. It was between a better motherboard (i7 vs i5) or a normal hard drive and SSD. You definitely want a SSD as your boot drive due to all the reasons already mentioned. Speed, power consumption, etc. A SSHD or hybrid drive is a combination of a small SSD (think flash memory USB drives) for caching (storing frequently-needed data in fast local storage) and a regular spinning hard drive with platters for the actual bulk storage. The goal is to have most of the performance of an SSD with the capacity and price of a HDD. These are fine for secondary disks, like storing your games or whatever but we strongly recommend a decent-sized SSD for your OS and a few frequently-used programs.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 07:00
|
|
|
Gray Matter posted:Looking for a laptop for my wife as her primary computer. Ideal budget $500, can stretch if need be. Woot has this Thinkpad Yoga 12 today for $600. For the specs it seems like quite a good price, but then again maybe more than I need to spend for her needs. General consensus still to wait for later this fall once new CPUs hit the market? This is not an immediate need situation.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 08:35
|
|
|
What laptop would you all recommend for an artist who uses a Cintiq and does light to medium gaming? I was leaning towards the Y700 but any other options would be helpful. Budget is no more than 800.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 17:10
|
|
|
Gray Matter posted:Woot has this Thinkpad Yoga 12 today for $600. For the specs it seems like quite a good price, but then again maybe more than I need to spend for her needs. General consensus still to wait for later this fall once new CPUs hit the market? This is not an immediate need situation. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm looking to replace my current laptop, love Lenovo, and this hits a lot of my desires (convertible tablet/laptop, stylus, decent specs, right pricepoint). I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on it right now... Edit: I read some discouraging reviews online. I think I can wait a little bit on the new system, so I don't want to rush into anything. If anyone has any other suggestions for similar machines, then I'd be curious to hear them. I've been toying with the idea of a Surface Pro, but I really don't like the keyboard / cover. sector_corrector fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Jul 13, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 17:13
|
|
|
Monolith. posted:What laptop would you all recommend for an artist who uses a Cintiq and does light to medium gaming? I was leaning towards the Y700 but any other options would be helpful. Budget is no more than 800. inspiron 15r with a 960m. poo poo for gaming, but available now for around $750 or so.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 17:46
|
|
|
Monolith. posted:What laptop would you all recommend for an artist who uses a Cintiq and does light to medium gaming? I was leaning towards the Y700 but any other options would be helpful. Budget is no more than 800. Define "light to medium gaming." Are you talking Minecraft, LoL, WoW, etc? You need to look at the system requirements for each of your games, mainly with regards to the GPU. See what kind of hardware you need for those particular games because then your choice of laptops will be quickly filtered down. I think your $800 max price limit will restrict you to recent, used laptops; any new gaming-competent system will likely run >$1k.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 17:56
|
|
|
Atomizer posted:Define "light to medium gaming." Are you talking Minecraft, LoL, WoW, etc? You need to look at the system requirements for each of your games, mainly with regards to the GPU. See what kind of hardware you need for those particular games because then your choice of laptops will be quickly filtered down. Definitely not WoW but more like TF2. Ill have to talk to my friend tonight to get some more info. I was checking that Barnes and Noble link in the OP and the Y700 was 800ish.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2016 18:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 20:11 |
|
|
Hadlock posted:Amazon had the Asus C201 Chromebook with 4GB RAM for $169 shipped, so I ordered it and a $12 32GB Evo (50 mb/s read/write) micro SD card Well so far so good on the C201 chromebook. It actually has about 7.5-10 hours of battery life depending on screen brightness etc. I'm a pretty heavy user computationally so I would expect 8+ hours of use at 3/4 brightness. It's plenty snappy. I would imagine having 4GB vs only 2GB RAM makes a pretty dramatic difference. Keyboard is good for the price class. Screen is about as good as you can expect on a $170 laptop, which isn't mind blowing, but it's perfectly servicable for 99% of the population. I say this being the user of an IPS display PC laptop and 2015 Macbook Pro. No issues doing video playback, either Youtube or Netflix. Facebook, Chrome etc work fine and I'd say it's at least 90% as snappy as my 2012/3 era i5 laptop with 8GB RAM. The trackpad is super responsive. Scrolling, mouse movement etc feels really good. The click is about 50% heavier than I'd like, but I'm probably biased having used the Apple Force Touch trackpad for about 8 months now. Developer mode is pretty easy to get setup, as is installing crouton. I'm using it to work on my Golang side project. Case/frame/build quality is good for the price. The only thing that worries me is that the soft rubber foot pads are going to wear out within a year. At $170 I expect to replace the chromebook with a new model in ~18 months anyways. grade: as a full time replacement laptop: 6.5/10 as a "loving around online sitting on the couch" device: 9/10
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2016 02:06
|
|