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I know Haswell just dropped over the summer, but are there any big (or even moderate-sized) shakeups coming to the laptop world in the next 6-12 months? My current laptop is about to turn three years old and now that I have a steady job I can actually think about replacing it at my leisure in the next year or so. The question then becomes when to actually replace it, as I have a laptop at work so I don't need a new one for that (and my current plan is to build a gaming desktop once my GF and I move into a bigger place but that's for another thread). If there's something cool coming to laptopdom soon I'll start saving money now, but if there isn't anything concrete coming up then I won't worry about it because this guy still runs just fine.
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Nov 27, 2013 04:53
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I'm thinking of getting a new laptop sometime this year, possibly in the next six months, but I've also had an idea for a long time of wanting to build my own gaming PC so I think this applies to me-Hadlock posted:you can expect a lot of people to tell you to buy a gaming desktop and a cheap ultrabook for the same price as your glory hallelujah gaming laptop. The thing is, I haven't gone laptop shopping in a few years so the concept of ultrabooks is new to me. What can I expect to see in ultrabooks as opposed to current-gen laptops? If an ultrabook is "son of netbook" like the OP says, are they inherently going to be weaker than traditional laptops the same way netbooks are/were? I want whatever portable thing I buy to have an OK level of strength, not just for work but also "last-gen" games so I don't clutter my future gaming desktop with them. Thoughts? Suggestions on when to buy in terms of deals/new tech debuting? I'm a little clueless, I have to confess; I thought I'd have more time with my laptop but she's starting to show her age and I feel a little rushed now. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 06:26
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Cmdrmonkey posted:Ultrabooks are highly portable and get great battery life like netbooks, but unlike netbooks they have good build quality, have keyboards and trackpads that are actually usable, and don't use anemic CPUs like Atoms or Celerons. The CPUs in ultrabooks are just ultra low voltage versions of the same Core i5 and i7 CPUs you see in everything else, and are in fact quite powerful and only marginally slower than what you have in regular laptops. They're nothing like netbooks in this sense and are not underpowered at all. And with Intel improving their onboard graphics so much in recent years, an ultrabook will work fine for light gaming. Also, ultrabooks achieve their portability by being razor thin but the same size around as a lot of regular notebooks. This is in contrast to Netbooks that were small around but thick, which was much less desirable. The big downside of ultrabooks is that they aren't really end user repairable or upgradable. Everything tends to be soldered onto the motherboard or glued into place. What you see is what you get. You can't even upgrade the RAM or change out the batteries in most cases. As far as specific recommendations, the Macbook Air and Thinkpad X1 Carbon are both safe bets, but also expensive, and I'm not sure how much you're looking to spend. Cool, I'll remember that when I start looking seriously. Semi-related, but it seems like ultrabooks don't have built-in CD/DVD drives, so how are external/USB CD-DVD drives these days? I'm awfully attached to my original Morrowind CDs and I'd like to be able to play those on whatever laptop I get next, even if I need to buy an extra add-on for it (that will be useful for DVDs and the like, mind you)
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Feb 12, 2014 06:05
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shodanjr_gr posted:Buy it on Steam and forget about those shiny spinny thingies. M-m-my Construction Set  You're probably right though, or I'll just commandeer my girlfriend's desktop for CD Morrowind until I finish my own.
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Feb 13, 2014 04:29
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A friend of mine is at college for architecture and is looking to get a new laptop. She asked me to help and I told her to get something with a dedicated video card for all her 3D modeling needs. However, most laptops with dedicated cards are pretty big and this girl is super tiny, so I'd feel bad making her lug around a big machine and I'm wondering if there might be something smaller she can get that's also good for this sort of thing. The OP says "more on CAD and 3D modeling later" but there's nothing yet. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Apr 14, 2014 |
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Apr 14, 2014 03:00
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If I'm no longer in school, have a laptop from work, and don't really travel for work to begin with, is there any reason for me to get a laptop over a desktop if I want a new computer? The laptop I bought at the start of grad school is starting to show its age, and now that I'm out of grad school and working an actual job I have the money to build a PC like I've been telling myself I'd do once I graduated. I also don't use my laptop for anything but Internet and gaming these days, and even if I do travel and need Internet access my phone does that, not to mention my Android tablet that I rediscovered recently. And obviously a "gaming laptop" is a flawed concept at best, though I don't really keep up with the newest releases and probably wouldn't need a cutting-edge graphics card in a new machine. This is the Laptop thread though, so does anyone want to stick up for them with regards to my doubt?
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Jun 26, 2014 05:15
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I bought my current laptop in late 2010 and am looking to get another one (or something similar) as a secondary computer while I continuously tell everyone that I'm building a gaming laptop. I've been looking at tablets with keyboards included (like the Asus T200), but the new T300 is $699 which is a little too steep for me right now especially considering I would be using it as a laptop 99% of the time. I feel like a good part of that cost comes from slimming the tablet down so much, so I'm putting out feelers for laptops, and a laptop might have better guts than said tablet (use cases are internet/Office, video streaming, and 2D/old 3D gaming). What are my best bets for Windows laptops under that price point?
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Jan 25, 2015 03:07
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Can anyone talk about the Dell XPS 13 or the Dell Inspiron 13 (Signature Editions, if that matters)? I dipped in to a Microsoft store today and got my hands on them for a few minutes and I have to say I liked them. Both had similar builds (i5-4210U, 8GB RAM, 13-inch display) but the Inspiron has a 500GB HDD, is 3.7 lbs, and claims 7 hrs of battery life vs. a 128GB SSD/3.07 lbs/11 hrs for the XPS (also the Inspiron can do the 2-in-1 tablet thing like a Yoga, FWIW). The Inspiron was advertised at $699 in-store while the XPS was at $899 though I'm sure I could find them cheaper than that. And I was originally looking at getting a tablet+keyboard to this end like the ASUS T200, but the T300 Chi is the new hotness and is rumored to be $699-$799, and in that price range I feel I might as well get a proper laptop with proper guts. Your thoughts?
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Feb 1, 2015 06:56
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Hadlock posted:Dell just announced a new "world's smallest 13" laptop" Dell XPS 13 with broadwell processor, how soon are you looking to buy? You might have been looking at the haswell powered (larger, fire sale clearance) model. It's more of a "whenever I feel like it" thing. I have an ASUS U52F(?) I bought in late 2010 that is fine for putzing around the internet or Office but it's definitely starting to show its age- dead battery, processor starting to chug or not keep up, and the 8GB RAM I installed makes it bluescreen a couple times a month instead of actually working any better (also a dreaded 1366x768 screen but that doesn't bug me). There's also the matter of how I keep telling myself I'm going to build a gaming desktop someday, and how much money I want to divert from that into a laptop that would be a secondary machine for travel and old gaming or more recent 2D stuff (in addition to what I'd probably use for at-home internet and Office work) I wouldn't be opposed to a refurbished machine, I helped my fiancee pick out a refurbished Lenovo all-in-one desktop a couple years ago and it's been a great machine for the price (it even has a dedicated nVidia card, I'm half-tempted to buy it off her and make that my "sweet gaming rig") so I'm willing to roll the dice on that again. Do you have any recommended refurb retailers? Is that something I could get on Amazon with the pile of Amazon bucks I have from work? C-Euro fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Feb 2, 2015 |
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Feb 1, 2015 22:49
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wooger posted:This sounds almost like you be good with a Chromebook with a decent screen. I haven't paid attention to Chromebooks for a while, I thought they were super weak and bordering on Babby's First Computer levels in terms of functionality. Is this not so much the case anymore? I definitely don't want to downgrade from the laptop I have in case this gaming desktop idea never pans out.
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Feb 2, 2015 20:07
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Hadlock posted:Yeah an i5 with a modern HD4000, 4400, 4600 will play most games on steam that cost under $30 @ 30fps or better. Thanks for this, "most games on Steam under $30" is kind of the upper limit of my own laptop gaming desires so that narrows it down some.
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Feb 4, 2015 22:36
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Flipperwaldt posted:The HP DM1 series had both full size hdmi and vga ports. Was discontinued maybe two years ago now. They were top of the line netbooks at the time, way beyond the horrific early atom poo poo. With an ssd one could be more or less bearable for office poo poo even to this day, depending on your standards. Under 3.5 pounds. I bought my fiancee a dm1z in mid-2011 and she loves it, she's still using it to this day. You could do much worse than a refurbed one if all you need to do is show off Powerpoint slides.
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Feb 5, 2015 05:16
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HalloKitty posted:Definitely the one I'd be looking at if I was in the market right now. When does this come out? I was looking at getting a T300 tablet as a laptop substitute but it sounds like these might be similarly priced and I may opt for the XPS13 instead since I'd be using the T300 with its dock all the time anyway.
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Feb 11, 2015 06:27
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Aphrodite posted:They're out now, though estimated delivery is going to be 2-3 weeks from placing an order for the next while since they're new. What's the difference between the new 13 and the old one? I feel like I was in a store a week or two ago and they had them out and ready to be sold right away (unless I actually was looking at the new one). Like a different spec or technical name, or something.
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Feb 11, 2015 21:30
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Nah this was an i5-4210 I think. I may just get one of those instead if the price goes down enough due to the new version, I don't really know what my budget is but I doubt I need something cutting edge for posting and last-gen gaming.
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Feb 11, 2015 22:34
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Is there any hot new laptop tech due to arrive in the next six months or so? My current laptop is just over 5 years old and my wife's netbook is about to hit that point as well, and we both decided we need to upgrade. However, we both need a few months to save up for them so we wouldn't have the cash to buy anything until at least April or May. Is there, say, anything that's supposed to hit in June or July that would be worth waiting for? Also, for her part my wife's been wanting a Surface for quite a while so it's likely that her new "laptop" will be one of those. She really wants something she can use as a tablet when needed, I know there are laptops that can be used in that way but she has yet to grasp that concept. Is this the right thread to talk about Surfaces or is there somewhere else I should go for that? C-Euro fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Jan 28, 2016 |
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Jan 28, 2016 05:36
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sharkytm posted:If anyone is looking for an XPS 15 or XPS 13, dell outlet has a $500 off $1199 coupon, and is dumping S&D and refurb XPS15's. drat, I'd be all over one of those XPS 15s if it was four months from now when I have $750 to spare. How often do they do deals like this? I'm initially leaning towards an XPS but definitely want to do more research first.
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Jan 30, 2016 00:24
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ItBurns posted:Probably pretty often considering how many people are returning the new XPS laptops for being buggy/broken. Oh, is that a common issue with those?
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Jan 30, 2016 05:07
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Size measurements for laptops correspond to the diagonal of the screen, right?
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Feb 1, 2016 01:12
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Huh, I've guess I've been using a 15" laptop and never realized it. Hooray for an extra numpad!
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Feb 1, 2016 01:24
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havenwaters posted:It's nice but I'm still godawful with the touchscreen keyboard and mainly use it as a tablet. It only has one usb port and I'd need two to get any work done so I'm still using my old arrendale laptop for work things. I need to pick up a type cover still as well. There isn't a second USB port in the keyboard cover or anything? My wife has been gung-ho about getting a Surface for a while (would probably go right for the 4) but I could see one USB port being a dealbreaker as anytime she has to do work she is almost always writing to/from a flash drive, and I don't know how thrilled she would be about not having a USB port for a mouse while working.
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Feb 3, 2016 05:01
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If my wife's laptop use cases are Office, Internet browsing, and streaming video and she wants a Surface, a Pro 3 should be relevant for a few years, right?
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Feb 8, 2016 21:47
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greasyhands posted:Pretty good deal on an inspiron if you want a reasonably portable, reasonably powerful and cheap laptop. Has an empty m.2 slot so you can add a 256gb ssd for ~$80 and be ready to go Apparently this same deal is coming back on Monday-ish. And per the comments on that deal, this same laptop is on Amazon for $800, with an i5-6300 and 256 GB SSD if you want to save yourself the trouble of putting the SSD in yourself. Thoughts on either of them? I'm sorely tempted to get one, as I need a new laptop for Office + light/mid-range gaming and 15" doesn't really faze me. If I tighten the belt this week I could grab the $700 one, but I don't think an i5 is that much of a step down from an i7 (especially for what I'll be doing) and I won't have to goof up putting in an SSD if I wait to get the $800 one. Either way, my laptop budget is $1000 and either would give me room to buy extra RAM/SSDs/whatever to make something really rad. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Feb 14, 2016 |
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Feb 14, 2016 06:15
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The Iron Rose posted:Installing an SSD is trivial, and you can get an equivalent size for lesser expensive. Grab the $700 one, enjoy the nicer processor, and spend all of 15 minutes with a screwdriver and you're set. What do you suggest, just the usual 850 EVO? Would I be replacing the HDD that's in there, or adding the SSD as a secondary drive for installing stuff like games? As much as my family thinks I'm good with computers internal hardware modifications make me a little uneasy. I tried putting new RAM in my current laptop after being told it was easy and ended up having some annoying memory leak issues. enraged_camel posted:Note that Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series doesn't support DDR4 RAM despite having Skylake processors. Is this a big issue? 8 gigs seems like a decent amount and it's on one stick, so I'm assuming there's room for a second one if I really need more memory.
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Feb 14, 2016 06:48
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I found this video on the internals and you're right, that doesn't look too bad. Is it possible to install the operating system on that M2 drive so I don't have to worry about copying stuff off of the HDD when I replace it, or is it a bad idea to install the OS on a secondary drive? I've never had to replace a hard drive so excuse my ignorance.Hadlock posted:It is slightly more difficult than sex, as it can only go in with one orientation, but otherwise you'll finish just as fast. Hey now 
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Feb 14, 2016 |
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Feb 14, 2016 07:01
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Captain Flame Guy posted:Does anyone have any words to say about the Dell Inspiron 7559? I was just talking about this on the last page, seems like a good deal if you buy an SSD to replace the included HDD.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:23
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Blenheim posted:A quick heads-up that that Slickdeals Inspiron 15 deal just got reactivated now. Thanks, I looked this morning and it claimed the promo had already run out, but I managed to snag one now. Fingers crossed nothing happens to it on the way here!
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Feb 15, 2016 19:11
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Would it be worth it to replace the M2 drive on that 7559 as well? I was under the impression that the big upgrade was to switch the HDD for an SSD, but this guy is replacing the M2 and moving the OS onto it while leaving the HDD in place, which doesn't seem great?
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Feb 16, 2016 |
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Feb 16, 2016 02:39
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Bob Morales posted:There isn't and SSD in the M.2 slot from that factory, at least not in the configuration that guy had. But ~my PC gaming~ Would it be worth it to get both M2 and SATA SSDs to replace what's in there? I was under the impression that installing games on an SSD is the hot new thing, I haven't bought a new computer since 2010 so these are uncharted waters for me. OS on the M2 and everything else on the SATA? C-Euro fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Feb 17, 2016 |
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Feb 16, 2016 23:44
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blowfish posted:You buy a 250 or 500GB M.2 SSD, which is enough for a couple of large games. If you really want lots of SSD storage, you can still get the 1TB SSD - there is really no reason to buy two separate SSDs. The 1TB HDD will be there for putting big dumb files like images and videos on. Though depending on how much you want to lug the laptop around and whether you hate carrying heavy things, I would just take it out and put it in an external case for slight weight and battery life improvements. Files-wise games would be the big thing I would want installed on an SSD, I have a 2TB external HDD for storing really large files that's only half-full so long-term storage space isn't really a concern right now. I mean I have the budget to install 250GB SSDs in both slots but if that's redundant I can be talked into only putting something in the M2 slot and leaving the 2.5in spot untouched. How much space does Windows 10 take up on a hard drive?
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Feb 18, 2016 01:44
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blowfish posted:Well, splitting 500gb to 2x250gb doesn't give you more storage Oh for some reason I thought it took up way more space than that, hence the hastily-devised "OS on one drive, everything else on the other" two-drive plan. If that's it then just putting in a new M2 seems like more than enough.
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Feb 18, 2016 02:12
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Just want to say thanks to the thread for helping me out with that Inspiron a week or two ago, I finally got it and all of the part upgrades set up this weekend and this thing is p sweet. First new computer in over five years!
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Feb 29, 2016 05:38
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My wife got a Surface 3 at the start of the year and is thinking about trading it in, citing bad battery life (especially with regard to charging) and only having one USB port as primary annoyances with her Surface, and she just finds it unreliable in general (freaks out when needing to update, keyboard isn't 100% reliable etc.) She really wanted it but feels let down. She likes the size of the Surface and how easy it is to carry around, so I'm hoping to help her find a small, reliable and easily-transported laptop with at least 2 USB ports. In addition to your standard Office + Internet use she has a few different research programs she uses on her Surface (protein binding site modeling), so it also needs a little horsepower (but not a graphics card or anything). No budget yet, just poking around for now. I'm guessing I should look at something from Lenovo? E: I initially thought that she never used it as a tablet but apparently she has a little bit, don't know if the lack of tablet/touch functionality would be a dealbreaker. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2016 05:26
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My wife is ready to retire her Surface 2 and has tasked me with researching a new internet/MS Office/sometimes video streaming laptop for her. Looking for a Windows 10 machine that's decently fast with good portability (both in size and battery life), and she doesn't need a lot of internal storage space or that much processor speed given how she'll be using it (would like to have something with an SSD though). She is also OK with something refurbished, so I was going to look into a used Thinkpad or something from Dell since I've had recent laptop success with them. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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Jan 1, 2019 05:02
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What should I be looking for when shopping for a laptop with portability and durability in mind? I posted a couple weeks ago about my wife wanting to replace her Surface 2, and it turns out that she has a higher budget than I originally anticipated. She likes the form factor of her Surface but it doesn't charge reliably and the screen is kind of hosed up, so I'm aiming for a 13" unit that's not too bulky. It doesn't need to be super-powerful or have a ton of hard drive space (I was thinking something with a 256 GB SSD), but I'm hoping to get something that will hold up for years of remote work or traveling for work.
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Jan 19, 2019 04:28
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Intel&Sebastian posted:https://flash.newegg.com/Product/N82E16834270769 Did you pull the trigger on this? My wife also needs a new laptop with a smaller profile, and this looks more than powerful enough for her needs.
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Jan 26, 2019 04:17
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E: Wrong thread
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Apr 26, 2020 |
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Apr 26, 2020 20:27
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Ugly In The Morning posted:The PC building thread should be able to help! The general answer is... kind of, but you need to know your motherboard/CPU Whoops I totally thought I had clicked on the PC Building thread, my bad. Killer_B posted:Edit : Typically a SSD upgrade will have a more noticeable upgrade in performance than a RAM upgrade will. Did that a couple of years ago! It's been really chugging lately but the CPU is pushing a decade at this point. I probably just need to buy a dock and a monitor so she can just plug in her XPS laptop and work off of that, she likes having the big screen when she works from home. I guess since I'm in the laptop thread, how would I go about making a docking setup for her two-year old XPS 13(?) laptop?
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Apr 26, 2020 21:39
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Kind of laptop-adjacent: rather than getting my wife a whole new desktop PC, I was thinking of putting together some sort of docking setup where she can plug in her nice XPS laptop while working at home. Looking at something small in this style to support a couple of monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse. Any recommendations on a dock like this or do they all kind of do the same thing? Bonus points if it will also support my work-issued Lenovo T490 when she's not around.
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Jul 7, 2020 03:50
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I bought my wife an refurbished XPS notebook a few years ago, and the battery is just about shot so I'd like to replace just the battery if possible. Problem is, I can't remember the specific model of notebook, nor do I have any receipts from when I bought it. It also doesn't seem to have a product ID on the actual casing, or at least nothing that makes sense to me here (I peeled the stickers off after taking this pic, to no avail)- Is there a way I can figure out the specific model of her notebook? OR, do all XPS notebooks use the same battery?
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Dec 17, 2021 06:54
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