Soooo I have to buy a new laptop. I haven't decided what route I'm going to go, but I'm a heavy user, do a lot of video and photo editing, and want something that won't freak out at me when I'm doing it. I had a Toshiba Satellite L505. Am considering Apple this time. Advice is greatly appreciated.
Is it safe to assume that this HARD DRIVE..., 320, S2, 7.2, P11, 2.5, HIT-PANC = a 320gb, sata 2, 7200 rpm, 2.5" hard drive?
Just in case others might want to do something similar. They have these fun USB to Div X or VGA adapters. So that seems to be the solution, I will be going with.
My MBP was on the outs and the warranty was up so Apple was charging a ridiculous amount for repairs and tech support, so I just went out and bought a new one. I had always wanted one of these for years, so I finally bit the bullet and went out and bought an Alienware. I'm in love. I still enjoy the simplicity of OSX over Windows, but when it comes to the hardware, construction, and design, I think Alienware does it better, albeit flashier. Its like buying a car because it has push-button start or turn signal lights on the side mirrors- this thing has the keyboard mapped out so you can have multiple colors or sections to your keyboard. The trackpad is also lit up in any color you want. Those are the little cool things and put it over the top, not forgetting that the guts of the computer is currently some of the best out there for gaming. I play SCII and SWTOR, so this beast comes in handy for weekend marathon play.
Just bought a laptop, specs: Lenovo T520 -i5 2540 (won't notice difference from i7) -HDD 128 GB SSD -Integrated graphics (fuck it, I'll build a separate gaming rig myself) -8 gigs of DDR3 RAM -Windows 7 Pro -Res: 1600 x1050 Paid $800 and I'm pretty pumped.
I'm holding off on laptop shopping until Intel's Ivy Bridge processors get widely adopted. Ivy Bridge is one of the first iterations in a while that promises a significant improvement specifically for mobile processing. A roughly 30% reduction in power consumption, along with a huge boost in the integrated graphics, mean that ultrabooks and the like might actually be competitive workstations while still retaining good battery life, especially without the battery-sucking discrete graphics. For higher power applications, like the i5 2540 + 8gb of memory, the performance probably won't go up a lot. But I'm excited for the lightweight, long-battery-life applications.
It's just a smaller sandy bridge - you'd probably be better served waiting for their next archetecture on the 28nm process, rather than a Sandy rehash. I'm concerned with the significantly higher temperature that Ivy displays over Sandy, but it could just be due to the difference in heat spreader tech.
It's not just smaller sandy bridge. The integrated GPU is significantly better, which makes a big difference on laptops. The SB architecture is excellent, the smaller form factor of IB reduces power consumption, and the integrated GPU is plenty for most laptops. Why would you wait a year for a different processor? That's just silly; I know there's always the game of waiting in IT, but anything more than a couple months out isn't usually worth waiting for. The next architecture isn't likely to result in substantial power savings, since those usually come on the process changes. I'm sure whatever is next will be great, too, but the point is that IB is here, right now, shows improvement in the specific areas that mobile processing rely on most, and is in a good place to be a killer option for laptops.
Agreed there's generally no point in waiting things out, but acting as if this is a giant leap is wrong too. And, as mentioned briefly in my previous post, the reason you'd stick with SB is to avoid roasting your testicles or work surface.
I need a new laptop soon. I would like to spend as little as possible, and I'm considering refurbished units to save a buck. I need some professional expertise: are the refurbs going to cost me more in the long run? I'm hesitant to spend $1200 on a system that's one good drop away from being a paperweight, but I'll be depending on this thing while I'm out of the country and getting it fixed will cost me exponentially more there. Also, I'm looking at tiger direct & newegg. Any better sites I should consider? What I'm looking for is the beefiest thing with a 17" screen, hdmi, webcam and windows 7 I can find. I'm using a 4gb/500gb hd system now and I'd like to upgrade both of those, because I'm running out of space and this thing is running slow as balls. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I also just bought a laptop. This is going to be my primary when I'm at home (I have a work laptop for traveling with). Lenovo Y580 i7-3630QM Processor (2.40GHz 6MB) NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M 2GB 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz 15.6" FHD LED Glare Wedge 1920x1080 1TB 5400RPM+32G SSD I was looking at the U410 'ultrabook' - but the Y480 actually weights LESS and has much improved hardware. Then I noticed the Y480 boasts a quad core processor and Nvidia graphics card, but no 1080p native resolution. Soooo, pretty much top of the line Lenovo Y series. I'm a sucker. Paid $1050 from Lenovo website. eCoupon 7DAYSOFDEALS if anyone's interested.
Uh, I'm glad you like your laptop, but the Y480 weighs almost a pound more than the U410, and if you indeed got the Y580 (which are the specs you listed), it weighs two pounds more... and they have half the battery life of the U410.
I need to replace my home laptop with something that is smaller and more mobile. For anyone who has experience with any of these, what would I be better going with? I don't really do too much on the home computer other than surfing the web, downloading, youtubing and a little bit of online school which I will be done with in February. 1. Souped up netbook, something in the ilk of: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215905" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834215905</a> 2. Transformer type tablet, something that woot captures perfectly today: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.woot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.woot.com</a>
If you can, borrow a tablet, or just buy one and take it back within the return period to see if you like it. I'm personally not a fan of them because of the form factor and that they don't have keyboards. The netbook looks ok, and that would be my suggestion out of those 2 options. For me personally, I would look into the ultrabooks that most manufacturers are pushing these days. My next laptop will probably be this: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-12-l221x/pd
If you are looking at something rugged and portable for work check out lenovo x series. X230 Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
Home Office Laptops There is a possibility that I will be getting a new job soon. Currently I use my work issued laptop (with IT's blessing) for both work, home and graduate school. The new position will most likely use a desktop. So I'm in the market for a new laptop for home and school use. The problem is, I've haven't really kept up with hardware specs over the last couple of years and I'm kind of lost as to how much computer I'll really need. I would like to stick with a laptop because I already have a workstation setup at home with dual monitors, speakers and other peripherals via a USB docking station. Likes/Needs : Won't be any graphics intensive gaming being done, however I would like to be able to watch media in 1080p when available. Prefer long term performance ability over how it looks or a large panel. Just really would be grateful for some direction on the level of specs to look for. Do I need to go quad core I-7 or is 32 g of memory more important? I would love a solid state hard drive (my current work machine has one), especially because I'm not worried so much about media storage as I am about efficiency. I recreated my current work machine on the dell website and it was $2,400....would like to spend more like $1,500. Anyway, if the more knowledgeable folk could point me in the direction of a certain brand or just basic specs that would be appreciated.
I recently got a Vaio. It's got an i7, 12G of memory, a 1T hard drive (with, if I remember right, 125G of solid state, but I might be way off on that), decent video that I can play video in 1080p. Cost me right around $1100. Only problem is unplugged battery life is only like 3.5 hours.
If battery life is important, I would stick with an i5. No need for 32gb, I'd say 8gb is fine unless you're doing something specific where you know you need more. Get the SSD for sure. What you've given isn't really enough, though. Is portability important - light weight? Is battery life important? Are you just doing general tasks like browsing / word processing / etc.? If portability is important, the Ultrabooks are pretty good now. You can get something like the Samsung Series 9 with a 1080p screen: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3E-A02US-13-3-Inch-Premium-Ultrabook/dp/B00B588I46/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3E- ... 00B588I46/</a>