New (the horror) laptop

[ahalleran]

I'm getting a new laptop because my lenovo finally gave out. I'm looking for something that will perform well now and last for at least 3-4 years. I don't want to run a bot farm or anything but will be doing multitasking, video streaming, editing, all while having a bot or two in the background.

Does anyone have recommendations for laptops? I was looking at: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-X14Z-6923SLV-14-Inch-Laptop-Elemental/dp/tech-data/B006LX2NWI/ref=de_a_smtd

and:
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-R845-S85-14-0-Inch-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B005KP0BJU/ref=de_a_smtd

Is the difference in i7, GPU, and ram worth the extra $? I also think that Dell is somewhat more reliable than Toshiba but IDK.

Any thoughts / recommendations?

[Jokester]

I wouldn't trust a dell... In my experience they aren't up to the challenge of even 3 years of good useful life. I've had so many of them need repaired or replaced within a year or 2. I've heard great things about the Toshibas! Especially the Satellite series! The RAM is like dirt cheap compared to what it was just a few years ago. Definately worth the extra bit of cash if you want to multitask!

[Sin]

What's with everyone's laptop breaking??
First mine, now yours?????

[ahalleran]

What's with everyone's laptop breaking??
First mine, now yours?????

I know... Do you have any thoughts on what to get, Sin?

[Overtime]

Get ASUS nuff said. They have the best warranty on all there products.

[NCDS]

I wouldn't trust a dell... In my experience they aren't up to the challenge of even 3 years of good useful life. I've had so many of them need repaired or replaced within a year or 2. I've heard great things about the Toshibas! Especially the Satellite series! The RAM is like dirt cheap compared to what it was just a few years ago. Definately worth the extra bit of cash if you want to multitask!
I've had my Dell desktop for nearly 5 years now, never needed any repairs. However, I've changed the OS multiple times, and performed a few upgrades my self, but I've never had any problems.

Get ASUS nuff said. They have the best warranty on all there products.
Just recently got an ASUS laptop and have been very pleased so far.

[Dragonrider]

Get a macbook pro and bootcamp it

[slushpuppy]

get a sager

[[XoL]]

Price range? I would just buy another lenovo, they are wonderful machines. I have no complaints with my new y570

[Neznam]

I got an HP Laptop.
Its 2.4Ghz
750GB drive
6GB Ram
Windows 7
NVidea Video Card cant remember which one atm
All for 550$
Im very pleased with it. Multi tasking all the time. Using photoshop, watching vedoes, surfing the net and all while having just 2 bots running in the background.

[Brandon]

I wouldn't trust a dell... In my experience they aren't up to the challenge of even 3 years of good useful life. I've had so many of them need repaired or replaced within a year or 2. I've heard great things about the Toshibas! Especially the Satellite series! The RAM is like dirt cheap compared to what it was just a few years ago. Definately worth the extra bit of cash if you want to multitask!


I definitely have to agree with this guy.. Dells are the worst computers in the world! Definitely do not get a dell. I've had 3 of them and all I did was program on them and they just run down like mad.. Maybe 2 years tops for a dell laptop. Also dell has the worst tech support if anything goes wrong and your bad at fixing yourself then stay away from dell. Finding drivers for a dell is a pain in the ass going through their site compared to Asus and HP.

IMHO get Asus or HP. Currently I'm using an HP but I also have an ASUS both are amazing and have very very good tech support. I'm the guy that opens and fixes them but one time my charger broke, I opened and fixed it.. Then Windows 7 pushed an update where it drained the battery of my hp badly and I just called and got 2 brand new batteries shipped to my house next day free of charge.

Tough choice though. Asus vs HP. Screw the dell. Lenovo is good if you want durability from physical damage. Toshiba's are also ok.

[ahalleran]

I guess the budget would be around $1.1-1.2k. Less is always better.
Also if you guys would post links to a specific computer you recommend that would be great.

[ahalleran]

I'm guessing you guys aren't interested here's what I went with. The new dv6tqe (with the new Ivy Bridge processors from intel) from hp.

Specs:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2010
No additional security software
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Backlit Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

[[XoL]]

I'm guessing you guys aren't interested here's what I went with. The new dv6tqe (with the new Ivy Bridge processors from intel) from hp.

Specs:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2010
No additional security software
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Backlit Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Hmm interesting, not bad but interesting :P
Ivy bridge I imagine is useless, its the same as sandy bridge (which I have). Personally I get a lot of use out of sandy bridge because turning on my GPU drains my battery (only really good for cad/hard gaming which I am plugged in during those times)

So don't use your GPU because Ivy bridge is good enough for 99% of the things you need to do, and when you do need a GPU turn it on for the extra kick :D (I think your laptop is a good choice for you :) )

[ahalleran]

Hmm interesting, not bad but interesting :P
Ivy bridge I imagine is useless, its the same as sandy bridge (which I have). Personally I get a lot of use out of sandy bridge because turning on my GPU drains my battery (only really good for cad/hard gaming which I am plugged in during those times)

So don't use your GPU because Ivy bridge is good enough for 99% of the things you need to do, and when you do need a GPU turn it on for the extra kick :D (I think your laptop is a good choice for you :) )

Actually Ivy Bridge isn't even really comparable to sandy bridge. In calculations, heat, wattage, power consumption, everything. The main selling point for me was the new graphics on the ivy bridge (Intel 4000HD compared to Intel 3000HD on your sandy). For example the Intel 4000HD get's 2x the fps in skyrim, fifa 12, and 1.5x on almost all games. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

The powerdrain of the new ivy bridge should also be lower when it's on the integrated graphics (compared to sandy), but I wanted a serious card for when I want to game. Usually I wouldn't be at class or on the go when I want to get in a round of CoD or Starcraft, so the power drain doesn't really matter to me then.
(http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html) ~80 fps on med crysis 2 settings.

What is true is you can't overclock an ivy bridge as readily as a sandy bridge, but an overclocked sandy can't compare to a normal ivy so it doesn't really matter for me.

[Home]

Asus all the way.

~Home