Buying a new labtop

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Kavy, tell us what your budget is. That would be the most helpful way to guide any suggestions.

Thank you for all the information! Thought Dell was famous for having suppliers right next door to their factory allowing them to manufacturer as ordered... or something.

Anyway, I am looking to spend 2-3 grand on this present for myself!

Thanks again for suggestions!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Kavy

Thank you for all the information! Thought Dell was famous for having suppliers right next door to their factory allowing them to manufacturer as ordered... or something.

Anyway, I am looking to spend 2-3 grand on this present for myself!

Thanks again for suggestions!

$2000-$3000 is a huge budget. Wow. Give us some more information. Do you care about portability? What about battery life? What screen size do you want?

[Ashasx]

nm

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

$2000-$3000 is a huge budget. Wow. Give us some more information. Do you care about portability? What about battery life? What screen size do you want?

ha, I should have not said that, I haven't done any price research yet, 3000 is just the number inputted in my budget.... based on the fact this one was just over that 6-7 years ago....

Apparently technology has got cheaper... who knew... so maybe lets say 1500-2500

The portability question is tough, this one is a huge beast, but its nice watching shows. If this makes any sense I wouldnt mind a slightly larger screen, but not huge.

For battery life I would love long lasting, if it will last. This computers battery lasts about 1.5 hours.... but its 6 years old and I had it plugged in for 85% of its life, is there such a thing as a battery that can withstand being on someones lap (heat damage) and not loose its life?

My gf's laptop battery was suppose to be a 4-6 hour huge battery, with in 6 months it was crap.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Kavy

ha, I should have not said that, I haven't done any price research yet, 3000 is just the number inputted in my budget.... based on the fact this one was just over that 6-7 years ago....

Apparently technology has got cheaper... who knew... so maybe lets say 1500-2500

The portability question is tough, this one is a huge beast, but its nice watching shows. If this makes any sense I wouldnt mind a slightly larger screen, but not huge.

For battery life I would love long lasting, if it will last. This computers battery lasts about 1.5 hours.... but its 6 years old and I had it plugged in for 85% of its life, is there such a thing as a battery that can withstand being on someones lap (heat damage) and not loose its life?

My gf's laptop battery was suppose to be a 4-6 hour huge battery, with in 6 months it was crap.

Decide on either 15" or 17" 17" will give you the bigger screen. 15" will give you more portability.

With most laptop batteries, you never want to have them plugged in when you aren't using them and they are already 100% charged. That and heat kills batteries.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Decide on either 15" or 17" 17" will give you the bigger screen. 15" will give you more portability.

With most laptop batteries, you never want to have them plugged in when you aren't using them and they are already 100% charged. That and heat kills batteries.

See this I find a little weird, I have heard that before, but my current one spent it's entire life almost plugged in, and it still has 1.5 hours of life left, which I think is good.

But then again, not all batteries are made equal

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Kavy

See this I find a little weird, I have heard that before, but my current one spent it's entire life almost plugged in, and it still has 1.5 hours of life left, which I think is good.

But then again, not all batteries are made equal

1.5 hours of battery life is not considered good. Even 5 years ago, you should have been able to get 3-4 hours out of an average battery. Some laptops have intelligent charging circuits (many higher end business oriented Lenovo Thinkpads) that will avoid trickle charging once a battery is at full charge.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

1.5 hours of battery life is not considered good. Even 5 years ago, you should have been able to get 3-4 hours out of an average battery. Some laptops have intelligent charging circuits (many higher end business oriented Lenovo Thinkpads) that will avoid trickle charging once a battery is at full charge.

interesting, longer durability on battery would be nice

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Kavy

interesting, longer durability on battery would be nice

Battery life from efficient technology is more important than durability. Durability is something you can control by taking care of your laptop and being careful when charging and when using it to avoid heat, etc.

Battery life however is something that is determined by the hardware and software itself and is largely out of your control. The biggest factor in long battery life in a performance or gaming capable laptop today is that the laptop has switchable graphics.

Intel's Sandy Bridge processors in many modern laptops actually contain a IGP (integrated graphics processor) inside the CPU itself that replaces the videocard. They are actually pretty powerful but they use significantly less power than a discrete GPU (separate videocard). Using the IGP will often double your battery life or more compared to running the laptop always on the discrete GPU. Of course, if you want a powerful gaming notebook you will have to rely on the discrete GPU for performance but you will want to look for a notebook that will allow you to have switchable graphics so that it can switch to the IGP when you are not gaming to give you double the battery life.

Brief article:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335861,00.asp

The problem right now is that it's not really being marketed and it's tough to tell if a specific model has switchable graphics or not. I would read reviews on http://www.notebookcheck.net/ and http://www.notebookreview.com/
and their respective forums. Sometimes it's called Intel switchable graphics, sometimes it's called turbo mode, sometimes it's called Nvidia Optimus, etc.

[Mtt48]

If you are looking to spend 1500-3000$ then the ideapad line is complete wrong for you. I was initially suggesting something that I thought was a good deal for the price.

If you want performance at that price I would look at alienware or falcon northwest.

[Diemenz]

I have 2 Alienware 17's

Both can chew BF3 up with no issues. However these are no joke size wise, they are huge.

I also have a Macbook Pro, top of the line 4 months ago. It looks pretty but is considerably slower in everything I do.

If you have 2k to spend Alienware will get you a nice laptop but so will the Asus counterparts, the only real differences is the Alienware has the top tier video cards currently and Asus (AKAIK) does not.


Falcons are wayyyyy overpriced, kind of like Alienware was a few years ago.

[Kavvy]

so this is going in the opposite direction, but would anyone conisder buying a tablet instead of a laptop? Assuming it can handle my D3, and possibly have an hdmi port for an external monitor, this is a very tempting path.

I admit, the Transformer Prime in the tablet thread is what peaked my interest, and it isn't any normal tablet.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...-them-all/5731

[Kavvy]

I have been out of the computer buying game for so long, its RAM is LP DDR 2.1 GB, good enough for D3?

[Kavvy]

soo As I was hoging the tablet thread, I guess I was deluisional, I can't install/download software on Andriod, other than from the Andriod market...

Since I am an Excel guy, I would need a windows operating system I guess as well.


I kind of liked the idea of such a thin, portable, touchscreen, keyboard disconnecting, device. Can anyone recommend one for my needs?

Thanks!

[Mtt48]

Do some goddamn research and stop taking us on this wild goose chase

[Cluelessboy]

Originally Posted by Kavy

so this is going in the opposite direction, but would anyone conisder buying a tablet instead of a laptop? Assuming it can handle my D3, and possibly have an hdmi port for an external monitor, this is a very tempting path.

I admit, the Transformer Prime in the tablet thread is what peaked my interest, and it isn't any normal tablet.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...-them-all/5731

Id buy both, tablets still have a long ways to go in replacing a full fledged laptop.

I have a 13" macbook pro, thats connected to dual 24" lcds when at home and an 3 ipad 2s.

[Jake]

I bought a Dell XPS L501x almost exactly a year ago now. It was ~$1700. I had an issue with the USB ports, but Dell replaced the motherboard/some other parts at no charge and it works now. Other than that it has been great.

I kind of regret spending so much money on a lap top since technology advances so quickly. In the future I think I'll spend around $1000 and replace it every 2 or 3 years, instead of purchasing one really nice lap top every 4 or 5 years for $2000. Overall, I think I'd be getting more performance for the money.

Dealing with Dell is a bitch though. Everything from buying a computer to getting one fixed is a pain in the ass.

[Kipperriffic]

Wow...If you can spend MORE than $1500, then you really have NO problem at all..

you can easily get an i7 with a high-end nVIDIA card like gtx560 or Ati HD 6870M.
make sure that if you get a 17.3 inch, the resolution is 1080p
And get a 3 yr in home warranty or something.

the starting price of Alienware M17x is $1500.

(btw I hate HP. don't like HP for this reason alone: Touchpads. Finger movement is not smooth at all and buttons are hard to press!)


Remember I said all this because Im under the assumption that you really have no problem spending over $1500...

[MaDMaN_26]

If the only game you care about is Diablo3 ... since it doesn't come out for about a year... why not hold off, of spend $500 now on a cheaper laptop to do your word processing. (or pick up a playbook to hold you over and style points imo.)

By the Time D3 is released there will be newer better technology. You will have had this monster laptop that has been idling and getting old and outdated for a year... a waste really... by the time D3 is out what would cost you $2500.00 today will easily be below $1500.00.

When D3 is released, sell your $500.00 unit for $250, go spend $2250 on a gaming laptop. It will be faster than what your getting today for the same money.

[MaDMaN_26]

Originally Posted by Cluelessboy

and an 3 ipad 2s.

You have 3 iPad 2's?? why?