Help with a new laptop

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Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:56 pm

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Rock-n-Roll
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So I may finally have some money freeing up to get a new computer. While I want to eventually get a good desktop setup again, reality of life is that I need to get a laptop.

That being said, I've been away from keeping track of anything hardware for about 6 years now. What should I be looking for? Lets say about a 1k budget (or less. Less is always good). I'm perfectly happy with a 15" screen since that would help keep cost down somewhat. My last laptop computer is almost 7 years old, so just about anything is an upgrade.

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 6:49 pm

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BlackDove
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Laptops are really simple.

It all depends on whether you want to use it for gaming or not gaming.

If you want to use it for gaming, you need at least the x60 or x70 line of GPU's. If not, you can buy the i5 chipset and it'll browse websites and play videos real well. The only choice for a non gaming laptop is whether you want it slim as an ultrabook (real slim) or if you don't give a shit, and you're fine with it weighing 2kg.

By the way, the vendors know most people want to spend $1k, which is why that is never where you will find the price settling. The price is usually around $1.5k for the cheapest gaming laptop and $500-700 for an adequate general purpose option.

We'll use Newegg and today's date to compare; naturally to get the best prices you more or less need to be buying during the holidays or summer sales or sales in general.

Cheapest gaming option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834152711 (though I would recommend this because of where we're going with VRAM sizes in the future - it'll hold out better for a year or two more than the cheapest linked before it): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834232202

Cheapest general purpose option; non-slim: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834318436

Cheapest general purpose option; slim: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 3FA23C8170

Godspeed.

(Bonus round: last year's GPU's - they're not bad to be honest, and because they're last years, they're nearer your $1k price point: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834232276)

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:44 pm

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Rock-n-Roll
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Thanks for the info.

How important is the brand name? Only asking as I can get corporate discounts through Dell, Lenovo, HP and Apple.

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:29 pm

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BlackDove
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MSI and ASUS are really the only names in town for the gaming laptop. Toshiba maybe. Generally you want ones that sell the most, as those are likely to have the least chance of breaking down (as these two have sold the most, had the most returns in previous years, knew what was wrong with their shit, and generally fixed that in the next versions in order to not get many returns and waste money on repairs). That said, it's always a crapshoot. Do what you think is most beneficial to you. Consequences are not as easy to predict as they used to be.

Far as the general purpose ones, they don't really matter. Asus is generally king of the hill due to their involvement with the production cycle of the hardware, but assuming you get warranties on your purchase, go nuts, it doesn't matter really.

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:13 pm

SSX-Andy
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Only had an MSI gaming laptop, it worked very well until it broke.

A friends broke too, same problem, the solder where the powercable goes in breaks so it can't recharge.

If it is between MSI and ASUS I would say ASUS based on my experience, but they might be better now, was a few years ago.

Main problem with a gaming laptop is that it costs quite a bit for something that will not last that long.

What is the reason for needing a laptop? On the road a lot? No stable place for a gaming rig?

If you are at home I would go for a gaming desktop and then use Steam stream to stream it to a cheap non-gaming laptop if it's only mobility around the house that is required.

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:08 am

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BlackDove
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Yeap, that was a few years ago.

They're fine now. And many last quite a while.

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:07 pm

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Rock-n-Roll
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So through work, I could get the following from Lenovo for $999

Processor: 4th Gen Intec Core i7-4710HQ Processor (2.50GHz 1600MHz 6MB)
Operating System: Windows 8.1
Display: 15.6" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 4GB
Memory: 16.0 GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
Hard Drive: Hybrid 1TB 5400 RPM +8GB SSHD
Optical Drive: None

So is this a good deal? Sounds like I will need to get an external DVD/Blu-Ray drive

Re: Help with a new laptop

PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:45 pm

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BlackDove
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It's okay, but the 860 isn't all that great and you get a good two inches of the screen less this way, which is quite a drawback. Two inches may not sound like much, but it is actually quite a bit in practice.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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