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latininxtc
Advanced Member
United States
7,307 posts
Joined: Feb, 2006
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 Posted - 2010/11/29 : 05:50:06
My desktop will be turning 8yrs old in Dec. and I have enough money to get a laptop, my 1st one. I've never been one to keep up on computer technology, so could someone suggest to me what brand/model laptop I should get?
Also suggestions on what type of hardware (RAM, hard drive, etc.) I should have installed in this laptop. I would prefer feedback from ppl who keep up to date on this type of stuff, but any personal experience with current laptops you own is welcome too.
I've got about 1600 USD, maybe more if it's worth it, for the new laptop.
And I know Macs are great, but for personal everyday use they're a bit too much so no feedback on Macs please
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H3RO
Junior Member
United States
145 posts
Joined: Jun, 2010
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 05:53:02
I have a Dell and I wouldn't recommend it. I think the only reason it still works is because it's an XPS. I haven't had a lot of success with their customer service. It's hard to fix things with them. So that's my 2 cents...not Dell. Lol.
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JayHH86
Advanced Member
Vietnam
1,400 posts
Joined: Dec, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 06:08:41
I'll agree with that. I had a Dell a few years back and it wasn't great.
I've now got an Acer (Aspire range, model 4820TG). It's the business. 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Intel Core i5 processor.
The best thing is the battery life. I can spend up to eight hours on it, listening to music, playing videos on YouTube etc. The battery is insane.
Cost me just shy of 700 GBP.
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Edited by - JayHH86 on 2010/11/29 06:09:14 |
Brian K
Advanced Member
United States
8,663 posts
Joined: Sep, 2001
528 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 06:20:35
what will you be using it for?
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whispering
Moderator
Finland
8,453 posts
Joined: Nov, 2002
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 07:02:46
First thing would be how big screen:
17"-19" Movable (replacing a desktop PC)
14"-16" Portable (take it to a friends house every now and then)
<-13" Ultra Portable (actually carry it with you, and use it in the bus, train etc)
I think the biggest "premiums" these days are Blu-Ray and built-in 3G. But that depends what type of internet connection youre going to use, if you need it. Another is SSD harddrive. Still rare, but you can see them in the smaller high end laptops. As far as actual parts go (processor, ram etc) i have no clue :P
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Edited by - whispering on 2010/11/29 07:04:39 |
latininxtc
Advanced Member
United States
7,307 posts
Joined: Feb, 2006
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 07:29:59
well i'm only considering dell b/c it's the easiest one to build on my own and we get employee discount off of it. i checked about the xps15 and it takes off $180 base price, nothing off of any extras i add on. but if i can avoid dell, then it's best. they're not what they used to be. which is probably why my dell has lasted me 8yrs and i've put it thru hell too.
and it's not going to completely replace my desktop, although I don't see why that couldn't be an option since I'm no longer in school and don't have a job that would benefit me in having a laptop. but i would want a 15" that i'll be using for pretty much web browsing and probably music purchases. It'll be used for visiting sites with a low risk of viruses (so no porn surfing on it lol)
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Edited by - latininxtc on 2010/11/29 07:30:49 |
Brian K
Advanced Member
United States
8,663 posts
Joined: Sep, 2001
528 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 09:33:58
i'd lean towards an asus or lenovo. asus you get quite a bit but the screen quality isn't as high and lenovos are work horses...toshibas are nice too as several of them are using ssd so you don't have to worry about something happening to the harddrive if you drop the laptop
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atomsk
Advanced Member
United States
1,660 posts
Joined: Jan, 2009
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 12:45:10
I know you said no Dell's, but come on. Alienware's are sexy as ****! They are in your price range, can do some producing on it, nice 15" model, core i5/i7's, good for gaming, ****ing sexy keypads... they ****ing glow, pretty nice battery life, nice screen, pretty durable... Do I say more?
Get the Alienware M15x base model is only $1,200, put a nice core i7, the 8gig's of ram, the sad sized hdd :(, the GeForce GTX 460M (from what I have heard you can play cod:bo at max with no lag), the 9 cell battery, and what ever you want.
It would replace your desktop, even though you dont want it to. Turn the desktop into a nice wifi sever, take the old display and hook it into the m15x.
If you want the best laptop, get the M17x, but it will cost about $500 more but its worth it.
AS you said, you get a discount from Dell. So imho... go with Alienware.
http://www.alienware.com/Landings/laptops.aspx
Let us know what you pick!!
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latininxtc
Advanced Member
United States
7,307 posts
Joined: Feb, 2006
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 16:44:46
yea i know of alienware that 1 i'm considering, i personally consider it apart from dell quality. but with all the bells and whistles i want to add onto my computer, it's already running me over 1600 without tax. and that's with already doing a mock purchase with the xps15 :(
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Edited by - latininxtc on 2010/11/29 16:45:58 |
JustIncredible
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
599 posts
Joined: Feb, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 17:34:23
Alienware is awful. I wouldn't go anywhere near them. In all honesty, if you've got that much, you'd be better off buying a Mac which isn't something I say very often.
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whispering
Moderator
Finland
8,453 posts
Joined: Nov, 2002
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 18:40:30
quote:
Originally posted by JustIncredible:
Alienware is awful. I wouldn't go anywhere near them. In all honesty, if you've got that much, you'd be better off buying a Mac which isn't something I say very often.
If you have too much money, willing to spend it on a low speck premium priced computer, don't know much about computers and want Steve Jobs to decide how you should use it, then definitely go with a Mac.
As far as xps goes, Carter uses it and IMHO that alone is good enough reason to buy one ;)
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JustIncredible
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
599 posts
Joined: Feb, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 20:46:43
quote:
Originally posted by whispering:
quote:
Originally posted by JustIncredible:
Alienware is awful. I wouldn't go anywhere near them. In all honesty, if you've got that much, you'd be better off buying a Mac which isn't something I say very often.
If you have too much money, willing to spend it on a low speck premium priced computer, don't know much about computers and want Steve Jobs to decide how you should use it, then definitely go with a Mac.
Say what you want about Macs, I'm not even a Mac user myself the high price has always put me off, but the for the specs it has it performs extremely well. You won't get a Windows OS computer with the same specs and perform the same. Macs use it resources extremely well.
Mac OS is a beautiful piece of kit. It's extremely good for music production and creating other types of digital media.
If he was asking about a desktop, I'd recommend him a Windows based computer and tell him to stay from Mac desktops, but he's asking for a laptop and in my opinion Mac make the better laptops.
As for Alienware laptops, poorly built, cheap parts and high failure rate.
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 21:12:38
i have a dell as well ive had it for like 5 years and back then it was ahed of its time so right now its like a normal computer my dad has a hp laptop it was only 300 i like it personally it has windows 7 and it runs smooth
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 21:14:37
i hate macs i really do its not because they are different then pc its just there shitty and over priced if you compare the specs of a brand new mac and any brand new pc and the macs specs will be lower and the prices will be very very high
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whispering
Moderator
Finland
8,453 posts
Joined: Nov, 2002
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 21:39:41
quote:
Originally posted by JustIncredible:
Say what you want about Macs, I'm not even a Mac user myself the high price has always put me off, but the for the specs it has it performs extremely well. You won't get a Windows OS computer with the same specs and perform the same. Macs use it resources extremely well.
Mac OS is a beautiful piece of kit. It's extremely good for music production and creating other types of digital media.
If he was asking about a desktop, I'd recommend him a Windows based computer and tell him to stay from Mac desktops, but he's asking for a laptop and in my opinion Mac make the better laptops.
As for Alienware laptops, poorly built, cheap parts and high failure rate.
Mac's are generally very well built, but e.g. theres more customer returns on Mac's then Dell computers. Still Mac consumers think they work better. Its an imago, a brand. Not truth. Something Apple is especially good at. The high price isnt that high when we go to high end computers on other companies laptops. But they are highly priced, in the lower range products.
Mac's generally use a single set of hardware which should make them more reliable (better tested, as opposed to the millions of variants in PC's), but ive crashed a mac more times then i have my own computer, and i use mine everyday. The trick is, when it doesnt perform well enough anymore, buy a new one. Then theres the Apples excessive use of DRM and general pissing in the customers eye. With a PC you can do anything you want, with a Mac you do what Steve wants.
Also more towards personal preference, but macs "easy to use" is managed by just taking away most options. IMHO that is not how things should go. Ive asked from the Mac users i know, "wheres your files stored in the HDD?". They dont know. They open a mac software (depending on the file type) for everything and they see them there. That seriously cripples the use of a computer and dumbs down the average computer user. IMO.
I do realize there are many that just like Mac's better, but i will probably never understand the reasons why :P To me Mac is like the Soviet Union of computers.
Dont think they even sell Alienware here, but from what i've read people generally consider them regular computers, on a shiny case and are highly overpriced.
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Edited by - whispering on 2010/11/29 21:45:47 |
JustIncredible
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
599 posts
Joined: Feb, 2008
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Posted - 2010/11/29 : 22:44:55
quote:
Originally posted by whispering:
quote:
Originally posted by JustIncredible:
Say what you want about Macs, I'm not even a Mac user myself the high price has always put me off, but the for the specs it has it performs extremely well. You won't get a Windows OS computer with the same specs and perform the same. Macs use it resources extremely well.
Mac OS is a beautiful piece of kit. It's extremely good for music production and creating other types of digital media.
If he was asking about a desktop, I'd recommend him a Windows based computer and tell him to stay from Mac desktops, but he's asking for a laptop and in my opinion Mac make the better laptops.
As for Alienware laptops, poorly built, cheap parts and high failure rate.
Mac's are generally very well built, but e.g. theres more customer returns on Mac's then Dell computers. Still Mac consumers think they work better. Its an imago, a brand. Not truth. Something Apple is especially good at. The high price isnt that high when we go to high end computers on other companies laptops. But they are highly priced, in the lower range products.
Mac's generally use a single set of hardware which should make them more reliable (better tested, as opposed to the millions of variants in PC's), but ive crashed a mac more times then i have my own computer, and i use mine everyday. The trick is, when it doesnt perform well enough anymore, buy a new one. Then theres the Apples excessive use of DRM and general pissing in the customers eye. With a PC you can do anything you want, with a Mac you do what Steve wants.
Also more towards personal preference, but macs "easy to use" is managed by just taking away most options. IMHO that is not how things should go. Ive asked from the Mac users i know, "wheres your files stored in the HDD?". They dont know. They open a mac software (depending on the file type) for everything and they see them there. That seriously cripples the use of a computer and dumbs down the average computer user. IMO.
I do realize there are many that just like Mac's better, but i will probably never understand the reasons why :P To me Mac is like the Soviet Union of computers.
Dont think they even sell Alienware here, but from what i've read people generally consider them regular computers, on a shiny case and are highly overpriced.
I agree with almost everything there on a desktop point of view, but he's asking for a laptop which he can browse the web and and not worry about viruses which it will be perfect for and if he has that much cash to burn he'd be better off buying a Mac rather than a laptop that will either be a) absolutely shit or b) to much 'system' for what he actually wants it for.
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