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Next Laptop

By Draginol on October 6, 2010 10:03:21 PM from JoeUser Forums JoeUser Forums

Draginol

Join Date 03/2001
+102

My beloved Thinkpad T400 is starting to get a bit long in the teeth. It’s 3 years old now, the longest I’ve ever kept a laptop as my primary non-programming machine.

I’m thinking that I want to wait until USB 3 is in these laptops but I’m not sure how long that’ll be.

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Reply #1
jeffalford
Join Date 10/2009
+9
October 6, 2010 10:20:59 PM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

Check out the Maximum PC website http://www.maximumpc.com/  

They have a best of the best section that list their pics. of the hardware out there, a handful of the guys from the old BOOT magazine still work there!

Hope this helps   !

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Reply #2
jeffalford
Join Date 10/2009
+9
October 6, 2010 10:25:01 PM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

USB 3 is just hitting the high end case manufactures now, Intel has finally agreed to support it on their chipsets. I have not heard of a laptop that supports it as a standard so you might have to do some searching.

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Reply #3
Ynglaur
Join Date 05/2006
+10
October 7, 2010 12:45:34 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Check out Sager laptops (the ODM is Clevo).  While their known for their ultra-high-end machines, they also have some nice, smaller mid-range machines, some of which are starting to have USB 3.0.  The build quality is also excellent.

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Reply #4
pacov
Join Date 02/2008
+182
October 7, 2010 12:56:29 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

I’m thinking that I want to wait until USB 3 is in these laptops but I’m not sure how long that’ll be.

heh - you know you can't wait.  I'm chomping at the bit now.  I'm trying to get something for high end vid games but at a reasonable price.  Spec'd out a few things recently, but I'll likely wait for my bonus on Feb to spend more money than i should. 

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Reply #5
Savyg
Join Date 09/2004
+12
October 7, 2010 1:04:38 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Light Peak=yes

USB 3=meh

Wait for Light Peak

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Reply #6
kona0197
Join Date 02/2003
+58
October 7, 2010 1:55:39 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

How about going AMD this time around?

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Reply #7
Savyg
Join Date 09/2004
+12
October 7, 2010 2:01:55 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Speaking as an AMD fan I gotta say the selection of AMD laptops is pretty weak.  I buy them.  I hesitate to recommend them.

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Reply #8
EmersonPF
Join Date 08/2008
+3
October 7, 2010 2:20:53 AM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

I've had a Sager for the last year and a half, and it's been a great laptop.  I'd definitely recommend them.

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Reply #9
joasoze
Join Date 02/2006
+39
October 7, 2010 3:24:43 AM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

get a SSD drive or a hybrid like seagate momentus xt7200

 

 

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Reply #10
Othello
Join Date 02/2008
+8
October 7, 2010 3:25:06 AM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

Quoting Ynglaur,
reply 3
Check out Sager laptops (the ODM is Clevo).  While their known for their ultra-high-end machines, they also have some nice, smaller mid-range machines, some of which are starting to have USB 3.0.  The build quality is also excellent.

My Sager laptop was a pleasure when I bought it and remains so today. Got mine though xoticpc.com years ago.

If I'm in the market for a new laptop, I'll start with Sager.

- Othello

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Reply #11
LightStar
Join Date 12/2002
+505
October 7, 2010 7:46:16 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Wow! Just took a look at the Sager laptop line and only one word comes to mind, Impressive!

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Reply #12
kona0197
Join Date 02/2003
+58
October 7, 2010 11:59:29 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

I have the AMD Vision setup on my notebook. It works great. Beats having to pay Intel to unlock multiple cores. Intel is now charging customers to unlock cores on newer setup.

Sorry - can't get the link to work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11379089

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Reply #13
Savyg
Join Date 09/2004
+12
October 7, 2010 12:33:34 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting kona0197,
reply 12
I have the AMD Vision setup on my notebook. It works great. Beats having to pay Intel to unlock multiple cores. Intel is now charging customers to unlock cores on newer setup.

Last I checked they haven't started doing that yet, and all AMD laptops now are branded with Vision.

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Reply #14
Sldemkt
Join Date 11/2010
0
November 6, 2010 2:37:13 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

I would go with AMD. Seems like they are more compatible with programs than Intel have had crashes with Intel where AMD worked fine. Go with a multicore, almost a must for gaming. USB 3 nah, what actual devices are out right now where you would actually need it? would be nice to find a laptop with DDR3 memory in it though basically you get what you can afford. If you are getting it for gaming I would save up and get one with the better features.

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Reply #15
Thoumsin
Join Date 03/2008
+80
November 6, 2010 6:00:56 AM from Sins of a Solar Empire Forums Sins of a Solar Empire Forums

Well, i don't know if you have Aldi general store  in your area but media have release a "low end" laptop who is very interesting... the low end thing is more related to the price... i have see it today in store for 699 euro tax included...

A article about it : http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/notebooks/medion/akoya_p6624_md98390/365032

Have a dual core I3-370m with hyperthreading, a Nvidia GT 425M with 1gb dedicated ram but the Nvidia Optimus technologie switch to the Intel graphic ship when power is not needed, 4gb DDR3, and USB 3.0 along the usual gadget ( Lan, WIFI, web cam, multiready card, tv tuner, etc )...

 

From my own experience with medion laptop, they are good computer with enough power for a low price... main problem is the casing in very thin , somehow flexible plastic... always transport it in his bag and don't expose it to hard enviromment like when i was working like gardener...

Since the first post, one month ago, USB 3.0 is not more for high end desktop computer... low end laptop have it too... so, if you have not yet buy a laptop last month, time to make a new search cycle...

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Reply #16
Othello
Join Date 02/2008
+8
November 16, 2010 3:00:01 AM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

Stardock is taking off. Why not spoil yourself?

Sager NP7280 Custom Laptop (Built on the Clevo X7200) Sager NP7280 Custom Laptop (Built on the Clevo X7200)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)-
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i7-980X Exreme Edition (3.33-3.6GHz) 12MB L3 Cache, 6.4GT/sec QPI, LGA 1366 6 Cores/12 Threads
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- SLi ENABLED DUAL (2) 2048MB PCI-Express nVIDIA GTX 480M's (4096MB Total) w/GDDR5 DX11 Video Cards (User Upgradeable)
- Matrox TripleHead2Go External Monitor Video Controller (3 External Monitors)
- ~ 12,288MB DDR3 1333MHz Memory (3 SODIMMS) (w/ i7 980 CPU Only)
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD & Inside Skin (A+C Surfaces) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)]
* Will add 7-13 business days on order
- ~ 6X Blue-Ray Burner/Reader / 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- ~ 160GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA II)
- ~ 160GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA II)~
- ~ 160GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA II)~
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- No Network Accessory
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Primary Smart Li-ION Battery Pack - Included
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs

 

$6,232.00

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Reply #17
Uvah
Join Date 05/2006
+782
November 16, 2010 7:21:58 AM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Compac Presario CQ62. AMD Athlon 64. 2.6 ghz single core. Two gigs DDR3 memory upgradable to three gigs @ 1600mhz. According to HP it is a low end machine. With a 17.2 in. HD widescreen on a 64 bit system I don't see anything low end about it. Then I went window shopping. There are machines out there that'll smoke mine in a heartbeat. Not very expensive either. One Acer Aspire I saw with 6 gigs DDR3 RAM, quad core cpu (AMD) and a 21 in. HD widescreen went for less than twice what mine costs.

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Reply #18
kekkosen
Join Date 11/2010
0
November 16, 2010 12:15:04 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Macbook i would say. It can run mac os and other pc stuff as well like windows etc.

 

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Reply #19
kona0197
Join Date 02/2003
+58
November 16, 2010 1:11:28 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

Compac Presario CQ62. AMD Athlon 64. 2.6 ghz single core. Two gigs DDR3 memory upgradable to three gigs @ 1600mhz. According to HP it is a low end machine. With a 17.2 in. HD widescreen on a 64 bit system I don't see anything low end about it. Then I went window shopping. There are machines out there that'll smoke mine in a heartbeat. Not very expensive either. One Acer Aspire I saw with 6 gigs DDR3 RAM, quad core cpu (AMD) and a 21 in. HD widescreen went for less than twice what mine costs.

I have the same machine but mine has different specs. Mine has a dual core AMD CPU and 3 GB DDR3 memory. Strange.

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Reply #20
tetleytea
Join Date 05/2003
+35
December 22, 2010 10:45:55 PM from Elemental Forums Elemental Forums

To open up an old thread:   I'm kind of looking for my next laptop now, and I've been holding out for a good SSD drive.  Any new advice on this?   I hate to buy a laptop and then fit it with an SSD, knowing I just paid for a brand new hard drive I'm not using.  Unfortunately that's what it's looking like for all but the very high-end laptops, $1500 and up.  Some of the high-end 17" laptops have two bays, so I can swap out one with an SSD. 

Am I wrong for holding out for a laptop with two bays?   I am concerned if I have only an SSD, that's my swap space, browser cookies, temporary internet files, etc. thrashing the SSD.   But those boys with 2 bays easily run $1500, and I might have to put down another $500 to get a 256GB SSD.  Is it probably cheaper just to get a SSD-only, and by the time the flash goes bad the laptop and drive both will go obsolete anyway?

 

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Reply #21
Jafo
Join Date 03/2001
+1044
December 22, 2010 11:05:37 PM from WinCustomize Forums WinCustomize Forums

SSDs may have a finite write time but their 'expected' life will be plenty long enough for your purchase to be 'conveniently' obsolete.

At the same time, by then SSDs will be cheap enough to just swap out the existing small one with something bigger, brighter and better...

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Reply #22
pacov
Join Date 02/2008
+182
December 23, 2010 1:42:36 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting Jafo,
reply 21

SSDs may have a finite write time but their 'expected' life will be plenty long enough for your purchase to be 'conveniently' obsolete.

At the same time, by then SSDs will be cheap enough to just swap out the existing small one with something bigger, brighter and better...

that's my take too.  I've heard several folks QUITE adamant about SSD being problematic for hyper scientific reasons.  But if the question is "Will my HD be good in 5 years?" - then the answer most likely YES.  If the question is, "Will my HD be good in 10 years?" - then the answer is... maybe - depends on what you do.  And then you have to ask, are you currently using the same HD from 10 years ago. Stop.  Think.  Is ANYONE out here using the same drive as 10 years ago?  If you say yes, then I say you are a poop head.  yes.  A poop head.

Anyway, what I really want to know is = BRAD - did you get a new laptop?  And if so, what?

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Reply #23
Savyg
Join Date 09/2004
+12
December 23, 2010 1:50:39 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

I think I have a hard drive from ten years ago....I'm using it to hold my floor down somewhere.

+1
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Reply #24
pacov
Join Date 02/2008
+182
December 23, 2010 1:52:48 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Quoting Savyg,
reply 23
I think I have a hard drive from ten years ago....I'm using it to hold my floor down somewhere.

damnit - you found my loophole... i, too, have a HD from 10 years ago too... in my basement somewhere.

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Reply #25
Savyg
Join Date 09/2004
+12
December 23, 2010 2:07:12 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

It does its job admirably, but I must admit there are many other things (most much more useful) doing that too.

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