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Laptop Ideas


wagner

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So I am going to need a new laptop it looks like and would like to see what the CR experts recommend.

 

Here are the requirements and use:

- going to do some photo editing on this thing

- business related stuff

- maybe some tooooning :gabe:

- would like to purchase local if possible (microcenter, best buy, ect)

- would like to keep purchase price below $1,000

 

Give me some options that fit these needs.

 

<3 wagner

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Wagner I am selling an Ultra Book for $700. It's basically brand new I bought it for work, then figured out how to use my Mac for gov't related stuff.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Touch-Screen-Ultrabook-ExpressCache-NP540U3C-A01UB/dp/B00AKIRHF8

 

Uh just so you know the link you posted shows them for $560 used. Not trying to bust your chops just letting you know.

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Uh just so you know the link you posted shows them for $560 used. Not trying to bust your chops just letting you know.

 

I get that, I literally have a receipt for less then a month ago for $799..

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I bought a Lenovo Y410P for $850 about two weeks ago. I dig it. People complain about the screen, but I think it's fine.

 

14" 1600x900 LED screen

Core i7 4700MQ (Haswell, Intel's latest and greatest)

nVidia GT750M with 2GB GDDR5

8GB DDR3L (upgradable to 16)

1TB HDD

24GB caching SSD

DVD writer

Backlit keyboard

And the really neat kicker: Ultrabay. The DVD drive can be swapped out for: an auxiliary fan, a second 1TB HDD, or a second GT750M for SLI graphics. :D

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That particular SD thread seems to link to a bunch of under powered notebooks. I have an Asus with a Pentium B960. Sloooooooow. I cant even imagine how much slower the A6-4455m powered S405 is. I'm sure they are adequate for tooooning tho!

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That particular SD thread seems to link to a bunch of under powered notebooks. I have an Asus with a Pentium B960. Sloooooooow. I cant even imagine how much slower the A6-4455m powered S405 is. I'm sure they are adequate for tooooning tho!

 

Because everyone is looking for the cheapest, but the deals on good models are there too if you bother to search and look.

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So I am going to need a new laptop it looks like and would like to see what the CR experts recommend.

 

Here are the requirements and use:

- going to do some photo editing on this thing

- business related stuff

- maybe some tooooning :gabe:

- would like to purchase local if possible (microcenter, best buy, ect)

- would like to keep purchase price below $1,000

 

Give me some options that fit these needs.

 

<3 wagner

 

how big or small do you want it? If you are going to be using photoshop, dont get anything less than 8GB of ram or you will hate yourself.

Buy an external drive for storing your photos while editing (this is a REALLY nice function of Lightroom 5)

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how big or small do you want it? If you are going to be using photoshop, dont get anything less than 8GB of ram or you will hate yourself.

Buy an external drive for storing your photos while editing (this is a REALLY nice function of Lightroom 5)

 

The RAM is important, as on most or all ultrabooks it's soldered on the MB and not upgradable.

 

Edit: Your uses have different laptop sizes in mind. For tooooning you want a smaller 12-14" lappy, but for work and serious photo/video editing you'll want a 15"-17" lappy. Most 17" laptops (especially performance oriented) are FAR from portable, with the battery acting more as a UPS than a laptop battery, and the entire unit functional as a boat anchor.

Edited by JaSSon
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Larger screen = less portable. The bulkier laptops are annoying to haul around. If it's not a desktop replacement, I would stick to the ultrabooks.

 

I have a Lenovo twist and love it. Went from a mid-2012 Macbook Air to a windows based ultrabook and never turned back. The twisting touch-screen sounds gimmicky, but it gets a lot of use when I'm sitting on the couch and just want to browse the internet/youtube/etc.

 

You can get an upgraded screen (IPS high res) on some of the Asus Zenbook line. This would be good for photo editing.

 

I would also try to stick with flash-based storage (SSD) if within budget.

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I wouldn't recommend a large screen but it is what you want so I would go with this

 

http://microcenter.com/product/413218/Inspiron_17R_173_Laptop_Computer_-_Moon_Silver

 

Spend the extra money you have on a spare battery. It is only going to last a few hours. The only bottleneck in this would be the speed of the hard drive. It is so large though you would have no issues with space. Go ahead and render huge raw image files it won't matter.

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I wouldn't recommend a large screen but it is what you want so I would go with this

 

http://microcenter.com/product/413218/Inspiron_17R_173_Laptop_Computer_-_Moon_Silver

 

Spend the extra money you have on a spare battery. It is only going to last a few hours. The only bottleneck in this would be the speed of the hard drive. It is so large though you would have no issues with space. Go ahead and render huge raw image files it won't matter.

 

You get a prize as the first person to provide me with a computer that I can purchase locally :lolguy:

 

I'm not to worried about large screen since a majority of the media/photo people all had a 15inch or bigger screen on their work laptops.

 

I guess when it comes down to it I need something that is not going to fall short on performance power.

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Larger screen = less portable. The bulkier laptops are annoying to haul around. If it's not a desktop replacement, I would stick to the ultrabooks.

 

While I generally agree with that statement, I don't think an ultrabook sized screen is a good idea for him since he will be editing photos while traveling.

 

Wagner, if it were me I would go with a 14-15" screen. Personally I like the size/weight of the 14" laptops. I will also backup the idea of a Lenovo. I've used them for quite a few years at work, constantly moving from office to office, in and out of cars, testing in cars. They area all rock solid, baring any hard drive issues (the T400's seem to have a higher than normal failure rate). I had a T530, it was too big for my liking. Switched companies a few weeks ago and have a T430 now and love it. I would suggest something in that range and get a nice big screen at home to connect it to for photo editing. Big home screens are relatively cheap.

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You get a prize as the first person to provide me with a computer that I can purchase locally :lolguy:

 

I like Dell's, I buy Dell's for my personal/house laptops. I would NOT buy a dell if I were doing a ton of traveling with it. Lenovo or go home (with a broken laptop).

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I like Dell's, I buy Dell's for my personal/house laptops. I would NOT buy a dell if I were doing a ton of traveling with it. Lenovo or go home (with a broken laptop).

 

Well this is going to be out and about, plus there seems to be a few people backing the Lenovo's.

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Well this is going to be out and about, plus there seems to be a few people backing the Lenovo's.

 

The upper end (thinkpad T and some S series) are workhorses, built to be rugged and easily maintained by IT staff. The only dell that comes close is the upper end latitudes.

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http://microcenter.com/product/414892/VAIO_T15_155_Ultrabook_-_Silver_Mist

 

Hate the fact it doesn't have a full-fledged SSD (only 32GB cache SSD), but for your price range and usage case, it fits. 1080P 15.5" screen.

 

One in stock, better hurry! =)

 

Actually depending on how soon you need it, I would wait until more haswell-based products are on the market. Battery life on those are incredible.

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The upper end (thinkpad T and some S series) are workhorses, built to be rugged and easily maintained by IT staff. The only dell that comes close is the upper end latitudes.

 

This. Microcenter sells lenovos and thinkpads but they generally cost more money. My work laptop is a lenovo and I've taken it many places without a bag. It has been bumped and dropped once and no issues at all. It has a SSD though so I don't know how well the physical drives do with physical shock. I wouldn't trust them personally.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Lenovo Y500.

Had mine for months now and can't really fault it.

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312439

 

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193

 

=:megusta::megusta::megusta:

 

I am really thinking about picking up one of these Y500's. Do you think this will have the ability to do photo editing?

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http://microcenter.com/product/410497/ProBook_4530s_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Metallic_Gray

 

I like these bad boys. Still Win7, I7, 500GB 7200rpm hdd, external vid card, only 4gb ram but slap whatever you want in there. We use them for our managers at work.

 

Just my .02

 

>hp

 

http://i.imgur.com/mg5oY4B.jpg

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