new laptop - Page 2
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pinenamu
United States770 Posts
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MoltkeWarding
5195 Posts
I would like to know what specs are most important in a laptop, in order of priority. I'm looking at getting a 15" one. | ||
Archaic
United States4024 Posts
On July 28 2009 05:48 MoltkeWarding wrote: I'm thinking about purchasing a new laptop myself in the under €750 range. I would like to know what specs are most important in a laptop, in order of priority. I'm looking at getting a 15" one. I think the specs are typically valued at what you are planning to do. Personally, I order them by: RAM -> Processor Speed/Chip -> Available Ports (# of USB, FireWire 400/800, etc.) ->Battery Life -> Screen Size. The other ones tend to just be qualitative, such as aesthetics and heat output. I can't recall a laptop being described in terms of BTUs. | ||
v[1.8]c
44 Posts
On July 28 2009 05:55 Archaic wrote: I think the specs are typically valued at what you are planning to do. Personally, I order them by: RAM -> Processor Speed/Chip -> Available Ports (# of USB, FireWire 400/800, etc.) ->Battery Life -> Screen Size. The other ones tend to just be qualitative, such as aesthetics and heat output. I can't recall a laptop being described in terms of BTUs. RAM can be installed afterward, so it shouldn't be that important. Battery life is the main thing here and second should definitely be processor. | ||
MoltkeWarding
5195 Posts
Also, does processor cache size have any value? Recommendations for graphics card? | ||
Smorrie
Netherlands2921 Posts
On July 28 2009 06:11 MoltkeWarding wrote: Why should Battery life be important if I mainly plan to use it as a mobile desktop? Also, does processor cache size have any value? Recommendations for graphics card? Getting a mobile desktop is kind of a waste of money imo. You can get such a great desktop for 750e compared to what you can get for a 750e notebook. I think if you're looking for a solid notebook to play games on as well, 700~750 is probably the minimum. For a notebook I'd rather get an intel processor over an amd one. And you need a dedicated graphics card (ati or nvidia), those intel graphics media accelerator are the worst gfx cards out there >.< http://www.notebookcheck.net can help you a lot during your research (lots of info on mobile gfx cards) edit: while i don't think processor cache has ever really been a bottleneck for any configuration, a bigger cache will definitely help you to speed up various data processes. | ||
Last Romantic
United States20661 Posts
On July 28 2009 05:48 MoltkeWarding wrote: I'm thinking about purchasing a new laptop myself in the under €750 range. I would like to know what specs are most important in a laptop, in order of priority. I'm looking at getting a 15" one. The point is none of these laptops are buyable. Specs don't tell much about how usable a laptop really is. How can you know whether you're desirous of a laptop or not until you know -Their marque, and respective customer support -Their company and company history -Their socio-economic cost -Their video and audio quality -Their mouse sensitivity, keyboard compatibility, and headset capability -Their fanbase, reputation, and coolness in laptop culture -Their anti-virus, anti-spyware, and other security abilities -Their browser and OS stability -Their past strengths and weaknesses regarding mobile computing life -Their country of origin (if not already clear) -Their computing virtues (efficiency, non-Chinaman parts, etc) The above listed constitute 95% of the qualifications for any purchasable and therefore attractive laptop. | ||
MoltkeWarding
5195 Posts
On July 28 2009 06:22 Smorrie wrote: Getting a mobile desktop is kind of a waste of money imo. You can get such a great desktop for 750e compared to what you can get for a 750e notebook. I think if you're looking for a solid notebook to play games on as well, 700~750 is probably the minimum. For a notebook I'd rather get an intel processor over an amd one. And you need a dedicated graphics card (ati or nvidia), those intel graphics media accelerator are the worst gfx cards out there >.< http://www.notebookcheck.net can help you a lot during your research (lots of info on mobile gfx cards) edit: while i don't think processor cache has ever really been a bottleneck for any configuration, a bigger cache will definitely help you to speed up various data processes. I don't want a desktop because I move around a lot and don't want the additional weight in my luggage train. I don't play many games, but ideally a system which could run SC2/Diablo 3 would be the maximum requirement for me. | ||
Smorrie
Netherlands2921 Posts
On July 28 2009 07:30 MoltkeWarding wrote: I don't want a desktop because I move around a lot and don't want the additional weight in my luggage train. I don't play many games, but ideally a system which could run SC2/Diablo 3 would be the maximum requirement for me. Sounds like you're looking for the exact same notebook I am looking for :p Are you in Canada atm? Because I guess you're looking at bestbuy and/or futureshop then... If so, let me know if you find anything good ^^ | ||
MoltkeWarding
5195 Posts
http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/notebooks/asus/asus x5avn fp112c gamer edition 25 http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/notebooks/asus/asus x5avn fp164d I don't know anything about the quality of the model. | ||
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
On July 28 2009 07:10 Last Romantic wrote: The point is none of these laptops are buyable. Specs don't tell much about how usable a laptop really is. How can you know whether you're desirous of a laptop or not until you know -Their marque, and respective customer support -Their company and company history -Their socio-economic cost -Their video and audio quality -Their mouse sensitivity, keyboard compatibility, and headset capability -Their fanbase, reputation, and coolness in laptop culture -Their anti-virus, anti-spyware, and other security abilities -Their browser and OS stability -Their past strengths and weaknesses regarding mobile computing life -Their country of origin (if not already clear) -Their computing virtues (efficiency, non-Chinaman parts, etc) The above listed constitute 95% of the qualifications for any purchasable and therefore attractive laptop. ... | ||
mahnini
United States6862 Posts
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JeeJee
Canada5652 Posts
I would like to know what specs are most important in a laptop, in order of priority. I'm looking at getting a 15" one. is that the answer varies widely from person to person. like right now, you are arguing, pretty much needlessly, about whether a portable desktop replacement is a good idea outline exactly what it is you want your computer to do, and pick the specs accordingly. some specs that are immensely valuable to others (price, 4+ hour battery life, dedicated gfx card, screen quality, looks, etc) could hold absolutely no value to you, or vice versa. for instance, since you said you wanted a portable desktop, you clearly don't care too much about battery life as you already said, and probably the 2-3 hours you find on all but the most powerful laptops will be sufficient. you also probably don't care too much about the weight (the difference between 4 and 7 pounds is sort of noticeable if you're a student carrying it around all day, every day, but not so much if its packed away in your bags.. and you'd be paying a hefty premium for the former), and likely wouldn't mind upgrading from 15.4 to 15.6 or 16 screen-wise so consider those as well. since you want to play sc2/d3, i imagine not at max settings, well i don't know what the requirements are going to be but you'd likely be able to squeeze by with a highend integrated like a 9400m or if you want a little more oomph, get a entry/medium level dedicated.. something like a 9600m gt. ram/hdd-wise shouldn't be a consideration as it's really easy to upgrade yourself to whatever you desire (i believe the standard now is something like 4gb ram, and 320gb:5400 or 250gb: 7200 hdd). processor, something mediocre would likely be fine, a c2d with at least 2.0ghz then make sure to consider the (just as important as the tech stuff, f the haters) physical aspects of the notebook: whether you like it, how the keys press, screen viewing angles, overall looks, and how it holds up in general. how much weight you put on these factors is entirely up to you. i put a lot of weight, personally, on these (some of which are intangible but you know they're there) two links that you may (or may not) find useful to compare gfx/cpu: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html oh yeah my personal informal criteria? pick a laptop with enough tech in it to run what i want "good enough"(as opposed to "really well") and dump the rest of the budget into a pleasant laptop (hassle-free, light, looks good, etc) currently waiting for ... lg xnote p510 to come to canada. :o | ||
gds
Iceland1391 Posts
i'll read it in details tomorow and hopefully be able to make a wise choice (i'll check the thinkpad laptops too). | ||
ThePhan2m
Norway2739 Posts
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jello24
Canada327 Posts
Replaced it under warranty, and 3 months later the whole screen started flickering erratically. After that i just ripped out the hard drive and threw the damn thing away. Quality SUCKS. Got a Compaq and after 3 years not a single dead pixel has appeared. And, by experience, my next laptop will be an HP or any high-quality one. | ||
Smorrie
Netherlands2921 Posts
On July 28 2009 07:48 MoltkeWarding wrote: I'm in Germany, I've been looking at notebooksbilliger.de and wonder if either of these would be good buys. http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/notebooks/asus/asus x5avn fp112c gamer edition 25 http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/notebooks/asus/asus x5avn fp164d I don't know anything about the quality of the model. Seems like a good deal. I'm pretty sure you are SC2/D3-safe with that system. (playable, but not highest settings.. eventho its all just speculation I don't believe that blizz will make the game that inaccessible for the mainstream gamers) The difference between the 2 is a little awkward though. The 'normal' version has a slightly faster processor (doubt its even noticeable, only in benchmarks), 2GB DDR2 RAM, and costs 600. The 'gamer' version has a slightly slower processor, 4GB DDR2 RAM, and costs 700. I highly doubt that buying a 2gb mobile ram stick costs 100 euro. Perhaps you can customize it and ask for 2GB extra in there and see what the costs are. While 2GB RAM probably costs way less than 100, you'd need to visit a certified dealer or technician who can put it in for you. Doing it yourself will void the warranty : [ I'm looking at the HP Pavilion dv6-1160ed (NX854EA) & Toshiba Satellite A300-1SR at the moment. I think I'm gonna make my own blog for this tho xD | ||
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