Assistance in choosing a laptop.

[Akimoto]

I would like to ask for assistance in choosing a laptop.

 

Requirements:

Very durable

High quality

Powerful enough to rival today's stationary computers.

Processing power and memory is a high priority; since I will 90% of the time use it for work related tasks; simulations, rendering of images, programming, interfering with the internet of other students

Good (if not better!) graphic card to accompany the awesome CPU.

 

I have been looking into these:

2. MSI GT70 17.3" Full HD http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=762361 (Norwegian site)

1. Lenovo ThinkPad W530 15.6" HD+ http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=765293#extra (Norwegian site)

 

 

Price range:

$4000

 

Appreciated.

[Sentra]

Aki, I know that laps are cool (I like them too) but for this amount of money.. It's better to buy an ultrabook (e.g. Macbook Air or HP Envy) and buy all top hardware for home PC, IMHO.

And if you sure you want a lap, ergh, Alienware M17x or ASUS G75VW. I like the last one (+ it's new).

[Astral Serpent]

I know a good choice for a laptop: None.

[Didz]

I buy my laptops from Novatech in the UK cause they're cheap (mostly cause they don't come with an operating system pre-installed), here's their list of high performance laptops http://www.novatech.co.uk/laptop/?s=5

All of them have very good Intel i5/i7 CPUs and dedicated Nvidia or Ati graphics cards. Some of these have hybrid SSDs, most are still SATA though. RAM ranges between 8GB and 16GB.

As I mentioned, they don't come with an OS pre installed so you'll need to buy Windows separately (doesn't matter if it's 7 or 8 or whatever, but get the OEM versions cause they're cheaper ). inb4 "lol buying windows" comment

 

Apart from that, I really like Intel's new Ultrabooks: http://www.intel.co....-ultrabook.html

[eezstreet]

$4000?!

might as well buy a mac with that kind of cash

[Inyri]

$4000?!

might as well buy a mac with that kind of cash

Or a pony. Made of diamond. And his name shall be Buttstallion.

[Sentra]

Diamond pony is bullshit. And Mac for $4k is cool, I agree.

[Malkav]

herp derp MacBook Pro

[Tx606]

"$4000" o_o'

Buy a good (but cheaper) laptop for 1000-1500, keep it for 2-3 years or whatever length you're comfortable with, and buy another laptop in the future?

Whatever high-end hardware you can buy (for crazy prices) now is going to be slower in a couple of years and wayyyy less valuable.

 

Of the two you posted, the MSI should probably be better for gaming, I'd suggest to go for that. Those novatech laptops however seem way better priced to me though.

Ultrabooks look cool and are shiney and everything, but usually lack a good GPU which may suck if you don't have a decent desktop.

[CrimsonStrife]

Laptops are never really capable of rivaling a good desktop in the performance area.

[KDR_3XILE]

While I have a Laptop, I'm not exactly a fan of mine and am actually waiting for it to break down a third time. If you're really going to look into buying one, I would suggest an HP or Dell system. Do not for the love of god, look into buying an Acer, I made that mistake with both my desktop and laptop and they've both been a financial pain in my ass.

 

Also, never trust the one selling the product to you, they will kiss your ass if it brings them a profit.

[CrimsonStrife]

Also, never trust the one selling the product to you, they will kiss your ass if it brings them a profit.

 

Welcome to retail.

[Mog]

Just buy a Mac. $4000 will guarentee a good Macbook. They are actually quite beastly, all you need though is a few tweeks and stuff so you can run Windows programs.

[CrimsonStrife]

Just buy a Mac. $4000 will guarentee a good Macbook. They are actually quite beastly, all you need though is a few tweeks and stuff so you can run Windows programs.

He wants it for gaming...and while laptops in general are not the best for gaming...Macs are not gaming machines at all.

[CrimsonStrife]

Hes 90% of the time for work related tasks. Im not precisely sure what he does.

Yeah dunno where I got the gaming idea from...my bad...

 

Although he says simulations and rendering...and depending on if he is referring to 3D work would be the factor here....if he is working out of photoshop or premiere then Macs are fine...but they don't typically handle 3D very well, and hence the reason they don't work well for gaming.

But if that is what is wanting to do regardless....laptops are not the way to go.

[Szico VII]

Just specced one up as an xmas present from pcspecialist.co.uk (Take note @@CrimsonStrife )

Total Cost - £825 (including 3 year warranty.)

 

Optimus Series

• 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
  
• Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz)
  
• 8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
  
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
  
• 180GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
  
• 4x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
  
• GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
  
• 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
  

No OS included.

Good deal imho! (and good performance!)

 

NB: You can up the screen to 17" for like, twenty quid more,

[Szico VII]

Yer, that sounds like my world too. Except my laptop charger has died so perfect excuse for parents to get a new one. I'm sure some will cry foul of 'only 180gb' but I've previously been on 60gb for desktop and 40 for laptop and they definitely weren't SSD's either,,,I'm pretty excited.

 

P.S This topic is literally the highlight of my life right now. Final exams start tomorrow. :/

[CrimsonStrife]

You really have no need for a very large SSD anyway...put the OS and important programs on that puppy and store stuff elsewhere...it'll run like a dream.

 

Also...not really sure what I am supposed to be taking note of @@Szico VII

[eezstreet]

I only have 186 GB on my desktop (1TB on second external harddrive), so I don't see the issue here

[Akimoto]

Oh boy. I am absent for a few days to study for my "tests"...

 

I have choosen to buy the Lenovo ThinkPad W530 workstation laptop. I am unable to find any other laptop manufacturer that can provide me with the durability, reliability and power. However, if I find a better laptop within a few weeks after I have received this laptop, I will have the option to return it.

Bought an external HDD and +16 GB ram which will be waiting for the laptop, since 256GB is a little for all my pr0ngrams.

 

Thank you for the input so far.

[Astral Serpent]

Bought an external HDD and +16 GB ram which will be waiting for the laptop, since 256GB is a little for all my pr0ngrams.

Sorrywhat? 256GB Ram?

[CrimsonStrife]

Sorrywhat? 256GB Ram?

Fairly certain he means HD space.