About a new computer

[Clan FJA]

Not sure if it's the good section

Sorry for bad english

 

 

Hello,

 

I want to replace my very very old computer and I would be happy to get your advices.

 

What I want :

- I want a portable (not a tower)

- screen 15 or 17p, with a resolution at least 1600-900 px.

- 6 Gb RAM or more

- Dedicated graphic card (not a chipset)

- Memory 1 To at least (2 To ideally)

- USB 3.0

 

What I will do :

- With the Windows 10 privacy concerns, I think it is a good opportunity to try Linux with a Dual Boot. That's why I want at least 1 To memory. With 2 To, I could have 1 To for W10 and 1 To for Linux. If someone want to help me how to install a dual boot, it could be great, even there is already a lot of doc about that on the web. I want to keep Windows due to some specific programs which run only on Windows.

- I would to be able to run games and CAD softwares (Solidworks for example) without problems. About games, I will not run Battlefront with full graphic options. I don't need to play games with full graphic options but I want to be able to continue playing new games in the next years with medium or high options, maybe by lowering the resolution.

- I would to keep my computer at least 5-6 years. That's mean, it should be able to run new softwares without problems in 5 years (informatic obsolescence). I say that because actually, I can not use Skype+Internet+Word for example (I can but it lags a lot)

- For sure, I want full graphic options on JKA

 

What I have seen :

Actually I have seen this computer : HP  W10 15-ab235nf

Windows 10, screen 15 p, 1920x1080 px

Intel Core i5-5200U,

NVIDIA GeForce 940M

8 Gb RAM

2 To SATA 5400 RPM

~ 900 €

I like his appearance.

 

I just don't know if the i5 will be efficient for new softwares in the future (Solidworks and other CAD softwares) and I don't know if there is a real difference between a 5400 RPM disk and a 7200 RMP disk in terms of speed.

What do you think about it ? About the quality for the price ?

I heard that older HP portable wasn't good due to the ventilator under the computer but new HPs have the ventilator on the side. People said me to take an ASUS. Is there a real difference of quality ?

 

I looked for Gamer PC  with a Nvidia GTX but I don't know if the difference between an Intel U and an Intel H processor is very significant (HQ is good but it costs much) and I don't like PC with red or green design.

 

Thanks for your help

[Archangel35757]

I just bought a 17" gaming laptop from AVA Direct (best prices I could find)... and I decked it out with upgrades to be a graphics workstation. Check out their laptop options and customize it for what you want.

[Circa]

The i5 will probably be fine for a few more years, as long as you're not doing really hefty stuff.

 

My recommendation: the more RAM you have, the more future-proof it will be. 8GB is the average these days, I'd say. I upgraded to 16GB this past summer because I desperately needed it for what I was doing (audio editing/mixing/mastering, video editing, image editing, gaming, etc.

 

The good thing is, RAM is super easy to install so you could always upgrade later when needed, but you should start with 8GB as a minimum these days.

[eezstreet]

16GB RAM is starting to show up as standard fare for a few games. I'd recommend that as your baseline if you're going to be playing Battlefront at all.

Regarding dual-boot, the UEFI booting system from Win8 onwards makes it a bit more difficult to use dual booting. If you absolutely must have Win10, there are workarounds however.

[Clan FJA]

Thanks

 

 

The i5 will probably be fine for a few more years, as long as you're not doing really hefty stuff.

 

That is what I worry about. I don't know exactly what I will do with it but i would like to be able to use CAD softwares (like Solidworks, Catia, ...) and other mechanical and fluid simulations softwares.

 

 

16GB RAM is starting to show up as standard fare for a few games. I'd recommend that as your baseline if you're going to be playing Battlefront at all.

 

Unfortunately, I need a Portable PC and not a Tower PC. A lot of portable PC have only 4 Gb RAM, and they go up to 8 Gb. Portables with more (12 or 16 Gb) are very expensive and people said me it is not a good deal to take a very expensive portable (in comparison with towers).

 

About Gaming, I don't think I will play Battlefront, and if i do, I don't need to have the Max graphic options.

However, I want to be able to run PCSX 2 without problems. I can't take my PS2 with me when I move.

 

I have seen another computer : the look is less nice but the capacities are better :

 

Asus N551JX-DM230H

1000 €

Windows 8.1, screen 15 p, 1920x1080 px

Intel Core i7-4720HQ,

NVIDIA GTX 950M

8 Gb RAM

1 To SATA 7200 RPM

 

 

What about the hard disk ? 7200 RPM vs 5400 RPM is a real difference ? And for the processor ?

[Archangel35757]

Configure one and see:

http://www.avadirect.com/custom-gaming-laptops

[Circa]

I have 16GB of RAM in my laptop. Like eez said, it's starting to become the standard. It's only going to get higher and higher as time goes on, due to the advances in graphics and all that.

[eezstreet]

Thanks

 

 

That is what I worry about. I don't know exactly what I will do with it but i would like to be able to use CAD softwares (like Solidworks, Catia, ...) and other mechanical and fluid simulations softwares.

 

 

Unfortunately, I need a Portable PC and not a Tower PC. A lot of portable PC have only 4 Gb RAM, and they go up to 8 Gb. Portables with more (12 or 16 Gb) are very expensive and people said me it is not a good deal to take a very expensive portable (in comparison with towers).

 

About Gaming, I don't think I will play Battlefront, and if i do, I don't need to have the Max graphic options.

However, I want to be able to run PCSX 2 without problems. I can't take my PS2 with me when I move.

 

I have seen another computer : the look is less nice but the capacities are better :

 

Asus N551JX-DM230H

1000 €

Windows 8.1, screen 15 p, 1920x1080 px

Intel Core i7-4720HQ,

NVIDIA GTX 950M

8 Gb RAM

1 To SATA 7200 RPM

 

 

What about the hard disk ? 7200 RPM vs 5400 RPM is a real difference ? And for the processor ?

If you are going to play Battlefront, then you will need 16GB RAM minimum. Eurogamer has confirmed the minimum specs.

Is it DDR3 or DDR5 RAM? (I'm assuming DDR3) Also, is the storage a SSD or HDD? I thought you were going to get a 2TB drive as you wanted to dual boot?

Why Windows 8.1? Windows 10 or Windows 7 will be a better bet.

[Clan FJA]

Configure one and see:

http://www.avadirect.com/custom-gaming-laptops

 

Thanks. However, I don't think I will use that. I prefer buy it in a store because of the SAV. And prices are in dollars so i suppose it is dedicated to USA. Too often, the conversion dollar/euro applied is 1:1 and it shouldn't be.

 

 

If you are going to play Battlefront, then you will need 16GB RAM minimum. Eurogamer has confirmed the minimum specs.

Is it DDR3 or DDR5 RAM? (I'm assuming DDR3) Also, is the storage a SSD or HDD? I thought you were going to get a 2TB drive as you wanted to dual boot?

Why Windows 8.1? Windows 10 or Windows 7 will be a better bet.

 

I don't think I will play Battlefront. The RAM is DDR3 and the storage is HDD (no SSD).

I post computers I saw in my local store. This one has Windows 8.1 but I can upgrade to Windows 10.

 

I just worry if the i5 5200U + 940M is efficient to run all games on  PCSX2 with the standard fps or if I need an intel HQ + GTX to do that.

About PC games, I am not really interested in new games like Battlefield, Fallout or others.

 

 

I am looking for a computer between 700 and 1000€, and I don't know if it is best to take a computer with good options (2 To, 1920x1080 px, ...) but a lower core (intel U + GeForce) or a computer with classic options (1 To, 1360x768px) but a better core (intel H or HQ + GTX). Is it a good idea to pay 900€ for a computer with 2 To but classic core, when I can found gamer computer for the same price but with cheapest options (plastic body, 1 To).

 

I saw that classic computer have SATA with 5400 RPM, while gamer computer have SATA with 7200 RPM. Is the read/write speed really 33% faster ?

[Clan FJA]

What I have seen :

Actually I have seen this computer : HP  W10 15-ab235nf

Windows 10, screen 15 p, 1920x1080 px

Intel Core i5-5200U,

NVIDIA GeForce 940M

8 Gb RAM

2 To SATA 5400 RPM

900 €

I have seen a better computer for 950€ (is it a trap ? )

 

HP Pavilion 15-AB015NF

Windows 8.1, screen 15,6p, 1920x1080px

Intel Core i7-5500U,

NVIDIA GeForce 940M

12 Gb RAM

2 To SATA 5400 RPM

 

The only problem is that the OS is W8.1.

I have one question about this one :

If I upgrade it to Windows 10. Do I have a real Windows 10 licence, or is it always considered as a 8.1 licence ?

What I would say => In the case I must re-install windows, can I put W10 immediately, or do I must first install W8.1 and then upgrade to W10 ?

 

Why Windows 8.1? Windows 10 or Windows 7 will be a better bet.

Yeah, about that, are there specific problems with the upgrade W8.1=>W10 that I should know ? I don't like W8.1 and I prefer W10 but the second computer seems to be better than the first (12Go vs 8Go RAM, i7 vs i5) with only 50€ difference.

[Xycaleth]

Regarding win10: if you upgrade from 8.1, then you do get a win10 license but it's specific to your PC. You can get a win10 iso from the Microsoft website. When you install a fresh version of win10, it won't ask for a license key because it recognises that your PC is registered with a win10 license. If you change the hardware in your PC too much then you may not be able to install win10 this way, or you might have to phone up explaining that you've made changes.

[Clan FJA]

nice ! Thanks.

So I can upgrade to Win10, make a win10 iso, then format the hard disk to remove all HP bloatware and re-install Win10 ! (and then delete Candy crush and other shit)

:)

 

 

 

Here is a potatoe