Looking to buy a new laptop.(BIGGS Edition)

[cyberdude558]

HP is ABSOLUTELY terrible from what people have told me. I have no personal experience with them but I have not found a single person that had it for a long period without it causing a big problem. Everything from hard drive failures to battery problems to screen problems.

Acer is probably the best of the cheaper tier. The computer hardware isnt that bad. But the casing is what is usually cheaply made. Many times the case will crack or break well before the computer itself fails. It's great for people who just want a good laptop without spending a lot of money.

Dell I would put in the same category as Acer. Their casing is also not the greatest either and are made with low-end hardware. But they have much better customer support and warranties. If you buy their warranty, they will stand behind it if something fails and they usually fix it quickly.

Lenovo is basically IBM. They are quite popular in the IT and business world and gaining popularity in other areas too. I would say its one of the better non-gaming brands.

Toshiba usually always gets good reviews but I've known people that have had either great or bad experiences with them. They seem to be hit or miss. Same with Sony. WiFi problems seems to be a common issue.

Apple is a good product with good service. But it is just over-priced in my opinion. Unless you are a fan of the brand or doing video editing work, it really doesnt make economical sense.

[spartan]

The one thing you haven't mentioned Boid is what you ARE going to do with it.  i.e1.5K is an awful lot of money to simply surf the web and check your email.

[Biggs3535]

HP is ABSOLUTELY terrible from what people have told me.

I agree with that.  I've had awful experiences with HP's.

And Newegg.com does have some of the best prices on laptops from what I've seen.  I got one from them and it was a great buying experience.

[tripblood]

HP is ABSOLUTELY terrible from what people have told me.

I agree with that.  I've had awful experiences with HP's.

And Newegg.com does have some of the best prices on laptops from what I've seen.  I got one from them and it was a great buying experience.

Last 2 laptops were HP's. Both are broken right now. Piece of crap.

[chace1986]

http://ecomm.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&itemtype=CFG&details=undefined

Here is a link with a $500 "coupon" off of this alienware system regulary priced at $2,300..this takes it down to $1,800.

Couple of things.

Processor speed on paper is a little slower...but the difference wont be felt with this computer. I hvae the 1st generation i7 which is at 1.6...and it's lightning fast. So goings from a 2.6 to a 2.4 with this system is nothing, imo.

This alienware has a 2GB Radeon instead of the 1GB video card.

This system comes with W7 premium instead of professional...with W8 coming out soon...I would just stick with W7 premium and upgrade to 8 when it hits the market.

Same 8GB memory.

Has a 750GB HD instead of the TB....only porn addicts need a TB....lol...but even still...every frame from the "booty talk" series will fit on 750 with plenty of room to spare...

Also, doesnt have the Dre Beats headphones either...which is sweet...just figured I would pass this along since I was able to get that $500 credit added on there.



 

[tripblood]

That's a rediculous amount of money to spend on a laptop, IMO.


Then again, mines is broken

[deadzone]

Alright, for 1600 dollars (yikes), this is what I have put together, so you techies can tell me if this system sounds good, and worth the money I want to spend on it... HP ENVY 17T-3000

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (with applicable system recovery)
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)...very fast for a laptop...
Radeon(TM) HD 7850M Graphics 1GB GDDR5 Memory [HDMI, DP]
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)...meh...
FREE 2-year Norton Internet Security subscription (not a huge fan, but it has a 99 dollar value).
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 5.25 hours of battery life +++
17.3-inch diagonal Radiance Full HD Infinity LED-backlit Display (1920x1080)...awesome looking screen, but it is glossy...
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
720p HD video streaming webcam supports Skype (I never skype, but it was a piece of candy)
Intel 3x3 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth
Full-size Radiance backlit keyboard with numeric keypad (really nice looking keyboard)
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 10 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 10
MAGIX PhotoStory 10 (easy photo software)
2 year limited warranty included
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
and finally...

Beats by Dr. Dre Studio High-Definition Headphones (Gotta stay hip, and the laptop comes with Beats technology to enhance my listening pleasure))


Is this a nice rig fellas?  Be honest.

I am paying1600 dollars for a laptop (again, YIKES!)...but I want a GOOD one.  It is basically replacing my desktop, which I will move elsewhere in my tiny abode.  Looking to save space.

Thats more power and add-ons than you will ever need........unless you spend most of your life playing with it.......

[Boid Fink]

I appreciate the input fellas.

I DO want the laptop to last for a looong while, so that is why I am high ending the hardware.  Regarding this particular laptop, I have not heard much in the way of bad news, except the customer service is suspect to say the least, and the touchpad sucks real bad. 

Also, thanks for that link Chase, I will look into that Alienware as well...losing out on the Drebeats will suck, but I can always wait two years when they are down to 100 bucks like every other piece of tech...

[Boid Fink]

http://ecomm.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&itemtype=CFG&details=undefined

Here is a link with a $500 "coupon" off of this alienware system regulary priced at $2,300..this takes it down to $1,800.

Couple of things.

Processor speed on paper is a little slower...but the difference wont be felt with this computer. I hvae the 1st generation i7 which is at 1.6...and it's lightning fast. So goings from a 2.6 to a 2.4 with this system is nothing, imo.

This alienware has a 2GB Radeon instead of the 1GB video card.

This system comes with W7 premium instead of professional...with W8 coming out soon...I would just stick with W7 premium and upgrade to 8 when it hits the market.

Same 8GB memory.

Has a 750GB HD instead of the TB....only porn addicts need a TB....lol...but even still...every frame from the "booty talk" series will fit on 750 with plenty of room to spare...

Also, doesnt have the Dre Beats headphones either...which is sweet...just figured I would pass this along since I was able to get that $500 credit added on there.

Where did you get the 500 off coupon?  Also, you link doesn;t show your wishlist product, unfortunately.

If you have the coupon code, would appreciate it...

[Boid Fink]

If I could get that coupon, I would consider this Alienware rig (it is the 18" model)...it just looks so damned sexy as well..

But the hardware is as follows:

PROCESSOR 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
MEMORY 12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
HARD DRIVE 750GB 7,200 RPM + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD
VIDEO CARD 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Ammenities:


Steam Factory Installed and Steam Extra Content
PRE-INSTALLED SOFTWARE Skype VOIP Software Application
GEAR STORE Targus HD3 Gaming Chill Mat - Black
GAMING MICE & CONTROLLERS Alienware TactX Mouse
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software 
LCD PANEL 18.4 inch (467.36 mm) WLED WideFHD (1080p) display (1920 X 1080) 
Primary Battery 96WHr 12-Cell Primary Battery 
SYSTEM COLOR Alienware M18X R2 with Soft Touch


It will cost me a little more (if I get the 500 coupon code from Chace...)...

[chace1986]

A buddy who works at Dell here in Austin is my hookup...I shot him an email to see if there were any alienware deals for the M17x or M18x models and he sent me the link to the system(link I provided earlier) with the coupon code ?W22Z75PB3DT22.

I'm not sure that code works with the M18x because that is a brand new model and the M17x has been out for some time..so they give better deals on it. Also that deal does have free shipping. Also, I probably wouldn't finance a computer..but they do have good 0% interest for 12-18months.

Personally...If I were getting a new computer I would probably supe up the M14x...sometimes my M15x is a little too bulky...the M18x must be a tank of a computer.

Edit: here is the link again..

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=EKDVVU1&cs=19&c=US&l=EN&m_29=Q2O2P&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=566643&acd=10550055-4328635-

The link didn't work because I edited the system to be comparable to the "envy" you were looking at.

[Boid Fink]

A buddy who works at Dell here in Austin is my hookup...I shot him an email to see if there were any alienware deals for the M17x or M18x models and he sent me the link to the system(link I provided earlier) with the coupon code ?W22Z75PB3DT22.

Im not sure that code works with the M18x because that is a brand new model and the M17x has been out for some time..so they give better deals on it. Also that deal does have free shipping. Also, I probably wouldnt finance a computer..but they do have good 0% interest for 12-18months.

Personally...If I were getting a new computer I would probably supe up the M14x...sometimes my M15x is a little too bulky...the M18x must be a tank of a computer.

Edit: here is the link again..

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=EKDVVU1&cs=19&c=US&l=EN&m_29=Q2O2P&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=566643&acd=10550055-4328635-

Yeah...the coupon will not apply.  Decided to browse the 17 models.

Thanks though!

[Boid Fink]

Alright, I am now leaning towards an Alienware, it has a lot to offer, minus the headphones (I know I know).

Comes with an i7 processor, clocked at 2.5 ghz, can boost to 3.3.
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M (which I have reviewed and seems to pack plenty of puch...don;t want to upgrade to other card, it is 300 more).
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)

And here is where I am struggling.

I want to upgrade the drive.  I decided to opt out of the standard 7200 drive (which is good), but I am torn between the RAID 0 config that gives me 1 TB.  But Ihave heard that if one of the drives bites it, I lose everything.  But it is supposed to be quite fast, and the storage is gargantuan.

On the other hand, for the same price essentially, I want to get the hybrid SSD with the 7k drive, but it only has 500 Gs.  But I have heard it is faster for retrieving info that I require as a result of typical use.  But I lose 500Gs of space...

Which way should I go?

If I have a faster internal drive, couldn;t I just buy like a TB drive (external) if I ever need the extra space?

[chace1986]

Alright, I am now leaning towards an Alienware, it has a lot to offer, minus the headphones (I know I know).

Comes with an i7 processor, clocked at 2.5 ghz, can boost to 3.3.
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M (which I have reviewed and seems to pack plenty of puch...don;t want to upgrade to other card, it is 300 more).
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)

And here is where I am struggling.

I want to upgrade the drive.  I decided to opt out of the standard 7200 drive (which is good), but I am torn between the RAID 0 config that gives me 1 TB.  But Ihave heard that if one of the drives bites it, I lose everything.  But it is supposed to be quite fast, and the storage is gargantuan.

On the other hand, for the same price essentially, I want to get the hybrid SSD with the 7k drive, but it only has 500 Gs.  But I have heard it is faster for retrieving info that I require as a result of typical use.  But I lose 500Gs of space...

Which way should I go?

If I have a faster internal drive, couldn;t I just buy like a TB drive (external) if I ever need the extra space?

Solid State...all the way. 500 GB is a ton of space...I have a ton of media and what not on my drive and hove only used 208 GBs.

"If I have a faster internal drive, couldn;t I just buy like a TB drive (external) if I ever need the extra space?"

Yes

[Bayfisher]

SSD is the way to go.  Having the OS on that drive is night and day.  My windows 7 PC I built in the spring completely reboots in 15 seconds. It is amazing and I would never go backwards.  All of my computers will have a SSD drive in the future. Some people buy the 128gb SSDs for the OS and use 1TB standard HD for storage but it appears the prices are coming down since I got mine.  I paid $120 for a samsung 64gb which I'm sure is half the price now and I would not recommend the 64 over the 128 with Windows 7.