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Hi folks, my current HP Pavilion dv6 is on its last legs, so I'm looking for something to replace it. My use cases: - Scientific computing. I'm an engineering grad student, I use MATLAB quite a bit, and I try to prototype out my code before sending it to a server. Sometimes, I don't even have access to said server, so I need to do runs on the laptop itself. Doing this a couple of months ago threw my poor machine into a thermal shutdown. - "Mild" gaming. Nothing more severe than Spelunky or Luftrausers, because I should probably be doing work anyway! - "Mild" travel. I have to use this sucker for at least 2.5-3 months as my only system during an internship, so I'll probably have to tote this thing back & forth to and from work. - The usual sort of web-browsing & such. Other priorities: Good cooling (especially under load), a reasonable sized screen (13" is kind of pushing it for me, 17" is right out), no more than $1500 (but this may not be possible). Given that, am I right in thinking the minimums here are at least a recent i5 (& probably an i7), 8GB of RAM, and an SSD? Any suggestions for decent models?
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May 16, 2014 22:43
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Calidus posted:I don't understand all the trackpad hate, unless you are serious trackpoint user 
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May 16, 2014 23:15
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I said I would give first impressions on the Thinkpad Edge E540 and I can't not turn it into a novella. I'll answer specific questions though.
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May 17, 2014 00:06
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Flipperwaldt posted:I said I would give first impressions on the Thinkpad Edge E540 and I can't not turn it into a novella. I'll answer specific questions though. Can you give a summary?
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May 17, 2014 02:11
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Wilford Cutlery posted:Can you give a summary?  I wrote a couple of drafts already and I end up with paragraphs arguing with myself over every element, trying to explain how (apart from the keyboard) everthing is neither excellent nor terrible. I paid 987€ (for the i7/8GB/1080p version) and I'm over all pretty happy with it. It's cool and fairly quiet for normal stuff. It's not built like a tank; there's potential for some flex in the bottom plate and the screen, but not worryingly so. The screen could be brighter, more vidid and have better contrast for sure. Vertical viewing angles are the most disappointing part of it. It's perfectly adequate for the sort of productivity machine it is though. 5.5 hours of battery life seems realistic while surfing. If you're going to throw this thing into a backpack and drag it everywhere, maybe this a bit too fragile. It's a bit too big for that too. As a stay-at-home, move-upstairs-move-downstairs computer it works, I think. 8GB cache SSD for the WD Blue 1TB drive seems to make a noticable difference. Touchpad is configured out of the box to not need depressing the whole thing. Tap to click and dual tap to rightclick works fine and predictably. Nub without buttons is useless. Wifi reception and speed are fantastic. And then I had this weird incident where I brought it back from sleep and Windows started to install webcam drivers and the light next to the camera went on. I wonder if that was the anti theft software coming in action or something. I've disabled the camera in the bios for now. Anyway, the savings are in the plastic case and the lower tier screen. Neither of them are prohibitively bad. For the right price this is a good machine. As I mentioned before in this thread, my only alternatives for a quad core i7 were an HP Envy 15 or paying 300-400€ extra. The HP would probably have given me a glossy screen with better colors, but it would have run hotter and the keyboard and the touchpad would have sucked. edit: sound of the speakers is fair enough with the Dolby optimizations on. With them off it's a bit quiet. Better than average, I'd say. Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 03:37 on May 17, 2014 |
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May 17, 2014 03:11
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I'm currently trying to decide between the MacBook Air and the Lenovo Yoga 2. I basically know what I'm going to get with the macbook, but does anyone have thoughts or experience with the yoga? Or does anybody suggest another ultra book? Price range around $1500. Sneaky Fast fucked around with this message at 15:22 on May 17, 2014 |
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May 17, 2014 05:24
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My dad's laptop exploded and he's looking to pick up a new one, anywhere in particular having a crazy deal this weekend? It's a work computer they use at the house for some minor gaming [By which I mean even on a desktop they aren't the sort of people to care when graphics get jacked above low to medium on the prettier games, and it's mostly indie stuff and old roms] and chrome casting and the like. I figure with all the deals this weekend *someone* must have something in the 500ish or less range that is actually covers the broad "A little bit of everything" needs they have.
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May 17, 2014 18:21
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Got my L440 yesterday, and am very pleased with it, especially as a blind buy. It being the "cheap" version of the T440 is pretty remarkable. I can safely say that it feels better and higher quality than the high end of 99% of the HPs that I work with. A fair amount of third party bloatware to remove. But whatever, couple of hours of work. Do kinda wish I would have gotten the 9-cell battery as well. No cover on the expresscard slot (or whatever kind of slot is now) is the only real "cheap" feeling thing about it.
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May 17, 2014 19:24
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Sneaky Fast posted:I'm currently trying to decide between the MacBook Air and the Lenovo Yoga 2. I basically know what I'm going to get with the macbook, but does anyone have thoughts or experience with the yoga? I've used Airs extensively and players with the Yoga 2, Y2P, and Thinkpad Yoga. Between the Air and the Yoga 2 the refreshed Air is a much nicer computer, considering build quality, battery, and weight. That said, if you're looking to spend $1500 I don't see any reason not to move up to a MBPr (refurbished at $1099 for the 4/128 or $1249 for the 8/256) for the nicer screen, unless you'd prefer the lighter weight of the Air. Other options to consider are the x240 or the Thinkpad Yoga in your price range. What do you care about in a laptop? Battery? Build quality? Price? Convertible mode? Touchscreen? Trackpoint? These are the things that you should decide based on. Separately, while I really like my 13" MBPr I sure wish it had a matte screen, trackpoint, chiral scrolling, and no big white Apple logo. No regrets though, at the refurb price it's a great deal, but I get a little jealous when I see Thinkpads around town sometimes.
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May 17, 2014 20:13
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I apologize if this question isn't specifically laptop-related, but I figured it'd be the best thread to find an answer. I've got a couple of WD Passport Ultras that I've recently added velcro to in order to affix them to the back of my laptop screen for ease of use. They're both USB 3.0, but my laptop only has a single USB 3.0 port. Is there a short(ish) cable that'll allow me to connect both drives to that single port at the same time?
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May 17, 2014 20:54
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Hey guys, I'm hoping for a recommendation. My old Lenovo g560 is seriously showing its age in some frustrating ways. Things important to me: - Able to run games decently. (I got Skyrim on a Steam sale a while ago and would like to actually be able to play it.) - Travel is a must. I work as a caregiver, so I have to pass several hours a week on something portable (a desktop is out of the question, for instance.) Battery life isn't important at all, I'm usually near an outlet. - Keyboard needs to have a numpad - I would like it in the 15.5 range, but I'm flexible there. Anything from 14-16 would be okay. My budget is about $900, but I would prefer to keep it under $700 if possible (not expecting to, though). I'd say Lenovo is my preferred brand because of how long they tend to last, but if there's anything better out there in my price range, I'd love to hear about it.
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May 17, 2014 21:05
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Pterodactyl Feet posted:Hey guys, I'm hoping for a recommendation. My old Lenovo g560 is seriously showing its age in some frustrating ways. y510p is basically identical on the outside with pretty good specs.
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May 17, 2014 21:16
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Does anyone seee any issues or cheap upgrades to this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834313581
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May 17, 2014 21:51
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C2C - 2.0 posted:I apologize if this question isn't specifically laptop-related, but I figured it'd be the best thread to find an answer. Don't think you'll have enough power to run them both
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May 18, 2014 01:23
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Drunk Badger posted:Does anyone seee any issues or cheap upgrades to this? Other than the fact that it's as big as a medium size pizza and weighs over 6 lbs, that's an acceptable laptop for use on the couch, I wouldn't use it for anything that would be described as "portable" or "travel-ready"
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May 18, 2014 01:58
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I'll be crossposting this in the Surface Thread as well, but basically I am looking to get a laptop for a change in my work duties. I'll be using it on public transport to and from work and potentially setting it up and logging onto citrix stuff (this isn't too hardware intensive I am fairly sure but I've only ever logged on from a home PC that is good enough anyway) and also your general word processing/powerpoints and also just wanting to be able to dick around on it as well (Load movies/series onto it, maybe some light gaming to pass time) I really love the idea of the Surface 2 Pro and grabbing the power cover as well. I love the idea of the touch screen to keep it nice and tablety if I'm just 'reading' stuff on the bus to work, but also kicking it into laptop mode when I'm not. I love that it seems to integrate everything quite nicely as well. That said, I'm also aware that it's a lot of money to spend on just really nice form factor. Form factor is something I'm really looking for as is just being nice and easy, is the Surface a good option for what I'm looking for, or grabbing an iPad and a laptop for cheaper a better idea (I use an iPhone as well so I'm not averse to grabbing an iPad and supplementing it with a cheaper laptop) Money isn't the biggest issue but obviously I'd feel a little silly getting the surface because it looks pretty and there is still a great option that is still nice at much cheaper. Cheers guys,
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May 18, 2014 05:27
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So, my 2014 Macbook Air arrived a couple of days ago and after a setup-phase that was an absolute pain, I now have it set up to boot OS X 10.9, openSUSE and Windows Server 2008 R2. If anybody struggles with this, let me know and I'll be happy to describe my process, since actually getting Windows installed was the biggest problem (drivers), followed by booting all three, with a lot of documentation being outdated or too vague. My initial worries about the game(s) I play seem to be unwarrented, Eve Online ran with the exact same settings my old laptop did (low/middle-ish) without ever even engaging the fans, so there is definitely room to crank things up. I'm otherwise quite pleased in general, and it's a joy to use especially under Linux, where the only thing that I needed to install in addition were the wireless drivers (though they exist on Packman).
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May 18, 2014 13:51
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To confirm, the new release of Haswell occurs this upcoming June of 2014? Are there any specific models coming out that I should be looking at or is it just going to be every standard model with the ugpradeable CPU? Also, what are the thoughts on something like this: Lenovo Y410p Price: $759.00 You save: $540.00 Free standard shipping Processor 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4700MQ Processor (2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB) - Operating System Windows 8.1 64 - Display 14.0" HD Glossy with integrated camera (1366x768) - Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT755M GDDR5 2GB - Memory 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz - Hard Drive 1TB 5400 RPM - Optical Drive DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) - Network Card Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230 Thanks for the help!
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May 18, 2014 17:47
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Bob Morales posted:Don't think you'll have enough power to run them both Yeah, I hadn't considered that. Also, the Passports have the MiniUSB connection and I haven't seen a Y-connector that has 2 of them. Oh well, I'll just have to hop the included cable between the two as needed.
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May 18, 2014 18:29
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Dafte posted:To confirm, the new release of Haswell occurs this upcoming June of 2014? Upgrade the screen and maaaaaybe wait until they refresh it with an 800 series GPU would be my suggestion? Otherwise it's a pretty chill laptop that'll run a lot of games quite well.
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May 18, 2014 18:46
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Cat Army 
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Dafte posted:To confirm, the new release of Haswell occurs this upcoming June of 2014? With that same promotion you can upgrade your screen for $10. I can't speak about performance, but I ordered the $799 model on May 10 and have already had my order delayed to early June 
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May 18, 2014 18:49
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I'm going to put a SSD into the optical drive of the Thinkpad T440p that I just purchased. Anyone know where to get a cheap caddy or caddy/ssd combo? Thanks in advance.
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May 18, 2014 20:20
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I am in the market for a new laptop. Nothing nuts since I am on a budget. Just a not-total-shitbox that will allow me to do some media and casual gaming. I just need something that will allow me to mess around in office, indesign, and a little photoshopMost of the stuff I play is older or indie games. SimCity 4, Minecraft, Project Zomboid, TF2, etc... the biggest thing I might want to play is Civ5 since some friends play it. I don't mind playing on lower video settings as long as the thing gives me decent frame rates. I just want a screen that is at least 15 inches, and ideally I'd like to get something I can buy through bestbuy since I already have credit there and I can get the nice financing options. I do not care about touch screens or anything like that. Is there any way I can get away for $500 or less? THE MACHO MAN fucked around with this message at 00:02 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 18, 2014 23:52
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I've been searching for a replacement laptop charger and I found one that has the same voltage and wattage, but the amperage is 34 instead of 34.2 like my last one. Do you guys think that'll work? Every source I've seen tells me to never underamp, but I don't know if a 0.2 difference is going to adversely affect things a whole lot. The only other charger I could find was one that has 0.5 more voltage than I need.
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May 18, 2014 23:54
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You'll be fine, just don't try playing games, burning a CD and charging the battery from a complete discharge (0%) at the same time. What kind of voltage are you getting 34 amps from? A standard wall socket only produces 15A at 120v double fake edit: having a vauge reccolection of high school physics, v*w = amps, either the math on your original power supply is wrong, or the math on your new one is wrong, something is fishy there Either way if the voltage and watts match up, it's the same device, in theory.
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May 19, 2014 03:53
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Hadlock posted:You'll be fine, just don't try playing games, burning a CD and charging the battery from a complete discharge (0%) at the same time. W = V x A, so if that's a 5 or 12 V power supply, 34 watts is possible.
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May 19, 2014 04:06
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Hadlock posted:You'll be fine, just don't try playing games, burning a CD and charging the battery from a complete discharge (0%) at the same time. My bad, it was 3.4, not 34. So it's a 0.02 difference in amperage. Same watts and voltage, so hopefully this works. I usually play a bit of Dota 2 on this laptop, so hopefully that's not enough to screw the power supply over.
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May 19, 2014 05:30
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You ought to be fine, most manufacturers have a "high", "medium" and "low" wattage power adapter; I think Lenovo has a 135w, 90w and 30w adapter, and your laptop gets assigned whichever. For example my laptop pulls at most 27w but I ended up with a 30w adapter. You could probably write a novel on a W540 on a 30w adapter with zero problems, but your battery would start to run down (or damage the power adapter) if you tried playing games on it using the 30w vs the 135w adapter.
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May 19, 2014 07:01
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Sager 8268-s is awesome in case anyone was wondering. Highly recommend as a mid-level gaming laptop
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May 19, 2014 07:09
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What's the best Windows alternative to the 13.3" MacBook Air? I can run Windows using Bootcamp, but the trackpad drivers aren't that great and I've been told if I'm going to primarily use Windows then to get an ultrabook instead. I plan to use the laptop 75% on the couch with the trackpad/touchscreen or using a game controller resting the laptop on my lap. The other time will be using the laptop on my front porch, etc. Here's my ideal laptop: 12" - 13" 1440x900 (because Windows DPI scaling isn't great) IPS screen Glass trackpad Geforce GPU (for extremely light gaming or NVidia GameStream) Tablet-mode (i.e. folding or twisting the laptop to make using it as a tablet easier) The Lenovo Y410 seems nice but 14" is a bit too big, it's heavy, and I've heard the trackpad is terrible. The Yoga 2 13" seems nice. I've never used the trackpad though and the GPU is a tiny bit lacking. (I wish it was at least the HD 5000) The Dell XPS 12 seems interesting but I don't know much about it. The Dell XPS 13 looks really good but I think it has a rubber trackpad? Anybody have any advice for me? As much as I'd like to use a MacBook Air, I really want something with Windows.
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May 19, 2014 12:53
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THE MACHO MAN posted:I am in the market for a new laptop. Nothing nuts since I am on a budget. Just a not-total-shitbox that will allow me to do some media and casual gaming. I just need something that will allow me to mess around in office, indesign, and a little photoshopMost of the stuff I play is older or indie games. SimCity 4, Minecraft, Project Zomboid, TF2, etc... the biggest thing I might want to play is Civ5 since some friends play it. I don't mind playing on lower video settings as long as the thing gives me decent frame rates. Continuing with this, my two main options seem to be these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834313718 Any input, or comparable options in the same price range? Which is better between these two for my intended usage? I'd probably just get an extenal dvd drive if I got the acer, and some more memory
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May 19, 2014 16:46
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Well, xotic hit a snag, apparently the wireless card upgrade I'd picked is proving incompatible with the Gigabyte P34Gv2.quote:Remove: The dude says the replacement is what he usually recommends, but when I asked about wireless cards here however long ago (and if it helps anyone remember, I'd asked because I live on a boat, I can edit in a quote from the original question in a bit) the 3x3 antenna was suggested as being most helpful, and that specific card was recommended to me as well. Any suggestions?
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May 19, 2014 19:52
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Trebuchet King posted:Any suggestions? What I'm saying is that I don't care if it's got 1x1 antenna less or whatever. You might live in a concrete bunker though and have to scrape for every dB of signal you can get, I don't know. Pretty happy having bluetooth as well.
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May 19, 2014 21:41
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Ah, okay. I just got a bit of clarification from them as well--the card I'd tried to upgrade to can pick up 2.4 GHz range just fine, it's just not picking up 5 GHz range at all. They linked me an explanation of the pros/cons of each range, and since the 5GHz range apparently doesn't penetrate as well I'm thinking I wouldn't be missing out. That said, given your endorsement of the 7260 AC, unless someone else steps in with a "no don't do that" in the next few hours I'm just going to go with that. Thanks!
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May 19, 2014 22:08
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5 Ghz at my uni library and classrooms is blisteringly quick. It's really nice to have a card that can do both, like my lovely $19.00 Linksys expresscard can.
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May 19, 2014 22:29
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Yeah being able to use 5ghz is great if you're in an area where 2.4 is congested to gently caress
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May 20, 2014 00:45
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Trebuchet King posted:Ah, okay. I just got a bit of clarification from them as well--the card I'd tried to upgrade to can pick up 2.4 GHz range just fine, it's just not picking up 5 GHz range at all. They linked me an explanation of the pros/cons of each range, and since the 5GHz range apparently doesn't penetrate as well I'm thinking I wouldn't be missing out.
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May 20, 2014 01:12
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go3 posted:Yeah being able to use 5ghz is great if you're in an area where 2.4 is congested to gently caress Is there an easy way to tell which an available network is? The marina office closed a few hours ago. I can just stop by and ask tomorrow but if there's a few right-clicks I can make that seems easy enough.
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May 20, 2014 02:15
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Any news on upcoming chromebooks? Anyone have any experience with the Acer C720? Kinda wary of a Celeron processor? Was hoping to get one with an i3 or something along those lines. Kinda a weird question but has anyone had any luck doing nVidia gamestreaming to a chromebook?
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May 20, 2014 02:19
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20 new models announced but not shipping, including the Lenovo N20p which is sort of a Yoga 11 lite http://www.cnet.com/news/google-extends-their-intel-love-affair-with-new-bay-trail-chromebooks/ I'm not sure if any of them are actually shipping at this point though, probably more details this time next month when E3 happens the week of June 10th We're definitely in "wait and see" or "there's juicy stuff right around the corner" territory; these are more refined 3rd generation chromebooks and android laptops. Of note, the Samsung Chromebook2 (the $400 13" 1080p model) got pushed all the way to June 11th, which is during E3.
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May 20, 2014 02:37
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