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I'm having trouble finding a developer oriented laptop. Requirements:
I'm looking to spend around $1000. There doesn't seem to be much between $600 budget machines and $1500 'gaming' or Ultrabooks. The $1000-$1500 range seems completely barren of options.
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Jul 2, 2014 22:56
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| # ? May 26, 2024 20:43 |
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Get a T440s.
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Jul 2, 2014 23:09
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Hi goons I'm in desperate need of finally replacing my old clunker, as I'm heading back to school for life as a poor student. Things I'll need to do: programming, general entertainment/browsing, and light gaming. I'm planning on building a cheap desktop at home to achieve the hard stuff, but I'm going to need something mobile for light programming/word processing/netflix. What's my cheapest option that can handle those things and also isn't a piece of hot garbage?
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Jul 2, 2014 23:36
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BDPFlow posted:Hi goons What is the most your willing to pay for a new laptop? People are going to have a hard time making any recommendations without this information. Lafarg fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jul 3, 2014 |
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Jul 3, 2014 02:59
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Alright, so after a bunch of battling with my inner gamer, reason has come out on top. So now I've switched my ideal laptop: 900 dollar max 5-6 hour battery life 4.5 pounds max 13-15 inch screen Ideally SSHD or SSD 8 GB ram( do I even need this much) 4th gen Intel processor (Do I need a dedicated graphics card?) No touch screen(I've already got a nice tablet) Should I start looking past thinkpads? And are there any other lenovos that should be on my radar. Y series is out. Edit: phone post did some funky formatting. Lelorox fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Jul 3, 2014 |
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Jul 3, 2014 03:41
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Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:Get a T440s. $1500 when configured.
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Jul 3, 2014 05:43
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Xae posted:$1500 when configured. Buy the RAM and SSD separately. You could also look at the P its usually cheaper than the S
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Jul 3, 2014 06:31
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So here's what I'm looking at: ThinkPad E540 No touch screen 15.6" FHD(1920x1080) AntiGlare - Black (+$110) Intel Core i5-4200M Processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.10GHz) (+$100) 4GB RAM standard (Will upgrade with crucial, which should cost $40-80 less.) 500 GB HD (Upgrade later if necessary) 16GB Micro SSD (+$40) No finger scanner (-$20) 6 cell Li-Ion Battery 62WH - 75+ (+$10) Total: $778.05 I wonder if I should go with the E440 instead or the E545. What do you guys think?
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Jul 3, 2014 06:56
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My brother is starting college in the fall as an undecided Engineering major. The university says he needs a $2000 i7 laptop. I don't buy that, but I also haven't played with any CAD/design type software in years, and have no idea what an Engineering student would actually need. Does he actually need anything that powerful? If not, any idea of the requirements he would actually need?
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Jul 3, 2014 07:29
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I doubt power is going to be the major issue, its more they'd want you to have something that isn't a completely plastic heap of poo poo with an unusable screen. What model are they recommending?
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Jul 3, 2014 08:06
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I think it was a Dell XPS 15.
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Jul 3, 2014 08:16
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system protocol posted:What is the most your willing to pay for a new laptop? People are going to have a hard time making any recommendations without this information.
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Jul 3, 2014 09:06
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BDPFlow posted:I'm really looking for the cheapest thing that's still got some standard of quality--preferably $200-$300, but certainly no more than $400 That places you squarely into Chromebook territory, as anything that price running Windows is likely to be hot garbage.
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Jul 3, 2014 09:13
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Is $800 too much for a used Lenovo Thinkpad W520 with the following specs? I realize that this model is a couple of years old, but it looks like he upgraded the ram and HD to an SSD. It'll be for my wife who needs something sturdy and well built. • Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM vPro (2.30-3.20 GHz, 6MB L6, 1600MHz FSB) with vPro • 15.6 inch Display (1920 x 1080p) (250 NITS) • 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 • Crucial M4 256 GB SSD Solid State Drive • 2nd Hard Drive caddy • NVIDIA Quadro 1000M 2GB Dedicated VideoCard • Intel 3000 HD Switchable Graphic card • HD Webcam • Intel Advance N6205 • 3G Mobile Broadband Connection • Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device support • Bluetooth 3.0+ HS • Fingerprint Reader • Spill-resistant keyboard and drain • HDMI supporting 1080p signal format , 2 USB 2.0 , 2 USB 3.0, Multi-Card Reader • 9-cell Li-ion standard battery pack: Estimated battery life: Up to 4-5 hours • Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
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Jul 3, 2014 10:56
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BTW anyone checking out Lenovos should look at visa card discounts: http://usa.visa.com/personal/discounts/index.jsp up to 25% off certain builds.
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Jul 3, 2014 12:02
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Lelorox posted:So here's what I'm looking at: After singing the song of how great the intel 7260ac wifi chip was earlier, I now have a shitload of weird, intermittent slowdowns and connection problems that I haven't pinned down yet, so I take that back. Mostly because my mom has a Sony Vaio Pro 13 with the same wifi chip and the exact same problems that no other wifi device here has ever caused. It does some good where it counts too though: keyboard is great, touchpad is good. Battery life is decent. Cooling seems to be set up ok without being very noisy. Access to the insides for basic upgrades is good. I'm glad I got this and it's probably the best and best specced laptop I could have gotten for the price. It's just not completely free of compromises. It works for me because it's likely never to leave the house. If it would, I'd be worried about breaking the screen a lot. If you were sure you'd upgrade to an SSD within the year, I wouldn't bother with the micro SSD. I'm sure it does neat things to make small things feel a bit snappier, but it's not large enough or smart enough to reduce startup times or anything and $40 saved towards a real SSD goes a long way too.
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Jul 3, 2014 12:18
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ihatepants posted:Is $800 too much for a used Lenovo Thinkpad W520 with the following specs? I realize that this model is a couple of years old, but it looks like he upgraded the ram and HD to an SSD. It'll be for my wife who needs something sturdy and well built. Does she really need a quad-core and 2GB video card? You could save some $ by going with a T520
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Jul 3, 2014 13:01
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ihatepants posted:Is $800 too much for a used Lenovo Thinkpad W520 with the following specs? I realize that this model is a couple of years old, but it looks like he upgraded the ram and HD to an SSD. It'll be for my wife who needs something sturdy and well built. Just a note that the Crucial M4 SSDs had some serious issues caused by bad firmware. If you seriously considering it I would ask for more information on the drive. If you just want something well built I would go find a refurbished Thinkpad on the outlet for $600. You will get something newer and the it will have a year warranty.
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Jul 3, 2014 14:03
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I recently purchased a Surface Pro 3 and a Gigabyte p35W v2 gaming laptop (i7/870m) in preparation for grad school abroad. My previous 2 laptops were 13" MacBook Airs. Some quick thoughts if you're thinking of buying either:- Surface Pro 3
Gigabyte p35W v2
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Jul 3, 2014 14:26
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Xae posted:$1500 when configured.
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Jul 3, 2014 14:33
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Flipperwaldt posted:I can't compare with the other Thinkpads, but I've got an E540. Screen isn't excellent. It's relatively low contrast and low brightness. I've seen a lot worse too, though. It can feel a bit wobbly. Wouldn't want to transport it in anything but a protective padded bag. The hinges feel like they might be worn out after a year or three of careful use. If you prod the underside, you get creaking plastic noises. Which isn't a problem, I know; it just doesn't give the best impression. Thanks for this. The screen issue is kind of a deal breaker for me. Just got a new kitten and I like to laptop in bed, and I think both of those things combined will lead to the screen breaking within two years if what you're saying is correct.
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Jul 3, 2014 14:54
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Posted this a while ago, but I think it went unnoticed. I'm looking for a computer that I can carry with me on the road and use it to edit 18 megapixel RAW photos on Adobe LightRoom, and also use it to watch movies when connected to my TV via HDMI and stream Steam from my desktop PC. At the most I'd play Age of Empires when I'm on the road. I am particularly interested in something LIGHT and sturdy; I used to have an Alienware PC, when I didn't have a desktop, and it was a piece of poo poo both in terms of components AND in its construction (hinges died pretty quickly for many people, including me). I don't need a DVD/BR reader or anything too fancy. I'd like to stay under the €700 mark, but I'm open to suggestions.
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Jul 3, 2014 15:20
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Lelorox posted:Thanks for this. The screen issue is kind of a deal breaker for me. Just got a new kitten and I like to laptop in bed, and I think both of those things combined will lead to the screen breaking within two years if what you're saying is correct.
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Jul 3, 2014 15:56
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Flipperwaldt posted:I'd be hesitant to say "Yes, definitely." and I'm not sure what else in the price range might do better without too many compromises on other fronts, but it definitely would be a worry. I'm looking again at at the y40. It looks like you cant get the y410p on lenovos site anymore.
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Jul 3, 2014 16:22
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Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:Get a T440s. I've been seeing this laptop recommended a lot. Are there any good written reviews on this? And the price is supposed to be in the 800s? Edit: Is the laptop capable enough for Linux VMs also? Tezzeract fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Jul 3, 2014 |
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Jul 3, 2014 16:55
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Lelorox posted:BTW anyone checking out Lenovos should look at visa card discounts: From the few items I checked the Barnes and Noble Gold thing saves you more.
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Jul 3, 2014 17:34
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ihatepants posted:Is $800 too much for a used Lenovo Thinkpad W520 with the following specs? I realize that this model is a couple of years old, but it looks like he upgraded the ram and HD to an SSD. It'll be for my wife who needs something sturdy and well built. Those specs are wrong. 8MB of L3 cache, there's no such thing as L6. ihatepants posted:• 15.6 inch Display (1920 x 1080p) (250 NITS) The display is real nice. Top-of-the-line. ihatepants posted:• blah blah blah, 16GB of RAM, decent wifi card The RAM itself is worth $190. Anyway, if it's in reasonable shape, that's a reasonable price. Maybe it's $100 too much or something, I wouldn't know, but spec-wise the only thing newer laptops would get you is better idling battery life and a real tiny CPU bump (at <$1000 prices). And GPU performance, yeah, it falls short of its contemporaries in that, if you want some gaming machine this isn't the best option, but at least it's not integrated.
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Jul 3, 2014 18:05
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Dell outlet is doing 30% off until the 7th. Finally got the coupon I was waiting for so I got one of the 15 inch 7000 series with: i7-4200u 8gb RAM 500gb HD 1920x1080 IPS touchscreen for 640$ and then I used my 125$ gift card. Definitely replacing that hard drive in the fall. That's actually the main reason I chose the 15 inch because getting to the HD is very easy compared to the 14.
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Jul 3, 2014 18:45
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Good buy. Would personally prefer a beefier CPU in a machine that size and weight but assumming you got the GT750 with DDR5, its a healthy dose of graphics power for not alot of money.
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Jul 3, 2014 19:35
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Calidus posted:Just a note that the Crucial M4 SSDs had some serious issues caused by bad firmware. If you seriously considering it I would ask for more information on the drive. If you just want something well built I would go find a refurbished Thinkpad on the outlet for $600. You will get something newer and the it will have a year warranty. Thanks. I'm actually not in the US right now so the outlet isn't really an option. I will ask about the hard drive though. What sort of issues did the M4s have? Has the firmware problem been resolved? shrughes posted:Those specs are wrong. 8MB of L3 cache, there's no such thing as L6. Thank you. Newer models really are marked up a bit over here. The y410p is about $1100 new for example. Bob Morales posted:Does she really need a quad-core and 2GB video card? You could save some $ by going with a T520 She wants to be able to play at least some games, like Divinity Original Sin. EDIT: There's also a used T530 with the following specs being sold for about $850. Would this be a better deal than the w520? • Intel 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM Processor 2.30-3.30 GHz 6Mb Cache • 15.6 FULL HD LED Display (1920x1080 native resolution) • 8 GB DDR3 1600Mhz • 640 GB HDD • Intel 4000 HD Graphics + NVIDIA NVS 5400M 1GB DDR3 • Bluray ROM - DVDRW Super Multi drive • Bluetooth 4.0+ HS , Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 3G WWAN Card (Gobi3000) • HD webcam • Backlit spill-resistant keyboard • 2 USB 2.0 , 2 USB 3.0, Multi-Card Reader, Fingerprint Reader • Windows 7 64 bit ihatepants fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jul 3, 2014 |
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Jul 3, 2014 20:13
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Viperix posted:I think it was a Dell XPS 15. The one nice thing about getting a Dell through the school is that they often have good, fast repair deals with them. This was relevant when my M4400 went through 6 power adapters, a motherboard, and a SSD.
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Jul 4, 2014 00:44
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Genocyber posted:From the few items I checked the Barnes and Noble Gold thing saves you more. Thanks. The program page is all sorts of messed up but I managed to create an account even while it gave me a bunch of errors about how it couldn't recognize the b and n code. Saves me an extra 20 bucks or so.
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Jul 4, 2014 02:03
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Imaduck posted:A lot of schools have deals with Dell and are obsessed with using them. I've found on the lower end, Dells are fairly competitively priced, but on the upper end, the margin is absurd. I don't see why you'd want a touchscreen with a laptop like that, and there are machines out there with the same specs and a better video card for $500 less. Schools are there to gently caress you out of every goddamn cent you have and that includes laptop 'deals'. That poo poo is there for people with more money than ability to operate Dell's website.
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Jul 4, 2014 02:22
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go3 posted:Schools are there to gently caress you out of every goddamn cent you have and that includes laptop 'deals'. That poo poo is there for people with more money than ability to operate Dell's website. No but seriously, who is the idiot that designed dell's website.
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Jul 4, 2014 02:35
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A coworker got a T440s today and it's pretty nice. I didn't get to check out the screen very much but I can just tell it was an LG screen. Here's something weird: RPI's laptop program lets you (if you're an incoming RPI student) buy an overpriced T440s with 3x3 Ultimate-N wifi which is certainly not an option available direct from Lenovo: http://dotcio.rpi.edu/services/laptops/ Edit: Actually never mind, their specs are complete horseshit, the T440s doesn't have an ExpressCard slot.
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Jul 4, 2014 03:55
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How about Dell refurbished laptops? I want to get a cheap laptop to watch dvd's on and also surf the web on trips. This one looks pretty good, but it is a refurb. Anyone have good/bad luck with Dell refurbs? http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/StoreCatalog/ctl641/cp43622/si6590978/cl1/dell_latitude_e6410_4gb_ram_250gb_hdd?offset=0&isLaptop=Y Dell Latitude E6410 4GB RAM 250GB HDD Refurbished Dell Latitude E6410 Processor: 1x Core i5 (i5-520M) 2.40 GHz Memory: 4 GB HDD: 250 GB Optical: DVDRW Video: Nvidia Quadro NVS 3100M OS: 32-bit Windows 7 Pro Your Price: $399.00 $359.10
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Jul 4, 2014 14:37
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I have a T440s I'm demoing to people to clients to drag them out of the stone age and it is indeed A Nice Laptop
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Jul 4, 2014 15:54
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Looks like it's from the Stone Age though.
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Jul 4, 2014 17:41
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Maybe if we dressed it up in some skinny jeans and put some wayfarers on it? Thinkpads are ironically retro and thus hipster nerd cool. Deal with it 
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Jul 4, 2014 18:03
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| # ? May 26, 2024 20:43 |
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My coworker just got one and the trackpad is pretty tragic. It has this strangely large amount of travel and the palm detection is poo poo (at least in Linux). It also seems to have really weird logic about what is a right vs left click (although that may just be me not being used to it). But you can't disable the trackpad and use the track point, because that also disables the buttons.
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Jul 4, 2014 18:09
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