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mekkanare posted:I'm not sure whether to post this to the tablet thread or this one, as I'm torn between the two. What I'm looking for is a portable device that I could use to read through textbooks and with a good stylus response in order to take notes for mathematics courses. I like my friend's tablet, a samsung note, but seeing as it is $500 I feel that perhaps a touch-screen laptop could offer much more at that price point. Find a previous model Surface Pro at blowout pricing?
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May 23, 2014 13:26
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Bob Morales posted:Find a previous model Surface Pro at blowout pricing? Yeah, the SP2 is probably going to be sold second hand at that price. I'd suggest looking for that.
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May 23, 2014 14:37
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What are my options, and people's opinions, for a very high-end laptop with a Retina-style high resolution display? I do overseas contracting work so while it's not on an oil rig, it's VERY similar and I'm looking for a desktop replacement for doing a lot of video editing (mostly time-lapse compilations) and some moderate gaming. I'm trying to keep it at $2500 or under. Currently, I've narrowed it down to the Thinkpad W540, Dell Precision M4800, HP zBook 15, and Macbook Pro. Is there anything else out there that I should be looking at? Configured as I'd want them (With a 3 year warranty, i7-4800MQ and at least a 256gb SSD), both the HP and Macbook are over $3k and the Macbook doesn't have an integrated 10-Key, plus its lack of field serviceability. So unless there's a secret coupon code somewhere for them, I'm not considering them too seriously. The Thinkpad I can spec something nice with a 256gb SSD for $2300. The Dell nudges just over $2500, but can do a 256gb Mini-card SSD in addition to an internal 1tb rotational drive and optical drive, which I like.
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May 23, 2014 17:57
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They are probably your best bets in your situation, but my question is: will their GPUs be updated along with the Haswell refresh, like we're seeing in some other lines? If so it might be worth waiting, as the jump in performance from the Geforce 750M to the 850M is really big in regards to moderate gaming. Most places are reporting 40%ish better framerates when comparing otherwise equal systems with the updated GPU. Since you're an overseas contractor, I would go with the Thinkpad just because if something breaks while you're overseas, compatible parts for them are usually easy to find. If something breaks on a mac and you're overseas... Fart Car '97 fucked around with this message at 18:04 on May 23, 2014 |
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May 23, 2014 18:01
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Crappy old TV posted:but can do a 256gb Mini-card SSD in addition to an internal 1tb rotational drive and optical drive, which I like.
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May 23, 2014 18:21
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Waiting for a 800 model card is tempting, I assume this will knock down the price for anything with a 700. Has that already happened or is it worth waiting for a price drop?
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May 23, 2014 18:25
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Fart Car '97 posted:They are probably your best bets in your situation, but my question is: will their GPUs be updated along with the Haswell refresh, like we're seeing in some other lines? If so it might be worth waiting, as the jump in performance from the Geforce 750M to the 850M is really big in regards to moderate gaming. Most places are reporting 40%ish better framerates when comparing otherwise equal systems with the updated GPU. I'm not sure. For these price points it's all a Quadro K2100 2gb GPU, which I think is a Geforce 750M (anyone want to correct me on this?). I wasn't aware that there was a big upgrade planned? The Dell is pretty easy to work on yourself as well, it actually comes with an on-site 3-year warranty but if you're overseas they're good about sending parts. I'll be working with the military and can get delivery through the APO system. Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:The W540 has two M.2 sockets. You can't get PCIe M.2 SSDs yet but there's a few that use the SATA 3 interface (M.2 supports both). Would that allow me to have two SSD cards? I like the option of having an internal SSD plus a traditional drive for the capacity, many of the video projects I work on are pulling 200-300gb of source material and not having to rely on external drives as much would be awesome.
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May 23, 2014 18:33
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Crappy old TV posted:Would that allow me to have two SSD cards? A quick search proved me wrong about the PCIe drives not being available. It looks like there are a few places to get them but they're even more expensive. They're ridiculously fast.
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May 23, 2014 18:56
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Thanks to everyone who responded, I'll check out the SP2.
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May 23, 2014 19:25
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Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:Yes, but they're more expensive than typical SSDs of the same capacity. There are different lengths and I'm not sure what length the W540 allows for but it's probably 42 or 80mm, and if I were to guess I'd say 42. Sounds like it would push it well outside of my budget. So far the Dell is the only one I've found that you can get with a SSD Mini-card as well as a rotational hard drive, based on that factor alone I might have to go with it. Thanks for your input on the SSDs.
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May 24, 2014 00:00
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mobby_6kl posted:What's with the complaints about keyboards on the Tx20 series? Maybe it's a T420 thing only because I had two T520s and the keyboard, in addition to having pretty much the best layout ever, also was extremely solid and didn't flex at all. There seems not to be quite as much sproingyness in the Tx20 and Tx10 generation as there is in the Tx00 generation (or some earlier generations). My first impression of the W520 was that it was slightly worse but tolerable. But it's such a slight difference.
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May 24, 2014 06:35
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Crappy old TV posted:What are my options, and people's opinions, for a very high-end laptop with a Retina-style high resolution display? I do overseas contracting work so while it's not on an oil rig, it's VERY similar and I'm looking for a desktop replacement for doing a lot of video editing (mostly time-lapse compilations) and some moderate gaming. I'm trying to keep it at $2500 or under. It looks like the 4K Lenovo Y50 (which offers an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 4GB card on the 1080p version) will ship in July. Toshiba also has a new P50T with a 4K display and a 2GB Radeon R9 M265X card. (which, for what it's worth, is on sale for the next two days) There's also the new Razer Blade, but I'm kind of skeptical about one such as them being able to produce a laptop worth over $2000. I've actually been looking for something along these lines. I'd mainly be using it for the following: -Relatively basic Solidworks work (mostly fine-tubing models for 3D printing) -Light to moderate duty gaming -Potentially experimenting with the Oculus Rift (most likely doing FPV piloting of R/C vehicles) I was originally going to wait for the 4K Lenovo, though the Toshiba is kind of tempting. Would the Toshiba's 2GB R9 M265X be enough for a 4K display?
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May 24, 2014 17:05
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Crappy old TV posted:What are my options, and people's opinions, for a very high-end laptop with a Retina-style high resolution display? I do overseas contracting work so while it's not on an oil rig, it's VERY similar and I'm looking for a desktop replacement for doing a lot of video editing (mostly time-lapse compilations) and some moderate gaming. I'm trying to keep it at $2500 or under. Price being irrelevant, I would probably go with the M4800 or the Thinkpad W540 (or x240 if you don't care that much about the numpad) - thing seems amazing. Both seem pretty awesome, and I'd look at the serviceability as the primary deciding factor, particularly considering whether service centers/people exist where you'll be for Dell / Thinkpad.
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May 24, 2014 17:59
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Not directly Laptop-related, but interesting nonetheless: A Japanese team of researchers at Chuo University has, by their accounting, increased SSD speeds by up to 300%, and decreased power usage by up to 60% (That's the part that led me to share with you guys, though I'm not sure how much of an actual effect that will have on actual battery life), through the use of middleware. It seems like it should be adaptable to existing firmware as well. http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20140522/353388/
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May 24, 2014 22:52
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That's just a wild exaggeration of a garbage collection paper. The benefit is only seen when an SSD is near-full, they don't specify what disk or flash translation layer they're comparing against, and those numbers are from some hand-picked benchmark. I'd wager that there's no benefit relative to Samsung Evo drives right now.
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May 24, 2014 23:21
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What's the cheapest and easiest way to attach two USB devices, a 2.1 speaker set, and maybe an external monitor via HDMI to my laptop when I'm at my desk? I've looked at a few port replicators that connect via USB and was surprised to see them start at $100. I'm hoping there's a cheaper option out there, even if it only connects the USB devices and speakers.
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May 25, 2014 02:11
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The cheapest? Don't be lazy and plug them in yourself. Easiest? Port replicator/dock, which yes, tend to be expensive (try eBay for used ones). Middle ground? Isn't one, unless you get USB speakers, then you could drive all 3 USB devices off a single USB hub, and only have to plug the hub and the HDMI in each time.
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May 25, 2014 02:21
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Karthe posted:What's the cheapest and easiest way to attach two USB devices, a 2.1 speaker set, and maybe an external monitor via HDMI to my laptop when I'm at my desk? I've looked at a few port replicators that connect via USB and was surprised to see them start at $100. I'm hoping there's a cheaper option out there, even if it only connects the USB devices and speakers. What's available on your laptop? Monoprice is a good place to start.
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May 25, 2014 05:21
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Pyroxene Stigma posted:What's available on your laptop? Monoprice is a good place to start.
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May 25, 2014 07:53
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I think the Fujitsu PR08 is the best port replicator on the market, offers three FHD out @ 30fps over usb 3.0, gig-e and whatever else is the norm, spdif, surround sound etc, but you're going to pay $150 or so for the device.
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May 25, 2014 08:27
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Did any out those windows/android laptop/tablet hybrids ever come into existence? Those looked pretty cool
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May 25, 2014 14:32
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I'm not sure if this thread or the tablet thread is the best place to ask about this, but what's the consensus on the Asus Transformer Book T100? It seems like a very cost efficient portable laptop/tablet which is exactly what I am looking for. I have a 17" laptop in my dorm room that functions as my desktop for most things, but I don't like lugging it around campus. It also constantly needs to be plugged in due to battery life of less than an hour. So T100 seems to (cheaply) fill the gap that I have for a lightweight, long battery life laptop. I've also considered the Surface Pro 2, but it seems to cost significantly than the T100 any way I look at it.
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May 25, 2014 15:24
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I can't decide on a laptop! I'm looking for one maybe 15 or 16" (IPS), under $900 US, but not a touchscreen. Edit: Well after looking around some more I guess that's pretty rare. I just don't want a screen as bad at this loving Dell N4110. Also wish I could find one without an optical drive. thehandtruck fucked around with this message at 00:09 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 25, 2014 16:34
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Doghouse posted:Did any out those windows/android laptop/tablet hybrids ever come into existence? Those looked pretty cool I don't know, but it appears AMD is working on something that would be pretty handy for that sort of thing: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/182790-amds-next-big-gamble-arm-and-x86-cores-working-side-by-side-on-the-same-chip
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May 25, 2014 18:18
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UPS says my gigabyte p34gv2 should arrive wednesday! I'm ridiculously excited. I've never written a review or tech writeup or anything of that sort before; what're the most useful things for me to report on?
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May 25, 2014 23:46
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Pattycakes posted:I'm not sure if this thread or the tablet thread is the best place to ask about this, but what's the consensus on the Asus Transformer Book T100? It's very sensible. No glaring flaws in its design. Comfortable to use.
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May 26, 2014 00:40
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Pattycakes posted:I'm not sure if this thread or the tablet thread is the best place to ask about this, but what's the consensus on the Asus Transformer Book T100? The one I have works quite well, it does have the advertised battery life going ~1 hour on 9% is kinda awesome. I must state that the track pad click is pretty awful so use the touch screen as much as you can.
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May 26, 2014 02:31
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shrughes posted:It's very sensible. No glaring flaws in its design. Comfortable to use. Sweet. I'm glad to hear that its as good as advertised. R0ckfish posted:The one I have works quite well, it does have the advertised battery life going ~1 hour on 9% is kinda awesome. I must state that the track pad click is pretty awful so use the touch screen as much as you can. Yes, the battery life is one of the biggest advantages in my mind. I plan on using a wireless mouse primarily or the touch screen instead of the track pad.
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May 26, 2014 03:00
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Trebuchet King posted:UPS says my gigabyte p34gv2 should arrive wednesday! I'm ridiculously excited. I've never written a review or tech writeup or anything of that sort before; what're the most useful things for me to report on?
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May 26, 2014 03:07
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I'm looking for a laptop for mostly-work use. My budget is £1200, and I need the following things: - CPU and memory good enough to handle heavy-duty Mathematica use (i.e. scientific computing) without melting. - Wi-fi (duh). - Excellent battery life. - Enough durability to stand up to frequent travel and possibly being dropped once or twice. - A good warranty. I know this is usually a waste of money, but in this case I'm getting the laptop using a grant which will pay for a warranty but (presumably) not a replacement. - Acceptable viewing angles on the screen. - Ideally a touch screen for taking notes. - Ideally hardware that plays nicely with something other than Windows 8. (I'm familiar with Linux and open to trying OSX.) I don't care about weight - I could replace my old laptop with a sack full of bricks and it would still be an upgrade. Some gaming capability would be nice but I'd rather not spend extra on it for obvious reasons. Any suggestions?
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May 26, 2014 19:14
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pumpinglemma posted:- Ideally a touch screen for taking notes. Capacitive screens don't work well for taking notes. Either bring a pad of paper, or get one of the rare tablet convertibles with a digitizer pen, like the Surface Pro 3. http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/hardware/52592-list-windows-8-rt-tablets-convertibles-stylus.html My advice is to forget the pen and get a regular 15-inch laptop.
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May 26, 2014 19:27
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I think this is the best place for my questions, since you guys seem to talk both Mac and PC. But let me know if I should check the Mac thread or somewhere else. I'm looking for a 13" or 15" laptop that meets a few requirements. These are in order of importance to me. - A good screen for photo and video work. Color is more important than pixel density. - Solid 6-hour battery or AT LEAST 4-hour when doing surfing and a little music and youtubing, not work or games. Medium-low brightness while doing that is probably fine. - Enough power for video rendering and simple gaming (Warcraft and Diablo at 30fps most the time, low settings is fine). So I think that means an i5 or better and Intel HD 4400 or 5000 or better is probably fine, but I'm not certain. I think I know what to look for in all aspects apart from the screen. So if you know what stats to look for or what manufacturers/price points mean you're likely to get a good screen, that might be enough help. Also happy to hear specific recommendations, of course. Cheaper is better, but I'm willing to spend up to $2000 if I have to and I want it to last at least 2 years. My second question is that Newegg has the really nice Macbook Pro i7 on sale today: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100328 That's looks like more than enough power, Apple doesn't seem to lie egregiously about their battery life, and I know they use good screens. It's way at the top of my price range, but I feel willing. My question is if there are problems I haven't thought of when switching to mac. I've used macs but never owned one. I can play my Blizzard games and a handful of other games. I can use my Adobe programs. I don't have MS Office or anything to re-buy. Anything else I should be aware of?
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May 26, 2014 19:45
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pumpinglemma posted:I'm looking for a laptop for mostly-work use. My budget is £1200, and I need the following things: Maybe the Thinkpad T440p with i7-4700MQ and FHD screen and large battery and maxed out Intel 2x2 7260AC wifi card (whatever its model number is). See the Barnes & Noble Gold link in the OP. The trouble with that Mac is you'll have trouble running Linux and having it be "good", also you're stuck with 8GB of RAM forever. The T440p you can upgrade to 16 GB, and if the mythical 16GB SO-DIMMs ever come out maybe you could go to 32 GB. Also it's easy to replace the hard drive and the price is less. And if you ask me the retina MBP is uncomfortable to type on all day because the keys bottom out too quickly and too hard.
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May 26, 2014 21:13
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<deleted. wrong thread.>
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May 27, 2014 03:51
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Hey guys. I am unfortunately looking for a laptop again as my last one met an unfortunate end (theft) and I have been using an older one since, but I have sort of the means to get a newer one now, so.. Anyway, I know the drawbacks, but I tend to go for big gaming rigs. Portability is not much of a concern since my laptop rarely leaves my house, or is on my lap - I just have no real place for a desktop computer and don't want one. So in any case, I am sort of wondering what the best options are these days. Here are what I think my "requirements" are: -17.3 inch display 1080p -Ideally a GTX 860m GPU as that seems to be the standard -A large chassis that can actually deal with a machine like this with a good amount of sturdiness, weight/size really is not a huge concern here. I don't know... I guess those are the basics? Everything else that would be a "requirement" would basically just be standard. I honestly just don't know where to go. There is Asus, MSI, Clevo/Sager, and Alienware. AW actually seems to have the best build quality, but it might be too expensive since the baseline for their 17" model is $1600, and that's more than I can spend here. I would like to get an Asus, as I felt I had a better experience with my Asus G series than my Sager.
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May 27, 2014 21:34
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Doghouse posted:Did any out those windows/android laptop/tablet hybrids ever come into existence? Those looked pretty cool Latitude E4200 and E4300 which were really cool.
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May 28, 2014 01:33
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Dear Nerds. I'm going back to grad school with like a $1300 budget. I never used a laptop during my undergrad. Should I get a fancy Surface Pro 3 or a real laptop?
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May 28, 2014 14:39
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Okay, time for some initial impressions on the gigabyte P34Gv2. I'm amazed at just how slim it is--I've never been good at translating dimensions I read into an accurate mental picture. Keyboard: The backlighting is less obnoxious than I feared. The spacing inbetween keys seems a little wider than I'm used to, plus the lack of a real numpad means I keep making typoes, mainly with my right hand. Keys all seem responsive. No real problems that aren't just adjustment/unfamiliarity. Touchpad: Until I get a better handle on Windows 8 I won't be using this as much, as I kept inadvertantly switching from what I was focusing on to "apps" I'd clicked out of curiosity after clicking start. After work today I'll be reading up and will further report. Noise: This'll largely have to wait as well--I set up Landmark overnight and have Steam setting up Bioshock Infinite while I'm at work. In general use it's got a rather quiet little hum; noticable as long as I was in the same room, but not distractingly so. Further comments/reporting in ~8hrs or thereabouts. I can also try and answer any specific questions to the best of my ability.
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May 28, 2014 15:15
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Bum the Sad posted:Dear Nerds. I'm going back to grad school with like a $1300 budget. I never used a laptop during my undergrad. Should I get a fancy Surface Pro 3 or a real laptop? Its just my opinion, but I recommend a real laptop. The T440S is right in that range, looks professional and is quite sexy.
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May 28, 2014 19:45
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What about the W540 or the Yoga 2 Pro?
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May 28, 2014 22:02
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