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Is the Y50 still the recommended sweet spot for games / multi-media / ect? I don't play a lot of stuff, but it's nice to have the option if I want to play something more graphically intensive like GTAV.
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May 22, 2015 01:24
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Hotdog In A Hallway posted:Is the Y50 still the recommended sweet spot for games / multi-media / ect? I don't play a lot of stuff, but it's nice to have the option if I want to play something more graphically intensive like GTAV. The Y50 will run GTAV comfortably at 1080p on low with high textures.
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May 22, 2015 01:55
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Cat Army 
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Hotdog In A Hallway posted:Is the Y50 still the recommended sweet spot for games / multi-media / ect? I don't play a lot of stuff, but it's nice to have the option if I want to play something more graphically intensive like GTAV. Just don't get the 4K model.
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May 22, 2015 04:51
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Why, what's wrong with it?
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May 22, 2015 06:36
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It's pentile.
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May 22, 2015 06:39
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XPS 13 trip report: Custom i5/256GB/8GB non-touch model, which took two weeks from order to delivery. I also tried out the Macbook Air but couldn't stand paying $1k for such a lousy TN screen. I'm primarily a desktop+tablet user so I tend to let most things slide on my laptop which sees much lighter use. I haven't noticed the typical laptop complaints like backlight bleed, uneven construction, fan noise, or a creaky chassis on the XPS. It gets warm on the couch/bed, but not hot. The speakers are decent, keyboard is adequate. But even I will confirm that the touchpad on Win 8.1 is utter bullshit. I have to slide down about a quarter/third of the touchpad before the two-finger scroll gesture activates. It's clearly a software issue since it's ameliorated in IE and the UEFI (and reportedly on Ubuntu/Win7) but it seems Dell/Microsoft are throwing blame at each other. I picked the XPS for its size and weight and I'll likely keep it during its one-year warranty, since I often use a USB mouse anyway. But I suspect something like the T450s will be a better choice for people who are heavy users of their laptops.
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May 22, 2015 09:17
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Guerrand posted:I suspect something like the T450s will be a better choice for people who are heavy users of their laptops. You haven't gone into battery life yet, which is supposed to be great on the XPS 13 (with the 1920×1080 screen). But then, it's supposed to be fantastic on the T450s, too. Shame to hear about the trackpad, especially since this was one of the models that let Windows do all the work. Maybe all those manufacturer drivers we had with little cheesy apps in the systray for all these years are just better than anything Microsoft can do. Sad. HalloKitty fucked around with this message at 10:21 on May 22, 2015 |
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May 22, 2015 10:17
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The T450s isn't without its own pointing device-related issues. The scrolling using the track point and middle button, the motion is incredibly janky. Sometimes there's minimal motion, and sometimes the document skips vertically by an entire screen. Lenovo claims to be aware of the issue, and suggests that the most recent drivers improve (but not eliminate) the problem. Some users have reported better performance with the previous set of drivers. In virtually every other respect, I love love love this thing. When I stepped away from the wall outlet earlier this week, the laptop claimed 9 hours and 40 minutes of battery life on a full charge.
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May 22, 2015 12:53
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Does anybody still make laptops with 16:10 screens? I fired up an old HP workstation with a 1920x1200 panel and it's just a bit comfier for me.
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May 22, 2015 14:05
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While I'm not in the market for a laptop just yet, I will be really soon. I'll be looking for something extremely portable and durable, with great battery life, since I'll be living abroad in some basic situations. I'm not really much of a gamer, but I'd like to be able to play something like Civ 5 in low settings. I'll also be using it for the usual stuff - browsing, videos, MS Office, light photo editing, etc. The XPS 13 looked pretty appealing, and it seems that the battery life is good, but I'll be coming off a Lenovo x120e so I've gotten used to the trackpoint and the supposed excellent build quality. Which leads me to my main point - it seems that the T450s is the most agreed upon recommendation here. What are the benefits of that over the x250? It looks like the x250 is a little smaller and more expensive when you select the same screen resolution, but are there any other notable differences? It doesn't seem like the x250 is talked about as much as the T450s. Edit: I might be in the market sooner than I thought. There's a coupon code that brings the T450s with the higher resolution down to ~$750. LosMein fucked around with this message at 14:15 on May 22, 2015 |
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May 22, 2015 14:07
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spog posted:How long should a battery last when the machine is shut down? Since I last posted, 3 days ago, my battery has dropped to 72% while completely shut down. 10% a day seems wrong, so I am putting in a service call
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May 22, 2015 14:18
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Grundulum posted:According to systemrequirementslab.com, my T450s can run Pillars of Eternity. Their detection software didn't recognize my (integrated, granted) video RAM for some reason, but I know I have more than 0 bytes allocated for that purpose. I'm currently running Diablo II just fine on this thing, which came out around the same time as Morrowind; I imagine that there won't be too much of an issue playing the Nerevarine. Amusingly, both PoE and Morrowind were next on my list of games to play after Diablo II. Diablo 2 is a 2d game with low system requirements for its time, and Morrowind is a 3d one with very high requirements for its time. It'll probably run on that, but there are (or were) a lot of systems that could run Diablo 2 just fine but would melt down on Morrowind even before you started getting into all of the graphical overhauls that are now available for it.
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May 22, 2015 15:45
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Guerrand posted:XPS 13 trip report: You should have got a refurb retina MacBook Pro. If you don't require windows, the refurb rMBP is the best laptop and best buy out there.
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May 22, 2015 15:46
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Is it worth it to try and fix this sort of thing? No idea how it happened, but basically some plastic threading for the screws in the outer casing got smashed (I was able to shake out a bunch of debris from the former threads when I opened the laptop), so there appears to be no way to hold that corner of the housing together. The laptop still works fine and does everything I need it to, so I'm in no rush to replace/upgrade. I assume my options are to suck it up and either buy something else or just deal with the ugly thing, but wondering if there's some cheap/easy fix I don't know about before I proceed. Like, is "laptop casing replacement" a thing that ever happens?
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May 22, 2015 16:13
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Minidust posted:Is it worth it to try and fix this sort of thing? Get the same model on eBay, put your RAM and hard drive in it.
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May 22, 2015 16:32
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Looks like it just got downgraded to a desktop or server.
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May 22, 2015 16:47
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ToxicFrog posted:Diablo 2 is a 2d game with low system requirements for its time, and Morrowind is a 3d one with very high requirements for its time. It'll probably run on that, but there are (or were) a lot of systems that could run Diablo 2 just fine but would melt down on Morrowind even before you started getting into all of the graphical overhauls that are now available for it. This is quite true. Thanks for clarifying the point. I (at least) am definitely not expecting to use major graphical overhauls designed to run on discrete graphics cards built within the last five years; I only hope that the original game runs smoothly, and so any eye candy I can add is a bonus. Fake edit: You prompted me to track down the recommended GPU specs for both games (I'm assuming the integrated HD 5500 on my T450s would be the bottleneck rather than CPU or RAM). Diablo II recommends at least a GeForce FX 5500, and Morrowind recommends at least a GeForce2 GTS. According to PassMark, Diablo's recommended card is actually *more* powerful than Morrowind's recommended card, and both are dramatically less powerful than the HD 5500: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1335&cmp[]=2908&cmp[]=1470 I am not at all an expert on GPUs, so there could certainly be something I'm missing. To first order, though, I'd expect my laptop to run Morrowind just fine, and maybe even with some of the graphics extensions installed.
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May 22, 2015 17:01
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Comatoast posted:Looks like it just got downgraded to a desktop or server. Wilford Cutlery posted:Get the same model on eBay, put your RAM and hard drive in it.
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May 22, 2015 17:26
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Shnicker posted:I'll be coming off a Lenovo x120e so I've gotten used to the trackpoint and the supposed excellent build quality Don't worry, your Thinkpad isn't one of the ones known for good build quality. Not that it's bad, it's just more in line with a typical consumer laptop than with the X (yours is an X, but not a "real" X), T, and W series. You can spec the T-series with better processors, IIRC it can also take more RAM.
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May 22, 2015 17:30
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Minidust posted:Is it worth it to try and fix this sort of thing? It looks like your hinge is in good shape, just the case is coming apart at the seam? If there's no thermal stuff (fan/heatsink) in the vicinity you could try mixing up some JB Weld epoxy (it's about the consistency of peanut butter) and squish it in there, being careful not to get any on the moving parts or blocking ports, and then clamp the whole enchilada together with a 6 inch spring clamp. The epoxy and spring clamp together ought to run you less than $12 with tax. You'll need a plastic cup to mix the epoxy in.
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May 22, 2015 17:52
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TopherCStone posted:Does anybody still make laptops with 16:10 screens? I fired up an old HP workstation with a 1920x1200 panel and it's just a bit comfier for me. All of Apple's laptops except the 11" MacBook Air. One Toughbook, and a few <=10.1" Windows tablets. I think that's the complete list.
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May 22, 2015 18:41
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I'm in the market for a new laptop. AFTER getting about 6 years of use from my HP G60-530 I'm hoping to find something that will last just as long. My budget between $800-$1000. I was looking at the thinkpad T450 and they look really nice. I need a system that can handle running modeling programs like maya or cinema 4d without much trouble. Being able to run some pc games would be a bonus. Are the T450 good for all that, or should I look elsewhere? Also, what are the differences between the T450 and T450s? They look about the same to me.
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May 22, 2015 18:48
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Jelly Omelettle posted:I'm in the market for a new laptop. AFTER getting about 6 years of use from my HP G60-530 I'm hoping to find something that will last just as long. My budget between $800-$1000. I was looking at the thinkpad T450 and they look really nice. I need a system that can handle running modeling programs like maya or cinema 4d without much trouble. Being able to run some pc games would be a bonus. Are the T450 good for all that, or should I look elsewhere? Also, what are the differences between the T450 and T450s? They look about the same to me. The T450s has an IPS 1080p screen option, also it's a bit thinner and lighter with magnesium used in the case, where the T450 just uses plastic. Also the T450 has 16GB max ram because it has two slots, the T450s has 12GB max. The main reason to get the T450s would be to get the screen upgrade.
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May 22, 2015 19:18
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tesilential posted:You should have got a refurb retina MacBook Pro.
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May 22, 2015 20:14
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Hello to my wonderful friends of the computers forum: I am in some big computers danger and cannot meaningfully navigate the seas of numbers and letters which hold no meaning or context to me. I am working on a computer game but the last time I actually played one was in 2012, unbeknownst to me technology has been advancing. When I tried to playtest it I got less than 1 frame a second at 640x480 with everything turned to the baddest slider part, which is not very good when I am supposed to help make it. Could somebody please recommend a lap top computer that could play a computer game at more than 1 frame a second, but costing less than £650. Whenever I see suggestions in dollars, they seem really reasonable, but the price in the UK actually turns out to be really bad, or the computer does not exist here. Thank you. Thanks.
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May 22, 2015 20:44
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Triticum Guzzler posted:Hello to my wonderful friends of the computers forum: I am in some big computers danger and cannot meaningfully navigate the seas of numbers and letters which hold no meaning or context to me. It kinda depends on what game you're making and what the requirements are. Save up till you can grab a laptop with a discrete gpu. You want an 860m or better. Better in this case means a graphics processor that is an 870/880m, or a 960/965/970/980m. The 965/970/980m graphics cards are significantly more powerful than the 960m or the 800 series GPUs, but you're not likely to find any laptops with that GPU in your price range. I advise you to save up or grab something like a Lenovo Y50 with an 860m.
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May 22, 2015 20:51
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Triticum Guzzler posted:Hello to my wonderful friends of the computers forum: I am in some big computers danger and cannot meaningfully navigate the seas of numbers and letters which hold no meaning or context to me. If you're on that strict a budget, would you be able to get a desktop instead? How much is the Alienware Alpha in the UK, they're ~$330 in the US.
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May 22, 2015 20:55
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Twerk from Home posted:If you're on that strict a budget, would you be able to get a desktop instead? How much is the Alienware Alpha in the UK, they're ~$330 in the US. I don't buy desktops anymore because I move a lot. The game is actually a fairly simple looking Unity game and I think the big issue is just that my 5 year old Asus K52f is now dogshit. I'm probably not going to play a computer game for another 3 years after this, and day to day I never really need graphics stuff. I don't need to run the game great or anything, but 30fps with readable text would be a good start. Are there any budget laptops that can run computer games sort of badly but well enough without getting into "gaming laptop" territory?
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May 22, 2015 21:15
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Just had a Dell XPS 13 developer edition arrive and out of the box it's a huge pain in the rear end. The trackpad freezes continually a second at a time, trying to type puts double characters in on a single press, there's apparently no upgrade available for Ubuntu 15 and trying to boot from a 15 USB results in a black screen. What the hell?
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May 23, 2015 01:04
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TopherCStone posted:Don't worry, your Thinkpad isn't one of the ones known for good build quality. Not that it's bad, it's just more in line with a typical consumer laptop than with the X (yours is an X, but not a "real" X), T, and W series. Ha, yeah that's true. It's definitely treated me well the past 4+ years though. Is there a particular recommended sweet spot between cost and performance for configuring the T450s? I've been following this thread, but probably not as closely as I should have. I remember that it's recommended to omit the 16gb M.2 drive, but that takes away the option for the 3rd slot. I don't really know much about those types of slots, but I'd like to keep the configuration ideal for when I do have an idea what to do with it. And I'm assuming the default i5-5200U processor is good enough? Thanks.
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May 23, 2015 03:59
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TopherCStone posted:You can spec the T-series with better processors, IIRC it can also take more RAM. T450s can have 12GB of RAM vs 8 in the X250, but the CPUs are ULV all round so no difference there.
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May 23, 2015 04:18
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Shnicker posted:Ha, yeah that's true. It's definitely treated me well the past 4+ years though. Don't omit the 16GB M.2 drive, for exactly the reason you just described. I think you can safely omit the Smart Card reader, though, which frees up that third slot. I bought mine with the cheapest RAM and HDD options and then upgraded those separately by buying an 8GB stick of RAM and a 500GB SSD.
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May 23, 2015 05:15
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If I'm looking at buying a laptop with the best long-term odds of survival for the hardware (particularly with regards to getting battery replacements), is a Lenovo T-series my best bet? Or is it not going to be appreciably less difficult than any modern laptop from a reputable manufacturer?
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May 23, 2015 06:21
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Twerk from Home posted:How much is the Alienware Alpha in the UK, they're ~$330 in the US. Out of curiosity I checked here (Belgium) and the base model is 600€ on Dells website.
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May 23, 2015 07:20
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IuniusBrutus posted:If I'm looking at buying a laptop with the best long-term odds of survival for the hardware (particularly with regards to getting battery replacements), is a Lenovo T-series my best bet? Or is it not going to be appreciably less difficult than any modern laptop from a reputable manufacturer? Yeah, T-series is a very good bet. You can still get batteries for the X200/T400 and even X300 series, which came out in 2009, maybe 2008. Actually I see a T60 battery for sale on Lenovo.com. Which is crazy. There's crappy aftermarket batteries that go back to the T42 and earlier, too. You'll find a good eBay market too, you'll generally find a good battery market for centrist laptop models like Thinkpad W-series, T-series, and X-series, for Panasonic Toughbooks, and probably for Dell Latitude E6xxx and Dell Precision, likewise with HP Elitebook/ZBook, and less so (but still to some degree) with something like a VPCZ1 Vaio Z.
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May 23, 2015 07:51
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IuniusBrutus posted:If I'm looking at buying a laptop with the best long-term odds of survival for the hardware (particularly with regards to getting battery replacements), is a Lenovo T-series my best bet? Or is it not going to be appreciably less difficult than any modern laptop from a reputable manufacturer? T series is the gold standard for replacement parts, they make approximately 1 bajillion a year and make replacement parts for 3-4 years after primary production ends X series is a close second Dell Latitude and HP Elitebook are also business class laptops designed to be field-serviceable if you want different brand options with comparable quality. For Dell avoid the 3000 and 5000 series and only go with 7000 series, though.
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May 23, 2015 08:08
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What, the 6000 series is fine.
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May 23, 2015 08:18
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Yeah and the 6000 is good too
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May 23, 2015 08:31
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Any recommended touchscreen laptops that also have an optical drive? My plan is to transition my current laptop to server duties (thanks, Comatoast!  ), hosting new lossless rips of my CD collection. So a working optical drive is important here. I suppose I could pull the server out of retirement for the actual ripping process, but it'd be nice to be using my brand new toy for that part since it's gonna take so long.For the new laptop I don't need a gaming powerhouse or anything (I'm mainly a Nintendo/console guy these days). Just want to run MS Office really well, particularly Excel for work. At least 1920x1080 would be good, for the "Office space" and to maintain parity with my work desktop. And I'd like it to be at least as capable as my current laptop (except for hard drive space, which won't really matter with a media server setup), so I'll list the specs: MSI A6200 CPU: Intel Core i5-430M @ 2.27 GHz VGA: Intel GMA HD LCD: 15.6" 1366x768 "Glare Type" Memory: DDRIII 2GB*2 HDD: SATA 500GB WLANL 802.11b/g/n And if an optical drive really throws a wrench into my options, I suppose I could live with my earlier suggestion of just using the server for that. Thanks!
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May 23, 2015 12:09
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Minidust posted:Any recommended touchscreen laptops that also have an optical drive? That way your laptop requirement just becomes "anything with USB3", which is much more common these days than laptops with bays (especially in the touchscreen sector).
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May 23, 2015 14:36
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