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Last updated July 2020, Updated: Nov 19th, 2019 - PC Gaming nerds: You must buy a pascal (i.e. 1080, 1070, 1060, 1050ti or 1050) GPU. You get tons more performance per watt, which equates to lower temps, less fan noise, and gobs more better battery life. In addition with the 1060 and higher cards, you get access (with some models) to VR capability
Per Dr. Dork: Dr. Dork posted:The numbering scheme has gotten slightly better, since there's no "23478 version of the 1060" stupidity this time around. More info: http://alteredqualia.com/texts/notebooks/ (great resource) 1060 is widely considered to be "good enough" for most anything, even for high end gaming nerds, while the 1050 TI is considered "mostly good enough" for most anything while providing quite a bit more value. The 1050 standard is considered "good enough" if you are a casual gamer but need slightly more than baseline GPU. Gaming minimum requirements are generally held back to PS4 or XB1 (and now even Nintendo Switch i.e. nvidia tegra 1) hardware requirements so you're relatively safe for the next 18-24 months, as long as you don't need to do anything too fancy with VR. Save $$ on Thinkpads:  "B&N gold" or "barnes and noble link", Lenovo laptops generally 25% cheaper than anywhere else on the internetThis one reportedly works as of 5/30/2018: Ralith posted:New, working lenovo perks code: PERK*GOLD This one reportedly works as of 8/11/17: https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/barnesnoblegold Other option: https://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/perksoffer/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/Lenovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=perksoffer NJ*PERKSEPP  If it's been a while since you bought a laptop, you should know that you can play most Steam games under $25 on the built in Intel HD 4000 (circa 2012) or higher GPU. At medium or probably low settings. Confirm with benchmarks for your specific game but you may be surprised with what you can play these days. Thank you, console gamers running on 2013-era PC hardware (XB1, PS4 etc). 2015-era Broadwell Core i3 starts with HD5500 and is available up to Core i7 HD6000 and even Iris 6100 on select models.Often Recommended Laptops sorted by OP's whimsy and general price range TL;DR Under $300 and not a chromebook: Asus $300-600 Have you considered used? T420, T430, T440, X220, X230, X240 from Ebay or the Lenovo Outlet are your friends. $640-1000 in a rough order, T470, T457s/p, X270, Thinkpad Yoga, Macbook Air non-retina, XPS 13 $1000+ In rough order, T570, P70, XPS 15, Macbook retina, Macbook Pro Retina Lenovo $850 - x250/x260/x270 - 12.5" "ultraportable" laptop with IPS (better than TN) display in a variety of resolutions. Intel HD graphics are good enough for Steam games under $25. I personally own the x230 and may buy the x270. OP's Top Pick. See also: Dell XPS 13, 2015 Macbook $650-900 - T460/T470 - 14" do-everything laptop. Comes in a variety of sub-models like the T470s, T470p etc. If you want a good laptop for under $1000 that will last you 4 years of college, buy this. Lenovo Y50 - this is NOT a Thinkpad, but it is a very reliable "Gaming Laptop" which has gotten a number of upgrades over the last 2 years and is frequently recommended$1000+ T550/P70 - 15" do-everything and more laptop. Holds up to 4 sticks of ram, available with Quadro graphics for physX and cuda computational stuff (mathematica, solidworks etc) on the go. If you are in engineering or hard sciences this upgrade might be worthwhile. Also available in a true quad core (8 logical processors) Dell $850-1200 - XPS 13 13" "ultraportable" laptop with IPS display in 1080p or 3200x1800 QHD+ touchscreen, high build quality, definitely worth looking at. Fits between the T470 and X270 in size and price while having a better screen and build quality. OP's Top Pick. See also: Thinkpad X270, 2016 Macbook Asus $200 X205 - this is asus' "son of Eee PC" and if you order it from the Microsoft Store direct you can get it for $199, make sure you opt out of the MS Office 365 to get that price. You get what you pay for, not upgradable, only about 20GB of usable space, fast enough for Netflix, Facebook Youtube but not much else. It will probably play many $5-10 steam sale games if you are patient. It does have USB and SD for expansion if you're a masochist. The keyboard and trackpad are mind blowing for the price point, above average (just barely) and the screen is about what you'd find on a quality mid-grade laptop. For $200. An excellent value. Yes this RUNS WINDOWS. HP $250 Stream 11 - this is a little faster than the X205 and is priced as such. It will also probably play many $5-10 steam sale games if you are patient. Screen and keyboard are not nearly as nice as the X205 but pretty close. Yes this RUNS WINDOWS. Chromebooks: These do NOT run windows without significant hacking. Generally buy in at the price/quality point you would like. You get what you pay for generally. Toshiba makes an Intel powered x86 model with a really nice IPS 1080p screen for about $300 HP can't seem to make a chromebook power adapter that will survive for more than 6 months Asus/Acer make great chromebooks, the C720 in particular has legendary mod support from the community (they're all rootable for the most part). I have seen very, very few complaints about these devices despite their low specs. If you don't like taking chances this is a Good Buy. Samsung makes their Chromebook 2 but the Exynos ARM processor is a little wheezy trying to keep up with more than 2 chrome tabs and the screen is 1080p but not amazing apparently I like charts, have a chart. Here is a chart I made based purely off my own opinions and no science was actually used, charting general value by price range, assuming three years ownership. Because everyone always buys for 2 years, but ends up hanging on to their laptop for three. What I'm trying to illustrate here is that $400-600 is the most profitable segment for manufacturers. Thar be dragons, etc. Poor build quality, substandard parts, washed out screens, broken hinges all exist in the broken backbone of the Laptop Value curve chart. Have you considered buying a used T420, T430 or X220, X230 from Ebay, or something from the Scratch and Dent section of the Lenovo Outlet store? People get astounding deals at the Lenovo Outlet all the time.   General advice and points to ponder (written probably in 2013 but generally still valid as of January 2017, cleaned up slightly): 17" is too big unless you or your parents have sight problems Gaming Laptops: Affordable/Durable/Portable/Powerful, pick any two Thinkpads get a lot of love in this thread, and there's a reason why. IBM began the brand back in the early 1990s, and the basic design hasn't changed a whole lot - a black "bento box" with a blue enter button, black matte finish, ultranav mousepad and the quintessential red trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard. Most importantly, however, was that IBM's laptop for businesses were built to a higher standard, with a magnesium (metal) frame and more recently composites like fiberglass or carbon fiber. Hinge design hasn't changed much in 15 years and those iconic stainless steel hinges serve a purpose - in most cases they'll support the weight of the laptop if you open it upside down. The hinges also allow you to open the display "flat", a full 180 degrees. Many consumer laptops have plastic frames that flex and creak, crack and break after only a year or two of use. Many, if not most ThinkPad users are happily chugging away on their thinkpad three, five years after purchase, generally only retiring them when their internals have become woefully obsolete. ThinkPad laptops are completely seperate from Lenovo "Ideapads". It's best not to recommend entire brands. For example HP's ProBook series and Dell's 6000 series Latitude laptops are awesome machines on par with a ThinkPad, but HP's consumer line is synonymous with trash, and Dell's offerings are mediocre plastic tupperware at best. Thinkpads Thinkpad X, T and W series are worth looking at. They are the last of the IBM legacy models with true metal frames. They start respectively at $750, $650 and $750 Lenovo has started shipping a lot of consumer variants of the T430, the T430s, the T430u etc and have dramatic concessions made, like sealed or irreplaceable batteries, worse hinges, plastic frame or all of the above. The X, T and W series all use standard parts, standard screws and you can generally get replacement parts for your laptop in most major countries either same day or next day. Replacement screens can be bought new from third party vendors for about $100. Sony Sony makes excellent laptops with great screens, but are plagued by terrible driver support. Whatever laptop you buy from sony will get driver support for 6 months, after which point you'll be trapped with outdated drivers and no chance for updates. Apple There is a dedicated Apple Hardware thread. Apple makes amazing hardware but you're likely to get the best discussion over there. You're welcome to discuss them here however. Laptop parts: Intel or AMD? Intel. AMD is trying to stay relevant in the mobile market, but Intel processors are 1.5 generations ahead of AMD across the board. This means an Intel processor gives you better performance with less heat and more battery life. Intel support in linux for the Core i3, i5, and i7 series along with their HD3000 and HD4000 graphics is very solid. The HD4000 will handle most any casual/indie games you will find on steam, especially at 1366x768 The great resolution debate? For whatever reason, budget laptops settled on 1024x768, and when widescreen became common, 1366x768 and has stagnated here for years despite business laptops having resolutions as high as 1600x1200 (1.92MP) in the early 2000s. Nowadays you pay a premium for 1920x1080 (2.07MP)... when you can find it. Generally, for typical content consumption, 1366x768 is acceptable, especially for things like Netflix, web browsing, facebook, takinc classroom notes, etc. Windows 8 in particular seems optimized for consumers using this resolution. For content creation, i.e. actual work, many people consider 1600x900 to be the bare minimum. For others, especially in graphic design 1920x1080 (1080p) represents a usable workspace. The screen size debate? First and foremost, IPS vs TN. IPS is a vastly superior display panel technology both objectively and subjectively. IPS is generally brighter, has better viewing angles, and much better color reproduction, especially when viewed from the side. TN "glass", or panels are the exact opposite. But they're also a lot cheaper, by about 30%, so you will only see TN panels in cheaper models. There are a wide variety of quality TN panels, but sie by side the TN panel is almost always going to look worse than an IPS. IPS panels are typically either an upgrade or found in flagship models. Screen size is closely related to resolution. A 1080p display on a 10" screen isn't very usable with today's GUI scaling technology, while on the other end of the spectrum, 1366x768 on a 15" screen is equally as bad. Choose accordingly and to your needs. Some people can and do need 1080p in such a tiny space, and others are fine watching their second hand anime on what's basically a mobile desktop at 1366x768. The other thing to consider with screen size is heat dissipation. You can technically cram a quad core i7 in to a 10", but you can't realistically cool it even at idle without the fan going in to hairdryer mode. Conversely, if you stick an i3 in a 17" laptop, you probably won't even be aware that it's on. 14" laptops seem to have no problem with heat when powered by an i5, and a 12.5" laptop gets notably warm, almost borderline uncomfortably warm with an i5 in there. Some people are more sensitive to heat than others, expecially if you live in warmer climates like CA, TX, FL etc. SSD vs mSATA vs Rotational hard drives? SSDs are the future, Ultrabooks by definition must have them. SSD is a catch-all term for rotational (classic, mechanical) hard drive format drives using solid state technology. A newer standard, called mSATA allows you to cram 256, even 512gb in some instances in to your laptop. Some newer laptops like the Lenovo Yoga feature two mSATA slots with no option for a rotational hard drive. As of May 2015 SSD prices have plumeted, Samsung is flooding the market with $130 256GB SSDs and sometimes 128GB SSDs can be found for under $90. Factory stock SSDs are generally very reliable, however if you're thinking about buying a laptop and swapping in a higher performance SSD, be very careful, aftermarket SSD brands like OCZ have return rates of almost one in 10 (10%) for certain models (update, they've been bought by another company but they are still less reliable than Samsung or Intel). We have an SSD megathread to help you navigate this topic. You should stick to Samsung or Intel and definitely brows through the excellent SSD thread for up to date info. Sure, but I need something under $XXX.xx? So, you walked in to this thread with the nice, round number of $500. Well I have good and bad news for you, the bad news is that inflation has had an impact on the minimum cost for a quality laptop. The good news is that retailers know this and are lining up around the block to sell you a substandard disposable laptop for $499. Do you have the willpower to make the right decision? Well, do ya punk?  Generally, go $600 or go home. Intel has identified $600 as the price point where manufacturers can build a quality machine with acceptable performance for the consumer at a price/profit ratio that the manufacturer can make a profit without going broke and the consumer gets a machine that won't break before you get it home and out of the box. Or go get a Chromebook for $200-$350 depending on options. Sure, but I need a gaming laptop! what kind of mobile GPU do I need for sweet headshots?Expect to get a lot of flak for this, 10 lbs is too much to haul around from dorm to lecture hall, and "sitting down anywhere and gaming" is unrealistic. Nobody actually does this. You've already stopped reading and are posting in the thread, but if you haven't you can expect a lot of people to tell you to buy a gaming desktop and a cheap ultrabook for the same price as your glory hallelujah gaming laptop. Unless you're in the military or work on an oil rig your use case does not represent a good case for a gaming laptop. There's a chart of mobile GPUs a couple posts down, because we do get a lot of relevant CAD and 3D modeling related questions. I will try and put the most informed Quatro driver posts in here at some point. sage advice from our previous Glorious Leader: p.s. R.I.P. old Laptop Megathread, Dec 16, 2009-June 2, 2013 Hadlock fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Jul 10, 2020 |
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Jun 3, 2013 01:24
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Reserved for: your highly reccomended laptops, sure bet, etc, base model price, rounded up to the next $100 To start: Lenovo/Thinkpad T430/440 $700 (see note about differing oppinions of the quality of this screen) X230 $800 Yoga 13 $800 Yoga 11s $800 Apple Apple Macbook $1100 Apple Macbook Pro $1300 Apple Macbook Pro (Retina) akak MBP retina $1500 Dell XPS 12 $1100 Will add as we go on Also, here's some "best of" from the previous thread PC Gaming on the HD4000, aka "will LoL, DoTA 2, civilization V etc run on this?" hd4000 gaming demo @ 1366*768 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rHhLejv6kp4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Intel_graphics_processing_units Architecture/model differences Intel's Tick-Tock cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Tick-Tock outdated graphic  http://www.nasa.gov/583320main_2011_Present_NASA_IT_Summit_Hall_Tim_OCAMS.pptx x120 (11.5") vs x230 (12.5") vs T400 (14.0")  Macbook Pro 15" vs Macbook Air 13" vs Macbook Air 11.5"  How Lenovo tiers products internally http://i.imgur.com/N1Lyz.jpg Full album here: http://imgur.com/a/uRjKc Screen sizes, pixels-per-inch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, or why you shouldn't buy a 17" laptop 1920x1080 on a 15" screen looks really crisp. High end phones have a ppi (pixels per inch) of ~320, that 15.2" screen has a ppi of 145. 1600*900 is 120 and 1366*768 is 103. So the HD+ is 17% sharper and the 1080p display is 40% sharper than the base screen. The display on the x230 (12.5") is 125ppi and my Nexus S phone (pretty standard 800x480 resolution on a 4" screen) is 223ppi for comparison. http://members.ping.de/~sven/dpi.html code:mDP (Mini Display Port) to HDMI Adapter known to work with Thinkpads, and will do audio + video in one cable to your TV/home theater center. A Fantastic multi-nation power adapter plug I've used this one in eight different countries, works great. Cheap Ultrabay drive caddy and youtube instructions on how to remove the DVD cover for most laptops to use with the caddy. A word on upgrading your wifi Buy it. intel advanced wifi ultimate vs advanced 6300 - 802.11 a/g/n http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/centrino-ultimate-n-6300-brief.pdf 6205 - 802.11 a/b/g/n http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/centrino-advanced-n-6205-brief.pdf How do I upgrade...? msata port in an x220 http://i.imgur.com/8i934l.jpg RAM bay in x230 http://i.imgur.com/5pqlU.jpg Pricing? I have $500 to spend! It pretty much boils down in to five tiers $1500 and up - Great machines with quality parts, quad core mobile procesors, build quality still varies widely $1000 and up - $600-999 models with all the bells and whistles, sweet screen upgrades etc $600-999 - Ultrabooks and about 80% of the laptop market $500-600 - Last year's Ultrabooks and 80% of last year's remaining laptop market $499 and under - tupperware crap that isn't nearly as durable as your mother's fine china. There are some gems here and there There are exceptions of course, but Intel has flat out said that Ultrabooks are designed to meet a $599-and-up price point Price history. Laptop prices fluctuate about $125 over the course of the year. Buy low, cry high. prices as of 10/28/12 Thinkpad x131e (11.6") using the B&N link: $469.06 Thinkpad Edge (14") using the B&N link: $497.26 Thinkpad T430 (14") using B&N link: $623.20 Thinkpad x230 (12.6") using the B&N link: $669.13 prices as of 11/20/12 T430 $584.25 with i5 as the base processor T430u $584.25 with i5 as the base processor T430S $721.24 with i5 as the base model T530 $584.25 with i5 as the base processor X230 $608.30 also i5 with base model prices as of 12/11/12 x1 carbon touch $1409.06 i5 base model t430 $662 T430u $662 12/14/12 T430 $662.15 1/16/13 T430 $649 1/21/13 T430 $662.15 3/16/13 11.6" Macbook Air - $999 12.5" x230 - $711.75 13" Yoga 13 - $934.15 14" T430 - $612 4/15/13 T430 $660 5/28/13 T430 $650 7/22/13 T430 636.75 T430s $696.75 T431s $824.25 T430u $829.00 T530 $662.22 X1 Carbon Touch $1071.75 X1 Carbon $1049.5 x230 $641.67 x230t $1023.20 x131e AMD $499.00 x131e INTEL $649.00 Helix $1343.20 Twist $679.78 L430/L530 $551.65 W530 $1043 Hadlock fucked around with this message at 11:18 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 01:25
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Aren't there different IGPs in Haswell with greatly different capabilities? A chart would be nice.
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Jun 3, 2013 01:51
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Reserved for HD4000, 4600, 5200 charts If you have an hour, read this: http://anandtech.com/show/6993/intel-iris-pro-5200-graphics-review-core-i74950hq-tested It looks like, roughly on average, the HD4600 is 25% faster than the HD4000 in most cases, and the 47W HD5200 is 70% faster than the HD4000 I am biased (WookWook) but until the average laptop resolution moves away from 1366x768, this is the graph that matters the most to the average "gamer" who isn't interested in buying a 2-in-1 Spaceheater/"Laptop" combo  i.e. BF3 is playable on the HD5200, which is about as demanding as most games you are going to play. If you aren't playing a game where you're plying a near-photorealistic helicopter, and then a near-photorealistic F-18 fighter jet slams in to you head on at 300mph, and you need to see the ensuing near-photorealistic chaos at 60fps, then the 5200 can probably handle your more normal video games. You could probably use the 5200 in a pinch for BF3, but I wouldn't recommend it as your primary gaming platform. That said, the HD4000 will eat up most any other game out there, and I'd have no qualms about recommending the HD4600 or 5200 for the casual gamer based on this information.   Also, Nvidia/AMD charts <forthcoming> Here is a quick reference* Nvidia/AMD chart for BF3 @ med. 1366x768 medium 4xAF Huh, so the 880M is a marketing bait-and-switch for the Rev. B of the 780M? It looks like the 820, 830, 840, 850, 860 are all new Maxwell class chips, while the 870 and 880 are last gen Kepler technology. Good to know, thanks sir! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeForce_800M_.288xxM.29_Series *meant for general use only. Different games will have wildly different results based on the card, manufacturer, resolution, ram etc use at your own risk. Generally these are just to prove wether or not you can play indie games or year old AAA titles on your laptop more links of usefulness: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html  
Hadlock fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Mar 29, 2014 |
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Jun 3, 2013 01:54
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Hadlock posted:Reserved for: your highly reccomended laptops, sure bet, etc, base model price, rounded up to the next $100 $1199 ($1200, not $1300) I'd suggest putting in capital letters that the T430 screen is dogshit compared to almost any other laptop, even the T530 is a grand improvement. That said, it's still probably the best bet for a 14" laptop that isn't a piece of crap. It's a loving joke that Lenovo includes such a mediocre screen who's only redeeming quality is the 1600x900 resolution. The viewing angles and black levels are just flat out pitiful. I don't suggest buying a laptop that doesn't have an IPS screen, it's 2013. It is such a huge increase in screen quality and laptop usability. The regular 13" MacBook Pro has a really nice screen (as does the 15"), it's a bit glossy but for a non-IPS screen it's among the best out there.
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Jun 3, 2013 02:00
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Bob Morales posted:The regular 13" MacBook Pro has a really nice screen (as does the 15"), it's a bit glossy Understatement of the century. Bang on about the T430 though, wish there was a proper display upgrade available. Also that BF3 chart above puts laptop gaming into perspective given a desktop GT 640 is an ~$80 card
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Jun 3, 2013 02:16
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Found a few spelling mistakes - thread looks great otherwise.Hadlock posted:The old Laptop megathread was getting long in tooth, so here is a new one. Here are a couple of key points E: Re-reading, I don't really understand this: Hadlock posted:"SSD is a catch-all term for rotational (classic, mechanical) hard drive format drives using solid state technology." Guni fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 05:00
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Could you make a note that laptops above 13" are really pushing it in terms of size? --------8<-------
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Jun 3, 2013 06:39
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Acer are showing off the S7 and S3 at Computex That S7 with a Haswell chip 
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Jun 3, 2013 06:51
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V for Vegas posted:Acer are showing off the S7 and S3 at Computex Just was going to post about the S7...The 2560x1440 option sounds amazing. How good was the Ivy Bridge S7 in terms of build quality/feel?
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Jun 3, 2013 06:55
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New Zenbook "Infinity", looks pretty nice: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/asus-zenbook-infinity-gorilla-glass-3/
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Jun 3, 2013 07:51
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Sendo posted:New Zenbook "Infinity", looks pretty nice: Shame there's no specs and the display ports are all mini versions. I'd totally be okay with a few additional millimeters of thickness if it means not having to worry about dongles.
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Jun 3, 2013 08:19
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fookolt posted:Shame there's no specs and the display ports are all mini versions. I'd totally be okay with a few additional millimeters of thickness if it means not having to worry about dongles. Well the Asus press event is in progress now so more details will be coming shortly. Edit: Maybe not, seems they were more interested in showing some dumb dual OS Android/Windows 8 tablet/hybrid. Sendo fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 08:22
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Sendo posted:New Zenbook "Infinity", looks pretty nice: That's weird, why would they put glass on the back of the screen like that? That seems counter-intuitive to making it seem like a sturdy ultrabook.
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Jun 3, 2013 09:34
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I am going to start distance education in August, and I would like to get a nice little laptop to do my work on. I'll be doing a Librarianship and Information Management degree, so I will need to write a lot, which means that a good keyboard is a must. I would also like to be able to play some Steam games, but that's not the highest priority. Mainly I need it to be lightweight and have a long battery life so I can carry it around and use it on the train etc. I've looked at the machines recommended in the OP, and I've encountered a problem - I'm in Australia, so everything is double the price. My budget is very low, and I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to compromise and just buy a cheap lovely plastic toy, but I can't afford $1900 for a Thinkpad x230. Where should I look for a more affordable solution? Should I try ebay? Even with more than $100 postage, getting a laptop at US prices would be far cheaper, although then I'd have to worry about what to do if I had any problems with it.
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Jun 3, 2013 11:36
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Schmetterling posted:Where should I look for a more affordable solution? Should I try ebay? Even with more than $100 postage, getting a laptop at US prices would be far cheaper, although then I'd have to worry about what to do if I had any problems with it. I've used http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ twice now in Australia, shipping costs around $70-80 for the cheapest option and both times it only took 4~ days to arrive. Keep in mind if you go over $1000 before shipping you will have to pay GST when it's delivered. Some manufactures they sell have international warranty (Asus) which is nice but it's not a huge deal as I sent my first laptop back after the screen died and they reimbursed me the postage cost and once repaired it only took 3 days to arrive.
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Jun 3, 2013 12:08
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Odds are that whatever Haswell T-series Thinkpad that comes out in the next couple weeks will have the same 1440x900 dogshit TN screen, right?
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Jun 3, 2013 13:57
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Weinertron posted:Odds are that whatever Haswell T-series Thinkpad that comes out in the next couple weeks will have the same 1440x900 dogshit TN screen, right?
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Jun 3, 2013 14:04
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Glowing review of the T430 screen: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430s-Notebook.82261.0.html quote:Black level, unfortunately, continues to be very poor with a measured value of 2.09 nits leading to a contrast of only 134:1. This is comparable to the display of the T430 and T420s and even the Dell Latitude E6420, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that fine details in dark scenes and images will appear gray and a bit blurry. Those demanding more impressive black levels can opt for the ThinkPad T530 or even the workstation W Series, though they will of course demand much more from the wallet.
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Jun 3, 2013 14:53
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Seems pretty typical for a $700 laptop. They won't get good screens until the prices are bumped up to $1300+ It's just tradition when it comes to the 14" Thinkpads. My T42 had a garbage screen and so did my T400. They were all garbage.
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Jun 3, 2013 14:55
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quote:Seems pretty typical for a $700 laptop. They won't get good screens until the prices are bumped up to $1300+ All they have to do is offer a better screen for $49 or $99. They should put the much-improved screen from the Carbon X1 in the T440...
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Jun 3, 2013 15:02
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I'd think they would just skip ahead and offer retina level displays like Sony
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Jun 3, 2013 15:05
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In crazy screen news, I guess Dell's version of an 11" Yoga will have a 2560x1440 IPS screen. They also paired it with a flat, Surface-style keyboard, so probably no one should buy it!
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Jun 3, 2013 15:59
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They get the pixel density right and then gently caress up the aspect ratio, the keyboard, and the "not being a lovely flip-flop convertible tablet abortion". gently caress dell. gently caress laptops. gently caress the PC industry for having their heads absurdly far up their own asses.
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Jun 3, 2013 17:52
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I EVER SPENT
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Somebody's throwing a lot of money somewhere to make the Win 8 Tablet the thing of the future.
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Jun 3, 2013 18:01
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What pricerange am I looking at if I want something that plays lol/dota2 at good fps on low/mid settings?
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Jun 3, 2013 19:58
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Klaus Kinski posted:What pricerange am I looking at if I want something that plays lol/dota2 at good fps on low/mid settings? OP says $600 is the minimum price range to get a laptop that's not poo poo, and given that LoL runs on my 2 year old $400 netbook well enough to play I'd say that any computer on the planet in 2013 will work for what you need. Get a T430, with the B&N coupon they're $600 flat.
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Jun 3, 2013 20:14
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Weinertron posted:OP says $600 is the minimum price range to get a laptop that's not poo poo, and given that LoL runs on my 2 year old $400 netbook well enough to play I'd say that any computer on the planet in 2013 will work for what you need. Pretty much everything about it looks great (it's apparently really sturdy as well?) but lenovo loving hates non-corporate customers in sweden.
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Jun 3, 2013 20:59
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Klaus Kinski posted:Pretty much everything about it looks great (it's apparently really sturdy as well?) but lenovo loving hates non-corporate customers in sweden. If you're in Sweden that changes the price and availability of computers a ton, doesn't it? I can't estimate at all what a machine would cost over there.
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Jun 3, 2013 21:05
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Is it at all attainable to get a worthwhile ultrabook for $600? Planning on ditching my iPad and fat Asus for something thinner to replace them both. Would prefer new or refurbished, I already know what I can get used.
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Jun 3, 2013 21:18
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Protocol7 posted:Is it at all attainable to get a worthwhile ultrabook for $600? Planning on ditching my iPad and fat Asus for something thinner to replace them both. Asus Zenbook UX31A has gone for ~$600 refurbished in the past. Great screen, good keyboard, it'll be an Ivy Bridge i5 with 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM. Just be double sure you're not getting a UX32A or some other model numbers, which are low end and just typical consumer crap.
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Jun 3, 2013 21:34
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The answer to any laptop question in this thread for the next week is "Wait until Haswell is widely available." The IGP gains and battery life improvements mean you're (honestly) stupid to buy anything instead of waiting a week.
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Jun 3, 2013 21:40
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RVProfootballer posted:Asus Zenbook UX31A has gone for ~$600 refurbished in the past. Great screen, good keyboard, it'll be an Ivy Bridge i5 with 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM. Just be double sure you're not getting a UX32A or some other model numbers, which are low end and just typical consumer crap. Don't those usually come with only a 90 day warranty?
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Jun 3, 2013 21:42
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Bob Morales posted:Don't those usually come with only a 90 day warranty? I think so. I think they've also been new for $800-900, which is a bit more of a stretch but still ok (I paid $1100 when they first came out and am happy with it still). I also fully concur with this: InstantInfidel posted:The answer to any laptop question in this thread for the next week is "Wait until Haswell is widely available." The IGP gains and battery life improvements mean you're (honestly) stupid to buy anything instead of waiting a week. especially since any ultrabook refreshes will see all these big gains (integrated GPU, puny ultrabook battery, etc).
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Jun 3, 2013 21:57
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Seagate and WD have released 5mm HD's: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6873&News=Seagate+5mm+Laptop+Hard+Drive+Ultrathin So expect to see SSD adoption slowed a little bit more...
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Jun 3, 2013 22:00
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Bob Morales posted:Seagate and WD have released 5mm HD's:
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Jun 3, 2013 22:05
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Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:Isn't an SSD one of Intel's Ultrabook requirements? HDD with a small SSD cache has been sufficient.
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Jun 3, 2013 22:06
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RVProfootballer posted:HDD with a small SSD cache has been sufficient. I think he's refering to the spec. Ultrabook is a protected name (registered trademark?) of Intel's. There are certain size (maximum thickness) and hardware (power, processor type) requirements to qualify for official Ultrabook branding. You'll never see an AMD laptop marketed as an "Ultrabook". One of the requirements of Ultrabooks is that at least one drive is an SSD. New for 2013 is that they must have a touchscreen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook
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Jun 3, 2013 23:12
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I think RVProfootballer was saying that HDD with SSD Cache meets Intel's requirements. According to that Wikipedia article, the actual requirement is a minimum of 80 MB/s transfer rate.
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Jun 3, 2013 23:24
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FISHMANPET posted:I think RVProfootballer was saying that HDD with SSD Cache meets Intel's requirements. Yeah, this is what I meant. I said "has been sufficient" because who knows if they will change that, like they did to add touchscreen requirement. I'd hope they'll eventually require a real SSD, but I don't know if that is feasible when Acer or HP wants to call some $400 junk laptop an ultrabook because it's under 5 lbs and has a 10GB cache to go along with the 5400rpm HDD. I thought the whole point was to make manufacturers go more premium, but then Intel should probably already not count the cache SSD as sufficient.
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Jun 4, 2013 00:01
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