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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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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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SurgicalOntologist posted:So... the Zenbook's not going to be available until Q4, Acer Aspire s3/6 until Q3. I'm helping my fiancee choose a new laptop and I've been trying to convince her to be patient. Her laptop is imminently dying, as of a couple days the screen is half distorted. The Aspire S3 would be ideal if it was available now. What does she do with it? If it's just browsing/Netflix/word, go with the $250 Samsung Chromebook at Best Buy and then get something nicer in a few months (or keep that, since it would probably be more than enough).
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Jun 4, 2013 04:08
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If she needs a laptop, try to pick up a Lenovo X120e. They're really good netbooks. Drop in a small SSD and you'll be set.
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Jun 4, 2013 04:59
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WHERE MY HAT IS AT posted:I'm really, really hoping they'll release a refresh of the yoga 13 with haswell and a 1080p screen, but they've been pretty mum as far as I know since the release of the 11S. Expecting this from the same company that offers one of the shittiest panels known to the PC industry on its flagship industrial PC and has proceeded to abort the T4XX series over and over? HAH
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Jun 4, 2013 05:35
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Oh yeah also please include those GPU/CPU charts from Notebookcheck in the OP, they're pretty handy.
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Jun 4, 2013 07:56
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Stick a chart in the OP, that list doesn't really clarify anything.
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Jun 4, 2013 20:50
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Thinkpad thermals are really good on every model. They move all of the heat to a vent that disposes of it inobtrusuvely. You'll have no problems.
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Jun 5, 2013 02:35
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Avant Gardening posted:I've been reading this thread for the last week, and I'm planning on getting a new laptop to replace my 2007 macbook. I know that Haswell has just arrived, but I'm not convinced that getting a Haswell suits my needs, especially since my laptop will serve more as a mobile desktop. Also, it seems like Haswell will not drive current prices down, and I want a laptop with dedicated graphics. GT3e (aka HD5200) is on par with the 650M you're looking at and will hands-down beat any card that you can get in a Thinkpad at the moment (one, the K2000M, comes close). If you wait and get a large ultrabook or small regular laptop with the quad-core i7 that comes with the HD5200 GPU, you'll get better battery life and you'll pay less money for equivalent GPU performance. It's in your best interests to wait. Never count on price drops, assume that today's price +/- 5% is what you'll pay regardless of when you order. Also is my anger towards consumer laptops really that constant? 
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Jun 5, 2013 05:51
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Avant Gardening posted:From the benchmarks at Anandtech, the HD5200 performs as well as the 640m, while the 650m performs either slightly or much better, depending on the game. Also, the dv6t I've configured has is 1080p while the 430s Thinkpad is 720p, so having to configure the Thinkpad for 1080p would probably result in it being more than $800, which is the limit for what I want to spend. HD5200 has been out for less than a week and is just getting drivers for most games. The 650M has been out for almost a year and has had numerous revisions and tweaks. Give it time to get its sea legs and the gap will close considerably. Otherwise, can you be more specific with what you want to do with it? Unless you really want a big machine, get an X240 with the IPS display (hopefully it'll be standard) and the i7 that comes with GT3 (regular, not 5200). It should still handle AAA titles, no problem, at 768p on medium settings.
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Jun 5, 2013 18:44
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Never count on price drops. You might see 5%, you might see 25. It's a guessing game.
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Jun 5, 2013 19:46
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Protocol7 posted:They want you to start using touch input by never, ever using the trackpad. What the hell do you rest your palms on? The keyboard? What the hell good can come of this? Protocol7 posted:You'd certainly be forced to. This is what happens when you go full retard. Never go full retard.
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Jun 6, 2013 17:13
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The layout change is godawful, yeah. The individual keys are fine, and in my opinion, better because there's a lot more surface area.
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Jun 8, 2013 03:56
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fookolt posted:What companies other than Apple have really nailed the touchpad? This is second- or third-hand, but I've heard and read that the X1 Carbon has one of the best Windows trackpads you can buy. Other than that, no one comes close, it's a one-horse race and Apple is way out in front.
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Jun 8, 2013 08:37
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Shofixti posted:I don't understand why it's so hard for laptop OEMs to make laptops of similar quality for similar prices. It seems like it took ages for them to start making some nice looking chassis but there's still usually something wrong with each model like a mushy keyboard, poor trackpad, crappy screen, flimsy body, etc. Are high end ThinkPads the only thing that compete? I guess it looks like that new Zenbook from Asus could fill that space too? (If you haven't already guessed, I'm looking for a good quality laptop this summer that isn't an Apple) I've been watching mobile computing pretty closely since the Core series processors started to take off, and it's been like that for a long time. People will buy whatever is cheap, so the incentive is to make a bargain-basement product with as many large, flashy numbers as possible while combining it with cheap garbage to keep the margins wide. Basically, PC companies are all shitpiles with a few exceptions and Apple has the right idea. I'm not a fanboy, really, they just make a better product that has its own shortcomings that are much, much less glaring.
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Jun 8, 2013 19:08
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sigma 6 posted:Still making my way through this entire thread but I have a few questions to ask: sigma 6 posted:Alienware's are just too drat expensive for me. Also, they are really ugly IMO. All of the gaming laptops produced by companies you've listed suck for various reasons and suck even more for professional work. You want a Thinkpad W530 (or W540 when it's out) and should not be considering anything else outside of a MBP, which you've ruled out. You want the best Quadro you can put in it and the cheapest i7 you can get. Make sure you get the 1080p screen ugprade as well. The best choice would be a desktop, however, and I strongly recommend you go that route. Switched.on posted:Is it just me, or are these new Alienware machines they announced today pretty sweet? I'm in the market for a gaming laptop soon as a temporary desktop replacement (about a year before I rebuild), and the timing couldn't be better. I was leaning towards an MSI, but those and the Sagers are just so ugly. Does anyone here see any glaring faults at first glance? (I'd link but I'm on mobile, sorry) You have a large, glowing, Alien-shaped contraceptive on your laptop. edit: also don't buy a gaming laptop at all. Build a desktop. InstantInfidel fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Jun 11, 2013 |
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Jun 11, 2013 08:02
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sigma 6 posted:InstantInfidel: I have a 3d workstation. This is for 3d on the go. What is wrong with the Toshiba, or the Fujitsu, or even the Sager laptops for that matter? Toshiba builds cheap plastic junk, with the exception of their high-end mobile workstations. This is true for any consumer-grade desktop replacement, and you said you wanted some sort of durability. Avoid them all, it's why they're cheap. You're going to spend $1500+ to get what you want and to get something that does it well. You're also seriously shortchanging yourself by ruling out Macbooks. They're very solid hardware and beat the everlasting poo poo out of companies like Dell, HP, and Toshiba in terms of support, quality, and reliability. Bootcamp means you can dual-boot into Windows, so that's not really an issue any longer, if compatibility is your concern. "3d graphics" is also a pretty broad category. Be more specific and we can tell you what you do or don't need; unfortunately, the W530 is the only Thinkpad worth looking at for color-sensitive work, and probably one of the cheapest that you'll find. The only other good option is HP's Elitebooks that come with their premium IPS panel, but you'll pay out the rear end for those. edit: sigma 6 posted:sports: Macs have never been ideal for gaming. Not ideal for 3d mobile machines either. However, the guys that develop for Zbrush apparently develop it on a Mac. Of course, all Zbrush needs to run well is a strong CPU and a lot of ram. Mudbox requires a strong GPU, but not Zbrush. Bootcamp solves the gaming issue and any compatibility issues you might have. There's no reason not to consider a Mac, especially when it's essentially the only other laptop in your price range that isn't going to be cutting pretty major corners. InstantInfidel fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Jun 11, 2013 |
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Jun 11, 2013 11:01
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Ok. Well, a mobile Haswell i7 will get really drat close to your desktop's CPU power when it's plugged in, so that's not a concern for you. You also won't see any significant boost in performance by getting a Xeon for your desktop, either, so don't do that. I'm sticking with what I said before, if you're ruling out a Mac than I can't see any other option for you besides a W530 (540) with a Quadro. The drivers are rock-solid and it'll handle rendering loads like cake, but its gaming performance is something like 10% slower than an equivalent consumer graphics card.
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Jun 11, 2013 12:36
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Alienware builds sturdy machines and Asus is right below them, but the rest are by and large chintzy crap.
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Jun 11, 2013 13:34
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Bob Morales posted:I interviewed at a place where the IT director had an Alienware laptop on his loving desk. Bet you would've gotten the job if you'd put your WoW characters on your resume. 
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Jun 11, 2013 13:47
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WHERE MY HAT IS AT posted:Not quite, seeing as the 780m is pretty drat close to equivalent to a desktop 680. That said, the HD5000 is still very good. What he meant was actual moible GPUs, IE ones that are feasible to carry around. 
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Jun 12, 2013 02:04
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Bleh Maestro posted:Listen Sperglord, I don't want what you're trying to sell. If you move your laptop any further than from home to work every day, you should really consider a 13" laptop, or at the very least, a 15.6" ultrabook (are these even ultrabooks? Can't remember the exact specs). You also quoted an article from Forbes, of all places, about technology. He even says in the article that he's using pre-release drivers for HD4600, not HD5000, and the framerates he's getting are still not that bad. Wait for the first driver update and you'll see a performance jump. Also, this: Bleh Maestro posted:I want: Will not be happening. Take the three things I put in bold, pick one and a half. It's just not practical to expect the kind of performance you seem to want in the budget you want to have. You're looking more like $1000 for a budget deal and $1200 for something reasonable. Bleh Maestro posted:I don't want a GAMING laptop, but I do want to be able to play 'real games' if I need to. You can play games at 30-45FPS using HD5000/5100/5200 on low/medium settings no problem. You won't get getting high detail or 60FPS+ on any setting, no matter what you do, for $800. Finally, you come in here with absurd expectations and without having done any apparent research and get defensive when people act exasperated and start trolling you. How does that seem unreasonable to you, exactly?
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Jun 12, 2013 21:08
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Bleh Maestro posted:e2: I wish something like this was linked earlier instead of getting berated. There ARE plenty of laptops like I outlined, I'm just looking for a good deal and well-built machine, and SA is a good place to learn and share these things. I was going to point out how many shortcuts Lenovo took on that laptop, but that'd just result in more passive-aggressive posting on your part. To anyone else reading: the Y410 offers really flashy specs but gives you a slow hard drive (you'll definitely notice this for load times in anything you do), probably the worst TN panel on the market (I'd be willing to bet that it's the same as the T430, it's even matte), and has really bad support. On top of that, Lenovo is ballparking 2 weeks to ship, which past experience means you might get your laptop this month or not.
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Jun 13, 2013 00:05
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shrughes posted:The Y410p's panel is glossy, not matte. Also it allegedly has solid blacks. Really? They describe it as "AntiGlare" which is the same way they describe the T430.
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Jun 13, 2013 00:10
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eXXon posted:Well, since the OP extolled the virtues of Thinkpads, maybe some of you might know the answer to this question. I have a 4.5 year old Thinkpad R500 with a tiny 40GB SSD. I was hoping to replace the Ultrabay DVDRW with the old HDD for a little extra storage. The Lenovo branded Ultrabay (12.7mm) -> SATA adapter costs $70, at which point I might as well just buy a new SSD. There are a bunch of cheap knockoffs available, but most of them are sold in the US and don't ship to Canada, and only a few questionable sources are available in Canada. I'd rather not resort to ebay. I have found a Silverstone adapter available, which should work, but one person with a T420 (which should have an identical ultrabay to the R500) said it was too short and didn't fit properly. So, uh, any suggestions? The only other alternative I've found is this similar looking caddy, which would be about $30 and possibly have a higher chance of actually fitting. Assuming you got a 250GB SSD, you're looking at around $180. I wouldn't buy a third-party adapter without knowing that it fit for sure, so I'd probably stick first-party. At that point, you're $250 in. For $320, you can buy an SSD megathread-approved 480GB Mushkin drive and use that as your single primary, or wait for a sale and pick up that or another equally sized drive for less. On top of that, that drive is going to be big enough and fast enough that in two or three years you can drop it in to a new laptop and not face the same situation you do now with your 40GB SSD. Just food for thought.
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Jun 13, 2013 01:48
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How about a Chromebook? It's not Windows, but if it's just for web browsing, it's literally perfect. Great battery life, an SSD, and really cool.
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Jun 13, 2013 01:54
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eXXon posted:Uhh I'm not looking to spend $300 to add way more storage than I need, $30 would do just fine. Oh, I completely misread your post. I thought you wanted a new SSD. In that case, I wouldn't buy from a third party unless they have a return policy that lets you send it back if it doesn't fit.
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Jun 13, 2013 17:53
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FISHMANPET posted:They're doing it for CPUs and integrated graphics because businesses are still on XP and that's what they're using. Hell, there are recent Intel Gigabit NICs with Win 2k drivers (don't ask my why I know this I know your pain  
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Jun 13, 2013 18:12
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Sendo posted:Really close to buying the new Sony Vaio Pro 13" with the i5 Haswell after spending a decent amount of time using one today, I was really surprised at how thin and light it is (thinner/lighter than the new MBA) and it's really well built. If you like it and it suits your needs, get it. I recall reading an article on Anandtech that Sony unfucked themselves in a big way with regards to build quality, but now I can't find it.
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Jun 19, 2013 04:24
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DrDork posted:I seriously wonder how much being able to brand your product as an Ultrabook is actually worth these days. Especially with the touchscreen requirement, which I imagine ads not insubstantial costs to the machine (as well as causing all sorts of nasty second-order effects: do you really want to be supporting a laptop with a squishy matte screen that people are poking with their fingers?), it seems like a tough sell from a business perspective, especially since I can't see the touchscreen being a huge seller in some markets. I think it's less about the branding and more about the subsidies Intel shovels your way, but the branding can't hurt. The market was trending towards small and light anyway, Intel just artificially sped up the process.
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Jun 19, 2013 05:58
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WHERE MY HAT IS AT posted:Just came to post this. precedence posted:wow, that's crazy. it would *sorta* make sense, the y500 has SLI 650m's. The new razer blade is 14 inches and super thin, so maybe that's where things are headed? A lot of theoretical power that's pretty constrained by a tiny thermal envelope that results in throttling and the (admittedly much improved) drawbacks of SLI, including microstuttering. It makes a lot more sense to either get a single 750M or get a better GPU altogether.
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Jun 21, 2013 01:34
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sports posted:The Air does have a better WiFi card in terms of standardization. Something along the lines of "You can only use drivers we release and absolutely nothing else" and then they go months without actually releasing anything. Terrible isn't really a harsh enough word for that kind of poo poo.
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Jun 24, 2013 07:22
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Master_Odin posted:So basically don't have it sit on my actual lap while playing a game and use headphones? Is there a video or something of this as I'm not sure "very very loud" is. If it's anything like the 2012 model, it's just barely audible if you have speakers, but very noticeable without any sort of background noise.
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Jun 24, 2013 20:09
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If you have room for that laptop, you have room for an mITX desktop that will outperform and outlast that laptop while running you about the same amount of money. If you buy that laptop, you're wasting money. If you want to go ahead anyway, then yeah, I guess that's the best thing you can get, but only because everything else is worse. Added bonus, the glowing logo is a free contraceptive! But seriously, that logo is huge and gaudy, keep that in mind if you have judgemental friends.
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Jun 26, 2013 23:05
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the black husserl posted:Am I misreading this? My early 2010' Macbook pro runs Witcher 2 and Human Revolution on medium settings just fine. Surely the modern cards haven't gotten worse? The very highest-end cards are superb, but they require a massive cooling system and guzzle power. The mid and low range are pretty lovely, though. edit: read another way, he's saying you're basically paying for less performance when compared with a desktop.
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Jun 27, 2013 03:44
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Switched.on posted:For the record, there are plenty of gaming laptops with user upgradeable GPUs now. There is a small subset of people for whom a gaming laptop is a good idea. I'm one of them, and I got the same load when I asked for advice here on which was a good buy. I never asked if I should buy one, because I'm savvy enough and know my situation better than anyone here. It was pretty frustrating to get blown off, but whatever. If you're sold on one, and price isn't a barrier you're worried about, don't let these guys talk you out of one. I'm leaning towards the new MSI GT60 myself, but still have another month to decide. We're trying to talk people off of a cliff. The appeal of a gaming laptop is that you can game anywhere you want, any time. The reality is that you're carrying around a ten pound monster that has a tether with a brick that weighs a pound or two itself. Things are changing, though, but not very quickly. Hopefully Broadwell eliminates the necessity for a dGPU altogether (unlikely, but hey, massive gains from Intel GMA->HD3000->HD4000->HD5000!) and even better, Nvidia is licensing Kepler, which means that IGPs can use Kepler chips as their IGP. If you absofuckinglutely must have a gaming laptop (and unless you're in the service, a travelling salesman, or something of the variety where you do not relax in the same place 300+ nights of the year, you don't and should get a desktop), then look at the 14" Razer Blade or any of the ultrabooks with dGPUs. Those solve the very worst problems with gaming laptops, namely weight, footprint, and the power brick. Even better, look at a 2013 13" MBA, whose GPU will play virtually any game you throw at it (except for Crysis 3, and you'll be getting lovely FPS anyway, desktop cards struggle with it) and whose battery life is 12 loving hours of light usage, 7 at heavy, and 5 for video playback  Your choices are numerous.
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Jun 27, 2013 05:20
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NeoSeeker posted:Now I'm looking at the MSI GT Series GT70 2OC-065US. Is this a good laptop? I was looking at the lenovo y500 but I'm put off by the underwhelming graphics and processor. Ok, first you need to understand that any laptop you buy today for $1500 will not play AAA games in two years. New consoles are just coming out, so software is going to take a great leap forward. The only reason games are playable on anything but the very best mobile GPUs today is the fact that 8-year-old tech in the 360 and the PS3 was holding them back. Take a look at benchmarks for Crysis 3, destroyer of texture units, to get a good picture of what I mean. Next: That is a 17.3" laptop. If you ignore every other word I say, do not get a 17.3" laptop for school. They're loving massive and unwieldy. In fact, having very recently been in your position, I'd recommend you forgo serious gaming entirely and get a 13" Macbook Air, that's what I'd do in a heartbeat. Next, as I'm guessing you've seen, you won't find a laptop for $1500 that has an SSD as the primary storage option. On top of that, if you hate me and everything i say, Anandtech universally panned another version of that laptop. tl;dr my advice to you is to seriously reconsider what you want in a notebook for college and get either a 13" MBA or an ultrabook and just game less. More E/N-esque, I'd also say that you'll have plenty of college poo poo that's a lot more fun than games to do anyway. If you're not dissuaded, at the very least avoid that shitpile and get an Asus G55 or whatever their 15.6" jet-engine exhaust thing is these days.
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Jun 29, 2013 07:18
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voltron posted:Hey! Those of us seeking larger laptops (for whatever reason!!) would also like advice once in a while. The advice is that unless you're travelling continuously, are in the armed services, or for whatever reason absolutely cannot have a computer in the same place for a period of more than a couple of days, get a desktop. Getting a gaming laptop is a waste of money compared to a cheap tablet and a vastly superior desktop, especially after the novelty of lugging around your "portable" computer wears off in a few weeks.
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Jun 29, 2013 15:52
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NeoSeeker posted:Yeah I really don't care about having to lower settings or anything. And thinking about it more I guess you're right about it being to heavy and unwieldy. Although I do know about traveling weighed down by stuff, 8 pounds ain't poo poo. But I guess I'll just go with the lenovo Y500 and build a new machine before star citizen comes out. Unless something has changed, the Y500 has the 650M, right? GT3e/HD5200 Pro/Haswell nearly matches that performance and will drastically increase your battery life since you eliminate the power draw of the GPU. If you can, wait until early August when Back to School sales have started and Haswell laptops are more prolific. You'll spend less and get more.
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Jun 29, 2013 22:22
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Mutation posted:Okay fine, the Civ series are well optimized for laptops. :p You literally cannot do this. New consoles removing the artificial restrictions on software development limits mean your laptop will be an outdated boat anchor in two year's time. This is only even *remotely* possible if you get something like a 780M, but then you've got a desktop replacement and not a laptop.
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Jun 30, 2013 00:26
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