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Is there a Chromebook thread? I'm thinking about getting the 14in HP with the t-mobile 4g as a second computer. Just something I can take to the couch or work and browse on. Wondering how many people have one and if they like it. I know low-spec windows machines are cheap, but I just want something light and inexpensive to surf the web, and $350USD with cellular connectivity (albeit limited at 200MB a month) sounds kind of nice. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Feb 28, 2014 |
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Feb 28, 2014 06:06
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The Iron Rose posted:200MB a month is loving atrocious though. I know right? But apparently you get those 200 megs for as long as you have the thing. You can put a different SIM card in if you want another carriers data plan (I know AT&T works). Really though, I'd just be dicking around on facebook or the forums with it when I'm not at home or work on wifi. Speaking of y-series Lenovo laptops. I've been using a Y550p from 2009 until, well now, and it's been a really solid machine. It was about $1000 when I got it and had a state-of-the-art first generation i7-720qm+nvidia gt240m and it's been nothing but an amazing machine. I put an SSD in it last year and it still kicks rear end (I treat it like poo poo too). If you're looking at the newer Y-series jobs, I'd go for it.
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Feb 28, 2014 11:12
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I just picked up Toshiba's 13in Chromebook today as a 2nd computer/couch warrior. Same specs as the cheap Acer model, just a larger screen and 2 USB3.0 ports. I actually like the plastic dimpled body -it's easy to hold. The screen is decent enough. My other laptop has a 1366 display as well, but it's a 15.6in model that I've been putting up with for 4 years, so the resolution looks just fine on the Toshiba's much smaller screen. The two down facing speakers work good if you're in a room with little to no ambient noise. I'm not used to the chiclet keyboard yet, it's my first one, but at least the keys don't feel like they're about to fall out. I'm also not crazy about the texture on the touchpad. Coming from my old Ideapads smooth touchpad, the Toshiba's is slightly rough and it seems to impact how smoothly inputs are registered. The 11.6in Acer, while having a much smaller touchpad, might be better in this area. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied for under 300. Battery life looks to be stellar. P.s. My 2009 Lenovo ideapad still works great, has a first gen i7 and still flies, especially with an SSD. The battery is shot and its heavy, but it's been my most reliable computer. Every computer should have an SSD. If you get one with a spinning disk, put in a SSD. Edit: I looked at the 14in HP model at Best Buy, but that thing looked grungy as hell. It's a dirt magnet. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 01:32
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I was a victim of the nvidia 8600m gt failure in my Asus G1s, I don't know if different thermal paste would have made a difference, but I probably would have opted for it had I known the chip would fry after 18 months.
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Apr 22, 2014 04:58
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Pyroxene Stigma posted:
I just installed the Chrome Audio Eq and have been more than satisfied with the headphone quality. Also, I'm typing and using the touchpad amazingly well after 6 or 7 hours of use. I might need to install Ubuntu onto this thing and play a little minecraft at work.
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Apr 22, 2014 09:43
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Nickoten posted:I'm honestly kind of surprised at how good the new Intel integrated graphics solution is. I got my computer about 3 years ago and it has a Radeon HD 5730, which was a mid-range card at the time and is now worse than the 4600. Seriously, my old Lenovo has a GT240 which is probably no faster than most integrated graphics now.
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Apr 23, 2014 03:43
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Pyroxene Stigma posted:Solution: the Toshiba chromebook. Great screen, Celeron processor. I've been using my Toshiba Chromebook for a few weeks now and have really enjoyed it considering its sub-300 dollar price. I take it to work at least twice a week and it's been great to browse the forums with and stream baseball games. I think the keyboard is certainly better than the one on the smaller Acer model. I could see myself getting another one of these in a year if they're markedly improved.
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May 10, 2014 20:15
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Turtlicious posted:I'll definitely try to go more realistic, but I just know no matter how much I try to sell it she's not going to go for something that doesn't seem "powerful" it looks like the y510 is the best choice. Would she be willing to stretch her budget a bit for something like This? I imagine the more modern GTX850 will be viable longer than the GT755. Ideally she should just buy a Chromebook and let your build her a PC for 700 dollars.
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May 15, 2014 02:46
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rabatz posted:I've been eyeing that thing as a possible cheap Linux laptop for a while now. But my only concern would be its fan noise, the reviews on Amazon and the net were a bit ambiguous about it, ranging from barely noticeable to kind of annoying in a quiet environment. Would be great if you could share your opinion on this matter once you get it! If it's anything like my smaller Toshiba Chromebook, you won't hear the fan at all. The thing is always silent. Even the low end Celeron Haswells are probably so advanced that they don't break a sweat with Chrome OS -that may not hold true while running Linux? I wish it had 4gigs of ram like the 4g HP 14 though. I've managed to crash a few tabs due to running out of memory, but that was with 10+ tabs running and a slew of extensions. Still one of the coolest sub-$300 gadgets I've bought though. I'm a big fan of the 13.3in form factor now too. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Jun 11, 2014 |
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Jun 11, 2014 01:58
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Dominoes posted:So if you're willing to spend more on a better screen and keyboard, what performance laptop should you buy instead of Y50/Y70. These are the two machines I'm considering to replace my 5 year old Lenovo Y-series. Clevo P650SE. It can get pricey but under $1500 buys a GTX970m (twice as many shaders as the GTX860 in the Lenovo), an IPS display, and m.2 expansion slots capable of utilizing PCIe SSDs. It has a pretty restrained appearance as well. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Clevo-P651SE-Schenker-XMG-P505-Barebones-Notebook-Review.127978.0.html http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8651-clevo-p650se-p-7690.html The new MSI GE62 is marginally more expensive than a Y50, but has a GTX965m and i think a Samsung PLS display. From what I've seen it has vastly better viewing angles than the cheap TN panels in some other machines. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152711&cm_re=msi_ge62-_-34-152-711-_-Product
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Feb 6, 2015 20:32
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sadus posted:
I'm going to guess it will be significantly less powerful than a 960/965m. Spec sheet lists they come with either a 45 or 65 watt power adapter which leads me to believe we might be looking at something around an 840M (Quadro-ized anyways). https://www.thinkworkstations.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ThinkPad-W550s-Datasheet-3.pdf Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Feb 7, 2015 |
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Feb 7, 2015 20:08
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The Thinkpad W550s is showing up on the Barnes & Noble page starting at $1259, about $2k fully loaded.
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Dominoes posted:Think I'm going to get that Clevo/Sager from XoticPC. Going to ask them tomorrow what the diff is between the displays. Here's another positive review (this one is branded as a Eurocom): http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/eurocom-m5-pro-review-clevo-p650se/ Consensus seems to be to get a 1080p IPS display, and avoid the higher resolution models as they chew battery and you still can't play demanding games at the higher resolutions.
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Feb 8, 2015 19:57
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Dominoes posted:I'm mostly interested in the high res displays for non-gaming use. Since it's exactly twice 1920x1080, you should be able to run that res sharp if you want. Do the high-res panels kill battery life even when run at a lower res? Curious if they're IPS like the 1080p one, how much they hurt batt life, and what the diff between the two is. NotebookCheck tested both FHD (GTX980m) and 4k(GTX970m) versions and despite the more powerful graphics card of the FHD model... quote:Overall, the runtimes are 50% higher compared to the 4K version. I honestly don't know if the consumption changes if you scale it down to lower resolutions.  If you have a legitimate need for that many pixels though, go for it. I'm coming from a 1366X768 display though, so I think FHD will suit me just fine.
Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Feb 8, 2015 |
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Feb 8, 2015 20:28
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pago posted:Hello. I had a Toshiba Satellite L755-S5167 and the charging port recently went bad. The battery is also dead. I'm looking to get a new laptop. My main concern is being able to run adobe photoshop and lightroom. My old laptop ran them with some difficulty. I was looking for help in finding either a comparable machine or one of similar budget ($500) that could run the adobe programs. Thank you. If you can stretch your budget a bit you can pick up a machine with a full HD display and decent graphics (which are good things). Something like this maybe?
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Feb 9, 2015 18:39
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James Polk posted:I spend all my time at work moving around the office complex, so I need a lightweight Windows laptop that'll last 8+ hours and boot up quickly + browse the internet smoothly. Check out the new Dell XPS13. It's supposed to be pretty amazing. (If you don't mind spending 800 dollars anyways).
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Feb 10, 2015 18:38
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Dominoes posted:About to order the Sager/Clevo from XoticPC! You'll have to tell me all about it. Did you get the gtx970? Edit: Apparently I can't click links before posting. I don't think the noise will be bad at all unless you're doing heavy gaming, but that's what headsets are for. It does have a pretty stout cooling setup. 
Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Feb 11, 2015 |
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Feb 11, 2015 03:14
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If you were thinking of a Y50, might want to wait a couple weeks. GTX960m equipped Y50 coming in March with FHD IPS display.
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Feb 11, 2015 20:29
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Budget 500GB SSDs are now falling below $200. No reason to go for some mediocre half-breed. Even if your laptop was limited to only one 2.5in bay, I still wouldn't recommend a hybrid.
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Feb 14, 2015 20:15
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Basket of Kittens posted:Is this: If you really want a Chromebook, splurge a little bit and get a Toshiba Chromebook 2 with a full HD display. Hard to really compare how well they surf the internet, those CPU's are pretty far removed from each other. Plus having the whole different OS thing might make a comparison hard. (Are you sure you want a Chromebook?)
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Feb 21, 2015 21:34
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Tunga posted:What't the recommended Chromebook at the moment? Need a basic machine for my Dad, all he'll use it for is browsing so Chromebook seems ideal. FullHD Toshiba Chromebook 2 would be my recommendation. I have the first generation model and its been great. I think the 13.3 inch screen size is about perfect.
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Feb 23, 2015 03:45
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Bigass Moth posted:Is there anything in particular I should be looking for when comparing IPS displays on laptops? Resolution, build quality, etc? If you can find a decent review of the machine in question (notebookcheck.net is good for this), you'll probably want to pay attention to issues like backlight bleed and outdoor visibility (really dependent on if it's a glossy or matte display). I don't think response time is a huge issue for IPS displays anymore. They should all have vastly better viewing angles than a TN panel. AU Optronics, LG, and Samsung panels seem to be pretty popular/rated good. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Feb 27, 2015 |
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Feb 27, 2015 02:44
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KodiakRS posted:
The new MSI GE62 lists for 1299USD and has a significantly faster GTX965m. They also really toned down the ugly. If the Y50 is actually going to be shipping close to 1300 dollars, the MSI might be a nice alternative.  image source: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/laptops/2015/02/19/msi-ge62-2qe-apache-review/1
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Feb 28, 2015 21:40
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Bigass Moth posted:Can anyone explain why Lenovo Y40-80s are so cheap considering what components are included? They can't be liquidating old stock since these are Broadwells, but ~600-700 for what you get seems way too good to be true. Reviews say the screen isn't great but I can't seem to find many other negatives other than that the machine itself is an eyesore. Holy poo poo! Computer error on their part maybe? Buy that i7 and 512SSD model right now! Edit: the IPS/GTX960 Y50 is also listed now. $1299 which kind of makes the MSI GE62 look more appealing. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Mar 1, 2015 |
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Mar 1, 2015 17:25
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Strange Matter posted:17.3" HP Envy for $500.00 It's a decent amount of PC for $500 (the i5 is nice). I mean, I guess it's okay if you have to have a new 17.3inch laptop on the cheap. I don't think I could stand the size or low resolution display, but those are the trade-offs you come across when shopping for 500 dollar or less computers.
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Mar 1, 2015 19:10
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Strange Matter posted:Honestly the 17.3" is more of a compromise to get the other features than it is a feature on its own. Very true. Lenovo sells a FHD 15.6 Z50 for a bit under 600 dollars if that's more in your size range. It has an ULV i7, which should still be plenty quick. If they update it with Broadwell soon, it might even be more enticing.
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Mar 1, 2015 21:00
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JacksLibido posted:
If you're looking for something not so gimmicky looking, there's also the Asus X550JK. It has a slightly less powerful GTX850, but it also sells for $799 on Newegg right now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232132 Also, to note on the GL series Asus products you're looking at, it looks like the keyboard is drat near illegible unless the backlight is turned on (I'm assuming it must always be on?)  edit: According to this page, the GTX860m is a faster clocked GTX850m, and has about a 12% performance advantage. If you want to get into the heavy duty gaming, you'll need to step up to a GM204 chip like the GTX965/970/980. But by then you're looking at machines over $1200. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 04:41
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JacksLibido posted:
Versions of the Y50 with an IPS display are listed on Lenovos website Now. A lot of people have been complaining about the display hinges on the Lenovo support forum. I don't know if this is a genuine design flaw or just a bunch of people being careless with their computers. It is also being discussed on the Notebook Review forum as well so...
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Mar 3, 2015 07:31
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KodiakRS posted:Though my GE72 was going to show up tonight. Those are nice. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, whenever it does show up.
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Mar 4, 2015 04:02
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Everyone's loving spoiled these days. I spent 7 years with a 1280x800 resolution on a 15.6" screen. And I liked it My first laptop in 2004 had a beautiful matte 1920x1200 15.4in display. It also had a pentium-m (which was hot poo poo back then) so you couldn't actually play full HD video without it stuttering, but it was still sweet. I think every laptop I've had since that one has had a progressively worse screen, which is why I'm glad you can finally get decent displays these days.
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Mar 4, 2015 06:57
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And drat near 1000USD should net you a nicer GPU.
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Mar 9, 2015 07:16
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TopherCStone posted:Does this thread have a default recommendation for low-end laptops? I have a family member who doesn't want a used Thinkpad (always my first suggestion) and asked me what to get. Uses would be web browsing for the most part, occasional Office use. I was thinking of the HP Stream 11, but I kind of hesitate to recommend something with only 2GB of RAM. If they're looking for something bigger, around $350 should get you a ULV Haswell-based Celeron 15.6 inch machine with at least 4GB of ram, decent battery life, and all the slow spinny hard disk storage you could want. Acer, Asus, Dell and probably others offer machines at this price point. Cheap laptop negatives definitely apply though. TN displays with low resolution and flaky viewing angles, flexy keyboards, and the cases will probably be constructed of the cheapest of cheap materials, but it wouldn't be a huge detriment if the machine is mainly a couch warrior. I got my 77 year old grandmother a similar sub-500 dollar Toshiba (her first computer) two years ago, and the 1366x768 resolution is perfectly fine for her. It also spends its life going from her kitchen table to the recliner, so it doesn't need to be particularly stout construction- wise. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Mar 10, 2015 |
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Mar 10, 2015 02:36
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TopherCStone posted:I think I'm just gonna recommend the Stream. It gets decent enough reviews and screen size/storage space aren't major concerns. It is pretty awesome you can buy full on Windows machines for less than many Chromebooks.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:37
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chemosh6969 posted:To add to this, should I really only be looking for something with SSD and should I be looking at 4GB on the graphics card or will 2GB still be usable in the near future. Have you thought about buying your own SSD and swapping it in. Manufacturers seem to price SSD upgrades pretty outrageously. Plus you can use the original hard disk as a backup drive if you pick up a cheap external enclosure. An SSD really does make a difference though, and if you're spending more than a thousand dollars you should definitely have one. As for the video memory, 4GB seems like overkill for a midrange chip like the GTX 860/960. Also keep in mind, if you're thinking of the UHD model, you won't be playing many games at native resolution, there just isn't enough horsepower there. Have you considered something more powerful? The MSI GE62(and GE62 Pro) have noticeably more powerful GTX 965/970 GPUs. Hell, even the new Alienware 15 seems to somewhat competitively priced.
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Mar 11, 2015 01:27
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Alienware 15, MSI GE62 and the Clevo/Sager p650 can be had for around $1300, but at that price you'll be missing out an SSD. You will get vastly superior graphics though. You can add an M.2 format drive later on though and keep the large capacity HDD in them for storage as well if you desire. Someone on here just got the Sager and said the fans are pretty noisy though. If you do go the Y50 route the 4GB video memory is probably not terribly important, it's overkill for the Lenovo's midrange GPU. Do get one with the IPS display. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Mar 13, 2015 |
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Mar 13, 2015 01:25
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Soylent Pudding posted:The Toshiba Chromebook 2 looks a lot better than the Samsung version. Thanks for the recommendation. I love my OG Toshiba Chromebook. I throw it in a bag every weekend for work and it's all dinged up, but I don't care. Then I leave it on and plugged in all day and make it fold as fast as its little celeron can.
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Mar 13, 2015 01:53
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AgentCow007 posted:Couldn't bring myself to go Chromebook for school; just pulled the trigger on an XPS 13 (i5, 8gb, 128gb, no touch). Can't wait! It's supposed to be really awesome. If I were looking for a 13in machine, I'd get that exact model.
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Mar 25, 2015 01:37
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MonkeyFit posted:
I'd stay away from anything larger than 15.6 inches. Check out the MSI GE62 (or GE62 Pro). You can get it from sites like xoticpc or Amazon. 2 year warranty (for US residents). Can be optioned with a blu ray drive (if that means anything) and has a 2.5in drive bay for a storage drive and 3 M.2 slots if you want to add in an SSD (or two or three). I believe it runs a Samsung PLS display too so viewing angles should be fine. Did read today though that the Pro model with the gtx970 comes with a barely adequate power supply and will actually drain the battery (albeit slowly; 10-15% per hour) under extreme loads. Of course, MSI markets this as "Hybrid Power".
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Mar 29, 2015 03:13
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Check out the Microsoft store. Lots of machines under 400 bones that would run circles around that old netbook. And because they use low power CPUs they get decent battery life.
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Apr 3, 2015 03:21
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MonkeyFit posted:$2837 + $165 2-day shipping. I personally would have gone with the Sager that uses the mobile i7 and 980m. The desktop CPU doesn't seem to provide a huge boost in gaming performance, and you lose optimus capability (even if the CPU has a built in IGP), so the GPU will always be powered up. I guess the main real world drawback being that the machine will be bigger and heavier, and instead of having bad battery life, you'll have terrible battery life. Also, even though the P750 has probably the most robust cooling setup you can find in a laptop, I'd make sure to keep it on a solid surface (or lap desk/cooling pad). These things might not matter a drat bit to you though, and it will probably be the most powerful laptop anyone on here has.
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Apr 12, 2015 03:17
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There are a plethora of touch-enabled 15.6in laptops for sale on Amazon for less than $600. HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer...take your pick. They'll have 720p displays, Haswell based processors, dvdrw drives, 500-1000GB hard drives, and 4 to 8GB of ram. Pick the nicest looking one and maybe throw in an extended warranty. This is basically the "Mom Machine" that will spend most of its life on an end/dining table and couch warrior. I bought my mother a 500 dollar Costco special HP-something 3 years ago and she has had no problems with it. My grandmother; a cheapy Toshiba that has also worked fine for 2 years in a low stress environment.
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Apr 13, 2015 06:58
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