Looking for a new laptop
#1
02-16-2011, 11:14 PM
Looking for a new laptop
Well, think i should probably get a new laptop before this one finally konks out on me....so far ive pulled it completly apart so i could superglue the plug socket for the power back into place after it snapped off........then the screen hinge and casing broke so i have a long screw through it sticking out the back side of the laptop holding the screen in place, added to that i have a blue verticle line in the screen and a green and red one at the far right side. And if i move the screen just right it gets a bunch of horizontal lines. And finally the power button broke so i have the pane just above the keyboard off and i have figured out how to "jump start" the laptop by shorting out the power button with a pin.
So i figured i should probably start looking at new laptops, seeing as this ones 4 years old and would be easier than just waiting for this one to finally bite the dust. (Although im horrible and half of me doesnt want to get one because this one still works). But it would be nicer to get more than the 160gb hd i have now having to store all my other stuff on a portable drive..right now i have an intel core duo t2500 2ghz processor with a 2mb l2 cache. i upgraded the ram shortly after i got it to 2.5gb although its only 266mhz ram. Im running windows 7 32 bit.
I dont do a ton of gaming, or any really for that matter. Its used for the internet, email, itunes, watching videos when on the road, but will run vnc programs, adobe photoshop, textpad, eclipse, office, bit torrent, etc. that kind of stuff and sometimes end up running 10-15 programs at once.
So what ive kind of thought so far is,
14-15.6" laptop
windows 7 64 bit
minimum 2ghz processor
want a minimum 2mb l2 cache
min 500gb hd
and would like min 4gb ram hopefully around 1000mhz range
and of course min 2 core processor
spending 500-750. maybe 800
So what im wondering is your take for this on how important processor speed is, 2.1 ghz vs 2.6......and if should get one running a l3 cache in the 3mb range.
and the oh so common amd vs intel debate..a 2 core 2.5 ghz intel processor, vs a 2 ghz 4 core amd.
Whats your take?
So i figured i should probably start looking at new laptops, seeing as this ones 4 years old and would be easier than just waiting for this one to finally bite the dust. (Although im horrible and half of me doesnt want to get one because this one still works). But it would be nicer to get more than the 160gb hd i have now having to store all my other stuff on a portable drive..right now i have an intel core duo t2500 2ghz processor with a 2mb l2 cache. i upgraded the ram shortly after i got it to 2.5gb although its only 266mhz ram. Im running windows 7 32 bit.
I dont do a ton of gaming, or any really for that matter. Its used for the internet, email, itunes, watching videos when on the road, but will run vnc programs, adobe photoshop, textpad, eclipse, office, bit torrent, etc. that kind of stuff and sometimes end up running 10-15 programs at once.
So what ive kind of thought so far is,
14-15.6" laptop
windows 7 64 bit
minimum 2ghz processor
want a minimum 2mb l2 cache
min 500gb hd
and would like min 4gb ram hopefully around 1000mhz range
and of course min 2 core processor
spending 500-750. maybe 800
So what im wondering is your take for this on how important processor speed is, 2.1 ghz vs 2.6......and if should get one running a l3 cache in the 3mb range.
and the oh so common amd vs intel debate..a 2 core 2.5 ghz intel processor, vs a 2 ghz 4 core amd.
Whats your take?
#2
02-17-2011, 01:26 AM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834131087
Core i5 is nice, haven't heard/seen much of samsungs laptops. I try to only stick with toshiba/lenovo/asus.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146986
Really nice unit for the price. Core i5 aswell, 4 gigs of ram and an Nvidia 310M for whenever you feel the need to game.
In my opinion id stay FAR away from AMD. They run hot use a ton of power and their new processors are already on 2nd and 3rd revisions as intel seems to be the hot ticket. Back in 2000 - 2005 Id say AMD all day but times have changed and I'm die hard intel now. Their processors seem to perform way cool and faster than 90 percent of the AMD's out there.
Core i5 is nice, haven't heard/seen much of samsungs laptops. I try to only stick with toshiba/lenovo/asus.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146986
Really nice unit for the price. Core i5 aswell, 4 gigs of ram and an Nvidia 310M for whenever you feel the need to game.
In my opinion id stay FAR away from AMD. They run hot use a ton of power and their new processors are already on 2nd and 3rd revisions as intel seems to be the hot ticket. Back in 2000 - 2005 Id say AMD all day but times have changed and I'm die hard intel now. Their processors seem to perform way cool and faster than 90 percent of the AMD's out there.
#3
02-17-2011, 07:00 AM
I love my Lenovo Ideapad Y550P! The i7 is a screamer. You really can't go wrong with the 'Core' line of Intel processors. The i7's are simply amazing and even if you pick up one with a clock speed of lower than 2Ghz, it will still kick the pants off of the competition. The i5's are great for all around use and have good battery life (the i7's - not so much).
#4
02-17-2011, 09:23 AM
Happy with my Lenovo, I bought directly from their website, keep your eye out because they have deals, I added lots of stuff to my current laptop last year and got about $400 off.
It's an SL510
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
4GB of ram (3.84 usable? WTF man...)
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
250GB HD (I should have gone bigger...)
This is my third "IBM" and my 7 year old laptop from Grade 9 is still running (Dad's using it)
It's an SL510
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
4GB of ram (3.84 usable? WTF man...)
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
250GB HD (I should have gone bigger...)
This is my third "IBM" and my 7 year old laptop from Grade 9 is still running (Dad's using it)
Last edited by oktain; 02-17-2011 at 09:26 AM.
#5
02-17-2011, 10:43 AM
No love for HP hey, never used an hp but seems to be alot of them out there.
Lenovos are nice, dont want to order one online though and there are not alot of dealers in winnipeg here, there are a few but makes it hard when you look at an asus at best buy thats got better spec for a lower price.
Im just stuck on the cache size, i have 2mb now in L2, not sure if a 3mb L3 would be better or if 2 l2 or even 1 l2 would be fine.
And like i said i dont really do any gaming, but nevertheless would at least 512mb dedicated video memory help speed things up a bit?
Ive been narrowing it down a bit to a few, heres a few i have been looking at.
one,two,three, four and some from future shop five, six, seven, eight
was looking at a quad core amd here, but im with you, i still prefer intel, their processors cores can each handle 2 tasks at a time so its like a quad core amd
So there are only 2 in there with an i5 processor the rest are i3..........i7's are all a bit out of how much i want to spend. i travel around with the laptop to much (think its how the screen casing got broken).
So whats your take on some of these, and between the i5 and i3 processor...is it worth it? When i got this one it was because i had acer recommended to me. and have not had any problems with it, besides the power button going, but the other stuff i think was just from it getting banged around a bit (whoever posted that laptop on the forum made me laugh, bumping every single day).
But the way of brands going theres always lemons out there. Girlfriend has a toshiba and has had tons of problems with it...first off the screen just cracked, she closed it and just got a long vertical line,not radiating from a point, nothing was in the keyboard, wasnt slammed, and the power cable screwed up but thats nothing.
hmm also noticed the acer here for 699
Lenovos are nice, dont want to order one online though and there are not alot of dealers in winnipeg here, there are a few but makes it hard when you look at an asus at best buy thats got better spec for a lower price.
Im just stuck on the cache size, i have 2mb now in L2, not sure if a 3mb L3 would be better or if 2 l2 or even 1 l2 would be fine.
And like i said i dont really do any gaming, but nevertheless would at least 512mb dedicated video memory help speed things up a bit?
Ive been narrowing it down a bit to a few, heres a few i have been looking at.
one,two,three, four and some from future shop five, six, seven, eight
was looking at a quad core amd here, but im with you, i still prefer intel, their processors cores can each handle 2 tasks at a time so its like a quad core amd
So there are only 2 in there with an i5 processor the rest are i3..........i7's are all a bit out of how much i want to spend. i travel around with the laptop to much (think its how the screen casing got broken).
So whats your take on some of these, and between the i5 and i3 processor...is it worth it? When i got this one it was because i had acer recommended to me. and have not had any problems with it, besides the power button going, but the other stuff i think was just from it getting banged around a bit (whoever posted that laptop on the forum made me laugh, bumping every single day).
But the way of brands going theres always lemons out there. Girlfriend has a toshiba and has had tons of problems with it...first off the screen just cracked, she closed it and just got a long vertical line,not radiating from a point, nothing was in the keyboard, wasnt slammed, and the power cable screwed up but thats nothing.
hmm also noticed the acer here for 699
#6
02-17-2011, 01:16 PM
No love for HP hey, never used an hp but seems to be alot of them out there.
Lenovos are nice, dont want to order one online though and there are not alot of dealers in winnipeg here, there are a few but makes it hard when you look at an asus at best buy thats got better spec for a lower price.
Im just stuck on the cache size, i have 2mb now in L2, not sure if a 3mb L3 would be better or if 2 l2 or even 1 l2 would be fine.
And like i said i dont really do any gaming, but nevertheless would at least 512mb dedicated video memory help speed things up a bit?
Ive been narrowing it down a bit to a few, heres a few i have been looking at.
one,two,three, four and some from future shop five, six, seven, eight
was looking at a quad core amd here, but im with you, i still prefer intel, their processors cores can each handle 2 tasks at a time so its like a quad core amd
So there are only 2 in there with an i5 processor the rest are i3..........i7's are all a bit out of how much i want to spend. i travel around with the laptop to much (think its how the screen casing got broken).
So whats your take on some of these, and between the i5 and i3 processor...is it worth it? When i got this one it was because i had acer recommended to me. and have not had any problems with it, besides the power button going, but the other stuff i think was just from it getting banged around a bit (whoever posted that laptop on the forum made me laugh, bumping every single day).
But the way of brands going theres always lemons out there. Girlfriend has a toshiba and has had tons of problems with it...first off the screen just cracked, she closed it and just got a long vertical line,not radiating from a point, nothing was in the keyboard, wasnt slammed, and the power cable screwed up but thats nothing.
hmm also noticed the acer here for 699
Lenovos are nice, dont want to order one online though and there are not alot of dealers in winnipeg here, there are a few but makes it hard when you look at an asus at best buy thats got better spec for a lower price.
Im just stuck on the cache size, i have 2mb now in L2, not sure if a 3mb L3 would be better or if 2 l2 or even 1 l2 would be fine.
And like i said i dont really do any gaming, but nevertheless would at least 512mb dedicated video memory help speed things up a bit?
Ive been narrowing it down a bit to a few, heres a few i have been looking at.
one,two,three, four and some from future shop five, six, seven, eight
was looking at a quad core amd here, but im with you, i still prefer intel, their processors cores can each handle 2 tasks at a time so its like a quad core amd
So there are only 2 in there with an i5 processor the rest are i3..........i7's are all a bit out of how much i want to spend. i travel around with the laptop to much (think its how the screen casing got broken).
So whats your take on some of these, and between the i5 and i3 processor...is it worth it? When i got this one it was because i had acer recommended to me. and have not had any problems with it, besides the power button going, but the other stuff i think was just from it getting banged around a bit (whoever posted that laptop on the forum made me laugh, bumping every single day).
But the way of brands going theres always lemons out there. Girlfriend has a toshiba and has had tons of problems with it...first off the screen just cracked, she closed it and just got a long vertical line,not radiating from a point, nothing was in the keyboard, wasnt slammed, and the power cable screwed up but thats nothing.
hmm also noticed the acer here for 699
Acer is junk, they even suck as door stops.
HP isn't great at all. Back a few years ago hp had their DV series and 1 out of 3 were bad causing the motherboard to need replacing.
Newegg has got to be THE best for buying anything to be honest, dont be afraid to buy online. That lenovo that I posted outperforms all the ones you posted by a mile and is cheaper than most.
Last edited by TheBrettster; 02-17-2011 at 01:20 PM.
#8
02-17-2011, 02:34 PM
Hmm, ok well i think im going to eye up that asus i posted.I will also take a look on new egg and check that out.
Thanks for the input on the HP, had not heard anything good or bad about them and dont know anyone who uses them.(besides my boss's wife who works for hp).
Thanks for the input on the HP, had not heard anything good or bad about them and dont know anyone who uses them.(besides my boss's wife who works for hp).
#9
02-17-2011, 03:06 PM
RIGHT NOW
Lenovo has a President's day sale, up to $940 off of select laptops. I'd go check it out for ***** and giggles. Ends Monday.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...VSTA0000229609
Some good deals to be had IMO. Brings the higher range laptops into your price range.
Lenovo has a President's day sale, up to $940 off of select laptops. I'd go check it out for ***** and giggles. Ends Monday.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...VSTA0000229609
Some good deals to be had IMO. Brings the higher range laptops into your price range.
Last edited by oktain; 02-17-2011 at 03:08 PM.