Buying a laptop
polycounter lvl 18
Hey guys, you seem to know a lot about hardware and stuff. And you also use lots of art applications. So let me ask you - do you know of a good laptop for doing modeling and photoshop and stuff? I don't need super-high end for games, but I would like to use max and photoshop without problems. I was looking at alienware's Area 51 m7700 and Area 51 M5700, but I don't want to pay 2100 for the m7700, and I don't know if the m5700 will be good enough. I haven't looked at dell or any other laptop people, cause I figure'd their laptops would be crappy. Thanks for the help!
Replies
Also they were bought out by dell, so bang goes your theory
Dell are actually one of the best bangs for your buck, and would happily run max like shit off a shovel... most laptops will these days.
I used to have a 3.2 p4 but it broke. Don't go HP is my advice. Nice big 17 inch screens and loads of power, but run hot and weigh a tonne.
In fact if I were to give you any advice about buying a laptop, I'd say the best bet for an all rounder with a nice motor under the hood that won't break down on you is the new intel mac powerbook. With windows installed on the dual boot, you could happily run max etc and have all the other added features these machines carry.
The innards of laptops are manufactured by about 8 different companys, who are NOT the end re-sellers. The core of Alienware systems is the same as the core of Toshiba laptops. Alienware just got a good repuatation for putting together good hardware inside a pretty package, so they leverage that to charge more.
Also using a desktop processor in the laptop does afford a bit more processing power, however it just destroys battery life. Desktop processors are designed with constant power in mind, laptop processors are much more power efficent pieces. Based on the specs of that m7700 You can do MUCH better for the money.
I have helped purchase 5 dell laptops for family, friends, and myself in the last few years:
1 for my sister, 1 for my father, 1 for my girlfriend, 1 for a good friend and 1 for myself.
This has been over a span of roughly 4 - 5 years.
My sisters, being the oldest, has never had a hardware problem - ever.
My Girlfriends being the second oldest, had a bios problem where we couldnt enter it, that was close to the end of its 2 year warranty, and it only took a couple of days from first letting them know of the problem, until it was fixed.
My laptop (Precision M60 workstation) (just over 2 years old now) - has never had a problem
My good friends laptop has never had a problem
My Dads laptop (granted its only about 8 months old) has never had a problem.
My Precision M60 is used mainly for 3D Studio Max and Photoshop (Quadro FX Go video card, and 1.5 GB ram), and occasionally for games. I couldnt recommend a dell machine higher to be honest, and my machine in particular still runs like the day I bought it = Flawlessly. You can get Precision M90s now I think which if its anything like mine, I would recommend.
The only problem with my laptop is that the video card port is AGP not PCI-E, therefore I cant upgrade to the newer cards. Apart from that its flawless. My screen (1920 x 1200 resolution) is still up there with the best laptop screens. I could go on all day about it but I wont.
There are certain Dell Inspiron laptops which are basically identical to the Dell Precision range but with a graphics card more targeted at games. Dell is also usually the first to get the newest laptop graphics cards as well, if the NVIDIA site is anything to go by.
Also ive got the Pentium M processor so its 1.7ghz but runs roughly the same as a 2.7ghz Pentium 4, and Ill swear by it. You can get the new core duo processors these days, so if anything they are the way to go. Also a tip is to get the best screen and processor you can afford, because everything else these days is upgradeable.
Basically what im getting at is that you shouldnt write off dell as an option, because if Ive learnt anything about them in the last 5 years its that they are bloody good for their price.
Seems like a pretty decent deal to me. It has a 2Ghz dual-core intel, 2GB DDR2 ram, dedicated 128MB RADEON X1400, 120GB HD, etc. It only has a 15.4" display, though. Not that it's a small display, but the current trend seems to be laptops with 17" wide screens.
So, while I agree with his anger/disappointment, my HP zd8000 is still doing fine. It does run hot, heavy, and eats batteries, but the video power, 17" display, and full keyboard are nice. I would suggest stepping down to the 15" though. That would make it lighter and probably better on battery life.
One suggestion with ANY laptop you get. Make sure it has the xbrite or super-brite or whatever gimmick name they have for brightness.
Ignore Hawken... his video melted down on his HP and his location hinders him from getting proper support
So, while I agree with his anger/disappointment, my HP zd8000 is still doing fine. It does run hot, heavy, and eats batteries, but the video power, 17" display, and full keyboard are nice. I would suggest stepping down to the 15" though. That would make it lighter and probably better on battery life.
One suggestion with ANY laptop you get. Make sure it has the xbrite or super-brite or whatever gimmick name they have for brightness.
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well my suggestion would be to get a worldwide warranty for 3 years if you plan to take it anywhere
I would get a zd8000 if the choice was there again.
Also, It's refurbished. would you recommend against that?
never owned a laptop myself but seems the high powered gear of today runs very hot. some macbook users claim that the cases are in some places too hot to touch.
hearsay indicates that IBM (now lenovo) and toshiba know their shit when it comes to mobile computers. however, if your not going to throw it around a lot outside then the added reliability probably won't be worth the extra premium.
only has one 4 pin firewire port
no DVI, only a VGA out
Only has one audio in and out so I can't hook up my surround sound speakers without getting PCIE soundcard
I got mine with 1gb of ram with the idea of upgrading to 2gb sometime in the future... well it's got 2x512 sticks in
It's a pretty solid machine, it's my sole computer pretty much (need to get around to selling my tower off).
I had my slab of sex (zd7000) running for 14 months before the graphics card melted. Aparently its a very common problem with forums dedicated to making HP own up to the design flaw... which obviously they won't. Good luck!