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Buying a laptop

MetalMan
polycounter lvl 18
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MetalMan 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!

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  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    Alienwares laptops are well renound for being over priced.

    Also they were bought out by dell, so bang goes your theory laugh.gif

    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.
  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    here, take a look at These laptops I have the lowest priced acer on that page (the TM-4400) and It runs photoshop and maya (and everything else) extremely well, as well as most games, however it could use more ram to help with multitasking. If you have more cash go for a higher model, or put it towards ram. Alienware laptops are WAY overpriced for the hardware you get. They may be pretty, however the guts of it are just the same as many other laptops.
    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.
  • Nafets
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    Nafets polycounter lvl 17
    If you want bang for your buck, it won’t be too easy to find a laptop with the same features for a less price then a dell machine. I know here in Australia you can't buy Dell machines in computer stores and I think it’s similar worldwide; you have to purchase them off the internet. For this reason when someone goes into a store and ask's about dell computers, the salesman shoots off a load of lies about quality etc trying to get you to purchase one of their computers. That’s where I believe the "dell is crap" mentality has arisen.

    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 couldn’t 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 friend’s laptop has never had a problem
    My Dads laptop (granted it’s 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 couldn’t 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 M90’s 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 can’t upgrade to the newer cards. Apart from that it’s 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 it’s 1.7ghz but runs roughly the same as a 2.7ghz Pentium 4, and I’ll 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 shouldn’t write off dell as an option, because if I’ve learnt anything about them in the last 5 years it’s that they are bloody good for their price.
  • MetalMan
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    MetalMan polycounter lvl 18
    A lot of the laptops I've seen on newegg and the dell site (thanks for the liks to those) have integrated graphics. Isn't that a bad thing? If not, please dispel another of my prejudices smile.gif
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    It's only bad if you're trying to do anything involving 3d. If you're just typing crap on the lappy you can go with integrated graphics.
  • MetalMan
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    MetalMan polycounter lvl 18
    Well, my plan is to do 3d at work (security, hehe.) I'll definately need a separate graphics card.
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    never get an intergrated 3d card. My gforce go 5700 was on the motherboard, can't be replaced. Broke.
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    I've never actually ordered a laptop from Newegg, but they are a great place to buy computer components. I was considering buying a laptop from them, and this is the model I was checking out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115239

    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.
  • Nafets
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    Nafets polycounter lvl 17
    Most laptops have integrated graphics as the standard option, but when you customize them, you get the opportunity to upgrade to something much better.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Ignore Hawken... his video melted down on his HP and his location hinders him from getting proper support wink.gif

    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.
  • rawkstar
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    rawkstar polycounter lvl 19
    i have a sager 9860, you can get a cheaper one now too, www.pctorque.com - has some good prices on laptops.
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    [ QUOTE ]
    Ignore Hawken... his video melted down on his HP and his location hinders him from getting proper support wink.gif

    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.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    well my suggestion would be to get a worldwide warranty for 3 years if you plan to take it anywhere laugh.gif

    I would get a zd8000 if the choice was there again.
  • MetalMan
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    MetalMan polycounter lvl 18
    Well, I'm looking at the HP zd8230us. It has good video card, wide superbright display, nice processor, and an extra slot for ram (if 1gb isn't enough) plus a big hard drive. My sister got an HP desktop for her birthday, and it's been doing fine. As for weight and battery life, I'm planning to plug it in at work or in my car. It'd be nice to lug it around with me, and do work at the park though. Is there a big difference in the 15-inch and 17-inch screens?

    Also, It's refurbished. would you recommend against that?
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    The big difference (in my opinion) is that the 17" has a full keyboard (includes numberpad). That's something I use a lot. The 15" probably uses less power. There is a visual difference size-wise. Trust me, you set this thing on a desk and people notice it wink.gif
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    I will buy a Dell laptop when they begin selling them with 64bit AMD chips. Until then, all my searching points to Acer's. I wish laptops would last longer on batteries.
  • thomasp
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    thomasp hero character
    regarding the mac's - have you seen this? also, the photos are interesting. and, not to forget: apple's reaction. crazy.gif

    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.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    The zd8000 is a great computer but it is more of a portable desktop than a laptop. I've had mine for about 7 months here's a list of peeves:
    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 frown.gif so I'll have to go for 2x1gb sticks when I want to upgrade.

    It's a pretty solid machine, it's my sole computer pretty much (need to get around to selling my tower off).
  • MetalMan
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    MetalMan polycounter lvl 18
    Well, I put in an order for a dv8000t with 2 gigs of ram. It should be here in a few weeks, I guess. I hope I won't have any HP horror stories to tell you guys smile.gif
  • JDinges
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    JDinges polycounter lvl 18
    I'm also going laptop for my new comp, going to be moving around a lot. I've decided on a Sager 9750 from http://www.pctorque.com/
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    HP horror stories do abound though, you were warned.

    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!
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Well, something that may make things a LITTLE better Hawken. Because of your story, I've been making sure that at least one of my fans underneath, are exposed to open air. I use to lay my laptop on our ottoman without thinking about it. Now I push one of the corners over the edge so it can breathe. So you may have helped me save mine wink.gif
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