Is is a stupid time to buy a laptop?

[AdmiralViscen]

Should I wait for windows 8?

[MCD]

Yes, just look at the hybrid goodness that will come out this October:

[MCD]

[MrAngryFace]

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/04/windows-8-on-the-desktopan-awkward-hybrid.ars -- worth reading when considering desktop/laptops for Win8. Tablets are another matter entirely.

[Chinner]

that yoga is pretty sweet but not a big fan of windows 8

[Takao]

Isn't the rule with Windows that you'd want every other OS they release? I went from XP to 7, because lol Vista (yes, I know it got less lol as it went along).

[Positive Touch]

win 7 is good now.  who knows if 8 will actually turn out ok, and does it really matter that much?  are you going to spend most of your time putzing around with the os or playing games/watching vids/on the net?

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Windows 7 is pretty ace.  Windows 8 seems like some long shot attempt to capture the tablet OS marketshare.  No sense in being a casualty of Microsoft attempting to swim upstream; get the good OS now and wait and see how Windows 8 turns out.

[AdmiralViscen]

I have win7 on an hp mini 311 and on an ancient acer. I do wanna hold out for one of those convertible tablet things, but I also probably don't wanna spend more than $700 since we have two iPads.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

I bought a system the day Vista launched. never doing that again. launch systems barely work good with launch os's . gunan get a macbookm air for college i think

[Lan]

I only own a laptop (PC) and want to buy a desktop.

But at the same time I want a macbook pro.

[Cormacaroni]

As you may remember, I was super hype for this. But was talking to a friend who works at Microsoft about this last night - he says the prototype didn't even work when Lenovo brought it to their offices   Like, didn't even turn on - it was just a shell with a screen showing pre-recorded video. Apparently the demos were smoke and mirrors. I'm sure it will get sorted out by Win 8's release but I'm a l'il more cautious now.

[Trent Dole]

I just got one earlier this month so if it is then welp! Also if they're about to be in the middle of a transitionary phase doesn't that mean the old shit will be available for a bit lower than normal? I got a quad core with 5GB DDRRam (which always makes me think of a certain bemani game when I see it) for $549,  think that's a decent deal.

[AdmiralViscen]

I just got one earlier this month so if it is then welp! Also if they're about to be in the middle of a transitionary phase doesn't that mean the old shit will be available for a bit lower than normal? I got a quad core with 5GB DDRRam (which always makes me think of a certain bemani game when I see it) for $549,  think that's a decent deal.

Link?

[MCD]

@Cormacaroni

lolzers. I'm still positive it will work when they actually release it.

But I'm more of a fan of that Intel prototype plus the screen size is better for bed time.

[Tasty]

Yup, wait until Google I/O when they unveil the next gen of Chromebooks.

[chronovore]

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

[Trent Dole]

I just got one earlier this month so if it is then welp! Also if they're about to be in the middle of a transitionary phase doesn't that mean the old shit will be available for a bit lower than normal? I got a quad core with 5GB DDRRam (which always makes me think of a certain bemani game when I see it) for $549,  think that's a decent deal.

Link?

Pretty sure it's this one. Was on sale when I got but even for $30 more that's p decent and also it apparently has 1GB more ram than I thought.

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

iPads are for assholes, so there's that.

[pickle]

How do you feel about Apple? The next revision of Macbook Pros are likely to feature high-DPI displays & quad core Ivy Bridge cpus. (And their batteries seriously last for fucking ages)

[Cormacaroni]

I just got one earlier this month so if it is then welp! Also if they're about to be in the middle of a transitionary phase doesn't that mean the old shit will be available for a bit lower than normal? I got a quad core with 5GB DDRRam (which always makes me think of a certain bemani game when I see it) for $549,  think that's a decent deal.

Link?

Pretty sure it's this one. Was on sale when I got but even for $30 more that's p decent and also it apparently has 1GB more ram than I thought.

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

iPads are for assholes, so there's that.

you just called me an asshole TWICE fuckface

[etiolate]

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

I would be looking at a new notebook-type setup because I would be using my portable for writing and research mostly. I find that easier to do with a real keyboard and some standard writing programs.

[Trent Dole]

you just called me an asshole TWICE fuckface

Yeah I need to chill a bit lately, I know.

[Cormacaroni]

you just called me an asshole TWICE fuckface

Yeah I need to chill a bit lately, I know.

*lowers shotgun* we cool

[Trent Dole]

 

[AdmiralViscen]

I just got one earlier this month so if it is then welp! Also if they're about to be in the middle of a transitionary phase doesn't that mean the old shit will be available for a bit lower than normal? I got a quad core with 5GB DDRRam (which always makes me think of a certain bemani game when I see it) for $549,  think that's a decent deal.

Link?

Pretty sure it's this one. Was on sale when I got but even for $30 more that's p decent and also it apparently has 1GB more ram than I thought.

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

iPads are for assholes, so there's that.

That seems pretty nice. But does it play Starcraft 2



http://shopping2.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7143885&aoid=35252

Fuuuuu

Actually hows this one, the card seems to get decent reviews
http://shopping2.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/QE023UA?HP-Pavilion-dv6-6180us-Entertainment-Notebook-PC

[Madrun Badrun]

How do you feel about Apple? The next revision of Macbook Pros are likely to feature high-DPI displays & quad core Ivy Bridge cpus. (And their batteries seriously last for fucking ages)

when does apple update their laptops?  is it a yearly event like ipads?

[recursivelyenumerable]

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

I want to do actual computery things (like work on class assignments) outside my apartment?

[pickle]

How do you feel about Apple? The next revision of Macbook Pros are likely to feature high-DPI displays & quad core Ivy Bridge cpus. (And their batteries seriously last for fucking ages)

when does apple update their laptops?  is it a yearly event like ipads?

Roughly yearly, although the refresh schedule isn't as rigid as the iPad's.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Pro

[MyNameIsMethodis]

What is the date range for the expected new MacBooks?

[Van Cruncheon]

yes, wait for ivy bridge machines any day now

[Tasty]

Ivy Bridge on a laptop... Will have to wait for reviews on that one.

[Takao]

I saw someone take a photo with an iPad the other day at the zoo in the park. I was like "wut".

[Cormacaroni]

How do you feel about Apple? The next revision of Macbook Pros are likely to feature high-DPI displays & quad core Ivy Bridge cpus. (And their batteries seriously last for fucking ages)

when does apple update their laptops?  is it a yearly event like ipads?

Everything is pointing to a June refresh this year. Delayed roughly 2 months by Intel's production schedule delays.

[brawndolicious]

Is there ever a great time to buy a laptop? There's always something new around the corner and the internal components are basically permanent (unlike desktops). Plus for most of your uses, your old laptop will probably still work well unless you plan to game on it.

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

I think in the next few years, we'll mostly see laptops replaced by tablets with keyboard docks like the Asus Transformer line. But able to run Windows too.

If you want to type outside of your own home, you will need something other than an iPad or desktop. I know there are keyboard cases you can buy for the iPad but they're awkward and not well-integrated. The tablet w/dock concept works much better.

[Himu]

How do you feel about Apple? The next revision of Macbook Pros are likely to feature high-DPI displays & quad core Ivy Bridge cpus. (And their batteries seriously last for fucking ages)

i just came

[chronovore]

Is there any reason to buy a laptop which isn't generally well-covered by a desktop machine supplemented by an iPad?

Full disclosure: I'm typing this on a laptop.

I want to do actual computery things (like work on class assignments) outside my apartment?

Yeah, that's about the only conclusion at which I arrived as well. I mean, I've got the most portable, highest-functioning MacBook Air, but I find myself on my iPhone or iPad most of the time anymore. The only things which I'd need a laptop for are app specific... and I guess that would include "real" games.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Ty everyone.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I've actually moved in the opposite direction - I went from a 15" to a 17" laptop, prefer it to phone/tablet/whatever for most things and don't really mind carrying it around even though it's heavy. shrug

[Verdigris Murder]

I've actually moved in the opposite direction - I went from a 15" to a 17" laptop, prefer it to phone/tablet/whatever for most things and don't really mind carrying it around even though it's heavy. shrug

Totally this.

Tab
Lets are a fad. Invest in a decent laptop, the iPad is basically the thing Charlton Heston holds up when he's leading the Jews over hill and dale. But with multitasking.

[cool breeze]

yes, wait for ivy bridge machines any day now

does 'any day' mean summer or later?

I want to get a laptop around $1k, small (below 15 inch), and can play games decently well.  Touch screen would be cool for windows 8.  I don't know how unrealistic I'm being here.

[brawndolicious]

I've actually moved in the opposite direction - I went from a 15" to a 17" laptop, prefer it to phone/tablet/whatever for most things and don't really mind carrying it around even though it's heavy. shrug

Totally this.
Tab
Lets are a fad. Invest in a decent laptop, the iPad is basically the thing Charlton Heston holds up when he's leading the Jews over hill and dale. But with multitasking.

The iPad doesn't really have multitasking. A tablet that can dock with a keyboard would give you the physical advantages of each. The other problem that has to be solved is running both a decent mobile/touch-based OS and running a desktop OS.

That software problem seems solvable. And inevitable. Either due to Microsoft or Google (Android+linux). Apple probably doesn't want you to converge all their products into one.

[recursivelyenumerable]

The iPad doesn't really have multitasking. A tablet that can dock with a keyboard would give you the physical advantages of each. The other problem that has to be solved is running both a decent mobile/touch-based OS and running a desktop OS.

That software problem seems solvable. And inevitable. Either due to Microsoft or Google (Android+linux). Apple probably doesn't want you to converge all their products into one.

The software problem is pretty much solved now with Windows 8 CP (well, except for the nonexistence of any decent Metro style apps atm), the problem is that using a tablet for desktop stuff, even with a mouse and keyboard, still feels kind of limited just by the small size of the screen. I don't think tablets are a fad or useless, I have a tablet I use for Windows 8 app development and it's neat and useful, but a laptop just offers a lot more value to me overall. I even prefer using trackpad + keyboard in Metro style apps and the start screen over using touch although I seem to be the only person in the world with that preference.

[brawndolicious]

The iPad doesn't really have multitasking. A tablet that can dock with a keyboard would give you the physical advantages of each. The other problem that has to be solved is running both a decent mobile/touch-based OS and running a desktop OS.

That software problem seems solvable. And inevitable. Either due to Microsoft or Google (Android+linux). Apple probably doesn't want you to converge all their products into one.

The software problem is pretty much solved now with Windows 8 CP (well, except for the nonexistence of any decent Metro style apps atm), the problem is that using a tablet for desktop stuff, even with a mouse and keyboard, still feels kind of limited just by the small size of the screen. I don't think tablets are a fad or useless, I have a tablet I use for Windows 8 app development and it's neat and useful, but a laptop just offers a lot more value to me overall. I even prefer using trackpad + keyboard in Metro style apps and the start screen over using touch although I seem to be the only person in the world with that preference.

That is one problem, you'll never see a 15 inch tablet since it would be too big to hold in your hand while reading. I think most people will make do with 10 inches (at very high resolution) as that gives you a decent enough area to read most PDF's and websites.

Maybe we'll even see those Google goggle things change the entire game as far as "screen size" but my point is that I think we're headed towards one computing device that's always with you, merging together your different needs with various peripherals that help it. There will always be a need for trackpads/mouses and dedicated monitors of course.

[MCD]

http://www.neowin.net/news/hp-is-working-on-x86-windows-8-tablet-rough-render-exposed

[Van Cruncheon]

I even prefer using trackpad + keyboard in Metro style apps and the start screen over using touch although I seem to be the only person in the world with that preference.

i do too, man. i traded my slate in for a series 7 laptop just 'cuz it had a big-ass trackpad, which is better than a greasy-ass tablet screen.

[cool breeze]

Ignoring the new cpus coming out soon, what's the deal with laptops these days? I've just been browsing around and am totally confused by all this.  It's been 6 or 7 years since I bought a laptop and I don't even remember Asus, Acer, and whatever the hell Xotic is, being things back then.

For mobile GPUs, is AMD or Nvidia stronger? admittedly I've a slight bias towards Nvidia but it's harder to be picky with laptops.  For a lot of the $1000 ceiling ~13 inch laptops I've looked at, it's a 520m from Nvidia and a 6-something for AMD.

[Van Cruncheon]

right now, amd's 7970M is the top gpu for laptops, by a pretty big margin.

the best gpu you'll see on a 13" is a nvidia 640M or amd 7690M.

edit: didn't know the np6110 is out.

[cool breeze]

This Clevo W110ER / Sager NP6110 / Mythlogic chaos, plus other generic sounding games, has the nvidia 640m.  Depending on the seller it goes from high-800 to low-1000s (though the mythlogic site has a matte option for an extra $100). 

It's mostly what I'm looking for, assuming it's a decent brand and all.  It's 11.5 inch, larger than my netbook but smaller than my old-old laptop.  Looks incredibly generic and that's fantastic.  Island style keyboard without the weird combining of up/down arrow keys.  A trackpad with separate buttons (I hated how my hp mini110 integrated buttons into the pad).

[Van Cruncheon]

the sager np6110 an awesome 11". it's a BEAST. the 650M is very close to a 560M in performance, which is NUTS NUTS NUTS in an 11".

[cool breeze]

yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to order it sometime this week.  Some places have the i7-3610QM as an option and I'm gonna go with that.

What's the deal with these hybrid hard drives, btw? it says a 500 gig standard 7200 plus 4 gigs ssd.  It's not much over the standard 500 gig hard drive.  Does it mean you can install the OS on that 4 gigs for fast booting while the rest is normal storage space?

[AdmiralViscen]

How's this?

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-TimelineX-AS4830TG-6808-14-inch/dp/tech-data/B006ITEB34/ref=de_a_smtd

[AdmiralViscen]

Fuck that one, this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246327

I would like higher screen res but I don't want anything larger than 15"

[Madrun Badrun]

can anyone recomend a good gaming mouse? preferably with a shitload of buttons, wireless, and sub$100?

this seems like my best bet so far
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003VAM32E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=A2334UWKHYTQUP

[Van Cruncheon]

the lenovo is fine

[MCD]

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-and-barnes--noble-team-up-for-nook-spinoff

Even a better reason to wait.

[AdmiralViscen]

Shit, it's sold out

[cool breeze]

can anyone recomend a good gaming mouse? preferably with a shitload of buttons, wireless, and sub$100?

this seems like my best bet so far
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003VAM32E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=A2334UWKHYTQUP

I have that.  It's great.

A bit heavy for a mouse and some people might not like that.  There's an adjustment period if you're coming from any mouse other than an MX Revolution or Performance MX.

[AdmiralViscen]

Lenovo Y470p

MSRP $1099, sale $749

Processor
2nd generation Intel Core i5-2450M Processor( 2.50GHz 1333MHz 3MB)
Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 7690 1GB
Memory
6.0GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333 MHz
Display
14.0" HD Glare with integrated camera 1366x768
Hard Drive
500GB 5400

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000001C9%3A000005AE%3A


Or this

Intel Core i5 2450M Processor 2.5GHz (3MB Cache)
4GB SDRAM RAM
500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
14-Inch Screen, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M


http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-TimelineX-AS4830TG-6808-14-inch/dp/B006ITEB34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333235620&sr=8-1

[AdmiralViscen]

Or this

$750

CPU Type
Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz
Screen
15.6" LED
Memory Size
6GB DDR3
Hard Disk
640GB
Graphics Card
Nvidia Geforce GT 540M
Video Memory
1GB


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230132&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=8pqxe8h40fyj

Or this?


http://shopping2.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/A2Z58AV?HP-Pavilion-dv6t-6c00-Select-Edition-Entertainment-Notebook-PC

Prices to 770 with the 2gb 7690m, 8gb ram and 750gb

[AdmiralViscen]

That last HP Might be the winner

$975, I can save $150 by getting a lower res screen

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edit
Processor 2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2450M Processor (2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz) edit
Graphics card 2GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7690M GDDR5 Discrete Graphics(TM) [HDMI, VGA] edit
Memory FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Hard drive 750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive edit
Office software Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R) edit
Security software No additional security software edit
Primary battery 30% OFF High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
Display 15.6" Full HD HP Anti-glare LED (1920 x 1080) edit
Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support edit
Personalization HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader edit
Bluetooth