i feel like there was a thread on this already, but a search didn't give me what i was looking for, so maybe this will become the on-going "tell me which laptop to buy" thread...if there's an existing thread, point me in its direction and lock this one

anyway, i finally sold my power-hungry T9300 (2.5ghz, 6mb L2, 800mhz) HP 14" laptop (which got hot enough to fry an egg, i'm convinced) and i want to pick up something a bit smaller and lighter

to be honest, i didn't use it to its full abilities, with the most CPU-intensive thing being some light photoshop and lightroom (nothing hardcore)...at most, i'd have dreamweaver, photoshop, webdrive, and 2-3 browsers open at once

so now i'm wondering if the intel SU chips, specifically the SU7300 (1.3ghz, 3mb L2, 800mhz) will be adequate for my needs and if so, which of these two laptops i should get...J&R currently has cash back of 5% through discover, 3% through fatwallet, and 5% through bing (all of which, in theory, i should be able to successfully stack)

both have 13.3" LED LCD, intel C2D SU7300 proc, 500gb 5400rpm SATA HDD, 4gb 1066mhz DDR3, and the usuals (wireless-n, gigabit, card reader, etc)

ASUS UL30VT-A1 - $769 (or $669 after cash back)
- 0.3MP webcam
- "regular" touchpad (i think)
- nVIDIA G210M 512MB DDR3 or intel 4500MHD (switchable!)
- 10+ hours 8-cell battery
- 3.7lbs
- 0.97" thick
http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_UL30VTA1/

Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T-8737, brushed aluminum - $700 (or $609 after cash back)
- i assume a standard 1.3MP webcam
- multi-gesture touchpad
- intel 4500MHD only
- 8+ hours 6-cell battery
- 3.5lbs
- 1.1" thick
http://www.jr.com/acer-computer/pe/ACE_AS3810T8737/

so, i guess my questions are these:

1.) will the SU7300 let me do everything i want without being excessively slow?
2.) is the switchable nVIDIA G210M graphics worth the $60 premium?
3.) anyone have an asus and know how mediocre the 0.3MP webcam is (i actually only used mine when i was traveling abroad and skyping home, so i don't anticipate really using it)

[Edited on March 24, 2010 at 9:42 AM. Reason : cash back]

3/24/2010 9:40:46 AM

i can take a hint

3/25/2010 7:51:30 AM

I'm a mac guy so I'm not the best to comment but before I bought my latest mbp, I tried to go back to a pc with a 13" SU7300, 4gb/320gb... Toshiba? I forget which it was now. I ended up getting rid of it after a few weeks mainly because of small annoyances but 1 of those was about photoshop. It ran fine for normal web browsing, MS Office, etc. but was noticeably slower when running PS. I definitely had issues running a CAD program that I need for work but that's to be expected. It seems like it also had a few issues with flash on youtube and the like also but I can't remember that part for sure. With that said, I'd definitely spend a bit more for the discrete graphics if I were to try it again. I think there would be enough benefits for ME to be worth the $60.

3/25/2010 11:47:57 PM

Have any designers tried the HP tm2t out?

Or should I wait for an Envy 13 pricedrop?

3/31/2010 5:32:08 PM

Ricky: wait until the iPad comes out.

3/31/2010 7:11:11 PM

wait for ASUS UL30JT

4/1/2010 8:24:33 AM

Quote :

"Have any designers tried the HP tm2t out? Or should I wait for an Envy 13 pricedrop?"

after my last HP i will NEVER have one again...the quality isn't bad, per se, but i think they must work to make them loud and hot...there's a reason they're always offering deals and rebates

Quote :

"Ricky: wait until the iPad comes out."

unfortunately, i want to be able to DO something with my laptop

Quote :

"wait for ASUS UL30JT"

too much in the way of cash monies

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 8:42 AM. Reason : .]

4/1/2010 8:39:38 AM

i'm in the same boat as you dude - i'm delaying my purchase until something drastic changes. all the reasons you're giving are the same exact ones i have given...

4/1/2010 8:58:33 AM

thinking about giving my MBP to my wife and getting a new laptop. good options for a developer?

4/5/2010 10:01:55 AM

I tried to do dev work on my 15.4" and a 17" at 1920x1200 was the only thing I could make work, due to the nature of my coding (referencing other people's code/other pieces of my code/websites). I grew tired of carrying it around and do all my dev work at a desktop unless it's minor edits or cleanup work then ssh/rdp is sufficient on my netbook

4/5/2010 10:22:06 AM

i've gotten used to doing dev work on my 15" MBP, but I usually hook up to a second monitor if I'm at home.

4/5/2010 10:58:49 AM

i would have to settle for something like this: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/asus-u30jc-on-sale-today-come-get-your-optimus-ized-core-i3-in/

if the price came down

and i say settle because i would want a higher resolution, even on a 13" screen. i can see, god damn it. i don't know why people need shit so big on their computers. my eyes are fucking fine. make things smaller lol

4/5/2010 11:39:00 AM

^ yeah, THAT is something i'd be interested in, were the price a bit lower

i just picked up a new (sealed in box) 14" dell inspiron 1464 for $520 with the i3-330M on saturday...i'm not really trying to compare the two because the asus IS better in almost every way...but not $400 better, IMO

i'm going to sell this dell as soon as i find something better, i think...i'm pretty set on wanting 13.3" and switchable graphics

4/5/2010 2:16:06 PM

anybody running a laptop with a SSD drive?

4/12/2010 9:34:49 AM

I, too, am looking for advice on the best netbook...

4/16/2010 3:41:05 PM

ASUS Eee PC 1005PR
http://promos.asus.com/US/EeePC_1005PR/ASUS_1005PR.html
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Seashell-1005PR-PU17-BK-10-1-Inch-Netbook/dp/B003FZC1K4/

A couple unique things:

- 1366x768 screen resolution in a 10.1" screen (supports 720p, most netbooks are 1024x600)
- Broadcom Crystal HD Accelerator provides 1080P playback
- New Intel Atom N450 processor
- Up to 11 hours of battery life

May want to add more memory and upgrade to an SSD, but probably best netbook out there...

[Edited on April 16, 2010 at 4:27 PM. Reason : ,]

4/16/2010 4:27:31 PM

^the Asus 1201 has a dual core atom, Nvidia Ion graphics, 2 gigs of RAM and a 12" screen

4/16/2010 4:36:56 PM

^it's a toss-up, i mean the 1005 has TWICE the battery life and same resolution in a 10" and it's $100 less, but yea, the Ion platform is probably still better performance wise.

4/16/2010 5:15:39 PM

Quote :

"i mean the 1005 has TWICE the battery life and same resolution in a 10" and it's $100 less"

It does have significantly better battery life, but that's the price you pay for a dual core processor and discrete graphics that don't completely suck. I don't see how a smaller screen is a virtue but whatever. I'm not sure where you're getting that $100 figure from, but I paid $450 for my 1201n and it looks like the 1005PR is going for $400...I'd pay $50 more for a dual core processor, better graphics, a bigger screen and double the RAM any day of the week.

Quote :

"the Ion platform is probably still better performance wise."

There's no probably about it, it's DEFINITELY better performance wise.

4/16/2010 5:39:36 PM

So the 1005 doesn't have ION?

4/16/2010 6:21:48 PM

^it has the intel integrated graphics and the Broadcom Crystal HD Accelerator

4/16/2010 6:53:58 PM

Nice brand reliability study released

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109

Confirms recommendations from this board to go with Asus - check it out...

4/26/2010 3:25:47 PM

^interesting. confirms my beliefs that HP and Lenovo's are crap. Surprised to see Toshiba and Sony at 2 & 3. I never really liked their stuff... may have to look into it next time.

4/26/2010 3:33:10 PM

Woooo! I just bought a netbook off craigslist. It has an n450 atom processor, which so far seems to work spectacularly. It runs Windows XP with 2GB of RAM and the 160GB HDD. I had to switch to inactive antivirus software (only scans internet downloads or files I tell it to), otherwise the delay was noticeable. Anyway, my question:

Has anyone taken a similar netbook and upgraded from winXP to Win7? Was the performance hit noticeable? My exact netbook is available with either OS, the XP version is listed with 10 hours of battery life and the Win7 having 8 hours, so I already know there is a hit to battery life. Input is much appreciated

4/29/2010 2:32:30 AM

^ i was under the impression that windows 7, by and large, produced better battery life across the board (though i would assume a large chunk of battery efficiency is the power management of the processor and board manufacturer)...at the very least, i would assume you could tweak windows 7 to disable those processes that you don't want/need and make it act more like xp (in terms of features)

*shrug*

4/29/2010 9:10:17 AM

yeah windows 7 is very good on resources and battery life.. you shouldn't notice any slow downs because of it imo

4/29/2010 9:14:41 AM

my netbook runs better on win7 . it shipped with xp.

11.6" acer.

4/29/2010 9:15:00 AM

damn they canceled the courier

4/29/2010 11:55:07 PM

and the hp slate

so it's between the notionink, a cheap asus laptop, or a 2nd gen ipad

4/30/2010 1:31:19 AM

still trying to decide if i can get away with an SU7300 and the 4500MHD, so i'm going to run some tests on my fiancée's laptop this evening...the only things i can think of that will max out these two components are running 1080p content and some photoshopping

i've got a 14gb 1080p file i'll use to test playback, but i'm not sure what to do with photoshop...suggestions? i've got an i3 laptop that i'll run the same tests on, though it's also only 4500MHD, so i guess all that will really tell me is whether the SU7300 is adequate

if the 4500MHD isn't good enough, i suppose i'll be on the lookout for something with switchable graphics (so a G210M/G310M)

5/17/2010 8:36:27 AM

got in on the dell studio XPS 13 for $540 deal (red, though...black or white is $590)...features:

- intel core 2 duo P8700 (2.53ghz, 3mb L2, 1066mhz FSB)
- 4gb DDR3 (1067mhz)
- 500gb hard drive (7200rpm)
- 13.3" WXGA truelife LCD (1280x800, CCFL)
- 512mb nvidia G210M video card
- slot-loading DVD+RW
- card reader
- expresscard/34/54
- 802.11abgn
- bluetooth
- 3 USB, 1 eSATA, HDMI, displayport, VGA
- webcam
- 4.85lbs
- 12.56 x 9.3 x 0.88 inches

after bing and fat wallet cash back, it SHOULD be a bit less than $540 which, to me, is a phenomenal deal...if bing doesn't go through, it's about $575 and if FW doesn't go through, it's $645

anyway, here are my questions:

1.) how does the c2d P8700 compare to the i3-330m? the c2d is old 45nm, but it's also 400mhz faster and has a TDP of 25W instead of the i3's 35W (so i would assume the c2d is more power efficient)...i realize the i3 has 2 real cores and 2 virtual cores, but i'm not sure if those virtual cores really do anything of value in MOST cases, and most likely not on a laptop

2.) i would be in love if this had an LED screen instead of a CCFL, if for no other reason than the LEDs are less likely to go bad...aside from this, i know the LEDs are more power efficient and cooler, but how much cooler/energy efficient are we REALLY talking?

3.) anyone have one of these studio XPS 13 machines? what do you think of them?

5/27/2010 9:35:55 AM

what's it gonna take to get a laptop with 12GB RAM and a SSD?

7/6/2010 11:44:16 PM

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

7/6/2010 11:55:04 PM

^^ you can get the HP Envy 15 (with an i7 ).. it was on a deal recently for 1200$. It can go upto 16 gigs of ram.. It comes with a 500gb 7200 rpm drive.. u can swap it out with an SSD..

7/7/2010 9:05:07 AM

So if going the Asus route...which model would you pick for something to accomplish these tasks?

Mostly just internet surfing when at home, but the occasional game. Would love to get SC2, but it definitely won't run on my 9 year old desktop.
Would like a decent size screen, but not overly huge that it's a hassle when traveling.
I'm assuming these things all have burners these days.
Don't want a laptop that will feel like it's on fire within 2 hours of use.

Any help? Thanks.

This will be completely replacing my desktop, so not a netbook but a laptop.

[Edited on August 18, 2010 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

8/18/2010 2:06:56 PM

come on where the laptop peeps at

8/22/2010 1:12:39 PM

14" screen
discrete graphics (nvidia G310)
i3 (or better) processor

they don't always come with burners these days, actually

8/22/2010 1:53:49 PM

Is it worth waiting for Black Friday deals when it comes to laptops? I've always heard that the laptops they put on sale are usually sub-par when it comes to the quality of other laptops.

Also, what about this?

ASUS N61JQ-X1

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel Core i7 720QM(1.6GHz)
16"
4GB DDR3
320GB 7200RPM
DVD Super Multi
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 (not the nvidia mentioned...)
1GB DDR3 VRAM
Gigabit LAN and WLAN
1 x Express Card

Not sure if I should try and wait around for an i7 to go on sale somewhere...

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 9:19 AM. Reason : .]

8/27/2010 9:10:09 AM

Quote :

"Is it worth waiting for Black Friday deals when it comes to laptops? I've always heard that the laptops they put on sale are usually sub-par when it comes to the quality of other laptops."

no, not in my opinion...there might be good deals to be had, but it's historically on more basic laptops, not mid-to-high-range units

Quote :

"ASUS N61JQ-X1 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Intel Core i7 720QM(1.6GHz) 16" 4GB DDR3 320GB 7200RPM DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 (not the nvidia mentioned...) 1GB DDR3 VRAM Gigabit LAN and WLAN 1 x Express Card"

at what price? personally, i have no interest in desktop replacement laptops because they're comparatively expensive, bulky, heavy, and run hotter (in general)...unless you have a specific reason for getting something that powerful (like needing video editing capabilities on the road), you're going to be better off buying a lower-powered laptop (or netbook) for your basic needs (office apps, intarwebs surfing, etc) and then getting a desktop to play games

then you'll be able to upgrade the desktop as necessary and the laptop will remain useful for the same basic uses

again, that's just my take on it...personally, i don't anticipate EVER again having a laptop larger than 14" (if even that big...i'm pretty set on 13.3" as my new max size)...anything bigger is unnecessarily large and heavy for my uses

i got my fiancée a 14" lenovo ideapad with 4gb of DDR3, a 500gb HDD, DVD+RW, SU4100 processor, and 4500MHD graphics for right at $400 after shipping and taxes a couple of months ago (from the microsoft store, actually)...she can run photoshop (or GIMP) for basic things and from what i've read online, the 4500MHD is sufficient for running SC2 at medium/low settings with a playable frame rate...another $500 would get you a pretty decent desktop and that's probably spending no more than the laptop above costs

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 9:36 AM. Reason : i don't get the hate for ideapads, either...hers has been solid (so far)]

8/27/2010 9:34:18 AM

^ price is at ~$1k

You are right, I really don't need something that powerful, that's just human nature I suppose to get the biggest and baddest you can, lol.

I game so rarely on the PC that it's probably not worth it. All I use my desktop for currently is surfing. If I game, I game on consoles.

I was hoping to stick with the Asus brand since it seems to have such high reliability, but most of them are $800+ it seems (at least on newegg)

8/27/2010 9:53:36 AM

i already said it but i'll say it again

but i REALLY REALLY want a new 15" laptop with at least an i5, 12GB RAM and a SSD. at least 1440x900 resolution and a led backlit keyboard. unassuming design please. god help you if there's dedicated multimedia buttons on the keyboard

want it so hard

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 9:54 AM. Reason : asus or toshiba plz]

8/27/2010 9:54:24 AM

^^ well, if you want something more powerful than a CULV, i'd suggest something like this:

ASUS U45Jc-A1 ($800): http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_U45JCA1/
- 14" LED-backlit LCD (1366x768)
- Core i3-370M (2.40ghz)
- 4gb DDR3 (1066mhz)
- 500gb HDD
- hybrid GPU (NVIDIA G310M + 4500MHD, allows you to choose low power or high performance)
- DVD+RW
- 802.11n wireless
- gigabit ethernet

there are other options using the SU7300 processor that are about $100 less, and there are 13.3" versions that are roughly the same price

my biggest complaints about this line: no bluetooth (easy to fix with a $2 low-profile USB dongle) and the 0.3MP is almost unbelievable (though i'm to understand that it only really sucks in very low light)

8/27/2010 10:03:14 AM

bttt for qntmoverlord...will this work for you?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00352LQZS

9/29/2010 4:39:22 PM

1366x768 on a 16" is bullshit. especially with asus, which is supposed to be a good source for premium laptops, most of them are 1366x768 unless you get a 17". thanks for the suggestion though, that's pretty close

anyways, i still haven't found something that i don't have to compromise on, so more suggestions welcome


who here has a laptop with 8 GB RAM? if i compromise on that, it gives me a lot more options. but i feel like if i do that, i'll just end up hitting the page file often again. if you have 8 GB, do you feel it's enough?

10/26/2010 10:52:57 AM

ok, just pulled the trigger on this. shit's gonna be tight



$899 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214083
TOSHIBA Tecra A11-S3540 NoteBook
Intel Core i7 620M(2.66GHz)
15.6" LED Backlit 1600x900
8GB Memory DDR3 1066 ($135 upgraded)
320GB HDD 7200rpm
DVD Super Multi
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 2100M

$269 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5"
128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

10/26/2010 10:14:28 PM

DUDE! It's not a Dell... nor an Apple?!

10/26/2010 10:43:15 PM

anything I am leaving out here or need to bump up? (sorry for the shitty paste format)

COLORS Silver Anodized Aluminum 15.6" FHD (1080p) B+RGLED Display with Facial Recognition edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7-740QM (1.73GHz, 8 threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 6M cache) edit
MEMORY 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M 2GB graphics with TV Tuner edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) edit
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Bluetooth 3.0 edit

mostly for work, some gaming, when docked will be hooked up to 27 inch monitor as second tv

11/6/2010 11:43:15 PM

^Are you building that through IBuyPower or a similar custom build company?

11/7/2010 1:46:56 AM

no, just Dell

11/7/2010 1:52:32 AM

Quote :

"$899 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214083 TOSHIBA Tecra A11-S3540 NoteBook Intel Core i7 620M(2.66GHz) 15.6" LED Backlit 1600x900 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 ($135 upgraded) 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA Quadro NVS 2100M"

how did you upgrade on newegg?

11/7/2010 11:40:51 AM