Time for a new Laptop ... help!

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Pangolin

Pangolin

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Posts
1,187
Loc
Columbus, Ohio
My laptop is at least ten years old. It just doesn't quite handle all I need it to anymore. So, time to go searching for a new one.

So far all I know is this as far as what I need:

-Must have a DVD/CD capability (I don't know if I should care about Bluray or not)

-must have enough running memory to run photoshop, or illustrator, or a cad program at the least

- actual amount of storage on a hard drive isn't a big deal, most of what I do now is on flash drives and portable hard drives.

- a 13" screen or so, I don't want something huge... It'll be bigger than me, and my hands are small, so a more compact keyboard is better.

-A decent battery life would be nice, but not necessary.

(Price ... Umm.... The soon to be ex is going to pay for it one way or another, so I guess price really isn't an issue! ;) )

So, any suggestions? Brands? What else should I look for, or be concerned about?
 
The deals change daily. I recommend a model that has an LED backlit screen. These tend to be brighter, last longer, and use less power.

13 inches is extremely small for a laptop these days, especially when you consider they are all wide format now. (an old 13" square screen would measure much higher than a 14" wide) I think the generally start at 14", 15.x" 17" etc. My laptop is 14.1" and I'm pretty happy with that size.

The first two are entry level laptops. If doing very high end video work, a laptop may not be the best solution. Laptop video cards are usually limited in power/ability, to conserve battery. The screens may also not be ideal for color rendering. However, if you're doing it now with a 10 year old laptop - even the entry level machines below should be far more powerful than what you have.

Most of these can be upgraded to 8gb RAM, providing you select a 64 bit version of Windows 7. (32 bit version can only address/use about 3.5gb) You can also upgrade to a battery with a larger capacity, if needed. My dell 14.1" goes just over 6 hours (it claims to go 8) per charge, on a 3 year old battery. That's really not too bad.

You can see the current deals of the day at www.techbargains.net

I don't see any BLARINGLY good deals today, but you can check daily.

Todays:

Entry level:
Dell Inspiron 14R Laptop Intel Core i3-2330M Dual-Core Sandy Bridge / 4GB / 500GB / 802.11n + bluetooth / Win7 / 14in $499

Entry level:
Dell Vostro 3450 Laptop Intel Core i3-2310M Dual-Core 2.1GHz Sandy Bridge / 2GB / 320GB / 802.11n + bluetooth / webcam + fingerprint / Win7 Pro / Aluminum / 1yr Warranty / 14in $479 (I suggest the upgrade to 4GB ram, and maybe a 500GB hd)

Higher end:
Lenovo Y570 Laptop Intel Core i7-2670QM Quad-Core Sandy Bridge / 8GB / 750GB / 802.11n + bluetooth / Win7 / NVIDIA Geforce GT555M 1GB / 15.6in $799
 
Shana, since you hold onto the computer for so long you may want to get the best possible one you can :) i3 is good but maybe see if you can't get an i5 or i7. I wouldn't go for a celeron or other chip as they may be under powered already and three years from now that would definitely be a dog...

Upgrade the ram as well, or at the least go to Crucial.com with the laptop's brand name and model number and see how much ram you can put into it. That way down the road you may be able to add more when you feel the need.

But if I were to "splurge" I would boost the cpu first . hdd's can be added externally down the road for storage, ram is usually an easy 10 minute upgrade, but a cpu can be a more daunting challenge :)
 
Buying a computer can be as difficult and confusing as choosing a camera.

I might suggest you do a Google Search for “Laptop Reviews”. There are several sites that do this. Ignore price for the moment, but look for features that you want or need in the your new computer and how the reviewer rates them.

Once you’ve got the list whittled down to three or four models, then go shopping for the best deals. Most likely the best prices will be from on-line sellers. Look for the most reliable ratings i.e. the ones with the most “stars”.

Like soft drinks and cream filled cupcakes, everyone is prejudiced in favor of the one they own. I love Macs, but they may not be right for you.
 
Pangolin said:
- a 13" screen or so, I don't want something huge... It'll be bigger than me, and my hands are small, so a more compact keyboard is better.
Click to expand...

I would suggest you go try out a 13" MacBook Pro - compact but very well built. The biggest potential hurdle is software if you're not already a Mac user. But I urge you to get your hands and eyes on one as the quality is more than can be appreciated via pictures or video.
 
Can I add that a lighter option, like Dave is suggesting is a good way to go. The CD does not need to be in the laptop, and is one less thing to break or go obsolete. I had a netbook (wimpy, do not get one :)) and got an external cd for it. And if I wanted I could get an external blu ray and tehus effectivley upgrade the netbook..

The important thing would be usb ports and if usb 3 is out that would be good to have...
 
Keep in mind that laptops have a “touch pad” which is okay for most uses, but may not allow you fine enough control or be accurate enough for making selections in Photoshop or for tweaking curves in Illustrator.

Unless you use a Wacom Tablet or something similar, you may need to run an external mouse or trackball for those applications to get the control you need.
 
Ok, 13" or 14". Hopefully an i7, because why not?

I'll look at the MacBook, but i was hoping for a windows platform, since I already have a ton of programs I would like to keep using. I looked at a few computers at best buy and micro center, and the one thing I see is that the keyboards seem huge. I think I need/want something that doesn't exist ... Laptop capability in a net book size for my little hands!

If there are other suggestions out there, please keep them coming. I know it's hard withou real input from me, but I want something that will last, and it needs to be able to do pretty basic stuff other than photoshop/cad stuff.
 
I'll just throw this out there for what it is worth. When you said small, it made me think of it. I bought my wife a Lenovo Think Pad that is under 3lbs and was well under $300 including Windows 7 and the additional memory I bought to bring it up to 5 gig of ram. It has a smaller screen than I am used to, but it is very clear. It has a full size keyboard, touchpad, and that Think Pad red stem that I liked so much on my IBM of long ago. If you are still shopping, it is worth a look. It does everything she wants it to do and is easy to travel with which was the most important thing to her.

I usually can find some good deals right before the newest and brightest comes out. This is a pretty good time to be looking if the comparison shopping doesn't drive you crazy!
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! I did use some of them. When you read what i finally ordered, please don't jump all over me, because I know I spent more on what I bought than I needed to, but I did it anyway, and I'm happy with my choice. My current (being replaced) laptop has lasted ten years or so, and it will still be used for some smaller tasks like running iTunes through my stereo, and things like that. It was a Sony Vaio too, and I am impressed with how well it held up.

As for the new one, i'm excited about it. I havent gotten anything new or shiny for myself in a long, long time. I'll be even happier once it is in my little hands in about ten days, being played with and set up just perfectly with all the programs I need and want. Setting the thing up is always a ton of hours of fun!

So, what did I buy?

A Sony Vaio C Series. I customized it.

Intel Core i7-2640M processor (2.80GHz / 3.50GHz w/ Turbo Boost)

AMD Radeon HD 6630M (1GB) Hybrid graphics with Intel wireless display technology

320GB Hard Drive. (it's the smallest one they had as an option, and I already use externals for most things anyway)

CD/DVD player / burner

8GB DDR3-SDRAM-1333 (the most it would come with)

Windows 7 Home Premium

14" LED Backlit Display (1600 x 900). (this was the higher resolution of the two available)

Oh, and it is Neon Red!


I suped it up as best I could with what they offered for that model. I looked at a couple 14" and 15.5" screen models in the stores, and the 15.5" is just too big for me and my tiny hands. Even the keys on the 14" are a little far apart, but I can get used to it.

I already have Microsoft Office somewhere, so I didn't need the fancy version of that. I do have a bunch of programs to load on this thing, but that sounds like a fun activity when work is slow. The laptop is getting used for home and work, and I have some cool ideas of things that it will need to do that require some more serious power than my ten year old current laptop provides.
 
It sounds like you chose very well! Getting the 8gb of RAM was a smart choice, and should give it a longer life as program requirements increase.

Enjoy!
Mike
 
Sounds like a sweet machine.

If you want to really personalize it get these (see post after next for name of website) :) I got them on my shop keyboard and it's the rare customer that doesn't comment on my keyboard :) Actually when I ordered them the second time I got a dozen different styles and sold them :) The first place I got them from charged $10 shipping so I ordered a lot so that the shipping was less per unit :)

Got the peace sign one on my external keyboard, the surfing one on this laptop, tennis for my son's laptop, the shop has sunflowers and my MIL has the glow in the dark ones. Didn't think they worked but they do glow for working at night :)

My daughter's is the coolest, it's the polka dotty one, and she only put 8 on her keyboard, they are placed pretty randomly and it really looks cool :)

They help the keys last as they have been on the shop keyboard for 3 years now and they still look pretty good :)
 
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Bob Doyle said:
If you want to really personalize it get these
Click to expand...

You might want to check out that link, this is what I got:

Threat_Blocked.jpg
 
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Dave, I tried clicking the more info in your link and could get nothing.

:)

I have Trend Micro on my laptop it may not be as good at picking up on threats. I did a google search on "funkeyboard stickers". There are/were 35+ different sticker sets for keyboards. Rally nice looking ones too, if you don't mind stickers. Plastic coated tops that really do last a long time and with a lot of use. And not made in China :) I have had quite a few customers come back in after seeing the stickers on my keyboard tell me that they had bought a couple of sets too.

I got the original link years ago from here, on a joke gifts site that someone else linked to "baron bob dot com".
 
David N Waldmann said:
That's because that was just a screenshot of what popped up on my AVG... :icon21:
Click to expand...

I knew that :)

Just got my MIL a laptop, it came in yesterday. She has been using my kids iPods and my wife's iPad and had gotten herself a Kindle Fire. When we were setting up her laptop she complained that it wasn't working. She was tapping the screen with her finger on the lg in screen. Had to tell her it wasn't a touch screen :)

In the late 90's when I was showing all the laptops I was adapting back then she had trouble using them. There was no mouse, as they were touch screens :) Just shows you get used to change pretty fast.
 
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