laptop with best screen?

wakkawa

I am looking for a new laptop. I currently have a macbook pro but it is having some terrible overheating issues. I have tried cleaning it, getting a cooling pad and even ramping up the fanspeeds and it still overheats.

What I need is a screen that has the same quality of a macbook, that isn't a macbook pro. I just do not have $1800 for a new computer.

I have tried dells and their screens were shit. This was about 4 years ago though. It was so bad I returned it immediately.

EDIT: I am an illustrator, so color reproduction is better than anything. Also, I am extremely picky. Like, extremely picky in the sense audio people are. Only the best.

Serpent

Very few cheap laptops have good screens. I believe you're going to have to shell out around $1500 regardless of the computer.

I think some of the Sony Vaios have good screens.

wakkawa

yeah I'm looking at like ~1200 max. The vaio is in that range.

the Vaio I was considering right now is ~1000, so yeah. almost Half the price of the macbook.

wakkawa

Also getting the actual tech spechs from the various companies on their laptop screens is painful.

Sarksus

You're going to have a very tough time finding a good screen on a laptop. My first recommendation would be a ThinkPad W701 but it's freaking gigantic and also really really expensive (the Lenovo website has the price starting at over $2k). Usually Lenovo screens are kind of shit but this one was meant for good color reproduction in mind. It has a built-in color calibrator. It also has a small Wacom digitizer built into the palm rest though I don't know the specs on it.

It is among the best but you're going to have to pay for it.

I'd recommend looking at multimedia laptops. I've been reading some that the Dell XPS 16 also has a pretty good screen and it starts at $1000.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2746

Edit: Anandtech usually publishes very detailed information in their reviews, so if they have a review of a laptop you're interested in they're definitely a good place to go.

wakkawa

If I have to pay extra for a screen I know is going to be awesome I am alright with that. I just don't want to pay 1800 for something that ends up being a little off.

I also need a macbook because I am going to be moving around a lot in the next few years. A desktop is too cumbersome.

Also thank you! I'll check anandtech.

Fallingman

Could you look at selling your current model for a newer one? I hear that macs have quite good resell value.

This is assuming it's an older model.... I have a 1st gen MBP and it's a real crotch-cooker.

wakkawa

I... I never thought about selling it.

this Macbook pro is 4 years old now with upgraded ram and harddrive. It can do most tasks fairly well, but if I try to play a game or after awhile of photoshop I start to get artifacts. Mostly in games though.

It gets really really fucking hot.

KalTorak

There's an Apple Mac-related event coming next week, so if you decide to get a new one it's worth it to see what they announce.

edit: Have you tried cleaning/replacing the fans themselves? It's not as difficult as it seems, check www.ifixit.com for a picture guide to see if you're willing to try it.

wakkawa

I have tried cleaning them, but it doesn't seem to have helped.

Is there something I am missing on cleaning it though?

This is what it does for games

after like 20 mins.

And for photoshop, I get green pixels everywhere.

Fallingman

Well, I recently upgraded, and rather than getting a MBP, I got a refurb 27" iMac and an iPad.

I went online on a whim to see if anyone was bothering to sell old 2ghz dual core MBP's with 2 gigs of RAM. I was quite surprised at what people were getting for them.

Might be a minimal cost to upgrade?

dlinfiniti

dell business line laptops like the latitude or mobile workstation lines are great
they're also the only company that offers 1080p screens at 15"

Dark Moon

If you absolutely need accurate colour reproduction, you can't use a laptop screen. Between the screens themselves being mediocre at best and the hugely variable viewing angle, every time you sit down at it you will experience slight colour shifts.

Suggestion: Buy an external IPS LCD and some sort of colour calibration system (I'm very fond of the huey PRO). It's the only way to get truly accurate colours.

Sir Headless VII

I have never tried them but HP makes a laptop that is basically a copy of a macbook that runs windows and is cheaper. They are their ENVY series. Like i said though, i have never even seen one so I don't know anything about their quality.

Djeet

wakkawa wrote: »

I have tried cleaning them, but it doesn't seem to have helped.

Is there something I am missing on cleaning it though?

This is what it does for games

after like 20 mins.

And for photoshop, I get green pixels everywhere.

That looks like a GPU issue, not a screen issue. Personally I'd rip the thing apart, dust it, replace the fans, and reapply thermal compound between GPU and the GPU heatsink.



The HP 8540w is supposed to be available with a 10 bit IPS screen (badged "dreamcolor 2," or somesuch), but it costs $texas (like nearly $3K min with the nice screen).

A much more economical solution would be to buy a high spec PC laptop and a nice external display.

wakkawa

I mean I would love to get an external screen, but I can't. I need to be portable and light so I can relocate easily.

And I know its a gpu issue. I'm asking for a laptop with a good screen because I have had bad experiences in the past with laptop screen quality.

Thanks everyone for the info on the various laptops though!

baudattitude

Do you have one of the MacBook pros with the bad 8600 series graphics chips? I think there was some sort of warranty extension thing related to that.

Either that, or I remember hearing about it because they acknowledged the issue but weren't going to do anything about it. Can't remember offhand.