As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Laptop Replacement/Suggestions Thread: Bring out yer dead laptops!

1356745

Posts

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Posting from my new Vaio. I was worried that the access panal was warped and I was going to have to return it for repair but it was just incompetently installed.

    So far, so good but I kind of wish the track pad had buttons or at least lines to show where to click.

    lowlylowlycook on
    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • EvilMonkeyEvilMonkey Registered User regular
    For someone who will probably put a few hours into Diablo 3, Torchlight 2, Guild Wars 2, and various indie games that I will push on them, but who will inevitably go back to playing Age of Empires 2, is it worth spending $50 to upgrade from a HD4000 to a Radeon 7550M? The machine will primarily be used for web surfing otherwise.

    [PSN: SciencePiggy] [Steam]
  • TommattTommatt Registered User regular
    I don't think I even realized you could upgrade laptop video cards.

    How are amd's processors now adays compared to intels? I used to prefer amd about 5 years ago or so.

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    I think he means paying for the upgrade while he customized the notebook. It is possible to upgrade a laptop GPU but only on certain models.

    AMDs processors are lagging behind Intel these days as far as CPU speed goes but AMD's onboard GPUs are miles better. If you want to play games without a separate card, then they are probably a better bet because you will notice the GPU more than the CPU.

    [edit] And yeah, I think if you want to do even a bit of gaming a HD4000 isn't really going to be enough.

    lowlylowlycook on
    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Thankfully, the o.p. doesn't want an ultrabook. They want a laptop, which AVA do very well.

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Thankfully, the o.p. doesn't want an ultrabook. They want a laptop, which AVA do very well.

    What makes them different from other Sager/Clevo resellers?

    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Yes, the difference is most of the stupid expensive ultrabooks I can get from other places don't contain laughably obsolete components. A Core 2 Duo? I don't even think Apple is using those anymore.

    Seriously man, no offense, but if you think it's reasonable to pay $1200 for something with what is, from what I can find, best-case a three-year-old chip in it, you really need to bring yourself up to speed on this market.

    Gaslight on
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Thankfully, the o.p. doesn't want an ultrabook. They want a laptop, which AVA do very well.

    What makes them different from other Sager/Clevo resellers?

    I've had multiple people tell me they're quick, reliable and have excellent customer support? Also their build-your-own prices seem to be pretty good to me.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Yes, the difference is most of the stupid expensive ultrabooks I can get from other places don't contain laughably obsolete components. A Core 2 Duo? I don't even think Apple is using those anymore.

    Seriously man, no offense, but if you think it's reasonable to pay $1200 for something with what is, from what I can find, best-case a three-year-old chip in it, you really need to bring yourself up to speed on this market.

    I honestly couldn't care less about ultrabooks? I'd never even looked at that section of their site before you pointed it out to me.

  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    Gaslight wrote: »

    Are they really asking me to pay $1200 for an ultrabook with a Core 2 Duo?

    Ultrabooks are stupid expensive no matter where you get them from, yes.

    Yes, the difference is most of the stupid expensive ultrabooks I can get from other places don't contain laughably obsolete components. A Core 2 Duo? I don't even think Apple is using those anymore.

    Seriously man, no offense, but if you think it's reasonable to pay $1200 for something with what is, from what I can find, best-case a three-year-old chip in it, you really need to bring yourself up to speed on this market.

    I honestly couldn't care less about ultrabooks? I'd never even looked at that section of their site before you pointed it out to me.

    That's fine, but it's the first section I looked at as it's the only thing I'm semi-in the market for. And seeing that makes me question the value of everything else they sell. And again, no offense, but you shouldn't make pronouncements about ultrabooks if you aren't educated about them.

  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    You can get into an ultrabook starting around $700, but most of them don't interest me (SSD size, screen resolution) until they hit the $1K range.

    I wouldn't look at ODMs providing cheap ultrabooks until (if) they start shipping in volume, which I wouldn't expect before Win8 Pro drops.

  • TommattTommatt Registered User regular
    The prices at that Avadirect seemed ok. Seemed about the same as Alienware when I added a 7690m (I know thats the wrong number haha. The newest ati card, and as far as I can tell fastest mobile card. Surprisingly it seems to compete well with desktop video cards, unless I'm looking at the site wrong I've been using for benchmarks) but it seems everywhere I look a gaming laptop costs about the same.

    Was disappointed when you go to "build your own custom laptop) it only let's you choose Onboard video.

  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Tommatt wrote: »
    The prices at that Avadirect seemed ok. Seemed about the same as Alienware when I added a 7690m (I know thats the wrong number haha. The newest ati card, and as far as I can tell fastest mobile card. Surprisingly it seems to compete well with desktop video cards, unless I'm looking at the site wrong I've been using for benchmarks) but it seems everywhere I look a gaming laptop costs about the same.

    Was disappointed when you go to "build your own custom laptop) it only let's you choose Onboard video.

    Falcon NW lets you do some serious customizations.

    Of course, you'll have to take out the equivalent to a car loan to afford it.

    PJ-AO535_pjGAME_G_20090225185242.jpg

    jungleroomx on
  • TommattTommatt Registered User regular
    I want customization but what I really want is to be able to be able to choose any GPU I want, and then build around that. That doesn't seem to exist.

    I guess my next option would be to see
    How to upgrade to the video card I want, and then building a laptop around me doing that. Going to guess that's cost more than just choosing one with it as an option though.

    I do remember drooling over falcon NW reviews though in PC gamer and such.

    So ivy bridges just got released right? Any idea when we'll see price drops in sub ivy's? How are they and what advantage do they have over their predecessors? I really miss having a PC :(

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    I think that's because dissipating the heat from the GPU is one of the big issues in designing a laptop so switching GPUs around isn't as easy as putting in a new chip.

    Personally, I think you pay too much in both money and compromised portability when you buy a high end gaming laptop. If you can convince yourself that playing most games on high settings and that lower settings for the most demanding games is fine then there are a lot more laptops with, say, a 650M.

    Otherwise, it's probably cheaper to build a cheap desktop that will out-game any laptop and also buy a cheap, but portable laptop.

    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • floobiefloobie Registered User regular
    I think that's because dissipating the heat from the GPU is one of the big issues in designing a laptop so switching GPUs around isn't as easy as putting in a new chip.

    Personally, I think you pay too much in both money and compromised portability when you buy a high end gaming laptop. If you can convince yourself that playing most games on high settings and that lower settings for the most demanding games is fine then there are a lot more laptops with, say, a 650M.

    Otherwise, it's probably cheaper to build a cheap desktop that will out-game any laptop and also buy a cheap, but portable laptop.

    I completely agree with this assessment. Truly dedicated gaming laptops pretty much suck as laptops. You're paying a lot of money at that point to cram all that power into something that's theoretically capable of being hauled around... and even then it'll completely suck compared to a less powerful laptop. Building a gaming PC with similar power will always be a lot cheaper.

    Everyone has their own threshold, but there's ultimately a point where you're completely defeating the purpose of buying a laptop in the first place. ie. You're basically sacrificing all the advantages of a laptop in the pursuit of trying to make it more powerful.

  • EvilMonkeyEvilMonkey Registered User regular
    ... there are a lot more laptops with, say, a 650M ...

    Canada makes me sad sometimes.

    @lowlylowlycook: You got an S series right? The fixed on-board RAM bugs me a bit. I've had RAM fail on me but being able to easily swap in a new chip helps take away the sting.

    [PSN: SciencePiggy] [Steam]
  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    Yeah, that would be better. Also I kind of wish they found room for a mSATA slot.
    Then again, trying to find the perfect laptop was driving me insane and I'm very happy with the screen, CIV5 working nicely, and the heat/noise factor.

    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • EvilMonkeyEvilMonkey Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Going insane...sounds familiar :P

    EvilMonkey on
    [PSN: SciencePiggy] [Steam]
  • TommattTommatt Registered User regular
    Ya I'll probably end up going for a mid range laptop with a fairly decent gpu. Doesn't mean I can't dream/drool over the high end gpu and try to find a laptop with that ATi in it :D. I never really sit with my laptop in my lap, at least not when gaming, so heats not really an issue. And the only pc games I really play are blizzard games, League of Legends, and games off GoG.

  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    I'm looking at another HP because my current HP's fan went out. Again.

    My last HP's fan went out and friend the video card.

    Why? I dunno, they've got the best combination of looks, equipment, and price... but longevity is a serious issue. Any suggestions? ASUS looks good, but for similar specs you can pick up another laptop for a few hundred less. Plus the only ones I'm interested in (G series) are ugly as all fuck.

    jungleroomx on
  • floobiefloobie Registered User regular
    I'm looking at another HP because my current HP's fan went out. Again.

    My last HP's fan went out and friend the video card.

    Why? I dunno, they've got the best combination of looks, equipment, and price... but longevity is a serious issue. Any suggestions? ASUS looks good, but for similar specs you can pick up another laptop for a few hundred less. Plus the only ones I'm interested in (G series) are ugly as all fuck.

    If all you want is specs for cheap, HP will get you there. If you want higher quality, you'll have to look elsewhere and pay a bit more. Bear in mind that paying a few hundred dollars more might get you significantly more longevity out of your next machine. In that case, you come out ahead buying something of higher quality up front.

    What do you want this laptop to do? Asus' G series is their gaming lineup. They're very well made, but they aren't the kind of laptop you bring with you frequently... they're bulky as hell. Usually, when people want a gaming laptop, I tend to ask if they really want the mobility of a laptop, because a much cheaper self-built desktop will always perform better. Given how many 17" gaming laptops never leave the owner's desk (because they're gigantic and have non-existent battery life), I do think most of them would be served better by a desktop.

    If you want something reasonably powerful but still somewhat mobile, I'd set my sights away from any of the gaming or desktop replacement models, and more towards a more consumery 15" model with dedicated graphics.

  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    My current laptop sits at the house, keyboard and mouse hooked up to it (mouse for games, keyboard because my kids turned the old keyboard into a half-used Scrabble board) It's basically a gaming laptop for Diablo 3, SC, and such as well as basic use (Office, web) and the G series seemed to fit the bill. Portability isn't an issue, I have a series 7 slate (and my wife an iPad) for that.

    Found one for $1,100. Woo!

    jungleroomx on
  • CheesecakeRecipeCheesecakeRecipe "Should not be allowed to post in the Steam Thread" - Isorn Squalor Victoria, Squalor Victoria!Registered User regular
    I'm looking at another HP because my current HP's fan went out. Again.

    My last HP's fan went out and friend the video card.

    Why? I dunno, they've got the best combination of looks, equipment, and price... but longevity is a serious issue. Any suggestions? ASUS looks good, but for similar specs you can pick up another laptop for a few hundred less. Plus the only ones I'm interested in (G series) are ugly as all fuck.

    Heh, this kinda scares me since I ordered an HP Dv6. The reviews didn't seem to show a lot about fan failures, but maybe they just hadn't owned them long enough.

  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    I'm looking at another HP because my current HP's fan went out. Again.

    My last HP's fan went out and friend the video card.

    Why? I dunno, they've got the best combination of looks, equipment, and price... but longevity is a serious issue. Any suggestions? ASUS looks good, but for similar specs you can pick up another laptop for a few hundred less. Plus the only ones I'm interested in (G series) are ugly as all fuck.

    Heh, this kinda scares me since I ordered an HP Dv6. The reviews didn't seem to show a lot about fan failures, but maybe they just hadn't owned them long enough.

    I've had DV7's. There's a local computer shop I sold my old DV7 to that said they see HP laptops in here all the time with busted fans, either making a god awful noise or just going out.

    jungleroomx on
  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    After much searching I've come across something that's piqued my interest.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230142

    It's got a much better GPU than my current laptop (A GeForce GTS 150M). I keep hearing all these vundaful stories about ASUS and their builds so I'm seriously looking at this as a replacement. As Floobie said, I'd rather pay $1500 every 4 years than $1100 every 2. Of course, the step up with the 670m is just $70 more... and the benchmarks show a significant bump.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408

    jungleroomx on
  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited June 2012
    I'm getting a new laptop, because my old one died a sad death.

    I'd like it to be pretty cheap (500-600 range). I'm planning on doing light gaming (mostly indie stuff and older stuff. I don't regularly buy games and when I do they're rarely extremely demanding). For the most part, it's going to be browsing the internet, developing software, and playing light games at friends' houses or while traveling. I prefer 17''. Battery life isn't really an issue - I'm rarely going to have it somewhere where it isn't plugged in, I'm buying it over a desktop only because I don't want to drag a tower with me when I go out of town for a week.

    All that said, I've come across this. It meets pretty much all of my specs. Does anyone know of anything that is cheaper and similar, or similar in price but much better? I've put off buying one for about a month, but I'm visiting my aunt in rural Montana in a week or two and I'd really like to be able to code and browse the internet instead of... not for five days.

    Shivahn on
  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Acer is pretty cheap, pricewise. I'm not sure if you'd want a laptop either cheap or similar in price but with better specs. I'm paying the price for buying an (at the time) $800 laptop with similar-specced devices costing $1200. Although Acer tends to fall in with Toshiba/Dell/HP as a "cheaper" brand, I've heard far less horror stories about their computers than I have the other three I just mentioned (Specifically HP).

    Honestly, it's a good basic browsing machine with good-to-decent video capabilities. Here's a list of benchmark scores for the video card, if there's any games at the bottom that you play it'll give you an idea if it's acceptable. The i5, i'd say, is probably the bare minimum you'll want for coding and compiling.

    jungleroomx on
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    edited June 2012
    After much searching I've come across something that's piqued my interest.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230142

    It's got a much better GPU than my current laptop (A GeForce GTS 150M). I keep hearing all these vundaful stories about ASUS and their builds so I'm seriously looking at this as a replacement. As Floobie said, I'd rather pay $1500 every 4 years than $1100 every 2. Of course, the step up with the 670m is just $70 more... and the benchmarks show a significant bump.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408

    If it's only $70 more on a $1400 laptop to upgrade from a GTX560M to a GTX670M video card, you'd be mad not to.

    EDIT: Also, looking at the differences between the processors, it appears that the cheaper model has a Sandy Bridge 32 nm chip, and the more expensive model has an Ivy Bridge 22nm chip...

    Donovan Puppyfucker on
  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular

    If it's only $70 more on a $1400 laptop to upgrade from a GTX560M to a GTX670M video card, you'd be mad not to.

    EDIT: Also, looking at the differences between the processors, it appears that the cheaper model has a Sandy Bridge 32 nm chip, and the more expensive model has an Ivy Bridge 22nm chip...

    I didn't even notice that.

    $70 for 670m AND Ivy Bridge AND free $200 laptop bag?

    Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

  • TommattTommatt Registered User regular
    Do you guys feel it's best to go to a website and customize a laptop, or look around at newegg, amazon, best buy etc.....?

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited June 2012
    Acer is pretty cheap, pricewise. I'm not sure if you'd want a laptop either cheap or similar in price but with better specs. I'm paying the price for buying an (at the time) $800 laptop with similar-specced devices costing $1200. Although Acer tends to fall in with Toshiba/Dell/HP as a "cheaper" brand, I've heard far less horror stories about their computers than I have the other three I just mentioned (Specifically HP).

    Honestly, it's a good basic browsing machine with good-to-decent video capabilities. Here's a list of benchmark scores for the video card, if there's any games at the bottom that you play it'll give you an idea if it's acceptable. The i5, i'd say, is probably the bare minimum you'll want for coding and compiling.

    Ok, thanks. It should be acceptable - I'm gonna get a new desktop at some point soon which will be for heavy gaming. The laptop is mostly for when I can't be at home, and I'm pretty much going to be playing things like Terraria and X-COM. Not particularly demanding, either of them.

    Edit: Oh awesome! It's out of stock now!

    Shivahn on
  • floobiefloobie Registered User regular
    My current laptop sits at the house, keyboard and mouse hooked up to it (mouse for games, keyboard because my kids turned the old keyboard into a half-used Scrabble board) It's basically a gaming laptop for Diablo 3, SC, and such as well as basic use (Office, web)...

    Maybe I missed it, but, given all that... why not just get a desktop?

  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    floobie wrote: »
    My current laptop sits at the house, keyboard and mouse hooked up to it (mouse for games, keyboard because my kids turned the old keyboard into a half-used Scrabble board) It's basically a gaming laptop for Diablo 3, SC, and such as well as basic use (Office, web)...

    Maybe I missed it, but, given all that... why not just get a desktop?

    Well, I'll clarify: I move it enough to where a desktop is sort of a no-go. We have a desktop, but its more of a general use/houseguest/kids kind of thing. I'm apparently the go-to tech dude in the family (Between my wife, my in-laws, and even my co-workers) and every once in a while I'll need to bring my laptop with me.

    So portability is necessary, but just the fact that it is portable, not how portable.

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Well what if you had a gaming desktop and a netbook?

    lowlylowlycook on
    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Well what if you had a gaming desktop and a netbook?

    Hate netbooks. Would rather have a tablet than a netbook. We had an ASUS EEE netbook and we both hated the damn thing.

    And I've learned if I can keep a computer with the bigger, fancier screen (despite our desktop only costing $500), then the children tend to leave my laptop alone. So, I've managed our technology as such:

    Desktop - Cheap w/ large hard drive. Acts as the main computer for the house, a 1TB hard drive stores all of our pictures and music centrally. Had separate accounts for my oldest kid who is 6, my wife, and myself. Is pretty much the wifes, as it plays her Facebook games and she likes the bigger screen and speakers and runs Office at a nice clip. House file server/public access point.

    Tablets - My Samsung 7 slate is my at-school computer. I've managed to find all of my books in PDF or electronic form for 2 semesters, it's light and it allows me to take notes that are easier to organize and clean up than handwritten ones. The iPad is my wifes because she likes to browse the internet on the go often and doesn't want a laptop (she doesn't like laptops). The wife also uses my tablet when she feels like playing Cityville or something on the couch, and we'll let the kiddos play kid games on the touchscreens.

    Laptop - Gaming rig plus my productivity place for school. My rig. I'm the only one in the house who likes playing PC games, and the fact that I can fold it up and keep it away from prying fingers (as I've soon found out don't give a shit about price, so I'd rather they go after the one that costs less and is harder to move) is just a bonus. This is MY machine.

    jungleroomx on
  • jungleroomxjungleroomx It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovels Registered User regular
    And yes, I'm a huge fucking gear nut. In addition, the wife and I both have smartphones (iPhone 4 and Samsung Focus S).

  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    Tommatt wrote: »
    Do you guys feel it's best to go to a website and customize a laptop, or look around at newegg, amazon, best buy etc.....?

    If you need a very high spec GPU to run a particular game at full HD res then it could be your only choice is to do a customized laptop which will carry a premium. You should really determine if you're in that category, because if you can live with a more mainstream (less bleeding edge) mobile GPU you're going to net a much better deal trawling the Internet. Amazon and Newegg (TigerDirect too) will pop up good deals, especially if you comparison shop for awhile. The best deals I've found are in the forums for the deal aggregator sites (fatwallet, dealnews, etc.).

  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    But on the other hand there are often pretty nice coupon codes available for custom laptops.

    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    So any suggestions for laptop mice? I'm thinking bluetooth but losing a port to one of those mini-connectors wouldn't be terrible.

    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Sign In or Register to comment.