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New Notebook?!
Meister
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm looking to get a new notebook, but I don't really have much experience in buying notebooks at all. So I turn to you!
I'm going to be using my notebook for programming, 3d rendering, and games. The price range I'm looking at is under $2,000. I can go above if a notebook under $2,000 won't last me that long, I guess. Also, I don't know if I should wait until Windows 7 comes out or not. That seems sort of far away.
Also, I should mention that I already have a mac, and I want windows notebook.
I'm going to be using my notebook for programming, 3d rendering, and games. The price range I'm looking at is under $2,000. I can go above if a notebook under $2,000 won't last me that long, I guess. Also, I don't know if I should wait until Windows 7 comes out or not. That seems sort of far away.
Also, I should mention that I already have a mac, and I want windows notebook.
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Hmm.
To be fair, I have to ask, if you have a Mac, why would you also need a Windows notebook?
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
My current Mac laptop is way too old. It can't handle the OpenGL stuff I have to do, and even stuff like opening Firefox, Word, or Excel takes forever. I'm going to have to do stuff with DirectX in the future, which is why I'm getting a Windows notebook.
Why not go with a Macbook Pro then? The current models have excellent graphics cards, and you'll be able to dual boot into XP, Vista, and 7 once it drops.
I currently Dual boot with XP for the few games I play, as my iMac has a 512MB 8800 in it, and I have parallels installed as well so I can run XP alongside OS X, in addition to running Windows 7 alongside OS X.
Ditch your old desktop, pick up a nice display, and make the mac notebook your new desktop as well.
To get the model with the 512MB card you're looking at $2500 from Apple themselves. Being a student will get you that discount, otherwise Amazon can hook you up for $2388, obviously with no tax or shipping.
$2500 gets you the 512MB 9600GT, along with 4GB of RAM and a 2.53Ghz processor. Yes you'll get better deals in the windows world, but IMHO I like the flexibility of being able to use both OS X and Windows on one device.
It may be a bit above your budget but it'll last you and be worth every penny.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I went from a PC to a Mac, which I've been using for the last year and a half. Although I'd say I probably like the Mac OS more, in my opinion it doesn't justify the increased cost in my case. All the time I run into problems from using a Mac, because they're just not as widely supported as windows. For example, an engineering class I took didn't have support mac for the graphing software they used, so I was on my own. The classes for my school that are broadcasted online don't have good support for mac. My friends using PC can move to any point in the video and change the video speed, but even using Flip4Mac I couldn't get the same results. Granted, maybe there's some way to get my computer to do it, but I'd have to go find it myself, whereas for the PC they supported it from the beginning. I have to keep switching between Firefox and Safari, because although I prefer Firefox because I find it easier to use, and it has useful extensions like allowing me to mouse over a Japanese word to have its definition pop up, Firefox on the mac doesn't have built-in pdf support. I was able to find an obscure add-on that provides this functionality, but the zoom is messed up for it. Cool applications like Google Chrome still aren't supported on Mac. Transferring Japanese songs from my friends PC to my Mac screwed up all the tags. Maybe there's some way to solve all these problems, but for most of them a moderate amount of searching wouldn't find the solution.
Because of these reasons, DirectX, and other things, I'd probably end up just booting in Windows all the time. In that case, I'd just rather get a cheaper Windows notebook. Also, technically I could get a non-Apple notebook to run Mac OS if I really wanted to. In a perfect world where all operating systems were equally supported I'd pick Mac. Unfortunately it's not a perfect world, so I'm pretty set on getting a Windows computer.
Sorry, I didn't want to start an OS fight or anything, so let's just leave it at I'm going to get a windows notebook.
It only came out in the last month and comes with 4gig of Ram, a nice ATI card and 320gig HDD for about £799 so whatever that is in Dollars these days. Also...it is easily as pretty if not more so than an Apple if you care...
The argument ends here but do realize that your entire paragraph is nullified by the fact that you can run windows on the macbook pro.
Carry on.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Am I missing something?
Your entire nullification argument is double nullified by his argument about cost. Unless your actual argument is that he's secretly rich.
FWIW, HP and Lenovo (and possibly others) have ISV certified notebooks for workstation applications (e.g. maya, 3ds max, autocad, etc). However, I don't know of any independent testing that determines how much "better" these machines perform at these applications than a machine running the consumer-oriented gaming/multimedia counterpart card.
If you have any interest at all in going the hackintosh route, be careful to select a platform that maximizes compatibility. It's a real bitch when you find out your video card is not supported and is soldered onto the motherboard. And having gone this route on notebooks I think your time/money would be better served buying a mac and installing XP/Vista in a boot camp partition if you want a dual-booting WinMac notebook.
If you're going to consider a Dell, I'd seriously recommend you at least look at Pavillion's. There's some truth to all the horror stories you hear about Dell laptops, and I'm not just saying that because mine was part of the class-action lawsuit against them for their Inspiron 5150 models. The one hand up Dell may have might be there gaming laptops, but I'd be wary of anything that advertises itself as a "gaming laptop".
Edit: RARRR!
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=74584&page=7
Machines from in there:
Sager NP8660
Toshiba F-55
MSI Force 3551
Alienware m15x
this isn't a laptop but it's still awesome.
Those machines are 15" since, in the above thread, form factor was a point of contention. If you're looking for something larger or smaller, let us know and I'm sure we'll hunt something up.
I'd recommend against Alienware. They've gone way downhill since Dell bought them. My next laptop is going to be a Lenovo. They market them for buisnesses, but they can also do gaming and are a good development machine. I program games as well, so please post and/or yet PM me your opinions on whatever notebook you end up buying. I'm always looking for more opinions on machines, but I'll probably wait unitl Windows 7 ships to buy it.
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
It generally is no more than $150 for the life of your warranty and is absolutely invaluable for laptops. If you don't believe me, do a google search on any manufacturer for people complaining about service being denied due to "water damage". Most of the big companies use the same company for their mail in service but not all of them offer accident protection. Totally worth the money for that peace of mind- especially on a high end system.
This.
Especially if it covers complete accident coverage so you could drop it off the Empire State Building, collect the pieces at the bottom, and get a replacement.*
*hyperbole, do not actually attempt
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-studio-xps-16?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~laptop_studio_xps16_cto3~~
for example.
Don't forget to shop around for discounts, student or otherwise.
I can't attest to Sager warranties, but the turnaround on my Lenovo warranty (depot-based) was good. They didn't make me do any over-the-phone troubleshooting and turnaround from calling in problem to receiving the repaired system (system board replacement) was under 72 hours.
So yea don't get an HP. I have a new macbook and I love it other than the compatabilty issues but those are minor.
i was looking into a lenova t400 which i heard were solid windows machines
Can't attest to their support either way.
You're actually one of the first people I've heard really complain about HP's service--then again, they're just another mass manufacturer, so its bound to happen.
I personally have had no problems with their support--it's not exceptional, but it's not bad by any means. And their support forums are actually useful, unlike Dell's (though that wasn't always the case--once, Dell's were useful too....).
Well, mostly I just wanted to opt out of the OS. It doesn't seem that complicated to install an OS. Granted, I've never done it before, but I don't think I want to pay 100+ dollars to be lazy.
Of course, you'll be in violation of the EULA, for whatever that matters to you. And you'll have to lie.
I'd suggest the Windows 7 beta as a possible alternative, but compatibility is by no means guaranteed and I personally couldn't get it to work with my 9600m. I'm sure that will improve over time, however.
If you plan to dork around with your system and install non-XP/Vista operating systems, it's very nice to have a restore partition or restore CD's/DVD's that will quickly get you a system that more or less "just works."
The Win7 beta might work for you too, though you might consider what you'll do when it expires.
Just thought I'd air some of the pros of opting to order a machine shipped with an OS.
You didn't read his post at all, did you?