So, after six years of use, my MacBook Pro crapped out on me last week. Was using it normally one day, everything started slowing down to a crawl, decided to restart it, was treated to what I can only assume was the hard drive making a hissing, static, and clicking noise upon reboot. Took about forty-five minutes to reboot, after which everything moved even slower, so decided to reboot again. As the computer struggled to load, the apple screen turned into a circle with a line through it. Computer's been unusable ever since.
Much as I love Mac products, my last one was a gift, thus getting a new one would be somewhat prohibitively expensive, especially considering I made the slightly irresponsible/self-indulgent purchase of a new iPad only a week prior to all this happening. Said iPad is serving as my temporary computer in the mean time. Gets the job done, but obviously isn't ideal.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to bite bullet and do something I've been dreading for years–get a new Windows computer. As someone who has hated every OS that came after XP and is now extremely used to OSX and iOS, I need the help of you fine gents in recommending me something. Feel free to treat me like a goose, as I know nothing about which brands to avoid and the like.
Here are the things I am looking for:
- Ample hard drive space. 1TB would be glorious, but I'll settle for something in that ballpark.
- Something fast. I would like the days of slow computing to be behind me.
- Laptop. Due to work, I need to be able to take my computer around with me.
- While being able to play the latest and greatest isn't a necessity, a decent ability to handle some pretty games would be nice.
- A quality product that (if well taken care of) will not make me have to go through this process again in another year or two.
- As always, the further this hypothetical thing's price point is away from making me destitute, so much the better.
As a random aside, I do have interest in the Surface Pro 3. Does anyone have any impressions on it they can relate? I understand I already have a tablet computer and it's in the price range that I might as well just consider getting another Mac, but I have a weakness for shiny expensive electronics, as I'm sure is already evident. Also, if I can't find something that fits all my requirements, I am willing to make do with my iPad for a while and save for a new Mac anyway, but I'm trying to be a realist and accept that it's not financially the smartest decision, thus I'm exploring options.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
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I have the Surface Pro 3 I5core with 125gigs of storage. I also have two of the flip keyboards that come with it.
Long story short, if you want to play elaborate games don't get this. Else it has been a fantastic and probably one of my most worthwhile purchases in a long long time.
i have a 128GB SP 2. I like it a lot. it replaced my macbook, and i have not really had any issues. for serious work you will want a separate mouse since i hate the touchpad for real things
in regards to storage. its easy to balance it. yes you will probably want a external drive, but all the surface pro's have a high capacity micro sd slot which works seamlessly and you can install stuff to the cards. you can find them for way cheaper than the higher tier storage levels
You could always replace the hard drive in the apple and reinstall your operating system and use what you have before going down the route of a new computer.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2010+Hard+Drive+Replacement/3030
If you've still got the OSX CD's or USB stick that came with your laptop, that should get you started. I'm assuming it's a 2010 unibody.
TBH, my 2010 still functions just as well as some of the newer laptops I've run across... so it may be worth your while to spend $50 to try and fix this.
I will say that, If the surface didn't have pressure sensitive drawing abilities I would have more heavily considered a normal laptop in the price range. The surface eliminated my need to carry around a wacom if I wanted to draw, so it really added a portability element a laptop couldn't stand up to. If that wasn't a part of the equation, It was kinda pricey.
Make sure you factor the type cover into the price, its really ludicrous that they even package a surface without one. I only disconnect the type cover when I'm using it to draw, otherwise it just generally makes sense to leave it on. If you do a lot typing when you browse the web (posting on forums, I assume) then you may find that chucking the key board to go "tablet mode" doesn't actually happen that often. Maybe that's just me, though.
Personally, I have not really considered gaming on it. I've played a little minecraft on it, but I still think it gets a little hot about the whole ordeal.
If I wanted to truly replace my PC with the surface, I think I would have sprung for the i7 processor. As it functions right now, its a highly adaptable portable workstation that compliments my PC, and while I don't want for more when I'm traveling for work, at home I use my main PC. I think windows 8 is a little goofy, but that will be resolved with 10, hopefully.
use cases > hardware specs
I concur, throw an SSD and some extra RAM in it and call it a day. My 2009 13" base model got 8gb of ram and an ssd thrown in it in 2011 and still runs better than most new computers. For your 1TB, you have a few options: 1tb internal (forget SSD), 1tb (or close to) SSD internal (say goodbye to a lot of money), or small SSD internal, 1TB external (recommended option for max performance and storage)
Work-wise, I need a computer that has the suite of Microsoft Office programs, can run Photoshop decently, HDMI and/or DVI outputs for hooking it up to a projector, the capability to do some light video editing and drawing. Entertainment-wise, I need my computer to be able to download and watch videos wonderfully, download and read comics, listen to music, and be able to play games–maybe a step under what's needed for typical AAA titles. Usually have access to a desk, good battery life is always nice.
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
Surface Pro 3 does not have these unless you buy the workstation dock (another 200 bucks). Sounds like you want something more like last year's gaming laptop than what the Surface will likely give you.
You're more than likely right. As I said, I'm pretty sure the SP3 probably isn't right for me, I just want it. Also, in addition to the aforementioned issues, the small hard drive space is something I can't really abide, even with the growing ease and portability of large externals.
I am considering trying to replace the hard drive and RAM in my MacBook, but my only concern is if this will be putting a Band-Aid on a problem requiring stitches. If I do so, this will be the second time I've had to replace the hard drive, plus the battery is pretty much shot, there's dents in the casing, etc. Definitely showing its age.
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
Battery can be replaced too, but you're starting to look at a 150 repair at that point. Dents are beauty marks.
While we're on the subject of hard drives, does anyone have any experiences they can relate with solid state hard drives, or the flash memory that's included in MacBook Airs? Are either of these better/worth pursuing?
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
a surface can totally do what you want
Intel 5500 graphics seems enough for light gaming, I can play WOW at the "high" setting (admittedly at 1366x768) at roughly 40 FPS. Most older games I've tried on it work fine.
The major downside of any Lenovo laptop is the large amount of pre-installed programs, I ended up putting the Windows 10 Preview on it, which works fine.
way cheaper for adapters. i think the amazon one i got was only like 8 bucks. but you can use the apple one if you have it
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VFY8LY2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
MYSTERY