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Shopping for a newer laptop computer

Discussion in 'Tilted Gear' started by grumpyolddude, Jul 2, 2015.

  1. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    I'm tired of this Sony Vaio. I'm tired of Vista, Sony bloatware, crap battery life, excruciatingly long startups and on and on and on. I've had this for @6 years and, even though I don't do any heavy crunching or gaming, I want faster, brighter, bigger and better.

    I also want cheap. This Sony cost nearly $1000USD brand new. I think I can kill it for @half that.

    What I have: Duo core processor(Centrino), 4gb ram, <300g hard drive, blue ray optical drive, 1080p HD display. What I want: quad core processor (i5 or better, if possible), 8 or more gb ram, 1tb drive, great video and the best sound I can find (the Sony sounds purtrid). I realize the blue ray will probably have to go bye-bye.

    Peeking at my local computer superstore, I see ASUS, Dell, HP and Toshiba all offering units in my +/- $500 price goal. I want the biggest bang for these limited bucks. Should Acer even be on my radar?

    So, tell me: If you had $500 burning a hole in your pocket and wanted the most badass laptop you could buy, what would you get?
     
    grumpyolddude, Jul 2, 2015
    #1
  2. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Toshiba :cool:
     
    rogue49, Jul 3, 2015
    #2
  3. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    Cheap excludes, Apple. But I would go with Apple.
     
    Charlatan, Jul 3, 2015
    #3
  4. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Actually, it depends on what you "need"...your uses are not ours.

    If you can describe what you're going to use it for, that would help.
    Games?
    Business?
    Web media?
    Do you need DVD write? Blue-Ray?
    Big screen?
    Thin system/Light weight?
    Do you need Office? (are you willing to use a monthly Office 365 version instead?)
    Do you want all the darn bells and whistles they put in those package ...or just minimalist by comparison? (which I prefer)

    Windows 8.1 is perfectly fine as an OS...it allows you to move back & forth between the new & old GUI. (I use the old format) ...Win 10 is almost available, I have worked with that.

    Laptops are often cheaper these days than desktops, just from volume sales and packaging.

    For your uses, CPU isn't going to make much difference...nor is RAM, which is cheap. (if you allow for AMD...then you'll definitely get more bang for your buck)
    Do you want lots of storage??
    A decent graphics card is nice, especially with certain needs of newer games. (not over the top, but the integrated board types leave something lacking...perhaps a low-scale NVidia or such)
    Definitely need a good Network Interface Card (NIC) and wireless with good throughput.
    Some decent amount of USB ports, perhaps HDMI or other ports.
    Decent battery with a good charge length.

    Do you have to have someplace physical to go to...or do you mind ordering online?
    What's the warranty you want? Do you care?

    And hell, if you're willing to purchase ($35) and install Auslogics Boostspeed, it will optimize your system that it is even faster. (hell, it will even clean up your old system, make it 3X fast)
    With computers, everything counts (but at the same time it doesn't.

    Give us some more input...we'll find you a hell of a deal.
    And if you don't care...then that just gets us more flexibility. Everyone is different.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2015
    rogue49, Jul 3, 2015
    #5
  5. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    Oh, as for Windows machines... Hubs tried windows 10 beta and it rocks. None of the annoying bs that W8 caused me to refuse to upgrade.
     
    Japchae, Jul 3, 2015
    #6
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    I've had good luck using GotApex. They are a consolidator of deals.

    Closest thing at the moment seems to be a Lenovo.
     
    Stan, Jul 3, 2015
    #7
  7. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I've had great fortune with my Lenovo, but my husband had an HD failure after 2 years (not really a problem, as his old HP laptop HD swapped in fine).

    Honestly, figure out what gives you the most bang for your buck.
     
    snowy, Jul 3, 2015
    #8
  8. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    You'll pretty much never get good sound out of a laptop. It's the same reason the sound on flat screen tvs suck -- you need space for the sound to resonate, and laptop cases don't afford that space.

    You can't get a quad core i5 in a laptop because all mobile i5s are dual core. If you want quad core in your laptop you'd need to go to an i7, or use an AMD.

    ASUS and Toshiba are my preferred brands. I've got a ~8 year old Toshiba laptop still in use today.

    TOSHIBA Laptop C75D-B7215 AMD A-Series A8-6410 &#40;2.00GHz&#41; 8GB Memory 1TB HDD AMD Radeon R5 Series 17.3&#34; Windows 8.1 - Newegg.com

    $500. 1 TB HDD. 8 GB RAM. quad core CPU. That one seems to tick all of your boxes.
     
    martian, Jul 3, 2015
    #9
    • Like Like x 1
  9. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    $2.99 shipping? Outrageous!:eek::D

    Seriously a better deal than Micro Center. 17" v 15" and $50 cheaper.

    I realize that laptops have inherent sound quality issues and that will have to be an area of compromise. Ear buds or headphones are an option, I suppose.

    I am far from a "power user" by any definition. I am mostly concerned with getting the most advanced tech within my somewhat arbitrary budget. Compared to what I used to spend to build a decent desktop PC, they're almost giving away laptops these days. A mid-grade motherboard/processor used to set you back this much all by itself, before considering sound, video, memory or programs. I gave up on build-your-own back in the Pentium II days.

    I want the option to try some tame gaming, if the mood strikes me. I want smooth video streaming (yes, my wifi connection is a major factor in this, but this current laptop will, even with 4gb ram, give me low memory warnings... inefficient!), tons of storage for pics & vids of the grandkids and my favorite music.

    I think I will go to the local Micro Center and play with the Toshiba this weekend and see if I like it enough to pull the trigger. Thanks for that link, @Martian!
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2015
    grumpyolddude, Jul 3, 2015
    #10
  10. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    Even cheaper on Amazon!
     
    grumpyolddude, Jul 3, 2015
    #11