I'm in the market for a new laptop, doing some research.

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

Hey folks,

I'm just poking my head in, curious to see what other people think these days. I'm not sure what exactly the "trends" are, what's optimal, what brands are king these days - etc.

I've never owned a laptop before, been one of those "desktop or bust" sort of guys. Well... time's have changed, and I don't really game much these days, and the mobility could be very useful right now for work and everything else around the house or traveling. I usually stayed with a desktop because of the customization/upgradeable, price versus performance, and gaming. Maybe before you even give me any advice, that is a good starting point.

Regardless, I'm in the market researching for a new laptop, and it's more or less going to be a work computer. I'll likely replace my desktop.

My budget is roughly about 1500 dollars +- a few hundred (unless otherwise convinced, which I hope someone can prove to me right or wrong). I'm not sure what the sweet spot price is before diminishing returns becomes a major role. I'm always a bang for buck shopper.

My needs/uses are work related, movies (Preferably HDMI so I can stream it via my big screen TV), music, multi tasking, internet, Microsoft office applications, some light to average gaming with StarCraft2, other then that. I really just want it to be a workhorse.

A couple questions for the crowd:

I mentioned early, I don't know what the "trends" are to optimize a laptop. Meaning; is a SSD 100% the way I want to go - making the immediate upgrade after purchase? Do people buy aftermarket memory, more memory etc? Do people put in aftermarket video cards to reduce costs? You know... trends/optimization. What's all the cool kids doing these days?

I'm unaware of resolution. I'm used to a 22" 1680x1050, or 1920x1080 on a 23"+. Those resolutions are not common from what I've gathered. What resolutions should I be interested in/sizes based upon what I'm used to (and would like to continue to do so). Will 1440x900 suffice?

If I want a SSD as my main drive, which I assume is the trend to do. Is there space to put in a internal second harddrive usually? A slow massive media drive, or does everyone use externals these days?

I hope that gives enough background/information for now, I appreciate any insight I can get. You guys are the experts, not I. I have been looking at Lenovo Refurbished T series, I'm not sure if refurbished/redistributed is a safe/viable option. I'm assuming I want i5 or i7 at a minimum to make things worth while.

Thanks in advance.

That's hopefully enough background/information for now to maybe get some good insight.

 

[Knufire]

ASUS G73JH, best gaming laptop for the money out right now, IMO. Xotic PC sells the -A1, which has all the features, but look if it's right for you.

 

[hafa]

The first thing to determine is what size is comfortable for you. Smaller = lighter/smaller screen. Larger = heavier/larger screens. Ultraportables, 13" screen or smaller, tend to cost more, but if you travel frequently they're a godsend during checkpoints and long flights.

The majority of notebooks use integrated video. Large, heavy desktop replacements and gaming computers will often feature discrete video, but for the tasks you've described, today's integrated video should be fine.

Performance-wise, SSD is definitely the way to go. Less power consumption and the single most significant performance upgrade you can make. I'd also recommend a notebook with a core-i processor. The i7 mobile is a real powerhouse, and given your budget, you should be able to afford one. Max out the RAM as well; it's not expensive and will really boost performance. Upgrading to an SSD/more RAM after purchase tends to be cheaper

For storage, I use a second internal 320GB 2.5" 7200RPM mechanical drive. Most business-class notebooks (Toshiba Portege, Lenovo Thinkpad) have bays that allow you to interchange your optical drive and an additional HDD. Alternately, you could use a USB/ESATA external storage device if you plan to use the optical drive frequently.

You may also want to look for a machine that has a port replicator slot. Port replicators allow single-click connection to myriad devices, including monitors, LAN, all USB devices and power. Don't confuse glorified USB hubs masquerading as "docks"; a true port replicator is just that: it replicates all (or nearly all in some cases) of the ports on your device and requires no cables to be connected to your notebook when docking.

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

I checked out the ASUS G73JH-A1, that laptop has some serious specs for the price. What's the catch?

I've been looking at some ThinkPads, just because I know they are built like tanks. I hate flimsy things, especially for being a larger guy. My hands don't work well with fragile things. I mean weight isn't "that" huge of an issue, as long as it isn't some cinder-block. I don't really need a feather either. I definitely don't want to pay a premium for it either, just looking for a happy medium. I'm likely to go with a 15.4" or a 17" monitor. I'm still unsure about resolution. I want the same clarity/crispness a 1680x1050 looks on a 22" monitor. I'm not sure if thats 1440x900, 1600x900, or better. Some of the native resolutions on these laptops these days are pretty small (or large, depending on how you're looking at it) from the looks of it.

Will I notice any difference between i5 vs i7? I have a gut feeling I won't, so my thoughts right now are to just get a solid i5 laptop for as cheap as possible with a 15+ monitor, with the resolution I'm interested in. Then dump 180 into 4-8GB of RAM, and buy a SSD. Which is a whole other story, because I don't know what RAM would be best to get, or which SSD would be either.

hafa; I will have to look into port replicator, never heard of such a thing to be honest. Sounds very handy/useful.

 

[Knufire]

I know the general opinions about the Thinkpads. However, I have a Z61t for three years, and I HATED it. I've had Lenovo technicians tell me that the hard drive randomly corrupts, I had a fried motherboard, two dead batteries, overheating issues, and a whole slew of other problems.

The catch with the ASUS G73JH is that other versions then the A1 are stripped down and come with less features. The A1 is very hard/near impossible to find in a retail store. The other versions do cost less though. Plus, if you're gaming, the mobile graphic card is important, and the mobility 5870 is the most powerful card out, or so I've heard, new Fermi releases may have beaten it.

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

Honestly I'm not sure how much gaming if any I'll be doing if any. It might be safe to say I won't be gaming at all. I'm probably paying a price for a discrete video card, when I might not need one. I have my desktop after all for gaming, but lately.. just not enough time in the day like there used to be

 

[hafa]

Will I notice any difference between i5 vs i7? I have a gut feeling I won't, so my thoughts right now are to just get a solid i5 laptop for as cheap as possible with a 15+ monitor, with the resolution I'm interested in.

Unless you're doing heavy multitasking or work like Adobe CS/video editing, you'll likely be satisfied with an i5. If, however, your budget will allow, the extra power is nice to have.

...I don't know what RAM would be best to get, or which SSD would be either.

RAM from any major manufacturer (Corsair, Kingston, Crucial) will be fine. See what's the best DDR3 value when you're ready to buy, keeping in mind that performance RAM can often be very close in price to "value" RAM.

This article should help you choose a decent SSD; although it was written back in June, it's still relevant.

hafa; I will have to look into port replicator, never heard of such a thing to be honest. Sounds very handy/useful.

It's the way to go, IMHO. Connecting/disconnecting a bunch of cables 4-5 times a day is not my idea of fun.

 

[attack]

Battery life is a big question you need to answer! The i7 will eat your battery much quicker than an i5!

The asus G73jh is a great gaming laptop, but may seem a little "cheap" if your thinking about thinkpads.

A good suggestion would be the envy 15. It doesn't have an optical, but you can configure it with a 320GB drive and a 160GB SSD for around 1400 (10% student discount can make it cheaper).

The Envy 14 is a great one for portability but the 5650 video card isn't the greatest and you'll have to spend 300 bucks to upgrade the screen...VERY pricey, but it's a must.

MSI has some decent ones as well but again they're mostly plastic.

Resolution is a huge deal for me...I hate tiny resolution (I'm coming from 24" LCD's...and my laptops have all been 17" 1920x1200)....so my rule is:
13"-14" 1440x900 or 1600x900 (1368x768 is unacceptable for me)
15"-16" 1680x1050 min
17"+ 1920x1080 min

Definitely go SSD though

 

[hafa]

Battery life is a big question you need to answer! The i7 will eat your battery much quicker than an i5!

FWIW, I get 3.5 hours per charge +/- with my Toshiba M7820/620M (close to David's results). That's working with Adobe CS5 with wireless off. Furthermore, at 35W, mine's not exactly the most conservative of the i7 mobile line.

 

[Daemonkin]

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP8760

The Sager 8760

I5 520M Processor (2.4 ghz; 2.93 turbo)

4gb (2x2gb) 1066 memory

ATI Mobility HD 5870 video card or the Nvidia 460m which has .5 gb more dedicated memory (+$50). Both are Direct X 11 cards.

17.3" (16:9) Full HD (1920x1080) LED-Backlit Display with Super Clear Glare Type Screen

Upgrade to a blu-ray player.

Comes with a 320 gb 7200 rpm hdd, but you can upgrade that to 500 gb 7200 rpm or, if you just like dumping a lot of cash, Intel SSDs.

Also capable of running 2 HDD in raid 0 or 1.

1 HDMI output Port
1 DVI-I output Port
1 USB 3.0 Port
3 USB 2.0 Ports
1 eSATA Port
1 IEEE-1394a Fire Wire
1 Headphone Jack
1 Microphone Jack
1 Line-In Jack
1 S/PDIF output Jack
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
1 RJ-11 Modem

1 Express Card 34 / 54 Slot
7-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD)
1 MiniCard Slot for WLAN module

By keeping everything the same and only upgrading to blu-ray and upping the HDD to 500gb 7200 rpm it comes to $1559.00

Very nice machine.