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Looking For A Laptop/Ultrabook

elfin8er's Avatar elfin8er1/16/15 3:59 pm
1/18/2015 3:19 pm
Leeberator's Avatar Leeberator
First off, just to clarify, this is not going to be my main gaming computer or anything. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

I'm looking to get a decent portable laptop or ultrabook. Something that I can easily hold in one hand, and that I could slip into a bag real quick and take with me on long trips. There are two main things I want to use this for. First, I want to be able to play some games on it. But they it doesn't have to play them on amazing settings with high FPS. Minecraft at 60 FPS on medium settings is good enough for me. I'm also looking at playing TF2, Portal, Diablo, possibly Starcraft, and emulators etc.

The second thing I'm looking to use this for, is production. I'd like to be able to use this laptop for editing and what-not in-place of my desktop. This includes video editing, photoshop, and especially music editing. I'd like to be able to use Ableton Live on this.

Not really sure if I should go Windows or Mac on this one. Everybody always says Mac is overpriced. However, idk if this seems true for their Ultrabooks (macbook airs). They're also really light, which is pretty important to me. Plus, they're also known for their productivity. However, I'd almost prefer Windows because it supports more games (same productivity apps), and may end up being cheaper.

Other than the things listed above, I'm not that picky. I don't need a whole lot of special features such as retina display, or an SSD. The last thing I should mention, is that I'm looking to spend around 1,200 - 1,500 dollars on this. I MAY be willing to go up to 1,800, but I'd rather not.

Thanks guys, kinda need somebody to bounce ideas off of.
Posted by elfin8er's Avatar
elfin8er
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
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1
01/16/2015 11:11 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
elfin8er's Avatar
I was actually looking into the Lenova Y50 series. They have a model that's very similar to the one above. I'm eyeing the 59421855 model. Almost the exact same specs as the Aspire, but an 8GB SSD and twice the video memory. It's also the same price. So I'd have the OS on the SSD for quick boot-times, but that's about all the space I'd get for SSD storage.
1
01/18/2015 3:19 pm
Level 47 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator's Avatar
The 8 GB SSD isn't really anything special; it's gonna be used for hard drive caching to speed up drive performance. It'll help, but an actual SSD will always be better.

I say go for the Y50 unless the GPU turns out to be the Kepler version of the GTX 860M (the Maxwell version performs better) and/or the memory for some odd reason turns out to be DDR3. I've never seen them pack DDR3 memory into GTX series GPUs, but you never know until you look into it.
1
01/16/2015 11:02 pm
Level 28 : Expert Pirate
HassanPCMR
HassanPCMR's Avatar
TheShadbusher
elfin8er
Yea, I saw the upgrade. Just trying to debate whether or not it's worth 400 dollars for it.


That GPU is not powerful enough to game well at 4K or even 1440p (it *could* do 1440p, but the performance drops are not worth it), and the scaling at such a high resolution on such a small screen can make it difficult to read text.

True, but I showed it because he might be doing more productivity than gaming, and might not mind just choosing 1080p in games then enjoying more screen space in productivity/work.
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01/16/2015 10:54 pm
Level 47 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator's Avatar
elfin8er
Yea, I saw the upgrade. Just trying to debate whether or not it's worth 400 dollars for it.


That GPU is not powerful enough to game well at 4K or even 1440p (it *could* do 1440p, but the performance drops are not worth it), and the scaling at such a high resolution on such a small screen can make it difficult to read text.
1
01/16/2015 10:52 pm
Level 24 : Expert Architect
illdeletethis
illdeletethis's Avatar
i can recommend lenovo thinkpad w series
they are robust and should give you the performance you need
i have been using one for a few years and it has survived everything i put it through unharmed
i need it for cad, so you can be sure it has good enough graphics, unfortunately it means i have to use windows, would prefer linux otherwise
and yes, ssd is a need
1
01/16/2015 10:50 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
elfin8er's Avatar
Wow, I can't get over how amazing of a laptop that is Shadbusher. Thanks a lot man! I've been searching for hours, and can't find anything that beats it. I should also mention though, that I probably won't be purchasing anything until a few months from now, so if there's anything coming out in the next 6 months or so that's comparable, that's definitely an option!
SasukeUchiha2214www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314700&cm_re=laptop_nvidia-_-34-314-704-_-Product theres a version of the laptop shad recommended that has a 4k screen. You wont be running all games at 4k (more like 1440p upscaled) because this isnt some gaming monster machine, but 4k could be better for prodcutivity. It goes right to the roof with the budget, at 1,499.99, but I think the 4k screen is an improvement to think about. The 4k is only available for the 15" version, but since you wanted a small laptop thats what size you probably would've chose. EDIT: Just so you know, its the exact same laptop shad linked, just with a 4k screen

Yea, I saw the upgrade. Just trying to debate whether or not it's worth 400 dollars for it.
1
01/16/2015 10:48 pm
Level 28 : Expert Pirate
HassanPCMR
HassanPCMR's Avatar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product theres a version of the laptop shad recommended that has a 4k screen. You wont be running all games at 4k (more like 1440p upscaled) because this isnt some gaming monster machine, but 4k could be better for prodcutivity. It goes right to the roof with the budget, at 1,499.99, but I think the 4k screen is an improvement to think about. The 4k is only available for the 15" version, but since you wanted a small laptop thats what size you probably would've chose. EDIT: Just so you know, its the exact same laptop shad linked, just with a 4k screen
1
01/16/2015 4:23 pm
Level 47 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator's Avatar
This laptop looks to suit your needs. It has an i7 and a mid-range GPU.

15" version
17" version

Trust me, for a laptop you really want an SSD.
1
01/16/2015 9:51 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
elfin8er's Avatar
Huh, looks good! Why would you say an SSD is so important in a laptop though?
1
01/16/2015 10:05 pm
Level 19 : Journeyman Network
forgot about you
forgot about you's Avatar
SSD speeds vs 5400RPM, my goodness ill never go back
1
01/16/2015 10:16 pm
Level 17 : Journeyman Crafter
elfin8er
elfin8er's Avatar
Yea, but Shadbusher said it's a must for laptops. Is there a specific reason they're not a must for desktops, or are they a must for desktops too?
1
01/16/2015 10:22 pm
Level 47 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator's Avatar
A typical SSD is 5 times as fast as a laptop hard drive (I tested it when I swapped the 1 TB 5400 RPM drive in my laptop with a 256 GB Crucial M550). You want a laptop to boot fast and get going quickly (as in run startup/login programs quickly). A hard drive simply can't do that.

Since desktops aren't meant for portability, you typically don't need them to boot insanely fast.
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