Ecoboost Performance Forum

General Ecoboost Discussions => Off Topic => Topic started by: glock-coma on September 27, 2014, 09:36:13 PM

Title: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 27, 2014, 09:36:13 PM
Hey guys, I'm in the market for a laptop.
It will only be for home use ( browsing ,emails, downloading pics /videos general use etc)
I think I've narrowed it down to 2 HP probooks
Looks like the only difference is the 2 core vs 4 core processor. Is that worth the $200 difference?
Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

One is on Sale for 599.99 reg. 699.99
-Intel Core i5-4200M Processor 2.5GHzMicrosoft
-Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
-8GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM750GB 5,400RPM Hard    DriveSwitchable
-AMD Radeon HD 8750M/Intel HD Graphics 4600DVDRW Drive10/100/1000 Network802.11b/g/n WirelessBluetooth 4.015.6" LED-backlit HD Anti-glare Display

http://www.microcenter.com/product/427856/ProBook_450_G1_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black

The other is 799.99
-Intel Core i7-4702MQ Processor 2.2GHzMicrosoft
-Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
-8GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM750GB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
-AMD Radeon HD 8750MSuperMulti DVDRW DL DriveMedia Card Reader10/100/1000 Network802.11b/g/n WirelessBluetooth 4.015.6" HD LED-backlit Anti-glare Display

http://www.microcenter.com/product/427857/ProBook_450_G1_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 27, 2014, 10:17:26 PM
I just got 2 dell xps 12's for 650 apiece on amazon.....
i5-better for a laptop imho
4 gigs ram
2 gig NVIDIA discrete video card
full 1080p touch 12.5 inch display
128 gig SSD
converts to a tablet
Win 8 which I immediately upgraded to 8.1 64 bit for free.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: SwampRat on September 27, 2014, 10:25:13 PM
Do Not buy ANY PC or laptop from HP ..... they are well known for having Horrendous cutomer support and poor quality control .

I would recommend either Lenovo or Asus ....

One with  a 15" screen ....

Anything with a i5 is more than adequate for your stated needs.
One with an i7 would be useful if you were into video editing , graphics design work or played some of the more demanding cpu intensive games .
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 27, 2014, 10:27:40 PM
HP's suck and typically come preloaded with lots of resource sucking bloatware.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 27, 2014, 10:50:58 PM
Thx guys, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I'll start doing some more research.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: crash712us on September 27, 2014, 11:26:00 PM
Not a fan of PC's at all. But I wouldnt consider buying any computer without a SSD. Way faster then any hard drive.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 27, 2014, 11:35:00 PM
Crash is right, mine boots in under 10 seconds. Everything hauls ass.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: panther427 on September 27, 2014, 11:50:14 PM
OK three things. What price range do you want to be in.  What size screen do you need or want.  And how important is actual portability.

Then I'd ask what features are important.  DVD player back lite keyboard, hard Driver space..  future proof ish.   Battery life..   also would recommend Lenovo msi and most Asus products. 

Personally not a fan of HP or dell.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 28, 2014, 12:08:00 AM
Quote from: panther427 on September 27, 2014, 11:50:14 PM
OK three things. What price range do you want to be in.  What size screen do you need or want.  And how important is actual portability.

Then I'd ask what features are important.  DVD player back lite keyboard, hard Driver space..  future proof ish.   Battery life..   also would recommend Lenovo msi and most Asus products. 

Personally not a fan of HP or dell.
<800
14"+
Portability is not that important, this will be replacing a desktop.
I would like to have a disk drive, but I wouldn'tbe against an external drive.
Back lite keyboard not necessary, would like to have USB and memory card reader.   
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 28, 2014, 12:39:23 AM
My Dells have been bullet proof, with the exception being my Alienware that Mrs FoMoCoSHO spilled a cup of coffee on.

My new Dell smokes the Alienware, I'm very happy with its performance.





Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: SwampRat on September 28, 2014, 12:40:10 AM
killer deal on this Lenovo on ebay from a reputable seller .... http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3y-WARRANTY-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T540-i5-FHD-1920x1080-SSD-BT-AC-W8P-15-6-Laptop-/201179216600?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2ed7373ad8 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3y-WARRANTY-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T540-i5-FHD-1920x1080-SSD-BT-AC-W8P-15-6-Laptop-/201179216600?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2ed7373ad8)
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: BiGMaC on September 28, 2014, 12:55:52 AM
Definitely get i5 or i7 processor and definitely get SSD.... Computer will be literally 50-100 times faster.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: wasinger3000 on September 28, 2014, 01:12:45 AM
Check ebay out. You can get some really really good deals if you look.

Have you looked in a Sony Vaio? Lenovo ThinkPad's are great too.

Most new laptops has hybrid setups now. With both ssd and hdd. Also look for 6 gb or more of ram. Really helps with multi tasking. If not then you can just install more ram yourself. It's like mods for the car!  Hah.

I run 12gb of ram and I wouldn't ever go lower for what I do.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: panther427 on September 28, 2014, 10:00:02 AM
Why you want as laptop?
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 28, 2014, 11:20:05 AM
I'd like to have the option of not being in our office to work.
Sharing pics/videos with guests. 
And most importantly I would like to start data logging for Torrie :P
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: panther427 on September 28, 2014, 03:05:55 PM
http://www.microcenter.com/product/434703/G50_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black (http://www.microcenter.com/product/434703/G50_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black)
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: BiGMaC on September 28, 2014, 03:16:30 PM
Quote from: wasinger3000 on September 28, 2014, 01:12:45 AM
Check ebay out. You can get some really really good deals if you look.

Have you looked in a Sony Vaio? Lenovo ThinkPad's are great too.

Most new laptops has hybrid setups now. With both ssd and hdd. Also look for 6 gb or more of ram. Really helps with multi tasking. If not then you can just install more ram yourself. It's like mods for the car!  Hah.

I run 12gb of ram and I wouldn't ever go lower for what I do.

X2 ^^^ definitely max out your RAM....  Not a laptop but my MacPro has 64GB and I never have to restart or close an app. So more Ram the better...
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 28, 2014, 04:24:55 PM

Quote from: panther427 on September 28, 2014, 03:05:55 PM
http://www.microcenter.com/product/434703/G50_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black (http://www.microcenter.com/product/434703/G50_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black)
Not sure what you linked. The link doesn't  seem to be working.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 29, 2014, 03:08:12 PM
What's the general consensus on toshiba?
Found this at my local bjs for $699.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IN6HD8K?pc_redir=1411844686&robot_redir=1



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: PokerMunkee on September 29, 2014, 03:16:29 PM
Looks decent. 

Main negatives: No touchscreen (once you have it, you'll want it), no SSD/hybrid drive.  Looks like a regular 5400rpm 1TB drive, definite negative.  Also has no bluetooth.

Looks like the S55T-B5260 model has the touchscreen and bluetooth.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: glock-coma on September 29, 2014, 03:23:12 PM
Yeah, just noticed no 1080p. plus battery life is horrible <4hours.  Also battery is not user replaceable, while not a deal breaker still not good.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: PokerMunkee on September 29, 2014, 03:56:35 PM
My main laptop currently is a 14" Dell Latitude w/ Core i7, 16GB, and 500GB SSD.  I'm very picky about having a high performance machine and all of my systems (Desktop, laptop, etc) have solid state drives.  Makes a huge difference.  I also personally don't go larger than 14".  A 15.6" laptop is too huge.  Also make sure whatever you get has a backlit keyboard, very nice and hard to live without.  Someone mentioned the Dell XPS convertible.  I've ordered a few for people at work and they are great machines. 

I got this Asus Transformer a few months ago and love it.  I use it for surfing the Internet while on the couch and also travel with it when I don't need to be in front of a computer for more than a hour at a time.  10" is borderline, could be too small for some people.  I have a USB NIC and com port for I.T. tasks.    Walmart has it on display last time I checked, so you can play with it in person.  Best Buy might also have it on display.  Keyboard is smaller than normal, so that takes getting used to.  Again, very nice for surfing the Internet.  If you are typing up a lot of documents or long emails, I'd go with a regular size laptop.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K0G2XA4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K0G2XA4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)


Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: wasinger3000 on September 29, 2014, 04:03:58 PM
Quote from: glock-coma on September 29, 2014, 03:23:12 PM
Yeah, just noticed no 1080p. plus battery life is horrible <4hours.  Also battery is not user replaceable, while not a deal breaker still not good.
For your budget listed the only computer worth keeping for more than a year in my opinion is this one. Only 149 over budget. Which is simply an upgrade. If you drive a performace car you need a performace laptop too. They make an i7 version also.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-59418222/dp/B00K6ZIO2K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412020897&sr=8-1&keywords=Lenovo+Y50+15.6-Inch+Gaming+Laptop+%2859418222%29



*Backlit keyboard
*8gb ram
*SSD
*1080 screen
*i5
*Dedicated graphics

I think mine wins.....
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: SwampRat on September 29, 2014, 08:03:39 PM
Quote from: SwampRat on September 28, 2014, 12:40:10 AM
killer deal on this Lenovo on ebay from a reputable seller .... http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3y-WARRANTY-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T540-i5-FHD-1920x1080-SSD-BT-AC-W8P-15-6-Laptop-/201179216600?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2ed7373ad8 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3y-WARRANTY-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T540-i5-FHD-1920x1080-SSD-BT-AC-W8P-15-6-Laptop-/201179216600?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2ed7373ad8)



bump to the top ... this one smokes panthers recommendation with a 256 gb SSD plus optical drive and it's a lenovo

AND  it's less expensive....


relisted ... http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=201181403752 (http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=201181403752)
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 29, 2014, 08:53:51 PM
I love Lenovo, but they have this habit of not including backlit keyboards on otherwise great rigs.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: BiGMaC on September 29, 2014, 09:31:43 PM
Quote from: FoMoCoSHO on September 29, 2014, 08:53:51 PM
I love Lenovo, but they have this habit of not including backlit keyboards on otherwise great rigs.
The bezel has a bad habit of coming off.... Our IT at school does about 100/year for the 1000 students who use Lenovo, but specifically the Think-pad. Still it is rated high and not too bad on the budget.... Personally I'm a Mac guy and run any OS I want.... But they aren't cheap 'cuz Apple won build a striped down computer.
Title: Re: Shopping for laptop need advise/help
Post by: FoMoCoSHO on September 29, 2014, 10:08:04 PM
Quote from: BiGMaC on September 29, 2014, 09:31:43 PM
Quote from: FoMoCoSHO on September 29, 2014, 08:53:51 PM
I love Lenovo, but they have this habit of not including backlit keyboards on otherwise great rigs.
The bezel has a bad habit of coming off.... Our IT at school does about 100/year for the 1000 students who use Lenovo, but specifically the Think-pad. Still it is rated high and not too bad on the budget.... Personally I'm a Mac guy and run any OS I want.... But they aren't cheap 'cuz Apple won build a striped down computer.
My MacBook air was the biggest POS I have ever owned.
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