New Laptop

    My old laptop always sucked, then someone threw water on it and I had to always plug it in, then it started to over heat so I had to stick a fan behind it, then it fell off my dresser and the LCD shattered....so I need a new laptop for school, which next week. I don't really ever play games, I mostly use the internets so my primary concern is resolution, battery life and memory are next. I know some laptops are considered desktop replacements which have 17-9 inch displays and do resolutions like 1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080 and a more common 1600x900. I'd like the 1920x1200 or 1920x1800 the most, pudding me in the desktop replacement range. I did some research and found some desktop replacements I liked. They're on the expensive side and are also monstorous enough to house full num pads, so I also got the idea of getting a smaller like 13 incher and getting a docking station with monitor for my desk so I can go high res while maintaining portability and price, though portability really isn't an issue because my laptop is either on my desk at school or on my desk at home, I don't bring it to class because it's too big of a distraction. Nothing against Macs but my preference is PC and they're above my price range.

    So....I first built a nice Dell Studio 15

    http://oneradicalsite.com/bic/laptop1/p ... s.aspx.htm

    1920x1080 is good and the rest of the specs are spectacular for that price, 8 gigs of ram, a great processor and a 9 cell sounds damn awesome, though that res on a 15.6" screen is going to be pretty damn hard to read.

    A Dell Studio 17 would be perfect, I'd build it with similar or a bit lesser components to get a similar price. They list "High resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920x1200)" in the tech specs but when you build one it's not available, I called and confirmed that they have none and don't know when/if they will so I moved on. I would have bought one if I could get the good screen.

    Then I went to HP and built a 16" and 18" laptop with similar components and prices:

    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... mailconfig

    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... mailconfig

    Then I went to Sony and built this, though I've heard bad things about the VAIOs:

    http://oneradicalsite.com/bic/laptop2/S ... isplay.htm

    Then to Lenovo where I stumbled upon this gem (the middle one, orange ):

    http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... 469CC6EBB3

    It has 1920x1200 in a 17 inch screen which is a good size and pretty good component rundown with a nice price, I'm not liking the 4+weeks of waiting but right now it's my #1

    So does anyone have a suggestion for one of these large laptops or a suggestion for a smaller laptop with a docking station (I'd like an integrated one, not one running off of a single USB 2 cable so I'm thinking Thinkpad)? Help would be appreciated, laptops are so varied and they all have their perks and drawbacks so I feel like asking other people is the way to go.

    Thanks!

    Wtf? No... I mean, it depends. First think about what are you going to do with it.

    If you want to be all cool and make pic albums with 3 clicks with cool slide-shows, and be all cool and shiny, yeah get a MacBook.

    On the other hand, If it's more of a work oriented / gamming computer, use SDK's, game editors, 3dsmax, etc. then you have to get a laptop.

    the only bad thing about vaio is that they still use ddr2 configs in most of their computers. depending on the size you want though, you might want to look into getting the 13" LG P310 - the german version with the gforce 9600GT in it. it's really neat, it's ddr3 and only weighs around 2kg (4 pounds?). if you want a larger computer than that, go for sager.

    also be sure to check the forums at notebookreview.com

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    ":1zsi5qw9]Wtf? No... I mean, it depends. First think about what are you going to do with it. On the other hand, If it's more of a work oriented / gamming computer, use SDK's, game editors, 3dsmax, etc. then you have to get a laptop.

    i use my macbook for game development. i think this mac/windows debate has to stop. you can do everything in any OS. decide on your own in which WAY you want to do it!

    you know, the term game development is pretty generic.

    I do game development as well, and I could never use Mac, because the tools I use are not natively supported there. (except for PS) That was what I was trying to explain.

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    ":2s6roai8]you know, the term game development is pretty generic.I do game development as well, and I could never use Mac, because the tools I use are not natively supported there. (except for PS) That was what I was trying to explain.

    well then it is your specific tools. so it is fine that you don't buy it. but please stop bashing macintosh - at least for the wrong reasons.

    Jesus... I'm not bashing anything! I'm just warning for the obvious fact that Mac is not a PC, and you can't exactly do the same on it as you do on a PC, that includes work and some specific tools. That's bashing?

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    ":3bs2itl2]Jesus... I'm not bashing anything! I'm just warning for the obvious fact that Mac is not a PC, and you can't exactly do the same on it as you do on a PC, that includes work and some specific tools. That's bashing?

    you are really starting to piss me off. enough said.

    @topic: get what you want.

    There seems to be some serious misunderstanding about the fact that YOU CAN RUN WINDOWS NATIVELY ON A MAC. Meaning if you need to get into windows, which I guarantee you increasingly wont have to after you get used to OSX, you can. This isn't some hack either, mac's come with a program called boot camp so easy you just reboot with the windows cd in and install as if on a PC. On top of that for instant windows access you can run emulated windows at the same time as OSX using parallels. I can't overstate how cool this is. You literally have a windows task bar across the bottom of your OSX.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.prestonlee.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/parallels-coherence-mode-small.png]

    Ignore the trolls and focus on the developers and regular people here endorsing it. Besides you'll learn a lot of new cool stuff about operating systems at a fundamental level the more you use OSX. You'll become more marketable and that's one more skill on the resume. The utilities folder alone in OSX makes it worth the money. You can make the fucking command line terminal fucking sing. Yes literally sing.

    haha I love the Mac vs PC shit

    my 2 cents:

    You can do all you like on the Mac, since it is a PC. The only difference is that it looks good and costs more.

    Now if you want to talk about different OS's, then you want to discuss MAC OS vs WINDOWS.

    See the problem skjalg is that you can't remove OSX from a mac in that way. If macs were sold with only windows on it I'd laugh in your face for buying it, because then it IS just more money for a pretty case. And even then people drop the new unibody mac down a flight of stairs while ON and while you will get a dent, it still works:

    http://ask.metafilter.com/106654/Alumin ... ic-Macbook

    When I decided on a mac the main factor was that I could run windows on it if osx didn't work out. Thing is I NEVER booted into windows after the first week just to make sure it worked. Occasionally I'd use parallels to open a windows only file but given a choice I use and recommend OSX and have never looked back.

    If you really don't want to buy a mac but want to try OSX consider building a hackintosh laptop. I did this and the only pain in the ass are the updates. Also I do this on a desktop not a laptop

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    duffy, the problem is that you're a regular consumer. you might game, but that'd be on a console or similar. so what do you use a mac for? going on the internet? photoshopping an image? writing text on your blag?

    people here, designers, programmers (.NET) and gamers, need to have access to broader tools or games that os x can't handle. you don't seem to understand that OS X cannot run programs that are crucial or otherwise necessary to do the work these people have laptops for. there is, in fact, no reason to buy OS X alone because of this inferiority.

    it also pisses me off that you keep saying you recommend OS X despite not knowing or reading about what a person needs the operating system for. you close doors for yourself and for that person then. at least have the decency to ask what that person is going to use a computer for. but then again, your credibility is dwindling ever since you proclaimed yourself a mac fanboy.

    Regular consumer my dick. I had to run 15 different offices all using every piece of hardware you can think of, operating things you don't even know the name while also doing tons of server side scripting.

    You need to read the last post I made on the first page and then stop, sit back, and use your brain for a minute. It can do everything a windows machine can ++++++++. This is the point. From hardware, to software, to support, to experience.

    If you actually read what I wrote instead of just imagining me saying "OMG BUT MACS ARE PRETTY" in 72 font in every post, maybe you would see that I'm responding DIRECTLY to the claims people are making about usability of windows on a mac.

    OP -"so I need a new laptop for school, which next week. I don't really ever play games, I mostly use the internets so my primary concern is resolution, battery life and memory are next"

    But I'M the one not listening to his specific concerns right? Or maybe he just scripts in C using autocad and needs dual quad core processors and isn't telling us. There are people on this forum, with macs, who clearly work everyday with professional tools advocating for macs but then we're all just probably fanboys.

    And for the record I haven't gamed in years. Fucking troll.

    Bic - Do yourself a favor and go on ask.metafilter.com and search "buying laptop." Metafilter requires $5 to join and has crazy good troll moderation. You'll find some very solid advice.

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