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Time for a new laptop. Maybe...

fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #210 on: December 31, 2016, 08:13:13 PM
that is very true, nearly everything I've been looking at starts at about 1400 euros.  :ahhh
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #211 on: December 31, 2016, 08:15:11 PM
Yeah, I am finding a lot of stuff I am interested in between $500 and $100, but not much at $500 or less, which is what I was hoping to spend.

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ca Offline Syph007

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #212 on: January 02, 2017, 02:52:37 PM
I'm very happy with my Dell so far no issues.  Unless the user is a hard core gamer I think most people vastly over estimate their needs. 

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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #213 on: January 02, 2017, 03:34:05 PM
I'm very happy with my Dell so far no issues.  Unless the user is a hard core gamer I think most people vastly over estimate their needs. 
You are mostly right, in my niece's case however she does a lot of Autocad work which when rendering a discrete graphics card makes a huge difference vs the usual integrated Intel HD etc systems (my lenovo has one, and it's been mostly ok for games I tried it with, not mind blowing like the level of my desktop, but fine for a ultrabook).
« Last Edit: January 02, 2017, 03:40:33 PM by Whoey »
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ca Offline jzmtl

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #214 on: January 02, 2017, 07:47:05 PM
my niece is in the market for a new laptop so I've been looking at ultrabooks on her behalf. It's pretty hard to fit her requirements (she does a lot of autocad work and wants discrete graphics) but there sure are some nice looking machines these days!

Ultrabook and computing power doesn't go in the same sentence lol. A thin fanless body just can't dissipate heat generated by a high power CPU.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2017, 07:48:43 PM by jzmtl »


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #215 on: January 03, 2017, 07:30:30 PM
my niece is in the market for a new laptop so I've been looking at ultrabooks on her behalf. It's pretty hard to fit her requirements (she does a lot of autocad work and wants discrete graphics) but there sure are some nice looking machines these days!

Ultrabook and computing power doesn't go in the same sentence lol. A thin fanless body just can't dissipate heat generated by a high power CPU.
I agree, personally there's some excellent thinkpad models that would do exactly what she needs, but her hubby is convinced she needs one of the shiny underpowered metal casing machines because her clients are picky about aesthetics rather than functionality and then tack on one of those xconnect external graphics cards...  :facepalm:
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


ca Offline jzmtl

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #216 on: January 03, 2017, 11:26:14 PM
my niece is in the market for a new laptop so I've been looking at ultrabooks on her behalf. It's pretty hard to fit her requirements (she does a lot of autocad work and wants discrete graphics) but there sure are some nice looking machines these days!

Ultrabook and computing power doesn't go in the same sentence lol. A thin fanless body just can't dissipate heat generated by a high power CPU.
I agree, personally there's some excellent thinkpad models that would do exactly what she needs, but her hubby is convinced she needs one of the shiny underpowered metal casing machines because her clients are picky about aesthetics rather than functionality and then tack on one of those xconnect external graphics cards...  :facepalm:

You need to smack some sense into him. :D Even if she can plug in an external GPU, it'll just be bottlenecked by the dinky CPU. My Asus zenbook has a Core M processors, watching a 1080 movie will make the aluminum shell pretty warm, and an ad laden webpage will bog it down pretty bad. The M processor has TDP of 4.5 watt, compare to i7's 65 watt. Even though it can burst to 2GHz it cannot maintain that because of heat buildup.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #217 on: January 04, 2017, 12:16:36 AM
To be fair he does think i7 and 8gb+ ram is essential
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #218 on: January 04, 2017, 02:09:45 AM


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us Offline campussecurity

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #219 on: January 22, 2017, 05:13:32 PM
Thinkpad's are great machine's. My primary is a Thinkpad W520 mobile workstation. Quad core i7, 16GB RAM, SSD, and dedicated Graphics. My on the go is a lighter 15" Thinkpad E550 with an i5 and 12GB RAM. I'm a serious geek though. I like gadgets and gear.



ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #220 on: January 22, 2017, 06:09:29 PM
Ideally I would like an i7 quad, but I'd settle for an i5, and the machine needs a minimum of 8 gigs of RAM, or be expandable to that (and preferably more).  I am not as concerned about hard drives- of course I would prefer an SSD, but I'll take what I can get in that department.

Size wise, I am also not a huge stickler on.  I have usually used 15" laptops, but I am not against going over that or under, but I think 13" would be the smallest I would like to go.  I am currently using an 11 inch screen and I am not finding it that cramped, at least not as much as I thought I would.  I suppose you get used to whatever circumstances you are in, right?  I am ok with anti glare or not too.  I guess I'm just not that picky.

Speaking of which, I keep going back and forth on touch screens.  I seem to use it a fair bit on this little machine, but I don't think I need it.  I would certainly like to have a touch screen, but for most of what I am seeing it bumps up the cost of a machine by about $100, and it certainly isn't worth that much to me. 

Keyboards don't matter, I have no preference, although I would totally be on board with a backlit keyboard.

DVD drive is immaterial to me- I doubt I would ever use it, but it seems to cost a lot more to get a machine without one, so I guess I absolutely have to have one.   ::)

Beyond that, numbers of USB ports and other silliness doesn't really matter. I'd like it to have Bluetooth, but pretty well everything does these days, so I guess that isn't really worth mentioning.  Ditto for an SD card slot.

All in all, I guess I want a decent processor and RAM (or at least the potential for decent amount of RAM) at a reasonable price more than anything else.  Everything else is really not that huge of a concern, as the bare minimums built into most modern machines are mroe than good enough for my needs.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #221 on: January 23, 2017, 03:28:44 AM
It never rains but it pours....  ::)

Now that I am kind of making some headway on buying a new laptop my phone has died.  Sort of.

The phone still works, but the screen is completely gone on it, which means I have no way of accepting calls, reading texts, emails etc.  Luckily, I can see texts and other incoming messages on my watch, and can respond sometimes using voice to text, and my Jeep has a full Bluetooth system so I can voice dial there and accept calls through the screen on the dash.

It is very frustrating having a phone that works, but I have no way to use it.   :ahhh

Def
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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #222 on: January 23, 2017, 12:12:34 PM
can you install airdroid ?

https://www.airdroid.com/
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #223 on: January 23, 2017, 05:46:13 PM
Do I have to install it on my phone?  It's no good if I can't install it on the phone.  I have no way to interface with it when the screen is completely dead.

I have looked up replacement screens on eBay to see if that is worthwhile, and at $160-200 for just the screen, no thanks.  I can get a new phone for that.

Here's the really fun part.  I contacted the Live Chat on the carrier's website and they told me that they couldn't help replace my broken phone, and that I had to call the 800 number.  Because my phone was broken.  And I can't make phone calls.  I pointed that out, and they said they couldn't help me, and that the only way I could get help was to call the 800 number.  With a broken phone.   :facepalm:

Def
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ca Offline Syph007

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #224 on: January 23, 2017, 06:00:37 PM
I just grabbed a brand new s5 active on ebay for 200.  S5s are pretty affordable now.  My normal s5 is fine but I wanted to try the active and not use a case on it.
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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #225 on: January 23, 2017, 06:04:45 PM
You should be able to do it all via your laptop browser.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sand.airdroid with your browser, install it to your phone (you may need to login with the same gmail credentials as your phone) and then access via: http://web.airdroid.com/

I'm sure I saw airdroid come up as a method of phone access with a dead screen...
https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-use-your-broken-smartphone-from-a-pc
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #226 on: January 23, 2017, 07:53:58 PM
Well I just bought a Samsung S5 Neo.  I liked my S5, and the price was reasonable, so here I am.

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #227 on: June 01, 2017, 12:48:34 AM
It looks like it is time for me to do something I hate doing- upgrade to new equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I love shiny new toys as much as the next guy, but I hate the process of going from one machine to another.  Something always gets lost, missed, forgotten etc. 

I also hate dropping that much money on something.

At any rate, I'll probably be keeping this new one as long as I've kept the old ones, which is at least 5 years.  My current machine is still good, but maxing out at 4gb of RAM is sadly very limiting.  So, I'd like to get a higher end machine and is like to keep it around $1000.

I'd also like an i7 processor and at least 12gb of RAM- upgradeable if not from the factory like that.

So far the closest I've found is the Asus ROG     GL771JW.  It's a bit overkill for me but I like overkill because it means the things I do won't tax it too heavily and very likely it will live a longer and more relevant life.

Any other suggestions?  If anyone suggests a Mac, please also be prepared to have your suggestions ignored....

Def

Two years later I have finally ordered a new laptop.  This little HP machine has held it's own a lot better and longer than I expected it to, but I am getting sick of working around it's shortcomings.  So, this morning I ordered a Lenovo model 80ST001NUS.

A short list of the specs include a quad core AMD A12-9700P processor that runs at 2.5ghz, 1 TB hard drive (only 5400rpm though), DVD RW (for some reason), Radeon R5 graphics processor and 12gb of RAM.  It's a plain, boring looking machine with decent specs for the price and I am looking forward to getting it.

I am also a little excited about it- it is my first new laptop in several years, and as much as I dislike breaking in new equipment but it's overshadowed by the difficulties of trying to run an online business with a tiny, underpowered and outdated computer!   :ahhh

I'm going to watch the tracking info like a hawk between now and Friday, when it is expected to be deivered....  :mail:

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #228 on: June 01, 2017, 04:21:55 PM
When I placed the order it said it would be delivered on Friday, but I see from the tracking info that it is out for delivery now.   :ahhh

I am refusing to leave the house under any circumstances today....  :ahhh

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #229 on: June 02, 2017, 12:44:22 AM
The machine arrived today and I have been updating it and installing software, uninstalling other stuff and doing the usual setup stuff.

Since I have been using a 13 inch screen for some time this 15.6" laptop seems absolutely huge, and it feels a bit awkward typing off to one side of the keyboard since it has a number pad on the side.

Of course, the little machine I have been using for a while has a touch screen and this one doesn't, so guess how many times I have poked the screen before realizing that doesn't work.   :facepalm:

In fact, I just did it again trying to submit this post.  :facepalm: :facepalm:

Def
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ca Offline jzmtl

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #230 on: June 02, 2017, 08:35:17 AM
Sounds like a big machine! I've used 15.6" laptops and they aren't fun to lug around in either shoulder bag or backpack.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #231 on: June 02, 2017, 11:51:35 AM
My last two laptops were 15" and I took them everywhere for work.  I didn't mind the size at all.   But when you have been used to 13" for a while, 15.6 is a huge change.

Def
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wales Offline Smashie

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #232 on: June 02, 2017, 11:56:21 AM
I moved from a 15" to a 13" and I can't believe I used to carry that damn brick around with me! However I do struggle sometimes with the smaller screen, oh the joys of getting old  :facepalm:
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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #233 on: June 02, 2017, 03:44:50 PM
we also moved from a 15.6 to a 13, however the 15.6 was 1366x768 and the 13 is 3200x1800  :o
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wales Offline Smashie

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Re: Time for a new laptop. Maybe...
Reply #234 on: June 02, 2017, 04:02:48 PM
we also moved from a 15.6 to a 13, however the 15.6 was 1366x768 and the 13 is 3200x1800  :o


Yup same as mine XPS 13
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” - Socrates
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Complaining is mental preparation for failure.
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