New laptop blues

[Mark Atkinson]

Dave! I am officially turning this into a blame thread because the day you posted this, my laptop decided it was time for some "rest"!

It's weird though. I'm in the IT industry & I always tell clients to backup & what will happen if they don't. Yet, I hardly ever backup my data at home / office. Until that dreaded day comes when your rig locks up and you're like, "Eish".

I know that feeling all too well, Andrew! Thank goodness for Dropbox!

[Dave A]

Dave! I am officially turning this into a blame thread because the day you posted this, my laptop decided it was time for some "rest"!

If it helps make you feel better, that's fine with me

On the bright side, the decision to get something new has been taken out of your hands.
I'd been pushing back on getting a new machine for at least a year.

[tec0]

I am actually interested now... If you don’t mind Dave what new notebook did you get for yourself? Please tell me it is alienware

[Dave A]

A Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 15.6" i5 - priced at just under R6500.00 at Makro I thought it was a reasonable deal - way better priced and with a better spec than the pricecheck options.

Not too fancy, but plenty good enough for my needs.

[tec0]

From the looks of it, it seems like good runner; the GPU is reasonable. I hope it gives you much joy. I myself like HP but they lost the plot... In all honesty DELL is rocking at the moment still expensive...

[irneb]

I am actually interested now... If you don’t mind Dave what new notebook did you get for yourself? Please tell me it is alienware

What!!! AlienWare??? For the same price I'd rather go with a Boxx / Sager. The AW's are usually just good looking on the outside in comparison to those near super-computers-on-your-lap.

[tec0]

What I like about supper-notebooks are their ability to fly on applications that eats CPU power, programs like 3D design applications, on the fly Video editing, and High quality presentations that would kill your standard notebook.

Funny enough Apple “before the Intel invasion” was actually damn good at Video editing, I don’t know about the newer models as I am not in IT anymore. But back then high definition was Apple’s playground.

Alienware loves there big GPU’s and in the end that is the part that suffers in most notebooks, those pathetic integrated Intel GPU’s are just not what you expect. Even the i5 and i7 with its integrated GPU on CPU capability is not nearly as good as a dedicated GPU with its own dedicated memory.

And Alienware is all that and much more. I am not saying the other two suggested brands are bad I am just saying that Alienware have experience with high end systems and they never compromise on GPU power and that is key.

[irneb]

My point is, AW usually has "reasonable-to-good" laptops for the price you expect from an "excellent" laptop. The other 2 brands have "unbelievable" laptops for similar pricing to AW's lesser specs. E.g. (I'm not even going to include the Boxx's Quadros) check the difference between AW's (actually built by Dell) top-of-the-range compared to Sager's:

• Alienware M17x - $2544
  • Rather mediocre i7 2630QM @ 2.0GHz
  • So-so graphics of Radeon HD 6870M with 1GB built-in GDDR5
  • Screen is only 1600x900 - 17"
  • 4GB DDR3 - 1333GHz RAM
  • 320GB 7200RPM HDD (space for 2nd)
  
  
• Sager NP7280-S1 - $2899
  • Much better i7-960 @ 3.2GHz
  • Dual Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB built-in GDDR5
  • Screen @ 1920x1080 - 17"
  • 12GB DDR3 - 1066 GHz RAM
  • 500GB 7200RMP HDD (space for 2nd & 3rd as well)
  
  

So, which is better for an extra $355?

I've seen some good reviews about the bitten-fruit books. But from their specs they're more in-line with AW's type of setup. Usually the reviews rave about their battery life though, and their slimness.

[irneb]

Another brand which you might look at instead of Apple / AW is Rock. Their specs are not as High-end as Boxx / Sager. E.g. look at the X786-I5-2540M which has slightly better specs than the AW in the previous example for slightly less (Ł1499 = $2495).

[irneb]

Or an even better comparison to show just how much premium you pay for the AW "look": http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.p...el_name=NP5175

Change the CPU to the same i7-2630QM and you have the exact same Laptop (excepting the GPU which has 2GB instead of just 1, but is rated a bit lower), but for only $1069. I.e. $1475 for an (arguably) better GPU and those "designs" on the outside.

[Dave A]

I have to say the Alienware has way too much bling for my taste

[tec0]

As said before notebooks is all about the GPU and that is slowly changing because very soon notebooks will be able to receive “simple” GPU upgrades and that will significantly improve notebook sales. And will make many “new” notebooks look like stone-age toasters.

Secondly in my opinion I like the look of the Alienware notebooks they just simply look the part and one must consider that soon you will be able to upgrade GPU along with CPU, RAM and ROM not to mention that bigger HDD will be available soon.

Point is as soon as the notebook becomes a fully upgradable then I think the desktop systems are going to have a proper fight on their hands to keep the market.

[irneb]

As said before notebooks is all about the GPU and that is slowly changing because very soon notebooks will be able to receive “simple” GPU upgrades and that will significantly improve notebook sales. And will make many “new” notebooks look like stone-age toasters.

Yep, and then once they get laser-virtual keyboards and laser projectors cheap, small & economical with power, there'd be no reason why something like a PDA couldn't be the "new" notebook / fondle-slab. IMO it would be a lot more usable than something like an iPad, while being as small as a cellphone. Especially if they get those ARM processors up to speed a bit more.

Who knows. Maybe in the future the current "Laptop" will be the then "Desktop" and the thing you take with you fits inside your shirt-pocket.