Mid-Range CPU with SSD Laptops - Any available?

hostricity

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I need a new laptop for general business work and for doing some web graphics using a tool like Adobe Fireworks.

Currently, I have an old and slow Windows 7 machine. I gave it new life for a while by upgrading the RAM to 8 gig and putting an SSD in it. I have a 100G SSD which is less than 50% full and a 250G HD which is less than 50% full.

Now, I'm ready to move on.

I'd like a machine with minimum 8G RAM, a mid-range processor, 15" or larger screen, and a minimum 250Gig SSD. No mechanical harddrive.

The thing is that the only Windows laptops I'm finding with SSD's on them also have high-end i7 CPU's.

It seems to me that for general use, a fast AMD or an Intel i3 or i5 would benefit tremendously from having an SSD instead of a 5400RPM mechanical hard-drive. I'm claiming that for general business use, an SSD coupled with a mid-range CPU will have an effective throughput that's better than a high-end CPU with a typical 5400RPM mechanical drive (If you think I'm mistaken, please correct me!)

No one I can find sells mid-range CPU's with SSD's.

Anyone know of a mfg who's selling Windows laptops with mid-range CPU's and SSD's?
 
Solution
Lenovo generally allows you customize most of their laptops to suit your needs. Below is a link to the ThinkPad L540 with a starting price of $700.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l540/

It comes with Core i3 CPU but can be upgraded to a quad core i7 CPU. That means a Core i5-4200m is a $50 option. You can go with the standard 1366x768 screen or a 1080p resolution screen which adds another $170. Upgrading from a standard 500GB HDD to a 256GB SSD OPAL SATA3 adds $320 to the price tag. Upgrading to 8GB RAM is another $80. That brings the price tag to $1,320.

"OPAL" refers to security specifications that are meant to protect all data stored on the SSD. Basically very use to corporations which emphasizes data...
It seems to me that for general use, a fast AMD or an Intel i3 or i5 would benefit tremendously from having an SSD instead of a 5400RPM mechanical hard-drive. I'm claiming that for general business use, an SSD coupled with a mid-range CPU will have an effective throughput that's better than a high-end CPU with a typical 5400RPM mechanical drive (If you think I'm mistaken, please correct me!)

That is true.

Honestly your better off buying a laptop and inserting an ssd you buy yourself later for a good deal. most of the time buying a laptop with an ssd already in will cost more than a laptop you switch the HDD with an ssd. best ssd for 256gb would be crucial mx100 for $110ish on amazon.com

whats ur max budget.
 

daveeede

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I was going to say exactly what iceblitzed above said. The harddrive and RAM are the easiest things to upgrade in a laptop and SSD prices are coming down a lot. ASUS, Dell and HP can have what you're looking for. You can get a 250Gb SSD for 110-150$. Samsung, Crucial, Kingston are all good brands that offer good value in their SSDs.
 

hostricity

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Yes, I'm also coming to that conclusion.

I'm just surprised that no Laptop manufacturer has seen the wisdom of offering a highish mid-range processor with an SSD. The performance would be better for general use than a high-end i7 with a sloooow mechanical hard drive.

I think I'm going to buy a machine, replace the harddrive with an SSD and then stick the harddrive in my existing laptop and sell it that way. (Anybody want a nice Dell Latitude E6500 with a 90G SSD main drive, new secondary drive, and 8GB RAM with a fresh install of Windows 7 Pro?)
 
Lenovo generally allows you customize most of their laptops to suit your needs. Below is a link to the ThinkPad L540 with a starting price of $700.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l540/

It comes with Core i3 CPU but can be upgraded to a quad core i7 CPU. That means a Core i5-4200m is a $50 option. You can go with the standard 1366x768 screen or a 1080p resolution screen which adds another $170. Upgrading from a standard 500GB HDD to a 256GB SSD OPAL SATA3 adds $320 to the price tag. Upgrading to 8GB RAM is another $80. That brings the price tag to $1,320.

"OPAL" refers to security specifications that are meant to protect all data stored on the SSD. Basically very use to corporations which emphasizes data security in mobile devices.
 
Solution

hostricity

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Thank you for the detailed answer. I'm sure it will be useful to others. The Lenovo's are nice, reasonably priced machines, and apparently, they're one of the few who will do an SSD upgrade for a reasonable price.

I looked at Lenovo and didn't quite find what I wanted. Then, I found a business called "Computer Upgrade King" which is on Amazon and has their own website. They offer SSD and other upgrades to ASUS, Gigabyte, and other notebooks that are more cost effective than ordering direct from the manufacturer. Ultimately, I didn't order from them because I was in a big hurry and the machine I would've purchased from them would have taken 3 or 4 days to ship.

So, decided to go do-it-yourself and bought a 17.3" touchscreen HP with i7 4700HQ processor and 12 GB RAM for $699 and a Samsung EVO 840 500GB SSD for $243, including shipping, plus 20 bucks sales tax on the SSD. (From Amazon) They'll be here on Monday and I can get it all set up easily on my own.
 

daveeede

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Excellent choice on both the laptop and SSD. The upgrade is extremely simple to do. You can look online for tutorials if ever you do have questions on it.
 

hostricity

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I've done this before.

My plan is to create the recover-from-a-bad-drive DVD's using the built-in HP utility. Then, I will install the SSD and use the recoveryd DVD's created. Once I have the system restored to the SSD, I'll reinsert the hard drive, delete the partitions and format it. I intend to use the hard drive to back up the SSD to protect against SSD failure. I'll also backup the SSD onto my network, as well.