I need a little bit of help from people who have been keeping abreast of all the current intricacies of the different technologies for laptops. I haven't paid much attention since I bought one 5 years ago, and now that I am trying to get up to speed again I feel a bit overwhelmed.
Background:
I'm a student, going into medical school, and need a laptop to take with me to class on a daily basis for note-taking/correspondence/etc. Currently my only portable device is a netbook, ~10.1" screen, on which I believe I would be too cramped when trying to look at pictures close up/append notes to power point lectures, etc. Battery life, screen size (not too big to make carrying a hassle, not too small to make working on it a pain), and durability will be very important.
In addition to use for student purposes, I plan to use my laptop for multimedia purposes. Primarily watching videos, both streaming and DVDs or ripped, and some music. As time allows I enjoy gaming, though this will not be my primary focus. However, I still am trying to maximize that potential, by getting a fast hard drive, a good processor, dedicated video card, and hopefully sufficient RAM, all with good architecture and bus speeds optimized to work together if possible!
With my budget ~$800 would be ideal to spend, but I usually tend to add a little here and there to make it better, so I'll probably end up closer to $1000.
Questions:
1.) Processors?
-From what I've been able to see with intel i7 > i5 > i3 ~ Core 2 duo. Is that about accurate? I also read something about the later versions of the i5 having a different architecture that make them nearly as good as i7's, but functioning with ddr2 ram rather than ddr3, which is preferable for most people for some reason?
-What I understand is the i_ have 4 processors which run. What is a good processor speed? When I was looking around I was seeing processor speeds of ~2.2 - 3 Ghz, is that good? Is that for each of the 4 processors, or some combination value?
2.) Weight?
-What is an optimal weight for a laptop. This isn't really a huge consideration for me, I'll likely just be sticking it in my backpack at which point +/- 2 lbs makes virtually no difference. Still, I don't want a brick. More important will be having an optimal screen size, which to my mind will be ~15", with a widescreen (I'm not even sure if they make the old square screens anymore)
3.) Video Card?
-Probably not terribly important as gaming will be only a secondary function, and the majority of the games I enjoy are not very draining on a system. Still, it is fun from time to time to play some FPS or MMORPG, and if I do get the time I would like to be able to enjoy on my laptop.
4.) Video outputs?
-I believe I will need at least a VGA output, as I will often want to hook up my laptop to a projector in class for presentations. I would also like an HDMI output to stream video to my TV, and potentially to hook up to an additional monitor when I am at home for the much-appreciated space of a second screen.
5.) RAM
-I have no feel for what is good here. Obviously more ram = better, but what bus speeds would I be looking for? How can I get better performance in more ways than just having more RAM? Also, would it be better to just purchase a laptop with the least expensive ram, then buy the upgrade separately, as it might be less expensive and allow me to choose higher quality components?
5.) Brand/Retail outlet
-Are there any brands that are particularly good, or that should be particularly avoided? Either for the quality of the parts they use or for the quality of post-purchase care? I had a dell laptop before that lasted through strenuous use for a little over 4 years, and the few issues I had with hardware were resolved, albeit very slowly and frustratingly as I spent a lot of time on the phone. I wonder about purchasing through an outlet like Best Buy or Costco, obviously less customizability, maybe slightly higher price, but much easier to get fixed I would assume.
6.) Battery Life?
-How can I tell if a laptop will have a good battery life? I've seen people talking about extra cells that some batteries have, how many is enough? Are there different materials that laptop batteries are made of, or is it fairly standard? Also, while I was researching various video cards and processors many of the reviews talked about how they were designed in terms of how low a voltage they operated on, and how well the architecture managed to be a low power draw. In the end I would love to be able to get at least 4 hours off a charge while using WiFi and working with productivity software and listening to music. I don't know how realistic that is though. More would be great too, I love getting 6+ hours out of my netbook, but obviously I won't be able to get a more powerful laptop with the same capability?
Specific Options:
Here's a laptop I found through Costco's website: http
/www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11531690&whse=BC&Ne=5000136+4000000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745%204294899853%204294899769&Mo=4&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=
As far as I can see, it looks like a fairly decent one. Can someone with more experience than me take a look and give an opinion? From my own research the processor looks like it's pretty strong, the video card a little weak, the visual connection options look strong, I don't know how to tell how good the RAM is, the hard drive is 7200 RPM (good I think), and the battery is "9 cell" which I have no idea what that translates to in practical terms of hours. The reviews that costco links to are not for this exact configuration of laptop. If you read people talk about how they wish it had a webcam in their reviews (while this one does), and some other differences like that, so I don't know how much to trust them.
I'm also wondering about how well priced that is. It seems like a good middle of the line laptop, but the price seems a bit high. Or am I mistaken? Anything that sticks out as particularly good or bad about this laptop build/price?
Thanks for the help!
Please let me know if I left out any information that would be useful in providing a helpful response to me. Also, if you have any specific suggestions as to where to buy or what to buy, I would appreciate it!
Background:
I'm a student, going into medical school, and need a laptop to take with me to class on a daily basis for note-taking/correspondence/etc. Currently my only portable device is a netbook, ~10.1" screen, on which I believe I would be too cramped when trying to look at pictures close up/append notes to power point lectures, etc. Battery life, screen size (not too big to make carrying a hassle, not too small to make working on it a pain), and durability will be very important.
In addition to use for student purposes, I plan to use my laptop for multimedia purposes. Primarily watching videos, both streaming and DVDs or ripped, and some music. As time allows I enjoy gaming, though this will not be my primary focus. However, I still am trying to maximize that potential, by getting a fast hard drive, a good processor, dedicated video card, and hopefully sufficient RAM, all with good architecture and bus speeds optimized to work together if possible!
With my budget ~$800 would be ideal to spend, but I usually tend to add a little here and there to make it better, so I'll probably end up closer to $1000.
Questions:
1.) Processors?
-From what I've been able to see with intel i7 > i5 > i3 ~ Core 2 duo. Is that about accurate? I also read something about the later versions of the i5 having a different architecture that make them nearly as good as i7's, but functioning with ddr2 ram rather than ddr3, which is preferable for most people for some reason?
-What I understand is the i_ have 4 processors which run. What is a good processor speed? When I was looking around I was seeing processor speeds of ~2.2 - 3 Ghz, is that good? Is that for each of the 4 processors, or some combination value?
2.) Weight?
-What is an optimal weight for a laptop. This isn't really a huge consideration for me, I'll likely just be sticking it in my backpack at which point +/- 2 lbs makes virtually no difference. Still, I don't want a brick. More important will be having an optimal screen size, which to my mind will be ~15", with a widescreen (I'm not even sure if they make the old square screens anymore)
3.) Video Card?
-Probably not terribly important as gaming will be only a secondary function, and the majority of the games I enjoy are not very draining on a system. Still, it is fun from time to time to play some FPS or MMORPG, and if I do get the time I would like to be able to enjoy on my laptop.
4.) Video outputs?
-I believe I will need at least a VGA output, as I will often want to hook up my laptop to a projector in class for presentations. I would also like an HDMI output to stream video to my TV, and potentially to hook up to an additional monitor when I am at home for the much-appreciated space of a second screen.
5.) RAM
-I have no feel for what is good here. Obviously more ram = better, but what bus speeds would I be looking for? How can I get better performance in more ways than just having more RAM? Also, would it be better to just purchase a laptop with the least expensive ram, then buy the upgrade separately, as it might be less expensive and allow me to choose higher quality components?
5.) Brand/Retail outlet
-Are there any brands that are particularly good, or that should be particularly avoided? Either for the quality of the parts they use or for the quality of post-purchase care? I had a dell laptop before that lasted through strenuous use for a little over 4 years, and the few issues I had with hardware were resolved, albeit very slowly and frustratingly as I spent a lot of time on the phone. I wonder about purchasing through an outlet like Best Buy or Costco, obviously less customizability, maybe slightly higher price, but much easier to get fixed I would assume.
6.) Battery Life?
-How can I tell if a laptop will have a good battery life? I've seen people talking about extra cells that some batteries have, how many is enough? Are there different materials that laptop batteries are made of, or is it fairly standard? Also, while I was researching various video cards and processors many of the reviews talked about how they were designed in terms of how low a voltage they operated on, and how well the architecture managed to be a low power draw. In the end I would love to be able to get at least 4 hours off a charge while using WiFi and working with productivity software and listening to music. I don't know how realistic that is though. More would be great too, I love getting 6+ hours out of my netbook, but obviously I won't be able to get a more powerful laptop with the same capability?
Specific Options:
Here's a laptop I found through Costco's website: http
/www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11531690&whse=BC&Ne=5000136+4000000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745%204294899853%204294899769&Mo=4&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=As far as I can see, it looks like a fairly decent one. Can someone with more experience than me take a look and give an opinion? From my own research the processor looks like it's pretty strong, the video card a little weak, the visual connection options look strong, I don't know how to tell how good the RAM is, the hard drive is 7200 RPM (good I think), and the battery is "9 cell" which I have no idea what that translates to in practical terms of hours. The reviews that costco links to are not for this exact configuration of laptop. If you read people talk about how they wish it had a webcam in their reviews (while this one does), and some other differences like that, so I don't know how much to trust them.
I'm also wondering about how well priced that is. It seems like a good middle of the line laptop, but the price seems a bit high. Or am I mistaken? Anything that sticks out as particularly good or bad about this laptop build/price?
Thanks for the help!
Please let me know if I left out any information that would be useful in providing a helpful response to me. Also, if you have any specific suggestions as to where to buy or what to buy, I would appreciate it!
and it has a faster CPU and a better GPU the $124 extra isn't much to be honest for this leap in performance (2.26 Ghz compared to 2.4Ghz and 5450 radeon to a 5650 so I would say go for the lenovo.
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