Hardware New Laptop

[Quietlyawesome94]

Don't worry you probably couldn't find a decent Apple laptop at that price anyway.

 

[KingVamp]

I'm looking into a new laptop and this seem like the best place to start. My old laptop it a Acer Extensa 5230e.It is having charging issues and I can't tell if it the charger (which I already got replace once) or something worst, but I think it time to move on anyway.

Looking for a decent laptop from $350-400. Hoping for a build in memory reader and a decent hard drive.
I unnecessary want a touchscreen one, but as I said, my eyes may be bigger than my needs.

Spoiler

I didn't want anything with an apple on it.

 

[Rasas]

What is a decent size hard drive to you?
What brand and processor do you want?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382166
640 Hard Drive but I3.

 

[Thesolcity]

What is a decent size hard drive to you?
What brand and processor do you want?

http://www.microcent...duct_id=0382166
640 Hard Drive but I3.

>Toshiba Satellite

Oh God no, those things fall apart quickly.

 

[KingVamp]

What is a decent size hard drive to you?
I guess at least 320. My old one had 250.
What brand and processor do you want?
A trusted brand known for long lasting laptops. Just the same or better than my certain laptop. Not anything specify.
http://www.microcent...duct_id=0382166
640 Hard Drive but I3.
Looks good,but...

>Toshiba Satellite

Oh God no, those things fall apart quickly.

Do they really? It was looking pretty good too.

What would you consider a decent battery?

 

[Deleted member 473940]

What is a decent size hard drive to you?
What brand and processor do you want?

http://www.microcent...duct_id=0382166
640 Hard Drive but I3.

>Toshiba Satellite

Oh God no, those things fall apart quickly.

My old laptop is Toshiba Satellite.
bought it in 2006 and it still runs strong. Heck it still plays games at low settings. Battery changed and thats all.

Never understand all those brand hates, "Sony sucks", "dell is shitty", "DONT GO FOR HP", "ACER IS DEAD".. things like that -.-

You have warranty for a couple of years. All you should aim for is the best specs for the price you are willing to spend.
Certain models of certain brands have issues. A lot of battery issues with dell and Sony.
Different issues with ACER and HP.

So look around on the web and see which model suits you for the price you are willing to spend.

 

[Rasas]

Most laptops in that price range should have a 250gb+ hard drive standard.

Well you should also look at reliability, reviews, warranty(include how long it takes for it to be repaired) and several other things.
Honestly you should probably look on sites and stores like Newegg, TigerDirect, Microcenter, Bestbuy, officedepot, officemax and many more. I know brick and mortar stores generally have high prices but every once in a while they have a great deals like a 2tb hard drive for 70.

You want 4gb ram at least, a i5(amd quad core is alright I prefer intel), windows 7 and probably a decent graphics card.

 

[chains_of_androm]

One of those Asus dual core netbooks should be fine. If you are lucky, you can find Lenovo x130s at that price.

 

[KingVamp]

One of those Asus dual core netbooks should be fine. If you are lucky, you can find Lenovo x130s at that price .

I look up that Lenovo,seem pretty good.

Not really a PC gamer, so pass 5i is unnecessary. How well does i3 run emulators? 4gb seem to be the default anyway,so I didn't have to worry about that. I'm getting windows 7. I've look around, Intel processer seem more power efficient anyway.

$70 for a 2tb?

Thanks for the help btw.


-posted from an android phone.

 

[Rasas]

You'll probably not get good speeds with PS2 and wii emulation with your price range but every other emulator should work fine. Dreamcast and below I mean.

With a I5 you'll get reasonable speeds with Wii and PS2 but don't expect anything to be perfect I say 20 fps or below with errors.
Go for a dual core since they run emulators better no quad but then again hardly any quads besides AMD are in your price range.

 

[Alaude]

i recommend lenovo G470 does your basic needs and it is sturdy. Lenovo laptops last long and the one which i am using now is about 5-6yrs old which ran windows 7 at normal.

 

[Originality]

You're lucky. 15-25% of ALL laptops (from any brand) will get a major fault within 3 years. Lenovo is no exception (even if it is basically IBM, who were known for reliable laptops).

Don't say " laptops last long"... because that's not quite true (neither is the anti-HP/Acer crap). I have seen a Lenovo laptop die within 3 weeks, so I know it can happen to anyone.

That said, taking care of your laptop does help keep it working for much longer, assuming there's no factory flaw (remember that Lenovo don't make their laptops, they just assemble them using parts).

 

[KingVamp]

Looking at
http://www.bestbuy.c...1&skuId=4865096
http://www.bestbuy.c...4&skuId=4847142
http://www.bestbuy.c...1&skuId=2809477

I know it is a bit over. 5i isn't in/near the price range of what I look at.


Scan it. Requirements legit?

Probably wouldn't emulate that high,but it is a nice option.

 

[Originality]

Those reqs are legit. All you need is a good dual core CPU. Not that long ago, they also introduced the quad core speed hack, to take advantage of the increasing population of quad core systems. It used to be that ideally, you needed an Intel Core 2 Duo at 3Ghz to play flawlessly, but as technology advances and software gets optimised, the reqs change.

I don't know how well Core i3 will work though, because speed doesn't mean the same thing as strength when it comes to processors.

 

[Rasas]

Those reqs are legit. All you need is a good dual core CPU. Not that long ago, they also introduced the quad core speed hack, to take advantage of the increasing population of quad core systems. It used to be that ideally, you needed an Intel Core 2 Duo at 3Ghz to play flawlessly, but as technology advances and software gets optimised, the reqs change.

I don't know how well Core i3 will work though, because speed doesn't mean the same thing as strength when it comes to processors.

Well as said before he couldn't really get a good quad core besides a low end AMD quad core which would be bad for his needs. Did not know about the speed hack though. Most I3s will run PCSX2 with slowdowns such as the i3-2350. Your just going to have to wait for a good sale on laptops.

 

[exangel]

If PCSX2 in specific is important to you, you should lean on an Intel and you should definitely avoid the AMD FM1 APUs that integrate Radeon HD graphics. @[member='Fudge'] can probably verify that from experience.

You don't or shouldn't have to exceed your budget, but in my experiences of helping others attempt to get realtime speed emulation (even just at native NTSC resolution) with this particular emulator, you're best off with at least an Intel dual core, even if you have to sacrifice some performance for PC Platform games themselves (which the FM1 APUs are fine for).

Also, here is the tutorial I've written on configuring it. There's a lot more features in the recent buildbot builds increasing game-specific compatibility and engine issues, but the basic setup hasn't changed.
http://gbatemp.net/t...n-2-with-pcsx2/

 

[Fudge]

If PCSX2 in specific is important to you, you should lean on an Intel and you should definitely avoid the AMD FM1 APUs that integrate Radeon HD graphics. @[member='Fudge'] can probably verify that from experience.

You don't or shouldn't have to exceed your budget, but in my experiences of helping others attempt to get realtime speed emulation (even just at native NTSC resolution) with this particular emulator, you're best off with at least an Intel dual core, even if you have to sacrifice some performance for PC Platform games themselves (which the FM1 APUs are fine for).

Also, here is the tutorial I've written on configuring it. There's a lot more features in the recent buildbot builds increasing game-specific compatibility and engine issues, but the basic setup hasn't changed.
http://gbatemp.net/t...n-2-with-pcsx2/

I can say that aAMD APU isn't a good option for any emulators after the fifth generation. They're great for normal gaming however

 

[exangel]

Done a little scanning of Newegg's stock since your info says you're in the US -- if you're not in California then you avoid sales tax by ordering through them, and may squeeze a little more performance out of what you buy in the end. If you have the time to stalk Best Buy's weekly flyers and such, you should still do that until you decide on what the best thing you can get in your budget should have as a minimum -- and maybe even go to Best Buy before placing an order if you make your purchase online. Your budget's just on the cusp of choosing a laptop that's weak or a laptop that'll be adequate for certainly more than a year.. so spending time on your decision won't hurt you... especially if your purchase is a graduation gift and you can hold out until the back-to-school promos.

There's another thing to consider if you're going to shop Newegg specifically and that is to look at the Refurbished laptops as well. If you're confident enough in your computer maintenance/diagnostic skills you might be able to get a great deal.

The reason why I'd say to actually show up to Best Buy and see what they've got when you're finally ready to place an order even if you're almost certain on something that Newegg or another online retailer might have-- is that there may be an Open Box or Refurb item at the Best Buy on the day you're ready to blow your cash and you could wind up getting something even better. And I'm sure you know how much easier it would be for you to deal with any issues that might come up with your new system if you buy local as opposed to having to RMA a product with a defect with Newegg.

If you're not 100% confident in your maintenance and diagnostic skills, skip the refurbs because they usually have a much shorter manufacturer's warranty of course. I've bought refurbished recently from the 'egg with great results recently but only because I purchased the Servicenet (no-deductible full service or replacement + no shipping cost) warranty, and the product in the end was still considerably cheaper than the "New" equivalent item. But for a laptop, the price of that type of warranty basically negates the savings over buying a new model.

edit:
You should subscribe to the Newegg newsletter! at least until you make your purchase. they send out short-term coupons with blanket savings (like 15% off all Razer products, for example) once or twice a week and if you tend to browse while logged in to their site, may even send you suggested products based on what you look at or even discount coupons for those type of products. And their opt-out works correctly, I had to do this to avoid getting the newsletter twice every time it got sent out and they don't screw you on unwanted ads when you do the opt-out.

 

[Rasas]

snip

He can always check BestBuy site. Each store has a listing of open box items and clearance items if you look at store in store locater and it is changed frequently.

 

[exangel]

He can always check BestBuy site. Each store has a listing of open box items and clearance items if you look at store in store locater and it is changed frequently.

Good to know! I wasn't aware of that.. and if they have something right on the money, I'd assume he can reserve or order it for store pickup?
I usually don't buy through their website except for preordering games.