Hardware Need a new laptop

[loco365]

Yea, I considered that one as a 15,6", but figured the SSD and GTX970m was essential for me. Super fast load times and great performance. how's the battery though?

Battery is pretty good. Lasts around two hours when on Green mode, and when in Gaming and High Performance modes I keep the laptop plugged in. The Super Charger that the laptop has though makes for a pleasant charging experience. It heats up a lot so I keep my cooling pad handy even though I already have Cooler Boost. Having more cooling is always a plus. Other than that, I have no complaints, although MSI's hardware makes for a difficult time setting up Linux distros. On the plus side though, Linux loads damn fast on this laptop when not installing updates.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

If you are going for hackintosh/anything with UEFI modification, stay clear of HP.
HP UEFI coders were drunk or something- UEFI USB boot will not working properly without legacy on ( a huge flaw ) and will be prone to the "stuck on secure boot" issue until an OS is launched successfully. If you are constantly switching bootloaders HP is not the way to go.

If we're suddenly throwing the hackintoshing hat into the ring, these are the general guidelines for laptops: http://www.tonymacx86.com/laptop-compatibility/106791-laptop-compatibility.html

 

[TehCupcakes]

On the topic of HPs, I like their desktops but some of their laptops have been horrendous with overheating. Mine was unusable within ~3 years, and my research indicated that tons of other people have had similar issues with HP laptops. I don't know if they've improved recently, but I vowed to stay clear of them in the future.

I've been very pleased with my Lenovo that I've had for 2-3 years. They have some really good sales, and pretty good bang-for-your-buck. Like most laptops though, the graphics card offerings are pretty much all-or-nothing. You can get an i7 with 8GB RAM and integrated graphics for $600, or pay $1000+ for one with dedicated graphics. (Then the really top tier ones with giant SSDs are around $1800). Right now I'd say the Y50 has some nice deals. One model has 16GB RAM, 1TB SSHD, 2.6GHz i7, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M for $1100. MSI seems to have some similar laptops around the same price point.

I've never owned a mac or a hackintosh, so I can't speak on that subject.

 

[Yil]

If we're suddenly throwing the hackintoshing hat into the ring, these are the general guidelines for laptops: http://www.tonymacx86.com/laptop-compatibility/106791-laptop-compatibility.html

Thanks but surface pro seems to have some problem with drivers.

 

[2Hack]

On the topic of HPs, I like their desktops but some of their laptops have been horrendous with overheating. Mine was unusable within ~3 years, and my research indicated that tons of other people have had similar issues with HP laptops. I don't know if they've improved recently, but I vowed to stay clear of them in the future.

I've been very pleased with my Lenovo that I've had for 2-3 years. They have some really good sales, and pretty good bang-for-your-buck. Like most laptops though, the graphics card offerings are pretty much all-or-nothing. You can get an i7 with 8GB RAM and integrated graphics for $600, or pay $1000+ for one with dedicated graphics. (Then the really top tier ones with giant SSDs are around $1800). Right now I'd say the Y50 has some nice deals. One model has 16GB RAM, 1TB SSHD, 2.6GHz i7, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M for $1100. MSI seems to have some similar laptops around the same price point.

I've never owned a mac or a hackintosh, so I can't speak on that subject.

Wowowow hold up. You're not going to get a 1TB SSD for 1100$. Their most expensive model, at 1,8k comes with a 512GB SSD. Their 1100$ model comes with a 1TB HDD at 5400rpm, and an 8gb flash memory for the OS. That's a massive difference from what you said.

Also, on the note of graphics cards, if you're going for 1,8k, you better be getting a 970m. Getting a 960m is pointless and really dis-allocates your power. Most laptops at that price range come with a 970m anyways.

You don't need a 512gb ssd anyways. That's not as good as a smaller ssd+1TBHDD combo. You can have the OS on the SSD, as well as a few other frequently used apps on the SSD, and the rest on the HDD.

 

[Yil]

Wowowow hold up. You're not going to get a 1TB SSD for 1100$. Their most expensive model, at 1,8k comes with a 512GB SSD. Their 1100$ model comes with a 1TB HDD at 5400rpm, and an 8gb flash memory for the OS. That's a massive difference from what you said.

Also, on the note of graphics cards, if you're going for 1,8k, you better be getting a 970m. Getting a 960m is pointless and really dis-allocates your power. Most laptops at that price range come with a 970m anyways.

You don't need a 512gb ssd anyways. That's not as good as a smaller ssd+1TBHDD combo. You can have the OS on the SSD, as well as a few other frequently used apps on the SSD, and the rest on the HDD.

First, ssd can go through pcie 3.0 * 4 interface which can provide about 2GB/s read, 1.5GB/s write, which fusion can only go through sata 3. Second, sata ssd are more affordable these days. Third, the transfer speed between ssd and hdd is bottlenecked by hdd, which is only at most 30 mega a second. Forth, ultra book like surface is too thin for a hdd, but more than enough for a m.2 pcie 3.0 * 4 ssd.

 

[TehCupcakes]

Wowowow hold up. You're not going to get a 1TB SSD for 1100$. Their most expensive model, at 1,8k comes with a 512GB SSD. Their 1100$ model comes with a 1TB HDD at 5400rpm, and an 8gb flash memory for the OS. That's a massive difference from what you said.

Except that's not what I said. I said 1TB SSHD. In case you didn't know, that's not a typo; it stands for Solid-state Hybrid Drive.

I agree, if your budget is closer to $2k, go all out and get the best graphics card you can. As always, it depends on budget and needs though, and I can't justify an extra $700 for that alone. (Especially when you compare it to the performance of desktop graphics cards, which are comparatively much cheaper.)

 

[Yil]

Except that's not what I said. I said 1TB SSHD. In case you didn't know, that's not a typo; it stands for Solid-state Hybrid Drive.

I agree, if your budget is closer to $2k, go all out and get the best graphics card you can. As always, it depends on budget and needs though, and I can't justify an extra $700 for that alone. (Especially when you compare it to the performance of desktop graphics cards, which are comparatively much cheaper.)

But it only go through sata standard and you can get 4TB ssd these days.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Except that's not what I said. I said 1TB SSHD. In case you didn't know, that's not a typo; it stands for Solid-state Hybrid Drive.

I agree, if your budget is closer to $2k, go all out and get the best graphics card you can. As always, it depends on budget and needs though, and I can't justify an extra $700 for that alone. (Especially when you compare it to the performance of desktop graphics cards, which are comparatively much cheaper.)

Do they make SSHDs in a laptop form factor yet? The last I heard about them Seagate was "leading the industry" by experimenting with them in desktop form factor

 

[TehCupcakes]

Do they make SSHDs in a laptop form factor yet? The last I heard about them Seagate was "leading the industry" by experimenting with them in desktop form factor

Yes. It's on the tech specs of the page I linked to, which is why I mentioned it.

Also, official info from Seagate.

 

[Yil]

Yes. It's on the tech specs of the page I linked to, which is why I mentioned it.

Also, official info from Seagate.

I had a WD dual drive. 128GBnand + 896GBhdd, two directory. It is no where close m.2 pcie 3.0 * 4 in speed or anti shock properties. If you drop a hdd or hybrid it break, it you drop a nand and it did not break in half, nothing happens.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Yes. It's on the tech specs of the page I linked to, which is why I mentioned it.

Also, official info from Seagate.

O nice