Choosing a suitable laptop.

[Quackism]

Hi Syther's,

You may have read my previous thread, about choosing between an Apple product or a Microsoft product. First I was blinded by the looks and apparent 'good specifications' of the Apple products, in particular the 15" MacBook Pro 2.0 Ghz i7.

I was very fond of these specifications, and with the help of my former Syther's I was convinced that for the money I was going to pay for this MacBook Pro, I could buy a faster laptop from Microsoft. Or buy a Microsoft laptop with the same specifications for less money!

Well here's a laptop I'd like for instance, but tell me if you found a better one!
Let's stack up:
Click the names for links.

Toshiba Satellite P755-S5272 -- $869.99
CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.00GHz. I don't know what the numbers and letters '2630QM' stand for, would anyone care to explain those?
RAM: 6GB DDR3, 1,333 MHz
Hard Disk: 750GB, 5400 rpm, SATA
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000

I don't really know what L3-cache is, but I looked it up and to me it sounds like it's some space that your computer can get to the fastest.
Cache: 6MB L3.

MacBook Pro 15" -- $1799,-
CPU: 2.0 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 (I presume this is the same one as the one in the Toshiba?)
RAM: 4GB, 1,333 MHz (I know you can customize it, but I just take the cheapest)
Hard Disk: 500 GB, 5400 rpm, SATA
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000 + AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256 MB GDDR5 (Explain this 'double' GPU to me. Is the first one built into the motherboard and the second one an extra, better one?)

Cache: Cannot find it.

As you can see I left some things out like the optical drive, because I don't finr those things really necessary, although the Toshiba comes with a Blu-ray player!

I choose these two, because in my head these look like they compare quite good with each other. But I may be wrong entirely, please tell me if I am.
From what I am seeing is that indeed the MacBook Pro is way overpriced.

Give me insights, help, suggestions, idea's. Everything is welcome!

Allright after having some change of thoughts with some people on this thread/forum I'm going to make a list of 'suitable' laptops and their prices.

ASUS G53SW-XN1 - Intel Core i7-2630QM(2.0GHz), 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, GTX 460M --- $1089.99<-- I think this is what I am looking for, but it is really big in my eyes.
[17,3"]Acer Aspire - AMD Phenom Quad-core(2.2GHz), 4GM RAM, 500GB HDD, RADEON HD 6470M --- $499.99<-- This one might be not enough and too big.
ASUS K52JT-XV1 - Intel Core i7-740QM(1.73GHz), 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Radeon HD 6370M --- $699.99<-- This one is prety good.
MSI GT683R-242US - Intel Core i7-2630QM(2.0GHz), 12GB RAM, 1TB HDD, GTX 560M --- $1499.99<-- This one is a beast.

So from what I've learned so far is that the i7-Cores are pretty damn good, and the best affordable that is also good is the i7-2630QM. Then I'll need a good graphics card, which is not dedicated in all the laptops, and that one may vary, although I like the NVIDIA graphics cards.


Quack.

 

[Jemmy]

Get the Toshiba, Macbooks are overpriced and not as good as the PC. You can use the almost $1000 you save buying the Toshiba and buy a better video card if the GPU is an issue for you. Believe me the Macbook is more about the looks and the logo than substance.

 

[MrLuckyDraw]

Get the Toshiba, Macbooks are overpriced and not as good as the PC. You can use the almost $1000 you save buying the Toshiba and buy a better video card if the GPU is an issue for you. Believe me the Macbook is more about the looks and the logo than substance.

Yes its true that mac's are overpriced. But its like that for a reason. On a mac, your very unlikely to get a keylogger/virus (virtually never). I would definitely get a mac, if your looking for a good investment. They last much longer than other computers, are faster than other computers (rarely lags, even when 5-7 programs opened) and can do everything a PC can do.

If you really want to use PC programs, it isn't hard to put a windows partition on your mac. I did. It's quite good, few flaws.

Also, if you bot on runescape alot, RSBuddy and most other major botting programs work on the mac partition.

*** more info edit ***
Regular PC's ( toshiba, acer, hp) are fast at first, but after sometime, they start to slow down, the battery starts to lessen. ( My Sony Viao, extremely fast at first, long lasting battery. 1 year later, it takes 20minutes to start from turn on.Battery life 2 hours, now It takes 10 minutes before the battery goes from 100% - 0%...absolutely no exaggeration)
( my mac, also extremely fast at first, 1 year later, still fast. Battery time is roughly the same. )

I treated both my laptops quite equally.

 

Don't buy any of those.

Get 2 of these!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215120

 

[kylebiddle]

If you plan on playing runescape on your laptop you're going to need dedicated graphics. So that will run you a minimum of $500. I recommend this one because it has an intel processor, and nvidia graphics, the best choices for gaming.

Acer Aspire AS5750G-6804 Notebook Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M $500

If you're willing to shell out more money for a more powerful graphics/intel processor I recommend this one. Or you could go for i7

ASUS K52 Series K52JT-XV1 Notebook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 6370M $650

I say go for the $650 if you have the extra money, that's really the most you need to spend.

 

[Quackism]

Get the Toshiba, Macbooks are overpriced and not as good as the PC. You can use the almost $1000 you save buying the Toshiba and buy a better video card if the GPU is an issue for you. Believe me the Macbook is more about the looks and the logo than substance.

Yeah allright, but this Toshiba was just an example. I wish someone would reply if this is actually a good comparison.

Yes its true that mac's are overpriced. But its like that for a reason. On a mac, your very unlikely to get a keylogger/virus (virtually never). I would definitely get a mac, if your looking for a good investment. They last much longer than other computers, are faster than other computers (rarely lags, even when 5-7 programs opened) and can do everything a PC can do.

If you really want to use PC programs, it isn't hard to put a windows partition on your mac. I did. It's quite good, few flaws.

Also, if you bot on runescape alot, RSBuddy and most other major botting programs work on the mac partition.

*** more info edit ***
Regular PC's ( toshiba, acer, hp) are fast at first, but after sometime, they start to slow down, the battery starts to lessen. ( My Sony Viao, extremely fast at first, long lasting battery. 1 year later, it takes 20minutes to start from turn on.Battery life 2 hours, now It takes 10 minutes before the battery goes from 100% - 0%...absolutely no exaggeration)
( my mac, also extremely fast at first, 1 year later, still fast. Battery time is roughly the same. )

I treated both my laptops quite equally.

Okay no virusses, but if you get a good firewall + antivirus you're done with those on your Microsoft laptop too..
I got a Toshiba laptop on my lap at the moment, and I really don't notice any degration in the battry life. I've had this bad boy for about 1.5 years, and it still works great.

Don't buy any of those.

Get 2 of these!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215120

So I should get 2 laptops for my study..? I hope you aren't serious with this post. Tell me why I shouldn't buy the others and why I should buy this one.

If you plan on playing runescape on your laptop you're going to need dedicated graphics. So that will run you a minimum of $500. I recommend this one because it has an intel processor, and nvidia graphics, the best choices for gaming.

Acer Aspire AS5750G-6804 Notebook Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M $500

If you're willing to shell out more money for a more powerful graphics/intel processor I recommend this one. Or you could go for i7

ASUS K52 Series K52JT-XV1 Notebook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 6370M $650

I say go for the $650 if you have the extra money, that's really the most you need to spend.

I do not play runescape, so that's not an issue. I am actually looking for a good/high performance expensive laptop. I want at least an i7, and the last laptop you showed is actually quite nice. And I find it nice that you say that that is the most I should spent, that's something I was wondering about.
But why do you choose an Asus, why not a Toshiba, or a HP? Tell me, enlighten me!

Could anyone also answer the questions in my first post?
Appreciated, thanks.

Quack.

 

Why buy that Acer?

Best performance/price ratio you can find around.

Why 2? On to study, on to do other stuff, like bot.

If you were to use the Mac's money you could get 3 and have like 6x the performance.

 

[Clashfan]

Explain this 'double' GPU to me. Is the first one built into the motherboard and the second one an extra, better one?

The macbook will use the integrated intel gpu when the discrete card isn't needed to improve battery life. When you open a graphically demanding application it automatically switches over to the discrete card.

 

[Quackism]

Why buy that Acer?

Best performance/price ratio you can find around.

Why 2? On to study, on to do other stuff, like bot.

If you were to use the Mac's money you could get 3 and have like 6x the performance.

Well I don't actually get three times the performance, no do I? When I buy three cars, do I have the same power as one powerful car? No, because you can't drive all three at the same time, so I'm going to discard your laptop.

I'd rather have one powerful than three less powerful laptops.

The macbook will use the integrated intel gpu when the discrete card isn't needed to improve battery life. When you open a graphically demanding application it automatically switches over to the discrete card.

Hmm, allright so in fact it uses two GPU's. That's interesting, but does a Microsoft laptop do the same? I guess so.

 

[Clashfan]

Why buy that Acer?

Best performance/price ratio you can find around.

Why 2? On to study, on to do other stuff, like bot.

If you were to use the Mac's money you could get 3 and have like 6x the performance.

Not really. It's a good price, but the 2630QM is more than twice as fast as that AMD.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+N970+Quad-Core

The N970 scores 2765, 2630QM scores 6,328

 

[Clashfan]

I am actually looking for a good/high performance expensive laptop.

Could anyone also answer the questions in my first post?
Appreciated, thanks.

If you're looking for a higher end laptop check out this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152266

MSI GT683R-242US Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 12GB Memory 1TB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M

That graphics card wipes the floor with the one in the macbook, and it has a faster HDD, not to mention 3 times the ram. It's $1500.

The toshiba you posted isn't really comparable to the macbook pro because it has shitty integrated graphics. Of course, graphics only really matter if you're going to be gaming at all.

 

[Quackism]

Not really. It's a good price, but the 2630QM is more than twice as fast as that AMD.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+N970+Quad-Core

The N970 scores 2765, 2630QM scores 6,328

Cool site, I will look around over there to ge tto know a little bit more about the performance of the cpu's.

If you're looking for a higher end laptop check out this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152266
Quote:
MSI GT683R-242US Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 12GB Memory 1TB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M
That graphics card wipes the floor with the one in the macbook, and it has a faster HDD, not to mention 3 times the ram. It's $1500.

The toshiba you posted isn't really comparable to the macbook pro because it has shitty integrated graphics. Of course, graphics only really matter if you're going to be gaming at all.

Hmm, this might be a little overdone, but I like the way you are going. I like a high-end, but not thát high-end. Hmm, that makes no sense, does it? Let's rephrase, I do not want a high-end laptop, but a good performing laptop, above average.

Seeing the laptop you showed me, I liked it.
And thanks for telling me that it does not compare, I found it weird that a 900$ laptop was comparable to a 1700$ MacBook.

Anyway, I would like some good graphics for Photoshop and software like that. I know I won't need the best graphics card for that, but I'd like a decent one, that will also be decent in the future. That I won't need a new laptop in a year for Photoshop to run smoothly.

 

[Clashfan]

Photoshop is much more concerned with processor speed than graphics.

 

[kill dank]

Be sure to get an dedicated graphics card.

The i7 2630 QM is a very nice processor. It's the 4th best mobile processor you can buy right now. I am currently using it in my laptop and it performs completely up to my standards. It is better than most desktop processors. Anything better and you're going to be paying at least $300 more and about $1000 more at the 2920XM.

 

[Quackism]

Photoshop is much more concerned with processor speed than graphics.

Allright, so an i7-core would go?

Be sure to get an dedicated graphics card.

The i7 2630 QM is a very nice processor. It's the 4th best mobile processor you can buy right now. I am currently using it in my laptop and it performs completely up to my standards. It is better than most desktop processors. Anything better and you're going to be paying at least $300 more and about $1000 more at the 2920XM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230027
How about this laptop? It's in the middle of a real high-end and a normal pc right?
I'd like to know the opinions about this laptop. Also, is the brand (ASUS) good?

 

[kill dank]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230027
How about this laptop? It's in the middle of a real high-end and a normal pc right?
I'd like to know the opinions about this laptop. Also, is the brand (ASUS) good?

That's a good laptop. I bought this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220957
for $1150 from a store by me and put some extra RAM in it.

They're both a good deal for the price. My laptop pretty much runs anything. The only difference between the two above are that yours has 2gb less RAM, isn't blu-ray, and has a smaller screen, and only 1 500gb HD. Those won't really affect performance that much.

And yeah, I like Asus. I have one from like 2000 that would still work if I could find the HD.

 

[Quackism]

That's a good laptop. I bought this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220957
for $1150 from a store by me and put some extra RAM in it.

They're both a good deal for the price. My laptop pretty much runs anything. The only difference between the two above are that yours has 2gb less RAM, isn't blu-ray, and has a smaller screen, and only 1 500gb HD. Those won't really affect performance that much.

And yeah, I like Asus. I have one from like 2000 that would still work if I could find the HD.

Yeah, I just compared them. And the only difference are indeed:
-500GB Extra HD on yours
-17 inch instead of 15
-2GB more RAM
-No Blu-Ray.

But when I look at the pictures of this laptop, it's quite big, or is that a misunderstanding of me?

 

[Quackism]

And what about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131142
Is this any good. To me it seems it has approximately the same specifications. Only it has a slightly larger HD and a different (dedicated) GPU card.

 

Toshiba Satellite P755-S5272 -- $869.99
CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.00GHz. I don't know what the numbers and letters '2630QM' stand for, would anyone care to explain those?
RAM: 6GB DDR3, 1,333 MHz
Hard Disk: 750GB, 5400 rpm, SATA
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000

I don't really know what L3-cache is, but I looked it up and to me it sounds like it's some space that your computer can get to the fastest.
Cache: 6MB L3.

VS The acer?...

Not that greater... just 2GB RAM more.

 

[kill dank]

Quakism the laptops above are better than that one. The gpu in the Asus laptops is significantly better than the 540.

And yours is 15.6 inches, mine is 17.3 inches. Mine is huge, yours would be a bit smaller.

And Tux what are you talking about? The GPU's are completely different.

I'm not sure exactly what the letters or numbers mean, but I do know that according to various benchmarking sites as well as the specs from intel, the 2630qm is the 4th best mobile processor on the market right now. Surpassed only by the 2720qm, 2820qm, and the 2920XM. The XM stands for extreme edition meaning it's unlocked for easy overclocking.