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Need Laptop Advice
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Selinate
#1 - 2012-01-17 23:13:11 UTC  |  Edited by: Selinate
I'm looking for a new windows laptop, but I haven't shopped for one in a long time so I need some advice. Building a desktop or laptop are not options, since I need it fairly quickly. This will not really be a gaming laptop, but it will need to be able to perform heavy heavy calculations, so I would prefer it to have around 8 gigs of ram and a fairly fast processor (I'd prefer closer to 20 gigs, to be honest, but I realize that this isn't fiscally possible at the moment). Reliability a must.

I would like to do it within 800$.

And yes, it must be a laptop since portability is essential.
Alpheias
Tactical Farmers.
Pandemic Horde
#2 - 2012-01-18 01:06:54 UTC
If I were you, I would make a post on http://forum.notebookreview.com/

Agent of Chaos, Sower of Discord.

Don't talk to me unless you are IQ verified and certified with three references from non-family members. Please have your certificate of authenticity on hand.
BLACK-STAR
#3 - 2012-01-18 01:28:38 UTC
Wherever you go, ask if they have any quad-core (Intel Core i5 or Core i7) notebooks, Windows7 x64 bit OS, ask 8gb RAM. I would recommend a ASUS model.

If you want real assurance and reliability, I would request a local shop to priority build one for you with your budget. You get the best of all hardware put in or a little more than manufactured rigs (hp, gateway, etc). It would cheaper, and not preloaded with trial software crap.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#4 - 2012-01-18 02:48:28 UTC
Within 800$ *AND* over 8GB of RAM *AND* a fast processor ?
And I assume you want brand new, not refurbished.
Ouch. That's going to leave a mark. Seriously.
Well, let's try anyway.

780$ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230133
Intel Core i7-2670QM -> quad core @ 2.2GHz, max dynamic @3.1GHz, 8 threads
6 GB DDR3 - slottage unspecified (most likely 2 slots with 4+2, so upgradeable to 4+4=8GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M with 1GB dedicated mem
500GB 7200rpm HDD

or

650$ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200290
Intel Core i5-2410M -> dual core @2.3 GHz, max dynamic @2.9 GHz, 4 threads
8 GB DDR3 - NOT expansible, only 2 memory slots available (4+4 GB used)
only the CPU-integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000), shared memory
750GB 5400rpm HDD


...

The cheapest 16GB RAM laptop you can get is at nearly double your desired price.

1500$ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152267
Intel Core i7-2630QM -> quad core @ 2.0GHz, max dynamic @2.9GHz, 8 threads (weaker than the first one listed)
16GB DDR3 (4 slots of 4GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M with 1.5GB dedicated mem
2x 500GB 7200rpm HDDs in RAID mode


So, yeah... that's how things stand right now.

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
Selinate
#5 - 2012-01-18 22:00:34 UTC
To help me choose, is there any rule of thumb to follow for avoiding bottlenecks? I've been messing around with customizations on certain manufacturer's sites, and the last thing I want to do is buy too fast a processor that can't properly utilize the ram or graphics card.

Also, can someone explain the benefits/differences between radeon cards and nvidia geforce?
Mashie Saldana
V0LTA
OnlyFleets.
#6 - 2012-01-18 23:48:42 UTC
Selinate wrote:
To help me choose, is there any rule of thumb to follow for avoiding bottlenecks? I've been messing around with customizations on certain manufacturer's sites, and the last thing I want to do is buy too fast a processor that can't properly utilize the ram or graphics card.

Also, can someone explain the benefits/differences between radeon cards and nvidia geforce?

What on earth are you planning on running that requires even 8GB RAM?

How to win EVE
Herping yourDerp
Tribal Liberation Force
Minmatar Republic
#7 - 2012-01-19 06:40:36 UTC  |  Edited by: Herping yourDerp
if you could do with a desktop you can save a lot of $

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229285

quad core, 6670 gfx card which should run even newer games on low/medium settings
8 gigs of ram 500gb HDD
it also comes with win7

since you said you weren't gonna go heavy on games the low-midrange 6670 will be great.
though the new AMD fx cores are nothing spectacular, they arn't bad either.
8 gigs of ram like you wanted
HDD are still expensive 500gb will run over $60 usually so keep his in mind.



wow i fail i didnt read your last statment, sleepy.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#8 - 2012-01-19 11:32:41 UTC
Selinate wrote:
To help me choose, is there any rule of thumb to follow for avoiding bottlenecks? I've been messing around with customizations on certain manufacturer's sites, and the last thing I want to do is buy too fast a processor that can't properly utilize the ram or graphics card.

There's no such thing as a "too fast processor".
There is however such a thing as a "too SLOW processor", in which case GPU usage could be hindered, not used at full capacity, depending on what you do.

Since laptop graphic cards are usually weaker than their desktop counterparts by a factor of anywhere between 1.5 and 3 for the same "number" style (while also being more expensive), I doubt you'd ever actually have that problem of getting a too WEAK of a processor (again, no such thing as a CPU that's too fast).

Quote:
Also, can someone explain the benefits/differences between radeon cards and nvidia geforce?

Long story short, it varies depending on game you play, on what the designers optimized it for or take full advantage of.
EVE for instance, NVIDIA for sure.


Side-note : WHAT EXACTLY do you want this machine to be used for primarily ? You mention ungodly amounts of RAM but also say it's not necessarily for gaming, so what in the blue blazes do you need it for ?

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
Selinate
#9 - 2012-01-20 05:13:35 UTC  |  Edited by: Selinate
hrmmm, if you really have to know what I'm using it for, it's mainly for homework/research.

Laugh all you want. I got tired of homework assignments killing my computer, and portions of research assignments where I could run something, walk away, and 30 minutes later still have images/data not rendered fully. I'm also tired of shitting myself every time I execute a worksheet for any given number of programs and crossing my fingers hoping it doesn't make my computer crash from the HUGE load it puts on any machine. My machine isn't even that old either, maybe a year or 2.

And yes, some software that renders images based on a given data structure does take ungodly amounts of ram to run.

EDIT: Also, I managed to find one that tickles my fancy. TY for the help.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#10 - 2012-01-20 06:56:43 UTC  |  Edited by: Akita T
I actually meant specific software you want to use, but a general idea is decent enough too, I guess.

If you'd be running AutoCAD or other Autodesk products, then you'd probably want one with a Quadro series NVIDIA video card (or a FirePro series from ATI//AMD), so that it can actually boost your rendering speed (those being "certified" video cards and allowed to fully accelerate your workload).
Sure, you could possibly successfully fiddle with your video card drivers so they think you have a Quadro/FirePro instead of a GeForce/Radeon, but it's not guaranteed to be possible on all possible cards (or at least not very stable).
Depending on what else you use, the video card might be useful there too.

Also, if you can't add more RAM, you might want to look for a machine that supports two hard drives and use a SSD in one of the two hard drive slots, with a very large swap file on the SSD.
Not quite as good as extra RAM (and not extremely healthy for long-term lifespan outlooks of that SSD), but still a major performance improvement.

You know, just a few ideas.

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
Selinate
#11 - 2012-01-20 22:53:23 UTC
Akita T wrote:
I actually meant specific software you want to use, but a general idea is decent enough too, I guess.
.


I intentionally kept it vague, but no I won't be running autocad. Some of the recent problems have been with Mathcad specifically, but it's not the program itself, it has more to do with how large the model is (which is the same for pretty much everything I run).

It just depends on how nasty the correlations I'm given are.