New Laptop Help

[nubbinator]

So I've been babying and repairing my T500 for the last 6 or 7 years, buying it as a refurbished laptop and upgrading it, replacing the screen when it broke, and just trying to make it last as long as I could.  Well, last night, the plug on the back gave out.  I started opening it up to see how hard it would be to replace and saw it would not be an easy or quick fix.  It looks like I have to disassemble the whole thing, replace it, then put it all back together or pay probably $200 to get someone to do it for me.  I figure enough is enough at this point and it's time to buy a new one.  I'd like to keep it in the $1000 range, but would be willing to pay up to $2000 if I knew it would last me a long time and not cause issues.

In general, I'm not doing any real intense work anymore.  I'd like the ability to do some stats packages without killing anything and some minor photo editing, but nothing too demanding.  I just need enough storage for my music since I was running with 750GB on my T500 and only had about 100GB free between the two drives.  I know I could probably pare everything down to 400-500GB.

I was looking at a Macbook, but I hate the trackpad, hate how Apple doesn't like to admit to problems if they exist, hate the lack of upgradeability, and just am not a huge fan of Apple  or the OS.  Even so, they're awesome laptops that seem to suck me in.  Are there other suggestions out there that people would make?  Any general recommendations of what's a good, durable laptop that I don't have to worry about carrying around in a backpack?

[tp4tissue]

So I've been babying and repairing my T500 for the last 6 or 7 years, buying it as a refurbished laptop and upgrading it, replacing the screen when it broke, and just trying to make it last as long as I could.  Well, last night, the plug on the back gave out.  I started opening it up to see how hard it would be to replace and saw it would not be an easy or quick fix.  It looks like I have to disassemble the whole thing, replace it, then put it all back together or pay probably $200 to get someone to do it for me.  I figure enough is enough at this point and it's time to buy a new one.  I'd like to keep it in the $1000 range, but would be willing to pay up to $2000 if I knew it would last me a long time and not cause issues.

In general, I'm not doing any real intense work anymore.  I'd like the ability to do some stats packages without killing anything and some minor photo editing, but nothing too demanding.  I just need enough storage for my music since I was running with 750GB on my T500 and only had about 100GB free between the two drives.  I know I could probably pare everything down to 400-500GB.

I was looking at a Macbook, but I hate the trackpad, hate how Apple doesn't like to admit to problems if they exist, hate the lack of upgradeability, and just am not a huge fan of Apple  or the OS.  Even so, they're awesome laptops that seem to suck me in.  Are there other suggestions out there that people would make?  Any general recommendations of what's a good, durable laptop that I don't have to worry about carrying around in a backpack?

Buy a beater Asus or MSI for $500-800 with a haswell i7


Use the rest for an Overclocked Haswell 4790k build...


Powerful laptops are a waste of freakin time... 



Laptops are a pain in the ass to use PERIOD...  the keyboard is never quite the right distance relative to where you're sitting, AND, the screen is always too small...

[nubbinator]

I've decided that you don't read.  Nowhere did I say anything about powerful.  In fact I said the opposite, I said I don't need a powerful laptop, I need one with a decent amount of storage, that's reliable, and that is durable.  Your suggestion fulfills none of the specifications I was looking for in a laptop.

And I already have a desktop that's plenty powerful for what I do.

[slip84]

I have a friend who swears by Lenovo and is a mobile warrior type. I'll have to ask him which model he has. It's a tank.

I just googled the T500 and see it's a Lenovo. Are you shying away from Lenovo for some reason?

[Novus]

I used to be pretty anti apple ... well I still am but once you learn the keyboard shortcuts it's actually very intuitive for a laptop.
Their app store is also neat.

I've had 2 lenovo products and they've all developed issues. My T61 and My x200 were great machines when I got them but they both started chronically overheating after ~ 1 year.

[nubbinator]

I have a friend who swears by Lenovo and is a mobile warrior type. I'll have to ask him which model he has. It's a tank.

I just googled the T500 and see it's a Lenovo. Are you shying away from Lenovo for some reason?

It is something I'm considering, but the build quality of Lenovo laptops just isn't what it used to be and they have a lot more plastic in them.  Many of the models no longer have the titanium, magnesium, and carbon fiber parts in them that justified the cost since they were tanks.  Now most models are a ton of plastic, flexible, and prone to cracking. They're better than some brands, but the business line just isn't what it used to be.

And I refuse to buy HP after having nothing but horrible experiences with them, my laptop, and their support on their terrible POS the DV6000.

Also, like the1onewolf mentioned, I've seen more overheating complaints with them lately and was having some with my T500.

[slip84]

Yeah, HP is about the worst. Back when I was doing laptop repair, I saw them and Toshiba the most and always for the same handful of issues.

I had a Dell with my last job, a little 13" laptop, that was pretty damn sturdy. It was one of their business series and went with me everywhere. My current job has another Dell business laptop, but it honestly doesn't feel as sturdy to me, though it's larger. I would assume that has something to do with it.

Apparently Dell now has a "rugged" line of computers and offers a semi-rugged model, too: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e6430-atg/pd?p=latitude-e6430-atg

Of all the laptops I've been issued by work, I've been the happiest with Dell. The only issue I've had was a bad stick of RAM, which is easily replaceable and something that can happen with any brand. Of my personal Macbook Pro... yeah, long story short, I have a second as a replacement for the first after they swapped out logic boards, screens, fan assemblies, etc. After they had spent a wealth on "fixing" it, they gave me a new one. The replacement has since had two logic boards replaced. I love the OS, but their hardware has seemingly become more and more dodgy on the mobile side. My Mac mini has been flawless and my Power Mac G4 and G5 were as well.

EDIT: Wow, that Dell isn't a great value after looking through what comes with it. 2GB of RAM standard? Hahahaha. It's not 2010.

[tp4tissue]

I've decided that you don't read.  Nowhere did I say anything about powerful.  In fact I said the opposite, I said I don't need a powerful laptop, I need one with a decent amount of storage, that's reliable, and that is durable.  Your suggestion fulfills none of the specifications I was looking for in a laptop.

And I already have a desktop that's plenty powerful for what I do.

I don't need to read...  I give the exact same advice in every  PC / Laptop thread..


My distribution of Dollars between  Mobile and Desktop is Universally applicable..




 

[nubbinator]

It must be hard always being right.

[tp4tissue]

It must be hard always being right.

The most important thing for computers.. is to spend the least amount of time waiting for something to happen.


These little pauses, over the course of the lifetime of the computer adds up to a significant quantity..


Relative to what you're spending,  it is then most wise to spend as much time as possible using an Overclocked desktop..  and use a moderately priced laptop only WHEN YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO... 

[Solo]

It still seems like the Gigabyte P34G v2 ($1500) is the best price-to-performance/features laptop if you're looking for small form factor (in this case, 14"). 1080p display, 1TB hard drive, 128GB SSD, the ability to install additional memory (comes with 8GB), GTX 860m, acceptable build quality (doesn't compare to an MBP, but it's still a pretty slick machine that is half metal/half plastic). The first generation of the P34G had loud fan issues, but they addressed it in the newer revision apparently.

That being said, I use a 2013 Razer Blade 14 as my only PC (hooked up to a 1440p display when I'm home) and it has been wonderful.

But about Macbooks. Yeah, you can't really beat their reliability because they use the highest quality components and they basically "just work" all the time when you want them to lmao. If I didn't want the option to play games on my laptop, I would probably have a Macbook Pro.

[Sent]

I've pretty much stuck with Lenovo for a while now and haven't had any complaints.  Out of the three I've owned, only my Thinkpad Edge had some overheating issues.  Using an X1 Carbon now since I travel quite a bit and very happy with it.  Pricey, yeah, but it's light, thin, comfortable for me to use, and reliable.  Battery life is pretty good, too. /shrug

Edit: Derp, just realized that's nowhere near enough storage for you, Nubbs.

[paicrai]

alienware

[nubbinator]

After some looking and checking out prices, I ended up with the 13inch MBP with Retina Display and 512GB SSD.  It was way too expensive, but I just disliked so much about the new Windows computers.  Too many felt cheap, had horrible trackpads, even worse keyboards, and I just don't like Windows 8 and touchscreens.  I know I got taken on the MBP (even with a $266 discount), but I know they retain value and the build quality felt better...even if I can't open it without voiding the warranty.

I don't know what it is with laptops now, they just feel cheap with huge pricetags.

[riotonthebay]

My laptop is my living, and I'm using basically the same one you just got. Don't regret it; it's a nice computer.

[Lingj]

If it's just the power jack that's messed up, I could most likely fix it for you. It looks like the power jack is actually detachable and not soldered in like most laptops are. Just need to take it all apart.

[nubbinator]

My laptop is my living, and I'm using basically the same one you just got. Don't regret it; it's a nice computer.

I don't regret the laptop, I regret the cost.  I'm a cheap bastard.

If it's just the power jack that's messed up, I could most likely fix it for you. It looks like the power jack is actually detachable and not soldered in like most laptops are. Just need to take it all apart.

Yeah, I could have fixed it, but it looks like I literally have to take the whole laptop apart to get to the underside of the motherboard.  I figured after 6 or 7 years and multiple repairs I've done myself, it's just time to get a new one.  I'll probably end up selling it because it works perfectly aside from the power jack.

[dorkvader]

Yeah, HP is about the worst. Back when I was doing laptop repair, I saw them and Toshiba the most and always for the same handful of issues.

Agreed. HP was the worst. I did laptop repair for several years and they were godawful.

But when they refreshed their lineup in the middle of last year they really improved. We quit seeing so many of them, they are easy to work on and they look like they were actually designed with some intelligence.

I recommend the HP that badwrench was looking at. Make sure to get one with SSD. RAM is easy to upgrade if you want more and processor doesn't matter (they all use very little power if you're just browsing. My fan is off 90% of the time. Go haswell!)

Very important: HP uses the cheapest most garbage display panel ever on teh low-end. Make sure to get the 1600*900 or better panel. This 1366*768 is gonna be the first thing I replace.

edit: 13" mbpr? Ugh.

So many design flaws it's hard to start. Just about every screw is unique, only about 1/3 the parts are replaceable. repairs will be extrememly costly, etc etc.

Very nice computer if it doesn't break. I recommend the 3 year applecare so you don't have to put up with fixing it yourself and shelling out $NOPE for parts. You have until the end of the first-year to upgrade.

[IPT]

i picked up a lenovo refurb yoga 2 pro for $900 bucks and i'm satisfied with it for the value.
i was trying to talk myself into not buying the 13" MBPr cause of the $$$ involved.
I think the yoga 2 pro was a decent compromise at $500 bucks less.

[slip84]

edit: 13" mbpr? Ugh.

So many design flaws it's hard to start. Just about every screw is unique, only about 1/3 the parts are replaceable. repairs will be extrememly costly, etc etc.

Very nice computer if it doesn't break. I recommend the 3 year applecare so you don't have to put up with fixing it yourself and shelling out $NOPE for parts. You have until the end of the first-year to upgrade.

GET THE APPLECARE.

I neglected to do so, now I'm on pins and needles if something goes wrong with my computer (and mine can be taken apart and fixed, unlike the newer solder-everything-and-glue-everything-else MacBooks).

Seriously, get Applecare. Stuff will go wrong after a year.

[esoomenona]

Are you adverse to using an external drive for storage? I honestly believe that internal storage seems to make up a good amount of the price of a laptop, and for almost no reason. Doing this would afford you the ability to purchase a laptop with a fair sized internal SSD (which I see you've already considered in the first place). I would say do that: trim down to a smaller size internal SSD for your laptop to save money, and then hook up an external when you want to listen to your music.

[nubbinator]

Agreed. HP was the worst. I did laptop repair for several years and they were godawful.

But when they refreshed their lineup in the middle of last year they really improved. We quit seeing so many of them, they are easy to work on and they look like they were actually designed with some intelligence.

I recommend the HP that badwrench was looking at. Make sure to get one with SSD. RAM is easy to upgrade if you want more and processor doesn't matter (they all use very little power if you're just browsing. My fan is off 90% of the time. Go haswell!)

Very important: HP uses the cheapest most garbage display panel ever on teh low-end. Make sure to get the 1600*900 or better panel. This 1366*768 is gonna be the first thing I replace.

edit: 13" mbpr? Ugh.

So many design flaws it's hard to start. Just about every screw is unique, only about 1/3 the parts are replaceable. repairs will be extrememly costly, etc etc.

Very nice computer if it doesn't break. I recommend the 3 year applecare so you don't have to put up with fixing it yourself and shelling out $NOPE for parts. You have until the end of the first-year to upgrade.

Believe me when I say I researched the MBP and wasn't happy to see the 1/10 for repairability; however, when I played around with a lot of the Windows based machines, they just felt cheap, not to mention they all came with Windows 8. 

And that HP Badwrench is looking at is nice, but it's more expensive than the MBP with the warranty while also having less storage.  I've also been burned badly by HP in the past, both by their products and support (they told me to do a firmware upgrade before they'd repair the laptop that ended up that nuking my HDD), so I swore I would never buy HP again.  So I was mainly looking at Dell and Lenovo since I had had good luck with Lenovo in the past.  It's just there's so much plastic now and parts were not the cheapest for them.

GET THE APPLECARE.

I neglected to do so, now I'm on pins and needles if something goes wrong with my computer (and mine can be taken apart and fixed, unlike the newer solder-everything-and-glue-everything-else MacBooks).

Seriously, get Applecare. Stuff will go wrong after a year.

First thing I did with it.  I know not to buy any Apple anything without Applecare or a similar warranty.  I was actually looking at Squaretrade initially because it is more comprehensive than Applecare, but I basically got Applecare free between the $66 discount on it, the $100 off the laptop, and $100 gift card I used toward Applecare. 

[Xowie]

I don't know what it is with laptops now, they just feel cheap with huge pricetags.

Completely agree. I have been thinking about buying an ultrabook but most of them feel like they won't survive the commute into work.

[esoomenona]

Oops, sorry. See you already made your purchase. nvm

[nubbinator]

Oops, sorry. See you already made your purchase. nvm

Yeah. It was something I was considering though.  I just know that I tend to keep a ton of data on my computer and don't always have an external HDD.

[slip84]

I don't know what it is with laptops now, they just feel cheap with huge pricetags.

Completely agree. I have been thinking about buying an ultrabook but most of them feel like they won't survive the commute into work.

I've been pretty happy with the Surface Pro I picked up, but then again, I'm pretty gentle with my devices. Padded bag, nothing heavy/sharp/abrasive in the same pocket, etc. That said, it's been with me all over this country and outside and is in the same shape as the day I picked it up. Only downside is the RAM limitation and it's utterly unrepairable if something goes wrong.

[Signature]

I would suggest investing in a ssd since it does not have moving parts such as an HDD. That prevents it from breaking for a very long time. If you need really much space you may want to consider a external hdd! As for a laptop I would consider investing in the ultrabook segment! Great battery-time and really good bang for the buck!

[IPT]

I would suggest investing in a ssd since it does not have moving parts such as an HDD. That prevents it from breaking for a very long time. If you need really much space you may want to consider a external hdd! As for a laptop I would consider investing in the ultrabook segment! Great battery-time and really good bang for the buck!

he bought the macbook pro retina 13 with the new PCIe SSD already.

[nubbinator]

I've been pretty happy with the Surface Pro I picked up, but then again, I'm pretty gentle with my devices. Padded bag, nothing heavy/sharp/abrasive in the same pocket, etc. That said, it's been with me all over this country and outside and is in the same shape as the day I picked it up. Only downside is the RAM limitation and it's utterly unrepairable if something goes wrong.

I actually looked at that, but the cost would have been the same with the larger storage and then you have the same repair issue.