Help picking laptop

[minho]

Details here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SuggestALaptop/comments/2567hs/help_deciding_between_laptops_eliminated_down_to/

Took ages formatting that, and I really don't want to retype all of that.

Feel free to respond here or in the Reddit thread, I would appreciate any feed back at all 

[hehenri]

I have Samsung NP900X3F and I can definitely recommend 9 series!

[microsoft windows]

Make sure whatever laptop you get runs Microsoft Windows.

[digi]

Make sure whatever laptop you get runs Microsoft Windows.

And if you need a video guide published by Microsoft Windows, I highly recommend this one:

[Zombly]

Do you need a ultrabook, I don't watch the ultrabooks, I use a high-end desktop, and high end regular laptop, however the specs for the price seem low, as your getting integrated gpu's on all 3, which even if your not gaming that much you won't get good FPS, and maybe even a laggy experience, just curious what pushed you to buy an ultrabook over a regular laptop?

Honestly through college I used pen and paper for everything

[minho]

Do you need a ultrabook, I don't watch the ultrabooks, I use a high-end desktop, and high end regular laptop, however the specs for the price seem low, as your getting integrated gpu's on all 3, which even if your not gaming that much you won't get good FPS, and maybe even a laggy experience, just curious what pushed you to buy an ultrabook over a regular laptop?

Honestly through college I used pen and paper for everything

Thanks for everyone's feedback, I think I might get the Acer because it just offers the most storage options.

I spent all of high school thinking I would get a gaming laptop, nothing like one of those ridiculously expensive Alienware ones, but one with at least a dedicated graphics card and enough power to run SC2 on high. However, after using one of my friends' ultrabooks for a few days, I fell in love with its slim design and how smooth it felt compared to my ****ty desktop.

Basically, I have become accustomed to using a bad PC that can run SC2 on lowest settings at 25-30 fps - anything will feel like an upgrade to me, and since I am trying to cut back a little on my gaming anyways, it should be fine. I watched a few videos of games being played on HD 4400 graphics, and while it's not the best (25-30 on low settings for some more intensive games), it is feasible for my purposes.

[Zombly]

Do you need a ultrabook, I don't watch the ultrabooks, I use a high-end desktop, and high end regular laptop, however the specs for the price seem low, as your getting integrated gpu's on all 3, which even if your not gaming that much you won't get good FPS, and maybe even a laggy experience, just curious what pushed you to buy an ultrabook over a regular laptop?

Honestly through college I used pen and paper for everything

The end result asthetics can make a big factor, my current PC uses the small Evga Hadron case, cost me a pretty penny just because it's small and the prettiest case IMO, however a $210 price tag.. and some things that needed to be fixed, hope you enjoy if you change your mind let me know, and I can search as I enjoy computer related things

[minho]

Thanks! Who knows, maybe I'll just get one of these and then build my own PC later or something

[Zombly]

Thanks! Who knows, maybe I'll just get one of these and then build my own PC later or something

I could help you with those details as well, built 6 pcs in the last month for friends + 1 for me, I also pick all the parts to assure quality + no money wasted

[physicsmajor]

Pure build quality: Apple is still on top.
Battery life: Apple again.

Screen: Pretty much anything except Apple. The Air line is desperately in need of a refresh here. The ancient TN panel's low viewing angles, mediocre color, and outright dismal resolution (1440x900? Your smartphone probably has more pixels) really kill the experience.

If you can wait until mid-summer, the Air line may be refreshed. Time will tell if Apple decides to update the screen or not.

[minho]

Pure build quality: Apple is still on top.
Battery life: Apple again.

Screen: Pretty much anything except Apple. The Air line is desperately in need of a refresh here. The ancient TN panel's low viewing angles, mediocre color, and outright dismal resolution (1440x900? Your smartphone probably has more pixels) really kill the experience.

If you can wait until mid-summer, the Air line may be refreshed. Time will tell if Apple decides to update the screen or not.

Specs, Apple also wins for the price too (Acer Aspire S7 close contender)

Only thing I dislike is the OS, but that's a pretty big issue. I don't want to spend time learning a new OS, and I am not 100% sure that all the programs I use (drivers for Gamecube to PC adapters, Dolphin, random games) will run on OSX. I could do bootcamp, but wouldn't that hinder performance by quite a bit?

[smknjoe]

No, boot camp is a dual boot option where OSX and Windows are installed side by side. Windows will run natively in that case. Now, if you virtualize with something like Fusion then you may experience performance issues depending on HW and other considerations.

[physicsmajor]

Pure build quality: Apple is still on top.
Battery life: Apple again.

Screen: Pretty much anything except Apple. The Air line is desperately in need of a refresh here. The ancient TN panel's low viewing angles, mediocre color, and outright dismal resolution (1440x900? Your smartphone probably has more pixels) really kill the experience.

If you can wait until mid-summer, the Air line may be refreshed. Time will tell if Apple decides to update the screen or not.

Specs, Apple also wins for the price too (Acer Aspire S7 close contender)

Only thing I dislike is the OS, but that's a pretty big issue. I don't want to spend time learning a new OS, and I am not 100% sure that all the programs I use (drivers for Gamecube to PC adapters, Dolphin, random games) will run on OSX. I could do bootcamp, but wouldn't that hinder performance by quite a bit?

Honestly I would be lost with a laptop that doesn't support virtual desktop Spaces at the OS level. It's so useful to have Browser, Code, Research papers, and Utility desktops. OSX is very good here; Windows is still streets behind. Though my Air is now over 3 years old and still running 10.6.8 (the last OSX before iOS started to creep in).

Boot Camp is native, and supports everything at full speed. There are true virtual machines available like Parallels or VMWare Fusion, but if you're at all concerned you can use Boot Camp.

[rowdy]

Think of Boot Camp as a startup menu option and a bunch of drivers to let you run Windows natively on an Intel-based Mac.

I have Boot Camp installed on my Mac, but it is such a pain rebooting just to play games, so I ended up setting up an old Dell to play games, and just use Mac OS on my Mac.

[microsoft windows]

DO NOT BUY A MACBOOK. THOSE ARE THE WORST QUALITY LAPTOPS EVER MADE. GET AN ASUS, LENOVO, OR HEWLETT-PACKARD. BUT NOT A CRAPPLE ****BOOK.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

DO NOT BUY A MACBOOK. THOSE ARE THE WORST QUALITY LAPTOPS EVER MADE. GET AN ASUS, LENOVO, OR HEWLETT-PACKARD. BUT NOT A CRAPPLE ****BOOK.

I advise against HP, they're laptops are ****. Have had MANY issues with them, most commonly motherboard failure.

Asus and Lenovo are decent suggestions though...

[microsoft windows]

DO NOT BUY A MACBOOK. THOSE ARE THE WORST QUALITY LAPTOPS EVER MADE. GET AN ASUS, LENOVO, OR HEWLETT-PACKARD. BUT NOT A CRAPPLE ****BOOK.

I advise against HP, they're laptops are ****. Have had MANY issues with them, most commonly motherboard failure.

Asus and Lenovo are decent suggestions though...

HP's may not be the best, but they're a helluva lot better than CRAPPLES!

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

DO NOT BUY A MACBOOK. THOSE ARE THE WORST QUALITY LAPTOPS EVER MADE. GET AN ASUS, LENOVO, OR HEWLETT-PACKARD. BUT NOT A CRAPPLE ****BOOK.

I advise against HP, they're laptops are ****. Have had MANY issues with them, most commonly motherboard failure.

Asus and Lenovo are decent suggestions though...

HP's may not be the best, but they're a helluva lot better than CRAPPLES!

Not on the hardware level.

I'd rather have a Macbook with BootCamp and Windows 8 than an HP laptop of any sorts. At least then I know I can get more than 2 years out of it.

[microsoft windows]

DO NOT BUY A MACBOOK. THOSE ARE THE WORST QUALITY LAPTOPS EVER MADE. GET AN ASUS, LENOVO, OR HEWLETT-PACKARD. BUT NOT A CRAPPLE ****BOOK.

I advise against HP, they're laptops are ****. Have had MANY issues with them, most commonly motherboard failure.

Asus and Lenovo are decent suggestions though...

HP's may not be the best, but they're a helluva lot better than CRAPPLES!

Not on the hardware level.

I'd rather have a Macbook with BootCamp and Windows 8 than an HP laptop of any sorts...

You are WRONG! CRAPPLE uses the worst hardware possible. Even worse than HP.