new laptop time

[TdC]

hello dears, I am in the market to replace my ageing Vaio.

Previous (only acceptable) laptop choice:

Sony Vaio Z series, 13.3" 4GB
Upgraded myself with an SSD

Current criteria:

• screendiagonal 13.3 or 14"" (15" considered if the lappy is really really awesome)
• rez must be > 1366x768
• ram must be 8GB or more
• cpu must be sandybridge
• preferably "real" quadcore, but HT dual core allowed.
• clock must be >= 2.5GHz
• SSD optional
• must be Linux/unixish compatible
• must *not* have Nvidia Optimus

Looking at:

• Lenovo T420 (not the S) 14"
• macbook pro 15"
• Sony Z (current) 13.3"
• HP Elitebook 8440p 14"

The Lenovo is awesome in all ways, except that it is fugly as hell.
The macbook pro is...well, it's a mac :-/
The Sony Z is certainly not fully Linux compatible, hard to do upgrades and the rez is too low.
The HP, Anandtech says the screen is rank, and it's hard to find one at the rez I want. Also, it may have that Nvidia shit thing in it.

Advice please! My workmates say: get the macbook pro, and run VM's for other things I need.

 

[Will]

If I was getting a new laptop, I'd get the MacBook Pro or Air. They are really well put together, unlike this flexy Dell.

Is the 13" MacBook Pro not l33t enough for you?

 

[TdC]

no: it has a shit low rez screen here in the NL with the intel graphics 3000, while decent, could be better.

macstore nl *used* to let you order a higher rez screen for the pro 13.3. now it doesn't.

 

[TdC]

Samsung 900X3A !!! *cums*

YouTube - ‪Samsung 900X3A unboxing‬‏

 

[Lethul]

Is it possible to get a Envy 14 with Sandybridge and Radiance screen?

 

[TdC]

well, the HP.nl link to the laptops leads me to a 404, and tbh that is enough to put me off buying an HP product for life

 

[Lethul]

well, the HP.nl link to the laptops leads me to a 404, and tbh that is enough to put me off buying an HP product for life

The radiance screen was sex tho

 

[TdC]

ffs...

Sony VPCSA1X9E/XI VAIO 13.3" Notebook (Intel Core i7-2620M Processor,2.70GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB HDD,DVD SuperMulti Drive,Genuine Windows 7 Professional)Black: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

the complete unavailability of decent lappies in the NL is making me rage!

 

[Will]

Just get the Lenovo if you can't bring yourself to buy a Mac.

 

[TdC]

surely the answer can't be that easy

 

[Lethul]

surely the answer can't be that easy

I like that Samsung, buy it! If you don't like it send it to me!

 

[Will]

You don't like the Mac because it is too cool, you don't like the Lenovo because it is too ugly. Just man the fuck up and get one or the other.

The Mac has a 16:10 display rather than a 16:9, which is a big plus in my book, and the chassis could be used to fight off a zombie attack. But you can't face the Apple.

 

[Zenith.UK]

...and the chassis could be used to fight off a zombie attack.

 

[TdC]

*enrolls Will in the Comic Sans appreciation society*

 

[WPKenny]

Chromebook

 

[TdC]

pretty sweet, but too little CPU imo

 

[Killswitch]

Toshiba Portege 830-10Q?

Portégé R830-10Q - Product Specifications - Toshiba

Tosh make superb laptops...in fact I'd have one for work if my boss wasn't a tightass who'd only stretch to a POS Thinkpad SL300.

 

[old.user4556]

MacBook Pro - Buy MacBook Pro notebook computers - Apple Store (UK)

 

[Nate]

Asus EEE!

 

[TdC]

Toshiba Portege 830-10Q?

Portégé R830-10Q - Product Specifications - Toshiba

Tosh make superb laptops...in fact I'd have one for work if my boss wasn't a tightass who'd only stretch to a POS Thinkpad SL300.

MacBook Pro - Buy MacBook Pro notebook computers - Apple Store (UK)

yeah, it's prolly going the route of the MBP, or a Vaio S that will be released in June. We shall see.

that Tosh is nice, but I have my heart set on a screen rez > 1366x768 sadly

 

[Killswitch]

yeah, it's prolly going the route of the MBP, or a Vaio S that will be released in June. We shall see.

that Tosh is nice, but I have my heart set on a screen rez > 1366x768 sadly

Yeah, I noticed that might be a kicker with the Tosh but it's such a sexy little thing I thought I'd throw it in anyway.

 

[TdC]

and rightly so! I'm just uber picky heh

 

[Bodhi]

Samsung make some nice notebooks, mine's 3 years old and still going strong, despite my attempts to fit half a bacon roll under the keys.

 

[old.user4556]

Teeds, what about this:

XPS 15z Laptop Details | Dell

Dell's answer to the Macbook Pro. I'm looking into a new lappy at the mo too, but torn between this Dell, the Macbook Pro and a Sony Vaio. I went into PC World and the Macbook Pro (as Will said) has fantastic build quality that makes everything else look like Fisher Price shite. This Dell could be good though and a good £500 cheaper and it's full HD which the Macbook Pro isn't.

 

[TdC]

yeah G, you are the second person to recommend this one to me today. With the top CPU, 8GB, 1080 screen and all the gubbins it slots in at about 1700 euros (or 8000 pounds)

not bad at all. the similarly kitted out MBP is a thousand euros more expensive making the choice stupidly easy for the money conscious.

 

[old.user4556]

... but then my inner Bodhi is telling me Sony would be a better bet as for £1100 ish in the UK (£500 cheaper than the MBP) you can get a generally better spec and 1920x1080 on a 16.4" screen and a free Blu-ray drive and it's a Sony (sexeh).

Based spec of that Sony is:

Intel CoreTM i7-740QM, 1.73GHz Quad core (1.73 - 2.93 GHz) with 6 MB L2/L3 Cache
500 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
6 GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM 1 x 4096 MB + 1 x 2048 MB
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 425M graphics processing unit with dedicated Video Memory of 1 GB

 

[TdC]

aye, but...

I was waiting with baited breath (and rampant co><) for the Sony S series new models...but the screen is gunk /and/ once again the 1366x768 non-upgradable option.

I don't want such a big lappy, even though it is awesome, because I have to schlepp it about on trains and in general travel. I would get the 15.x" dell or apple because they have the high rez screens on option, but otherwise it's going to be a 14" Lenovo with the 1600x900 screen.

Still, I mean with the 900 screen height, it is only 132 pixels higher than the 1366x768. Will I notice that? Should I just man up and go for a 15.6" anyway? 1920x1080 goodness? I mean, 1080 is only 312 pixels higher than the minimum option. Sure, the high rez has 1024512 more pixels than the lower rez...but is it bigger where it counts?


boo

 

[old.user4556]

It's not just the extra res, but the pixel pitch. My folks just picked up a Vaio with a 1080p screen and the pixel pitch is so small that text looks absolutely glorious; it's very much like an iPhone 4's retina display.

 

[TdC]

hmm, that is tempting though. which one do they have?

 

[Ch3tan]

dell = shit build quality, pay the extra for the mac or go lenovo you tart.