Hi guys. I could really use some input here. I'd like a laptop that - Can run some larger/demanding programs - 15" screen size or more - Can run royals without too much hassle - Boots and runs quickly - Has a long battery life (8 hours whilst running films and Office) - (Preferable) has already been assembled and can be used when I receive it - Doesn't weigh a lot - (Preferable) Looks nice - (Preferable) Has a cow background upon first boot. Budget : 750 GBP/1100 USD. But I'm willing to consider pricier options. Also, is windows 10 okay? I'm happy with 7 and XP. I wasn't a big fan of Vista and 8. Thanks in advance! For battery life I would like something that will last around 8 hours without charging. I'd like to watch a film or two and write some stuff when on a long-distance flight.
I'd be happy with paying upto 750 GBP (around 1100 USD?). My programs don't really take up too much space, but I would like the freedom to download video editing/music creating software and use it without worrying whether or not my computer runs fast enough. One of my trading platforms has been suffering from unresponsiveness on occasions making things difficult. (Although I'm not sure whether that's because of my computer or the program.)
Mac. Macs are the best with large programs and will only have minimal struggle when attempting to load a large programs such as Microsoft Word.
That last comment was intended to be a complete joke haha. I do love mac but it does crap all in regards to running games and large programs. Although my mac is able to run Royals with no problem at all (I never find it overheating or becoming slow).
Honestly though macs wouldn't be bad, but unless he wants an older/refurbished computer it's probably out of the price range. Macs are good, but sooooooooo much money. And you can't game as easily. xD I usually look at Lenovo or Asus first when looking for computers. They make high quality laptops and you can usually find some good discounts as well. One computer I've been pining for is HP's Star Wars Special Edition Notebook. It has a large HD display and should be able to run what you want. With boot time you'll just want to make sure you keep your computer clean, the more you put on it and the less you take care of it the longer the boot time will be. It doesn't have any SSD, which helps boot time, but that does cost extra. It has good battery life, but it is a bit on the heavier side (5 lbs/2.26 kgs). But the more processing power you get the heavier the laptop will be. The best part of this laptop, and why I want it so much, is that it looks AMAZING! As long as you like Star Wars. The GPU could be better but if you're not going to use it for heavy gaming you'll be fine.
You mentioned video/music editing software. If this is the main purpose of the computer then certainly as much parallel cpu power as possible is required. For serious video editing, an ssd scratch disk is mandatory, usually 256-500gb minimum, and I'm not sure about RAM requirements as they vary depending on what you're doing/programs being used. You don't have the budget for this however. If you mean casual usage then any standard notebook will be more than sufficient. Screen size or screen resolution? Screen size is important if you have vision problems, screen resolution is important if you want to have a reasonable workspace area. Of course, windows' crappy dpi scaling tries to work against higher resolution screens, but it can be disabled (maybe they made it less shitty in win 8/10/whatever). Here are the typical laptop resolutions available: http://i.imgur.com/9vmIIHJ.png, choose a minimum. All laptops will connect to at least one external screen, although you may need to buy an adapter (cheap on ebay) depending on your monitor and laptop's display connector type. Properly designed laptops will not overheat unless: - You don't clean out the dust like you're supposed to every 3/6/12 months depending on dustiness of environment - It has a "high end" mobile gpu at high load There are "cooling pads" available with limited ability to reduce temperatures, but if you're overheating it's a symptom of another issue. An ssd and meticulous attention to what you install will achieve this. Additionally, lack of an antivirus suite contributes greatly, assuming you know how to use the internet properly. How long is long? Most non-gaming branded laptops have at least 3-4 hours, even cheaper ones and 13-15 inch ones don't weigh that much. Ultraportables exist and tend to weigh less and have a longer battery life, but they are also usually more expensive. Really, choosing a good value laptop is a bit of a crapshot, the alternative is to pay quite a bit more for a more "premium" one which isn't necessarily any better than if you lucked out with a cheaper one. If you want people to suggest laptops to buy it would be good to include either a location or list of retailers, as what to buy specifically is completely dependent on their pricing.
Thanks @Doritos . I should have been a bit more specific. For battery life I would like something that will last around 8 hours without charging. I'd like to watch a film or two and write some stuff when on a long-distance flight. I'm currently using a 15" screen with 1366x768 resolution screen. I think I would benefit from both a larger screen and a better screen resolution. My budget is flexible. I would like to buy something under 1100 USD but if there's a laptop that is much better, and will last me more than 3-4 years then I would definitely consider it even if the price is much higher. I had my current laptop cleaned around 11 months ago. I'll make a note to clean out the dust more frequently. Didn't know the overheating was caused because of it :x Sounds like I should be look at getting an ultraportable laptop with a screen I can plug it into. Location : UK, amazon/pcworld/currys/tesco for retailers? If anyone has better sites for getting laptops please do tell ^^
I've heard good things about Dell's inspiron and latitude laptops. http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd?ref=PD_OC
Although a little out of your price range, this'll work purely for examples sake -- here with a review. Most 15'' have very similar specs, be on the look out for SSDs (probably the most notable upgrade you can get for boot times and running programs.) Laptop GPUs for the most part are always pretty awful, just do a bit of reading on benchmarks if you see a laptop you like, for what you've specified however, nothing modern will struggle. I'd like to say steer clear of any big name brands like Samsung, Dell etc unless they're very specific builds, they tend to come with a lot of bloatware which unless you know what you're doing can be a pain to get rid of completely, they also tend to come with very strange and under performing specs. As @Rob said above, Lenovo are typically very good from what I've heard. ASUS can be a bit hit and miss, usually with just the ones in the higher price ranges being any good. Nothing these days should have any problems running either Royals or HQ videos, most £750+ laptops these days come with at least 8gb+ ram and a decent CPU chip so, if the 'more demanding' programs that you're referring to are rendering programs (Photoshop etc) then they'll handle larger works fine, anything that isn't of that scale will not struggle at all. Battery life will always be an issue, aftermarket stuff can solve that, just Google around. For heating issues, don't block the vents, buy a fan table (just like a tray, you sit your laptop on top, it has a USB fan that connects that vents air out underneath, can be found everywhere for like £20.) Win 8.1 is really nice once you get used to it and tweak it a little, 7 is still really good too. I wouldn't say W10 is the best on a laptop, a lot of the features are more desktop specific, but if you choose to go that route it'll run smoothly. Probably better than the previous iterations of Windows. Keep in mind, however, longevity isn't a large selling point of laptops. They become outdated very quickly, just like most electronic devices, so long as you aren't planning on playing new AAA games on Ultra graphics @ max res in two years time, you'll be fine. Good luck!
I'm struggling to find anything I'd recommend myself, haven't really been that involved in the laptop market for a quite a while. I hope I helped you discern what features you'd like though, sorry that I can't be of much more help.
You'll be hard pressed to find one at that budget. My laptop fits all of the criteria barely and ran me around $1700. The problem is the thinner laptops usually have really shitty specs, so you'll probably have to settle for a large laptop if you want it to fit all of your other criteria. My friend uses this laptop which is pretty good overall but it's large as hell (over an inch thick) and the battery drains super fast when doing GPU intensive activities, but the specs are almost there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152944 It also runs over your budget. For reference, this is my laptop http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152567
I have the newly released QHD+ Zenbook. Gorgeous display, nice keyboard, weighs 2 pounds, lasts me all day at school (10+ hours with the brightness down), runs maple perfectly fine. No issues running PS/Solidworks/etc. Great value and suits my needs. Got it for 700 USD out the door with student discount. The Dell XPS is one of the best-valued laptops currently on the market; I think the 15" is out of your budget though. I would only touch a crapbook if my company bought me one.
Woot runs daily deals on laptops. It'll save you a bit of cash compared to bestbuy and most stores. http://computers.woot.com/?ref=dl_gh_cp_4 As far as recommendations, I don't have much experience with laptops. I currently have a Lenovo Helix and a Lenovo Yoga 2. While they are a bit on the smaller side 11 inches/13 inches respectively, they both run for about 10 hours on 1 charge, can handle Royals, and boot under 10 seconds. In the past i've used a Lenovo T60 and T61 (now obsolete, but screen size was 14.6", and could handle Royals +VMs + streaming and were solid)... They have removable batteries and are now being sold on ebay for like $20. Buy 1, slap and SSD in it, and grab multiple batteries for like $40 each, and it works well. Not to metion the fact they're legit the nokia of laptops. I've dropped and never needed to have them repaired multiple times. I did upgrade one to 4gb ram, and put an SSD in it. It's boot time now is about 12 seconds. If you really want a challenge: I've got a RasPi 2 running Ubuntu. Bet if you put an external powerbank to it it'll run for days (not strong enough to play royals though to my knowledge).
I'm using a ACER ASPIRE E5-771G-700B. I can play World of Warcraft on perfect graphics without lagging a single bit. Same goes for League of Legends. Never lagged. Great laptop for your price range. Actually it is £540
Asus has the lowest failure rate for its computers, Lenovo and HP are on the higher side for failures. Keep that in mind when shopping. My friend had a lenovo and after 1-2 years the laptop cracked because its casing was made out of plastic. 10 years ago Lenovo made beast thinkpads that would last so many years and drops, but now they've become more of an HP. I've had many issues with HP ranging from difficult to service parts, and devices failing to its software bricking my windows installation (thank goodness for system restore). I've never had anything super expensive from HP, but if it's not expensive, I'd urge you to stay away from it. www.userbenchmark.com is a benchmark website for many computer parts and it gives real world benchmark results. (If you're familiar with passmarks benchmarks, these seem to be more specific benchmarks for calculations, and might not compare overall performance as much) You can use this website to compare the parts of laptops you're interested in to see which laptop gives the most bang for the buck!
I've never had that good of an experience with a windows laptop. The surface book is a start but doesn't seem like its all the way there yet ( i'd prefer a laptop over a 2 in 1, has issues as a result of it being a 2in1). The best laptops are probably still all of apples stuff which you can dualboot or use a vm to run royals. Playing more demanding games is shitty on all laptops besides some of the gaming branded ones that are so large the might aswell be a desktop. Apple kills even the higher end windows based laptops in build quality. I don't use apple's products most because I don't use a laptop often but they're killing the game right now. Go with an apple product or wait and see on the surface book2 imo.
