4 lb laptop?

[ehume]

My daughter's laptop is physically wearing out. It is a 13.3-inch Dell XPS 1330, weighing about 4 lbs (1.8 kg). This is about what I want her to carry: she has had shoulder surgery so a heavier laptop is out.

She plays a lot of games. She found an Alienware 14-inch that has an i7 36-something in at, along with a 1 TB hybrid Hd that comes with a 64GB SSD. The video card is an Nvidia 650 with 2GB DDR5. It is exactly what she wanted, but at 6.5 lbs minimum it is too heavy.

The only 13-inch Dells I'm seeing are UltraBooks. No go there.

I'm seeing a Toshiba Portege Z935-P300 with a 13.3-inch screen but Intel integrated graphics and an SSD. I don't see that a HD is available (she wants 1TB minimum), or a graphics card. Doubtful.

Any suggestions?

[pelov]

Originally Posted by ehume

She plays a lot of games.

What types? If they're not graphically intensive then a new Ivy or Trinity laptop with only on-die graphics could be fine. Generally speaking, you're just not going to find a very light laptop with a very good discrete GPU. The one notable exception would be a Sony Vaio S 13.3 with Kepler graphics, but even there you're getting the LE model.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/note...-Vaio-S-13.htm
http://store.sony.com/laptop/SVS13A1...52921666449295

Sony offers student discounts.

Originally Posted by ehume

I'm seeing a Toshiba Portege Z935-P300 with a 13.3-inch screen but Intel integrated graphics and an SSD. I don't see that a HD is available (she wants 1TB minimum), or a graphics card. Doubtful.

You're unlikely to find 1TB drives in a 4lb package mainly because those lighter/smaller laptops tend to use 7mm drive height which limits the drive capacity. 1TB drives are available in 7mm but they're 5400RPM (read: slow).

[ehume]

Thank you. I'm beginning to see that she will need a laptop that will allow either a HD in place of a DVD -- which can be done externally -- or a hybrid. The 5400 rpm is OK as long as it comes with an SSD.

Junior graphics would be OK, I think. They just need to be a couple of levels up from the integrated Intel graphics.

[pelov]

Originally Posted by ehume

Junior graphics would be OK, I think. They just need to be a couple of levels up from the integrated Intel graphics.

But what kind of gaming is she playing? The HD4000 can run WoW, Skyrim, Diablo 3 at native res with playable frame rates. The AMD/Intel graphics have already hit the mid range discrete level in mobile.

You can also opt with an aftermarket mSATA SSD and/or replace the ODD caddy with a 1TB HDD.

[EliteRetard]

Asus UX32VD GT620m ~3.2lbs 13.3" ~$1300
Clevo W110ER GT650m ~4lbs 11" ~$1200
HP Envy 4t-1100 7670m ~4lbs 14" ~$1000
Dell Inspiron 14z 7570m ~4lbs 14" ~$900
Asus U47VC GT620m ~4.2lbs 14" ~$825
Asus U36SG GT520m ~3.6lbs 13.3" ~$650

Those are the ones I found...but like pelove mentioned, you may be better served with a good IGP system. You'll get more bang for your buck and may have more room to add extra HDDs and such.

Not sure the GT520/620m or 7570m are all that much faster than a good IGP either.

[pelov]

All of the ones you listed are matched either by Intel's HD4000 integrated graphics or by AMD's 7660G. AMD's 7660G performs just a bit behind the 7670m which is the best performing cards of the ones listed.

Integrated graphics aren't as horrible as they once were. Both chip manufacturers have come a long way

[ehume]

Hmm. Much to think about. Especially thank you EliteRetard for finding that list.

What is Clevo? I'll Google them, but I've never heard of them before.

[Talaii]

Originally Posted by ehume

Hmm. Much to think about. Especially thank you EliteRetard for finding that list.

What is Clevo? I'll Google them, but I've never heard of them before.

They are an ODM (original device manufacturer). They make (mostly) gaming laptops that are resold by a bunch of different companies (Sager, Eurocom, etc). Anandtech reviewed that exact model here.

[kleinkinstein]

Why would anyone even opt to carry a 4lb brick. Peek into the X220/X230. If too small, the T430 is a real sweetspot. The Lenovo T series simply doesn't, wear out. And they are about $100-$150 via the B&N Gold site. With killer refurb deals on ebay too. And why on earth does she need 1TB?

[ehume]

Originally Posted by kleinkinstein

Why would anyone even opt to carry a 4lb brick. Peek into the X220/X230. If too small, the T430 is a real sweetspot. The Lenovo T series simply doesn't, wear out. And they are about $100-$150 via the B&N Gold site. With killer refurb deals on ebay too. And why on earth does she need 1TB?

Why? Because her 500GB HD got full, and I put on a 750BG for her. She stores lots of stuff on it. At 23, she uses it to play games, write school papers, communicate with various of us, Skype, etc. And she doesn't have a desktop to fall back on. I could easily build her one of those. But no room.

Kids her age use the machines differently from us. And the kids younger than she is use them differently still. It's a fascinating evolution to watch.

Thanks for the Lenovo links.

[ehume]

From my daughter:

"The Mass Effect Trilogy, The Sims games, the Dragon Age games, looking into the game Dishonored, the Tomb Raider coming out March 2013, and a bunch of old game. The main issue is having enough room for everything I want on my computer and also being able to play all my games without lag. Right now they're on medium quality graphics settings and I still get a fair bit of lag. Dragon Age: Origins runs smoothly at highest quality graphics on Mom's desktop, but it lags at medium quality on my laptop."

[EliteRetard]

Just ran into this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/what...ompendium.html

Might be useful...

I think the consensus is that anything less than a 7670m or GT650m won't be a significant enough upgrade over a good IGP like an AMD-A10. In certain cases the GT640m can be considered, if its a kepler card not fermi (there's two versions). The kepler GT640m is basically an underclocked GT650m and certain laptops (like the Sony Vaio) can run them at much higher speed.

[ehume]

Originally Posted by EliteRetard

Just ran into this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/what...ompendium.html

Might be useful...

I think the consensus is that anything less than a 7670m or GT650m won't be a significant enough upgrade over a good IGP like an AMD-A10. In certain cases the GT640m can be considered, if its a kepler card not fermi (there's two versions). The kepler GT640m is basically an underclocked GT650m and certain laptops (like the Sony Vaio) can run them at much higher speed.

That is a very good thread.

[ther00kie16]

There's also a Gigabyte ultrabook with a low voltage (slower) i7 & gt 650m. It most likely only has room for a SSD though.

[SithSolo1]

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6110-...er-p-4343.html

11.5" Glossy(can upgrade to a Matte), 2GB GT 650m (DDR3), i5 (upgrade-able to i7), starts ~$800, right at or slightly under 4lbs. Built on the Clevo W110ER platform mentioned earlier. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xweHTPCyk9M

Get an internal 256GB SSD for programs/games and then buy her a small, light-weight external HDD for her media files. Something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178245

[infoiltrator]

A gamer wants as large a screen as possible, plus performance per dollar goes down with size. As does battery quality.
Special form factor batteries are more expensive and not as good as "old style" round cells.
Also a 13/14 inch laptop can sacrifice a DVD drive for an HDD bay.
I have a matt screen laptop and enjoy it, but it is not used outdoors in the sun.

Beyond that, do not know.

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming...95_51_147.html

[ehume]

Originally Posted by SithSolo1

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6110-...er-p-4343.html

11.5" Glossy(can upgrade to a Matte), 2GB GT 650m (DDR3), i5 (upgrade-able to i7), starts ~$800, right at or slightly under 4lbs. Built on the Clevo W110ER platform mentioned earlier. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xweHTPCyk9M

Get an internal 256GB SSD for programs/games and then buy her a small, light-weight external HDD for her media files. Something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178245

I've been pondering an external HD, since the new laptops have USB3 ports.

Originally Posted by infoiltrator

A gamer wants as large a screen as possible, plus performance per dollar goes down with size. As does battery quality.
Special form factor batteries are more expensive and not as good as "old style" round cells.
Also a 13/14 inch laptop can sacrifice a DVD drive for an HDD bay.
I have a matt screen laptop and enjoy it, but it is not used outdoors in the sun.

Beyond that, do not know.

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming...95_51_147.html

And we have been pondering pulling out the DVD drive to put a HD in there. But her experience with the XPS: a self-loading DVD drive that is integrated into the machine. Can't be removed. She has an external CD reader now.

[ther00kie16]

Originally Posted by SithSolo1

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6110-...er-p-4343.html

11.5" Glossy(can upgrade to a Matte), 2GB GT 650m (DDR3), i5 (upgrade-able to i7), starts ~$800, right at or slightly under 4lbs. Built on the Clevo W110ER platform mentioned earlier. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xweHTPCyk9M

Get an internal 256GB SSD for programs/games and then buy her a small, light-weight external HDD for her media files. Something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178245

11.5" for gaming is pitiful. DDR3 version of 650m is also barely better than 640m.
14" Gigabyte ultrabook. http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=4399#sp
i7, 650m available with mSATA SSD so SSD + hard drive possible.
Only 3.72lb with mSATA SSD + 2.5" HD.

http://www.excaliberpc.com/621666/gi...ultrabook.html
has it for $1239 but current backordered
http://www.dynamism.com/top-notebook.../pricing.shtml
also has it.

[SithSolo1]

Your Gigabyte ultrabook is rocking that "lowly" DDR3 650m as well.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/othe...2-line-58.html

Its also running a low clocked ULV dual-core i7 which should be even with the Sager's base i5 in most games.

So basiclly:

Gigabyte as configured : larger screen with higher resolution, space for additional HDD, probably better non-gaming battery life, slightly lighter $1239

Sager configured w/ i5, Win 8, 128GB SSD : possibly cramped screen, smaller overall size, external HDD needed for more space $969

I would personally take the sager with an i7 Quad and a 256GB SSD but I agree that screen isn't for everyone.