Anyone else not a fan of laptops?

[KeithTalent]

That's fucking awesome. Thanks guys!

KT

 

[Fritzo]

Yes, you may have to wait a minute for it to go to the auto configure 169.x.x.x IP because you wont have DHCP but yes, once that happens just try connecting via the IP to the other PC (It should auto set a 169.x IP as well)

Do this all the time when setting up new client PC's. Works great Lot better than the old days of needing a crossover cable and setting static IP's.

 

[blankslate]

I don't really want to carry another drive around. I need this to be a fully self-contained device, aside from a mouse.

KT

There are some laptops with dual HDD bays. I installed an SSD in one for a friend and moved his former primary HDD to the secondary bay. Now he has the benefit of increased system performance and a place to store his large media file collection without carrying an external HDD. Although those aren't really too inconvenient to carry around.

It was an older laptop but even with the SATA II 3gb throughput the start times are noticeably increased and the system responsiveness is much nicer than when the HDD was the primary boot drive.

Laptops with dual drives shouldn't be too uncommon but it will limit your choices if you decide that is a necessity.


....

 

[KeithTalent]

There are some laptops with dual HDD bays. I installed an SSD in one for a friend and moved his former primary HDD to the secondary bay. Now he has the benefit of increased system performance and a place to store his large media file collection without carrying an external HDD. Although those aren't really too inconvenient to carry around.

It was an older laptop but even with the SATA II 3gb throughput the start times are noticeably increased and the system responsiveness is much nicer than when the HDD was the primary boot drive.

Laptops with dual drives shouldn't be too uncommon but it will limit your choices if you decide that is a necessity.


....

Yeah, I actually did end up going with dual drives. I will have an SSD for a boot drive and maybe a game or two, then a 1TB 7200 RPM drive for holding all of my other shit. Seemed like the best option at the end of the day.

KT

 

[Aikouka]

Yeah, I actually did end up going with dual drives. I will have an SSD for a boot drive and maybe a game or two, then a 1TB 7200 RPM drive for holding all of my other shit. Seemed like the best option at the end of the day.

Yeah, that's the sort of setup that I'd recommend, but I'd probably just add the SSD myself. The larger OEMs like Dell tend to overcharge on upgrades, so if you can, you usually want to just do it yourself. The smaller outfits are usually far more reasonable. It also helps that there have been some ridiculous deals lately on SSDs and seeing them for $.33/GB isn't uncommon.

What did you end up going with?

 

[KeithTalent]

Yeah, that's the sort of setup that I'd recommend, but I'd probably just add the SSD myself. The larger OEMs like Dell tend to overcharge on upgrades, so if you can, you usually want to just do it yourself. The smaller outfits are usually far more reasonable. It also helps that there have been some ridiculous deals lately on SSDs and seeing them for $.33/GB isn't uncommon.

What did you end up going with?

Well, I'm a lazy piece of shit, so I ended up just going with an MSI: http://ca.msi.com/product/nb/GT72_2QE658US_Dominator_Pro.html#hero-specification

Intel 2.6 GHz Core i7-4720HQ
12 GB DDR3
1000 GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive, 128 GB Solid-State Drive
17-Inch Screen IPS panel @ 1920x1080
nVidia Geforce GTX 980M
Blu-ray Writer

It seems to fit all of my needs and the reviews were good, plus I could get it faster and cheaper than what I was configuring elsewhere.

Now to get everything onto it and to make sure I set up all of my games for offline play. Hopefully no issues with doing that.

KT


Edit: anyone have any game recommendations for this laptop? I was thinking of putting DA:I on it since it's a long game I can play whenever I am away. I'm sure I'll need to lower the settings, but that's ok.

 

[IGBT]

depends on your business. I use them to download fault / data loggers and run diagnostic tests and run fault isolation troubleshooting routines. They are ideally suited for serious field work.

 

[Aikouka]

Well, I'm a lazy piece of shit, so I ended up just going with an MSI: http://ca.msi.com/product/nb/GT72_2QE658US_Dominator_Pro.html#hero-specification

Looks like we've pretty much got the same thing! My only complaint that I would have about it right now is that it doesn't support G-Sync, but that wasn't even an option until COMPUTEX earlier this month.

The only part that was a pain for me was adding a second SSD (I like to have the OS on one and games and such on the other). Most laptops offer sections that can be easily removed to provide access to certain areas with upgrade potential. The GT72 just has one huge area that has a plastic cover with a ton of latches. To remove those latches, you have to put a bit of force on it, and since it's plastic, I was was worried that it'd break! :$

I don't know if you have or need a bag for the laptop, but I went with this one: http://www.amazon.com/Everki-Backpack-Console-18-Inch-EKP117NBKCT/

 

[blankslate]

It seems to fit all of my needs and the reviews were good, plus I could get it faster and cheaper than what I was configuring elsewhere.

Now to get everything onto it and to make sure I set up all of my games for offline play. Hopefully no issues with doing that.

KT

Nice system. Hope it meets all your expectations.

Make sure that they give you media for the OS and drivers. That way when SSD prices come down enough you can get a larger SSD for your new laptop without having to find drivers online. Games installations are getting larger and larger and that system looks like it can play today's games at reasonable settings.

I think you'll quickly find yourself starving for SSD space with more than a couple of games on it.


...

 

[KeithTalent]

Looks like we've pretty much got the same thing! My only complaint that I would have about it right now is that it doesn't support G-Sync, but that wasn't even an option until COMPUTEX earlier this month.

The only part that was a pain for me was adding a second SSD (I like to have the OS on one and games and such on the other). Most laptops offer sections that can be easily removed to provide access to certain areas with upgrade potential. The GT72 just has one huge area that has a plastic cover with a ton of latches. To remove those latches, you have to put a bit of force on it, and since it's plastic, I was was worried that it'd break! :$

I don't know if you have or need a bag for the laptop, but I went with this one: http://www.amazon.com/Everki-Backpack-Console-18-Inch-EKP117NBKCT/

Haha, yeah, I am going to avoid fiddling with it too much in the immediate future. I was hoping to get a shoulder bag for this, but maybe a backpack like that makes more sense.

Nice system. Hope it meets all your expectations.

Make sure that they give you media for the OS and drivers. That way when SSD prices come down enough you can get a larger SSD for your new laptop without having to find drivers online. Games installations are getting larger and larger and that system looks like it can play today's games at reasonable settings.

I think you'll quickly find yourself starving for SSD space with more than a couple of games on it.


...

Thanks! Yeah, it should be ok for now. Eventually I will probably install a new, large SSD in there, but for now this should do whatever I need it to.


Thanks for all of the help everyone! Sorry again for hijacking the thread.

KT

 

[Aikouka]

Make sure that they give you media for the OS and drivers.

I'm pretty sure it came with a on-drive restore capability, and that's it. I have OEM copies of Windows 8, so I just used my existing media on a flash drive to reinstall Windows 8.1 on my GT72. I think MSI used that type of Windows install where the restoration is baked in.

Microsoft has been rather lame in letting people download ISOs for Windows 8. I know you can do it by using a special download tool with a valid key, but I don't remember if OEM keys work with it. Long gone are the days when you could just go to Google and type in "Windows 7 ISO".

I was hoping to get a shoulder bag for this, but maybe a backpack like that makes more sense.

I decided to go with a backpack after the last time that I visited home. I end up going through a few airports, and I'll usually toss other things in my computer bag as it also serves as my carry-on. Well, during that aforementioned last time, I used a shoulder bag (messenger bag), and my shoulder was killing me the next day. That Everki bag is a bit big, which isn't surprising given it's for an 18" laptop, but it'll hold all that you need and probably more.

 

[KeithTalent]

I decided to go with a backpack after the last time that I visited home. I end up going through a few airports, and I'll usually toss other things in my computer bag as it also serves as my carry-on. Well, during that aforementioned last time, I used a shoulder bag (messenger bag), and my shoulder was killing me the next day. That Everki bag is a bit big, which isn't surprising given it's for an 18" laptop, but it'll hold all that you need and probably more.

Yeah, I am starting to lean toward a backpack now. Was thinking I should probably grab a mouse, cheap headset, and mousepad so I can play games wherever, but then that's a lot of crap I will be packing around!

KT

 

[pcslookout]

Oh ok, so just a regular ethernet cable? I can just unplug my PC from the internet and plug it into my laptop?

KT

I been wondering the same thing!

Thanks!

 

[Gunbuster]

I been wondering the same thing!





Thanks!

Yes. Auto crossover is part of the gigabit Ethernet standard.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yes. Auto crossover is part of the gigabit Ethernet standard.

Well, that's cool, but it totally did not work for me. :\ Nothing shows up when I connect the two computers via an ethernet cable. Not sure how to fix it.

KT

 

[Arcadio]

Use a network cable. It will auto crossover. Share a folder and away you go at gig-e speed.

Wow.. I learned something new today. I didn't know you could do that without a special crossover cable.

 

[Raduque]

I haven't had a functioning desktop in almost 3 years now. I have two towers (WHS w/ 4 internal and 3 external drives, 6 fans and a 550w PSU...it lives in a closet, second is a dying HTPC to watch content from said server) in active use, and my "gaming desktop" is shoved in a closet somewhere. It's crappy hardware anyway, an E8400 Wolfdale, 6gb DDR2, a GTX 460GC.

My current laptop, a Lenovo Y50 blows it away: Haswell i7-4500HQ, 16gb DDR3, GTX 860m and a 1080p 15".

I also regularly use a Surface Pro 2 as my tablet and occasionally an iPad 3 Mini.

I pretty much have zero use for a desktop anymore - they're hot, loud and use too much energy.

Wow.. I learned something new today. I didn't know you could do that without a special crossover cable.

It's been that way for a while.