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Buying 14" with dedicated graphics - Wait for SB?

BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Lifer
I'm in the market for a 14" ultraportable laptop with a mid to high end dedicated graphics card. I've had my eye on the Acer TimelineX or equivalent Asus laptops and are wanting to spend around $800.

Given that the SB laptops are scheduled to be released in a few months, is it recommended to wait?
 
IMO SB is somewhat worth the wait. More so with desktops for overclocking the "K" series, but for notebooks it is the IGP that is 2x better than the older Core i3/i5 IGP, which was 2x better than the Core 2 IGP. In your case unless you want Nvidia Optimus tech, you will probably do okay even with an older Core i3/i5/i7 CPU. Good luck on "ultraportable" with a "high end dedicated graphics card." Closest you'll likely find is lower-mid range graphics. Keep an eye on Alienware stuff, lots of clearances right now probably to make room for SB. Other popular choices for a somewhat ultraportable are the HP Envy 14 and one of those TimelineX models that had discrete graphics.
 
Zap said:
IMO SB is somewhat worth the wait. More so with desktops for overclocking the "K" series, but for notebooks it is the IGP that is 2x better than the older Core i3/i5 IGP, which was 2x better than the Core 2 IGP. In your case unless you want Nvidia Optimus tech, you will probably do okay even with an older Core i3/i5/i7 CPU. Good luck on "ultraportable" with a "high end dedicated graphics card." Closest you'll likely find is lower-mid range graphics. Keep an eye on Alienware stuff, lots of clearances right now probably to make room for SB. Other popular choices for a somewhat ultraportable are the HP Envy 14 and one of those TimelineX models that had discrete graphics.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. High-end graphics was really the wrong word to use. Mid-range dedicated graphics is fine for my needs and 95% I'll be running off the Intel graphics.

Other than the pure CPU speed, what else would make SB more appealing in laptops compared to i3 or i5? Less heat? Better battery life? etc?
 
Not really worth it unless you're going to be using it for some heavy computing. If you're just browsing the web, etc you won't notice a difference. If you're in no hurry to get a lappy, then it might be better to wait. After SB is re-released, you should be able to find the current gen CPUs for a lower price. If you need it now, the only thing that's going to bother you about not having Sandy Bridge is knowing that it's 10-15% faster than your current computer.

Sandy Bridge CPUs are anywhere from 10-15% faster than the older models at pretty much the same price point (this might not be true if they don't have a good enough supply of them when they re-release them). They also run cooler and allow for more overclocking because they use a 32nm architecture instead of 45nm that the old CPUs used.
 
SB is becoming a bit of a bandwagon, in any case there is merit to it, so if you can wait it's not a bad idea. Sometimes wait times increase from what is expected, so if you aren't in that much of a hurry I would say wait.
 
After finally finding a nice coupon last week, I just got a refurb Dell E6410 from their Business Outlet site for $818 plus tax:

i7-620M
2GB (One Dimm)
512MB Nvida NVS3100
128GB SSD
14" 1400x900 screen (Don't think I can ever go back to a 1280x768 screen again)
Win 7 Pro 32 bit
9 Cell battery
VPRO
Bluetooth
DVDRW

I upgraded the OS to Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and upgraded the memory to 8GB....

This this looks brand spanking new... only way you can tell it was a refurb was because of the sticker at the bottom...I think I will be pretty happy with this guy...
 
ioni said:
Seriously. Why are all laptop resolutions so small now? 1400x900 is the minimum I can stand and it used to be everywhere! 1440x900 did anyway.
Click to expand...
My guess? Cheap, cheap, cheap. Or maybe a shortage of the better panels from the vendors?
 
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