• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Dual hard drive 15"+ laptop for $1000

XLNC

XLNC

Senior member
My friend's old gateway laptop is need of an upgrade. HD is too small, battery dies after 30 mins, and it crawls even after a fresh reload. I know next to nothing about laptops, so I'm hoping for some suggestions.

Ideally, I'm looking to configure the following:
- Good screen size/resolution like 15-17" for productivity and watching movies. She's used to 16:10 aspect ratio so 1366x1768 is likely to make her cringe.
- Dual hard drive bays for SSD + HDD for snapiness and extra storage.
- Unfortunately, looks matter. She finds Thinkpads to be ugly and Apple/HPs to be nice.
- She uses several Windows only software for her job, so no Apple or Linux.
- Budget is ~$1000 (not incl. SSD).

Am I dreaming or is this possible? In my limited research, I haven't found anything with all of the above cheaper than $1400. Also, is it worth holding off for a few months to check out Black Friday/Christmas deals? Thanks for any suggestions.
 
you should look into an optical drive caddy which replaces the DVD drive with a 2.5" disk, which then you can have dual disks on some common model laptops
 
I suppose that is a possibility. She's not tech savvy, so I'm afraid she'll leave the second HD out if given the chance and load up her SSD to the gills with photos. I was going to redirect her media folders to the HDD but that won't be possible with a removable bay option.

I'm guessing when all is said and done, I'll have to compromise quite a bit. Any thoughts on screen size and resolution?
 
Protip: you will not find a 16:10 monitor on a laptop anymore.

I picked up a refurb Asus G73JH for $949 then threw an SSD in the 2nd drive bay. Have been happy so far. But it is hard to find anymore.
 
mnewsham said:
Protip: you will not find a 16:10 monitor on a laptop anymore.

I picked up a refurb Asus G73JH for $949 then threw an SSD in the 2nd drive bay. Have been happy so far. But it is hard to find anymore.
Click to expand...

Pro Tip: every Apple laptop (which yes, I know he said was a no go) save the 11" Air has 16*10 ratio. Just sayin'

I think that there are still some business machines that use 16:10.

OP, the optical drive caddy isn't a removable thing. You would pull the optical drive permanently and replace it with a hard drive. There are systems that have removeable optical drives that can be swapped with extra batteries or hard drives but this isn't that.
 
TheStu said:
Pro Tip: every Apple laptop (which yes, I know he said was a no go) save the 11" Air has 16*10 ratio. Just sayin'

I think that there are still some business machines that use 16:10.

OP, the optical drive caddy isn't a removable thing. You would pull the optical drive permanently and replace it with a hard drive. There are systems that have removeable optical drives that can be swapped with extra batteries or hard drives but this isn't that.
Click to expand...

Only place i have found 16:10 1920x1200 (sans apple) is in the HP elitebook but only in the $3k version. You can get 16:10 1680x1050 for $2,500 though both of these however are not sandy bridge.
 
If you can get past the straight-laced styling... with the Lenovo Thinkpad W520 you can replace the optical with an Ultrabay adapter and put in a second hard drive. This unit also has a mSATA slot for micro SSD. This means you can do SSD + 2 hard drives if you want.
 
TheStu said:
Pro Tip: every Apple laptop (which yes, I know he said was a no go) save the 11" Air has 16*10 ratio. Just sayin'

I think that there are still some business machines that use 16:10.

OP, the optical drive caddy isn't a removable thing. You would pull the optical drive permanently and replace it with a hard drive. There are systems that have removeable optical drives that can be swapped with extra batteries or hard drives but this isn't that.
Click to expand...

One of the main reasons why I got my 15" MBP 🙂

1680x1050 matte screen. Awesome.
 
mnewsham said:
Only place i have found 16:10 1920x1200 (sans apple) is in the HP elitebook but only in the $3k version. You can get 16:10 1680x1050 for $2,500 though both of these however are not sandy bridge.
Click to expand...

HOnestly, I think that the larger problem is how hard it is to find resolution higher than 1366*768, even once you cross the $1-1.5K threshold.
 
TheStu said:
HOnestly, I think that the larger problem is how hard it is to find resolution higher than 1366*768, even once you cross the $1-1.5K threshold.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I'm finding. It doesn't have to have 16:10, just something more than 1366x768. Man, the Thinkpads look like terrific laptops but there's no way she'd go for it.

As for the optical drive replacement, I suppose she can go without a DVD drive for long stretches of time. I'm just wondering what would happen if she took out the second HDD which I'm planning to redirect her media folders to.
 
XLNC said:
Yeah, that's what I'm finding. It doesn't have to have 16:10, just something more than 1366x768. Man, the Thinkpads look like terrific laptops but there's no way she'd go for it.

As for the optical drive replacement, I suppose she can go without a DVD drive for long stretches of time. I'm just wondering what would happen if she took out the second HDD which I'm planning to redirect her media folders to.
Click to expand...

IF she removed the 2nd hard drive then those redirects would go nowhere, and she wouldn't be able to access her media.

However, since this is a PERMENANT solution, that probably won't happen. What we are talking about is physically opening the laptop (with screwdrivers and everything), and removing the optical drive. You then place a cage with the hard drive in its place. Then you close the laptop back up. Until such time as you take apart the laptop again, and reverse the swap, that drive isn't going anywhere.

Swappable bays are usually found on business machines, this is for a consumer system.
 
TheStu said:
However, since this is a PERMENANT solution, that probably won't happen. What we are talking about is physically opening the laptop (with screwdrivers and everything), and removing the optical drive. You then place a cage with the hard drive in its place. Then you close the laptop back up. Until such time as you take apart the laptop again, and reverse the swap, that drive isn't going anywhere.

Swappable bays are usually found on business machines, this is for a consumer system.
Click to expand...

Haha, I finally understand what you mean, only took me three tries. She's a teacher and installs teaching software frequently from CDs, I don't think she can ditch optical permanently. Sigh, I guess the search continues.

I'm used to all the nice business laptops at work. I had no idea that consumer laptops were this lame. I may sound like an elitist, but I thought these features would be common in 2011.
 
XLNC said:
Haha, I finally understand what you mean, only took me three tries. She's a teacher and installs teaching software frequently from CDs, I don't think she can ditch optical permanently. Sigh, I guess the search continues.

I'm used to all the nice business laptops at work. I had no idea that consumer laptops were this lame. I may sound like an elitist, but I thought these features would be common in 2011.
Click to expand...

External USB CD/DVD drive? About 30-40 bucks i think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top