Hi folks,
So it's time for me to get a laptop, since my current job's contract is about to expire, and I have to return my company machine.
I work with video encoding for a living, and am something of a videophile.
I need a laptop that meets the following criteria:
1) At least 15"
2) A BluRay drive
3) At least a Core i5 CPU, but an i7 would be my dream
4) At least 4GB of RAM, and 250GB of 7200rpm storage (no SSD needed)
5) A discrete GPU.
I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do play WoW, so something capable of maxing this horribly addictive madness would be the sweet spot for me. I would sort of lean towards nVidia, since there are several CUDA applications I use frequently. Not essential, but some kind of discrete GPU definitely is! Another point goes to nVidia for their good Linux support, which can't be said for AMD/ATI!
Having BluRay isn't an absolute necessity, but I would really like to have it. A strong CPU, on the other hand, is quite important to me.
My encoding software (x264) can easily max out any number of CPU cores, so I'm thinking the i7 720 would be my best price
erformance ratio.
Some other nice trimmings, like HDMI / eSATA etc are nice to have as well. Most laptops seem to have at least HDMI, and eSATA is becoming quite prevalent. WiFi and gigabit ethernet go without saying! Bluetooth is nice, but not necessary.
I've looked at several, including the Dell Studio 15, the Studio XPS 16, and the HP DV8T. I also checked out the Toshiba A505-S6033, and a Lenovo Y550P.
Most of these are missing a BluRay drive BTO option, strangely enough.
So, in conclusion - what do you guys think I should do? I want to keep the budget under $1200 if at all possible. I'll probably finance it, depending on costs.
If anything, I'm leaning toward the HP DV8T, since it has a giant 18" 1080p LCD, and i7 720and starts at $1199 with 4GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD, and a 320M GPU. I'm also thinking about the DV6T quad, which comes with the same gear but a 16" 720p display, starting at $1065
Oh, and I'll be running Windows 7 x64 and Ubuntu Linux for
Thoughts? I'm sure I'm not the only guy who wants a machine like this.
So it's time for me to get a laptop, since my current job's contract is about to expire, and I have to return my company machine.
I work with video encoding for a living, and am something of a videophile.
I need a laptop that meets the following criteria:
1) At least 15"
2) A BluRay drive
3) At least a Core i5 CPU, but an i7 would be my dream
4) At least 4GB of RAM, and 250GB of 7200rpm storage (no SSD needed)
5) A discrete GPU.
I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do play WoW, so something capable of maxing this horribly addictive madness would be the sweet spot for me. I would sort of lean towards nVidia, since there are several CUDA applications I use frequently. Not essential, but some kind of discrete GPU definitely is! Another point goes to nVidia for their good Linux support, which can't be said for AMD/ATI!
Having BluRay isn't an absolute necessity, but I would really like to have it. A strong CPU, on the other hand, is quite important to me.
My encoding software (x264) can easily max out any number of CPU cores, so I'm thinking the i7 720 would be my best price
erformance ratio. Some other nice trimmings, like HDMI / eSATA etc are nice to have as well. Most laptops seem to have at least HDMI, and eSATA is becoming quite prevalent. WiFi and gigabit ethernet go without saying! Bluetooth is nice, but not necessary.
I've looked at several, including the Dell Studio 15, the Studio XPS 16, and the HP DV8T. I also checked out the Toshiba A505-S6033, and a Lenovo Y550P.
Most of these are missing a BluRay drive BTO option, strangely enough.
So, in conclusion - what do you guys think I should do? I want to keep the budget under $1200 if at all possible. I'll probably finance it, depending on costs.
If anything, I'm leaning toward the HP DV8T, since it has a giant 18" 1080p LCD, and i7 720and starts at $1199 with 4GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD, and a 320M GPU. I'm also thinking about the DV6T quad, which comes with the same gear but a 16" 720p display, starting at $1065
Oh, and I'll be running Windows 7 x64 and Ubuntu Linux for
Thoughts? I'm sure I'm not the only guy who wants a machine like this.
Last edited:
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