I just bought an expensive laptop - was it a $2500 mistake?

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation
Hard drive: 7200rpm

If you really nut up when things slow down, perhaps consider an Intel 160GB SSD? It isn't much on capacity as 160GB is the biggest right now, but it should be faster than the HDD and out of all SSDs is least affected by misc problems.

HP does not offer SSD. Who does? No one. No manufacturer does, except on an occasional netbook. Building a laptop is not an option.

Remove their hard drive. Buy an SSD. Put said SSD into your hard drive.

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by: Hacp

Remove their hard drive. Buy an SSD. Put said SSD into your hard drive.

Yeah but at what cost? Isn't the minumum cost of an SSD for a laptop something like 600 bucks?

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
Sounds to me like a great laptop, who makes it / what is the model, and how big is the hard drive? My brother jsut spent aroudn the same for a macbook pro, and yours is faster! I wouldn't kick yourself, sounds like it will be great!

I don't think the MacBook Pro has an HDMI output. I'm not intimating that a PC is better than a Mac, not at all. I have no opinion of Macs other than that I've never owned one and yes, someday I just might buy one - but not right now.The HP laptop this thread is centered on has an HDMI output. Can't remember the exact size of the hard drive. I got the smallest size available. I don't worry about hard drive space 'cause I back up my data about 40 or 50 times a month. Here are the machines specs:

OS: Vista 64 bit
Hard drive: 7200rpm
Memory: 8 gigs of RAM
GPU: 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M
Processor: Intel® Core?2 Quad Processor Q9000 (2.00Ghz)
The Rig Itself: http://www.shopping.hp.com/ser...eries/3/computer_store

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

Remove their hard drive. Buy an SSD. Put said SSD into your hard drive.

Yeah but at what cost? Isn't the minumum cost of an SSD for a laptop something like 600 bucks?

Umm, I bought my ssd for 300 bucks. 120gb.

 

[LikeLinus]

If you are using Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects - KEEP the Quad Core. These idiots on here who are dismissing Quad core as usless are just people who are only thinking about gaming and not considering other software packages. A faster dual core is simply NOT going to be faster than a lower clocked Quad core for multithreaded applications.

I've got my quad core laptop running Windows 7 64bit w/ Adobe CS4 Master Collection and it's VERY quick. I've only got 4 GB of ram, but that's enough for now until the prices on 4GB sticks drop.

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by: Hacp

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

Remove their hard drive. Buy an SSD. Put said SSD into your hard drive.

Yeah but at what cost? Isn't the minumum cost of an SSD for a laptop something like 600 bucks?

Umm, I bought my ssd for 300 bucks. 120gb.

For what, an SSD for a laptop or desktop?

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

Remove their hard drive. Buy an SSD. Put said SSD into your hard drive.

Yeah but at what cost? Isn't the minumum cost of an SSD for a laptop something like 600 bucks?

Umm, I bought my ssd for 300 bucks. 120gb.

For what, an SSD for a laptop or desktop?

Any 2.5 inch SSD can be used in a laptop if it doesn't require 1.8 inch hds. With a quad core laptop, i'm almost 100% sure the hard drive slot is 2.5 inch.

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by:


Any 2.5 inch SSD can be used in a laptop if it doesn't require 1.8 inch hds. With a quad core laptop, i'm almost 100% sure the hard drive slot is 2.5 inch.

Which model and brand SSD did you snag for $300?

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by:


Any 2.5 inch SSD can be used in a laptop if it doesn't require 1.8 inch hds. With a quad core laptop, i'm almost 100% sure the hard drive slot is 2.5 inch.

Which model and brand SSD did you snag for $300?

I got an OCZ vertex for 300 dollars in the fs/ft forums. But you could also have snagged the Gskill Falcon like 2 weeks ago for 300 after live-cashback. You just need to wait for a good deal. Or you can buy the falcon retail for 340 if that suits your fancy.

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by: Hacp

I got an OCZ vertex for 300 dollars in the fs/ft forums. But you could also have snagged the Gskill Falcon like 2 weeks ago for 300 after live-cashback. You just need to wait for a good deal. Or you can buy the falcon retail for 340 if that suits your fancy.

Hypothetical: lets say I had an SSD installed (but you did not know that - you had no idea) and you were allowed to look at my computer via remote access from where you now sit, wherever that is. With RA I'd allow you to control my cursor, going anywhere I'd allow you to go, with virtually no restrictions, for as long as I deem fit, while I watched. Would you be able to determine that I had an SSD as opposed to a conventional hard drive?

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

I got an OCZ vertex for 300 dollars in the fs/ft forums. But you could also have snagged the Gskill Falcon like 2 weeks ago for 300 after live-cashback. You just need to wait for a good deal. Or you can buy the falcon retail for 340 if that suits your fancy.

Hypothetical: lets say I had an SSD installed (but you did not know that - you had no idea) and you were allowed to look at my computer via remote access from where you now sit, wherever that is. With RA I'd allow you to control my cursor, going anywhere I'd allow you to go, with virtually no restrictions, for as long as I deem fit, while I watched. Would you be able to determine that I had an SSD as opposed to a conventional hard drive?

In device manager, yes. Why on earth would you care though? WTF kind of question is this??

 

[HardcoreRobot]

id rather have 2x1250 laptops over the same lifespan of the 2500
so imo, to answer your question i say yes, mistake. very much diminishing returns when it comes to new technology.

not to mention if you REALLY needed performance, laptops would not even be in the discussion

however, i too, believe this is a thinly described brag thread.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

oh yeah, AND your link doesnt work

 

[nerp]

OP sounds like the guy obsessed about the printer's PPM rating and not the content of the drivel he's printing out.

 

[BigToque]

I would say the only things that you should consider are getting an SSD and finding some reviews to see if the apps you use would see more benefit from a quad-core @ 2ghz or a higher clocked dual core. I've never done any multimedia type work so I've got no idea which would provide more performance.

 

[Pantlegz]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: Hacp

I got an OCZ vertex for 300 dollars in the fs/ft forums. But you could also have snagged the Gskill Falcon like 2 weeks ago for 300 after live-cashback. You just need to wait for a good deal. Or you can buy the falcon retail for 340 if that suits your fancy.

Hypothetical: lets say I had an SSD installed (but you did not know that - you had no idea) and you were allowed to look at my computer via remote access from where you now sit, wherever that is. With RA I'd allow you to control my cursor, going anywhere I'd allow you to go, with virtually no restrictions, for as long as I deem fit, while I watched. Would you be able to determine that I had an SSD as opposed to a conventional hard drive?

Are you retarded? I guess if I don't see any benefit with remote desktop the upgrade is pointless... there are several limiting factors in remote desktop(access) before the speed of the HDD, for instance the 200+ ms latency on a normal internet connection.

If you've ever used a computer with a SSD or raptor HDD you'll agree that there is no going back the difference is amazing.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: Soul Reputation

Originally posted by: CrimsonWolf


A "mistake" I suppose would be upgrading to 8GB from the manufacturer. They usually charge a ridiculous margin for memory "upgrades". It's usually cheaper to get the laptop with the default amount of memory and replace it yourself. And then you also have spare sticks to keep around. If you didn't check this time, try it next time.

I agree, that was a mistake, it would've been better to add more memory on my own accord.

I haven't busted the laptop out of the box yet. It's been sitting in the corner of my apartment, totally unopened. I'm going to take it back to the store and replace it with the same model. I'll have to order it, customize it and then sit back and wait for FedEx to deliver it to me. Just not sure if I'll customize it with the quad core or not.

Should I or shouldn't I include it with a quad core?
Thanks for weighing in, CrimsonWolf.

You can return a "customized" laptop to a store? 😕
I'd add in the quad if you plan on seriously using the software you mentioned before, otherwise you're just feeding your ego.

Also I checked out the link and your choices of "customizations" and found the video card upgrade to be pointless as well as the ram, you get 4gb for free with the 9600 but you chose the $420 ram upgrade to 8gb of ddr3 as well as $100 "upgrade" to the video card. Other options aside, that was a complete waste of $520 for the intended uses of your system.

Otherwise, what I spec-ed out was roughly the same as yours in price minus the $520 in useless upgrades.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Interesting thread. A relative of mine is interested in a high-end, somewhat future-proof, desktop-replacement laptop. So something with a quad-core, probably 8GB of RAM, etc. So $2500 isn't really out of line for something like that, my relative was looking at prices north of $3000.

I advised said relative to wait a year, until they really needed the laptop, for the Core i5 laptop chips in 32nm. Faster, cooler, dual-core with 4 threads, with turbo-boost for single-thread apps.