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

[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.

 

[postmortemIA]

Quad core with low core speed fails over 25% or so faster dual core.. not many products are able use two, let alone 4 cores.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

i dunno about the laptop but u sound like u need to take a chill pill and calm down.

 

[brblx]

if this is just for business use, a $600ish core2, 4gb laptop would've been plenty. you can spend more on something with a stronger case, better screen, more extras, but i still don't see you needing to spend more than $1000. $2500 is pretty ludicrous in this day and age- unless you're made of money i'd take the laptop back, if possible. like some others have said, i don't see a quad core and 8gb of memory really helping you any.

how much was that accidental warranty? gotta be at least $500, i'd expect. that'll go way down on a cheaper machine, as well.

 

[makken]

no SSD? you disappoint me.

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: toattett
I feel like a 3GHz Dual Core Chip would be faster in most circumstances.

This. Most apps do not support multi core meaning your "ultrafast" 8Ghz quadcore cpu is only handing out 2Ghz to your app.

My recommendations:
Get whatever the processer gets you the fastest base core speed.
Buy the laptop with the minimum ammount of memory and swap it with memory purchased elsewhere.
Get the fastest SSD you can (be it from the MFG or 3rd party), in most cases a faster hardrive has the most impact on general computing "lag".

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: toattett
I feel like a 3GHz Dual Core Chip would be faster in most circumstances.

This. Most apps do not support multi core meaning your "ultrafast" 8Ghz quadcore cpu is only handing out 2Ghz to your app.

My recommendations:
Get whatever the processer gets you the fastest base core speed.
Buy the laptop with the minimum ammount of memory and swap it with memory purchased elsewhere.
Get the fastest SSD you can (be it from the MFG or 3rd party), in most cases a faster hardrive has the most impact on general computing "lag".

What 8GHz?

You know, a 2GHz Dual Core is also generally only handing out 2GHz per app as well, that is how multithreading works. To a certain degree, the OP will see an advantage with a Quad over a Dual, however, he would be much better off with something like the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo over the 2GHz Core 2 Quad.

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: TheStu
What 8GHz?

2 * 4 = 8. Its a common misconception that a multi core processor performs as one big lump sum. That was my attempt to dispel that illusion if the OP was one of the unfortunate ones to have that notion.

Originally posted by: TheStu
You know, a 2GHz Dual Core is also generally only handing out 2GHz per app as well, that is how multithreading works. To a certain degree, the OP will see an advantage with a Quad over a Dual, however, he would be much better off with something like the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo over the 2GHz Core 2 Quad.

Which is exactly why I said:

Originally posted by: TheKub
Get whatever the processer gets you the fastest base core speed.

And in most cases you are going to find higher base core speeds on the Core 2 Duo products. Was there another point you were trying to make? I only ask because you are agreeing with me. 😀

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: TheStu
What 8GHz?

2 * 4 = 8. Its a common misconception that a multi core processor performs as one big lump sum. That was my attempt to dispel that illusion if the OP was one of the unfortunate ones to have that notion.

Originally posted by: TheStu
You know, a 2GHz Dual Core is also generally only handing out 2GHz per app as well, that is how multithreading works. To a certain degree, the OP will see an advantage with a Quad over a Dual, however, he would be much better off with something like the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo over the 2GHz Core 2 Quad.

Which is exactly why I said:

Originally posted by: TheKub
Get whatever the processer gets you the fastest base core speed.

And in most cases you are going to find higher base core speeds on the Core 2 Duo products. Was there another point you were trying to make? I only ask because you are agreeing with me. 😀

The after part I was definitely agreeing with you. A fast dual core will run circles around a quad core. There is an article here on AT that compares the 2.4GHz Quad in the Dell XPS One to the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo in the Apple iMac and in most all of the tasks the Duo beats out the Quad since very little is optimized for dual core, let alone quad core.

I misunderstood your first part where it felt like you were saying that a Quad core will only operate 1 core at a time, whereas a dual core would let you use both cores. Since you specifically mentioned his quad core, if gave the impression that a dual core wouldn't suffer this problem.

And I though the whole speed*cores=new speed logic died out like 2 years ago when dual cores became mainstream.

 

[brblx]

i'm to the point where i think dual/quad cores in general are a farce.

generally the most intensive applications most people use are games, and many only use one core. of those that do use multiple cores, many either a) don't do it well or b) have to have the option disabled due to instability.

why won't intel just sell me a 4ghz core solo? (or a faster single core at whatever clock speed- don't want to go back to the lame clock race of the P4)

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: brblx
i'm to the point where i think dual/quad cores in general are a farce.

generally the most intensive applications most people use are games, and many only use one core. of those that do use multiple cores, many either a) don't do it well or b) have to have the option disabled due to instability.

why won't intel just sell me a 4ghz core solo? (or a faster single core at whatever clock speed- don't want to go back to the lame clock race of the P4)

Theres also this thing called video encoding and editing, which people do alot of.

 

[brblx]

yeah, that probably matters to a whopping 10% of home users.

and it of course doesn't work on a single or dual core, a quad is a requirement.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: brblx
i'm to the point where i think dual/quad cores in general are a farce.

generally the most intensive applications most people use are games, and many only use one core

Actually, most modern games can make excellent use of dual cores, and quite a few use 3+ threads (like GTA4, which is noticeably faster on quads than on equally clocked dual core CPUs).

Originally posted by: brblx
why won't intel just sell me a 4ghz core solo? (or a faster single core at whatever clock speed- don't want to go back to the lame clock race of the P4)

Because it's probably damn near impossible for them to get acceptable yields of a 4Ghz anything. Obviously, I would rather have a single core CPU than a dual core CPU of the same architecture and half the clock speed, but it's much easier to produce a multicore chip than to get sky high clock speeds.

Originally posted by: brblx
yeah, that probably matters to a whopping 10% of home users.

and it of course doesn't work on a single or dual core, a quad is a requirement.

What are you talking about? You can encode/edit video just fine on a single or dual core CPU. It'll just be slower than a quad, assuming the program you're using is multithreaded. There aren't that many commonly used applications out there that will simply refuse to run on a single/dual core CPU.

 

[brblx]

that last bit was sarcasm.

 

[bipartisanpwnage]

quad>dual
4>2
yay
OP still got burned badly. You could have fed 50 Ethiopian children for 5 years with that extra $1000, or you could have at least wiped your arse with it. Return that overpriced piece of crap, buy a highly clocked dual core laptop, upgrade the RAM yourself and buy a Vertex or Intel SSD!

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: brblx
yeah, that probably matters to a whopping 10% of home users.

and it of course doesn't work on a single or dual core, a quad is a requirement.

Encoding H264 on one core is like pulling teeth, even if it is a 4ghz part. 4Ghz on a notebook for a game is also pretty stupid, unless you're running crossfire/SLI on it. I'm guessing that statistic is lower than 10% of home users?

 

[echtogammut]

I use my laptop for pretty much the same applications you listed (Visual Studio, a bit of Photoshop, Virtual machines and a lot of remote management/monitoring apps). I have also purchased somewhere north of 30 laptops over years, so I have been around the block a couple of times.
1. I always buy custom laptops, because there isn't really a generic laptop that meets my needs.
2. Always 14" or close to that for the monitor, because I travel and the extra weight isn't worth extra screen space/bag size.
3. I always get the free memory (base) because it always cheaper to buy aftermarket memory.
4. Buy IBM (Lenovo) not the sexiest, but definitely the sturdiest and they have the most business oriented options. Plus if you get a contractor code, call them and they will custom configure your laptop to almost any spec you can imagine.
5. Buy the fastest not the biggest hard drive. As with memory I often times get the base hard drive and purchase an after market one. A laptop's biggest weakness is the drive and SSD is the cure. Laptop manufactures charge a huge premium on them compared to retail stores. Get yourself a backup server, there are hosted services that will allow you to save all of your documents on a remote server, rather than your local machine. Other than apps and things you are actively working on, nothing should be stored on the laptop.
6. Max out the connectivity options even if you don't plan on using them yet. That means getting a Sprint/ATT/Verizon connector in addition to everything else, because nothing is worse than being without the internets.
7. Buy insurance and accidental replacement coverage. In the past I have destroyed laptops while jogging on treadmills and all sorts of crazy situations, but insurance has always had my back. Plus not having anything that is critical stored on the laptop means I am back up and running in minutes.

My current laptop retail spec is around $3000+, however I only paid $1600 due to creative coupons, calling lenovo directly and buying memory and drives via the egg.

 

[soccerballtux]

For that price it should have come with an Intel SSD.
Quad in a laptop sounds nice though.

 

[TidusZ]

My lil brother paid just over 2 grand canadian for his gaming laptop 1-2 years ago, and it barely runs most the games he wants to play now (demigod, bf2142, l4d, etc) while my similarly aged cheaper desktop pumps out silky framerates @ 1680x1050. In my opinion, your best off going high end for your desktop and then get a well priced laptop for light gaming and internet and all that. Paying 2500 for a laptop to me doesn't make sense, but if it makes sense to you then that's what is important.

 

[nerp]

Yeah my advice would be to have just bought the fastest thinkpad you could buy and swap in an SSD and memory yourself.

 

[dmw16]

Is this dude for real? He said 9-5 five times in what hardly amounts to a paragraph. Does that fancy laptop have a synonym generator or only the phony-business-guy generator that you seem to have running?

Bottom line you overpaid. But hey, as successful and driven as you pretend to be in your posts you probably think you make plenty of money too.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: dmw16
Is this dude for real? He said 9-5 five times in what hardly amounts to a paragraph. Does that fancy laptop have a synonym generator or only the phony-business-guy generator that you seem to have running?

Bottom line you overpaid. But hey, as successful and driven as you pretend to be in your posts you probably think you make plenty of money too.

:^D

That was was my take on the whole thing also, I just didn't say it :^D

 

[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?

Guess the answer depends on whether Adobe stuff like Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop can utitlize a quad core. Might depend on a few other things, too. Maybe I'll call Adobe. But you know what happens then. You'll talk to 5 different support techs and they'll all give you five different answers to the same question! Now if I could only talk to one of their upper level technicians...

Thanks for weighing in, CrimsonWolf.

 

[Soul Reputation]

Originally posted by: zerogear



What I don't really get is why you're asking for 'advice' after you've already ordered, which is why I am inquiring that if this thread was created solely for bragging sake.

You. Think. Too. Much.

Get outside. Go for a bike ride. Go do some pushups in a park.

And stop HIJACKING this thread with your weird observations.

 

[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.