Starting to look for a new laptop

[Fallen Kell]

I figured I would post here to ask around. My Macbook Pro (mid 2009) is finally starting to give up the ghost (9 out of 10 times trying to power it on it fails to boot). It isn't the hard drive, and I have also tried re-installing the Mac OS X boot loader as well as installing other bootloaders (rEFIT, rEFInd, and GRUB2), all of which have the same problem, so it isn't the boot loader/EFI, but something happening during/before POST (fans come on, DVD drive spins up/runs check for disk, screen turns on and then it sits at a white screen and does nothing).

I am kind of mixed on what I want, because I just can't seem to find anything that fits my criteria. I personally love the build quality of the unibody Macbook Pro that I have (CNC milled aluminum).

No cheap plasticy pieces, flex/twisting, or crappy hindges. I want ok graphics (Nvidia 960M, or 965M would be fine). I do want a good/fast CPU (i7-6920HQ or i7-6820HQ). A 14-15" 1920x1200 (or 1080p if I have to) IPS screen would be fine (g-sync a bonus, but not required). 7 hours of battery life (if using the on-chip Intel GPU). But here is the thing that is what is making this next to impossible, I want a blu-ray/DVD burner in the laptop, not some external drive that I need to lug around with me.

 

[RossMAN]

Budget?

 

[KeithP]

I figured I would post here to ask around. My Macbook Pro (mid 2009) is finally starting to give up the ghost (9 out of 10 times trying to power it on it fails to boot). It isn't the hard drive, and I have also tried re-installing the Mac OS X boot loader as well as installing other bootloaders (rEFIT, rEFInd, and GRUB2), all of which have the same problem, so it isn't the boot loader/EFI, but something happening during/before POST (fans come on, DVD drive spins up/runs check for disk, screen turns on and then it sits at a white screen and does nothing).

I know it isn't the purpose of this thread but have you tried a fresh OS X install on an external drive?

-KeithP

 

[Fallen Kell]

Budget?

Enough to buy what I want

Closest I have seen is a Dell Business Mobile Workstation Laptop, but it has professional/workstation graphics cards as well as still using the older 4th gen CPUs (while they are not less performing than current 6th gen skylake mobile CPU's they are more power hungry for the same performance, and in a laptop that actually makes a difference, and the memory controller is older, thus only supports slower memory).

 

[RossMAN]

http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?&tagid=34&f=9

http://slickdeals.net/f/8432833-len...ch-laptop-w-256gb-ssd-2gb-gt-940m-gpu-799?v=1

 

[Stuka87]

Enough to buy what I want

Closest I have seen is a Dell Business Mobile Workstation Laptop, but it has professional/workstation graphics cards as well as still using the older 4th gen CPUs (while they are not less performing than current 6th gen skylake mobile CPU's they are more power hungry for the same performance, and in a laptop that actually makes a difference, and the memory controller is older, thus only supports slower memory).

The Dell Precision 3510 is all new, and super nice. Wish I had one to replace my 3800M.

If you do not like the GPU, you can go with the XPS, which is very similar, but more consumer oriented.

 

[Fallen Kell]

The Dell Precision 3510 is all new, and super nice. Wish I had one to replace my 3800M.

If you do not like the GPU, you can go with the XPS, which is very similar, but more consumer oriented.

No Blu-Ray/DVD, thus, a no go.

 

[nerp]

The XPS is very nice. You're going to struggle to find a new machine with excellent specs and build quality that still includes an optical drive. I suggest you get an external unit for the BluRay and just buy the best machine you can get. The MS Surface Book is awesome, so is the XPS.

 

[nerp]

Also, Thinkpad X1 Carbon is very sweet.

 

[Fallen Kell]

That is just it, I don't want to carry around a USB drive. I do too much burning and need too many DVDs constantly to deal with having to pull out and connect an external device.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Well, here is to hoping that Toshiba makes a decent update to some of their current systems... Not sure on the build quality/materials though.