OT: Laptop Advice

[pbarry]

So I finally decided it's time to pony up the $$ for a new laptop after my hackintosh Dell Mini gave up the ghost. I've had Apple products for 10 years, but Windows 8.1 Sounds like a good OS and switching doesn't give me pause.

Looking at 15 in PC notebooks with 8gb of RAM, optical drive, and HD screen resolution. It looks like any notebook with an optical drive has HD storage, not SSD. I only use PS Elements, Word, and a few web based programs. An occasional movie when travelling.

This fits my needs: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1043435-REG/sony_vaio_fit_15e_svf1532acyw.html

Thoughts? My dream machine is a Macbook Pro, but they're around $1,500 for the 13in with 8gb RAM . I can't justify the extra coin, unless you all convince me the Sony is a dog and I'll regret it, and SSD/Retina will make the leap to the MbPro worth it.

TIA

[bargainguy]

Just curious - did the SSD in your Dell Mini fail?

I have one too, bought with XP....then the SSD died. Actually enough sectors died that it was unusable...till I found out this is a known problem and there is a way to reconfigure the SSD to make it usable again. Did that, loaded Ubuntu on there and it's still working fine. Didn't cost a penny.

[pbarry]

No, the SSD is good. I inadvertently did an update for OSX, and can't get Snow Leopard to boot from the thumb drive. I may try reloading Snow Leopard on another drive. Good to know Ubuntu works too!

[biker72]

Sony makes great equipment. My only concern on your selection is the integrated video graphics. Not a big deal but I've always prefered a dedicated video card of 1-2 megs.

[bcroslin]

What about buying a refurb Mac? You couldn't get me to use a Win 8 if you paid me. Win 7 wasn't bad and I ran XP on my Macs for years but Win 8 is a mess IMO.

[kramnnim]

I "needed" a laptop with FHD and discrete graphics, ended up with a Lenovo Y500...the current version is Y510. I swapped out the HDD for an SSD, and got a caddy for the HDD...easy to swap between optical and the secondary HDD.

Didn't think I would like Win8 after using Win7 for so long, but when you use a program to add the start menu back, it's not much different. Love the boot times.

[Dired]

lenovo outlet has some decent deals on prev gen stuff

[pbarry]

Thanks for the input, peeps. I'll look for a unit with a dedicated graphics card, and check out the Lenovo. Any other suggestions are most welcome.

[PQJ]

Why not look at a MacBook Air? They are great machines and worth the $$, IMO.

Re: Sony, I know it's a data sample of 1, but the single Sony computer (laptop) I've had was, by far, the worst computer I've ever had and I vowed never to touch their computers again.

[pbarry]

Why not look at a MacBook Air? They are great machines and worth the $$, IMO.

Re: Sony, I know it's a data sample of 1, but the single Sony computer (laptop) I've had was, by far, the worst computer I've ever had and I vowed never to touch their computers again.

Yeah, in my budget. Resolution and the high cost for upping ram is what has kept me from seriously considering an MBAir. Never bought a new Sony product--their multiple fronts, (computers, televisions, cameras, has always made me wonder about the focus on a singular device.

[ceolwulf]

Two smallish points - I would strongly suggest going somewhere where you can see the machine in person - some laptops look good in pictures but are built shoddy and/or have a keyboard that you hate, but you won't know that until you try to type on it.

And one thing that you will unquestionably hate is going back to a mechanical hard drive after using an SSD. I will never buy a mechanical HDD again except for large external storage drives, nor should anyone that doesn't wish to be annoyed at their computer all the time.

I made this decision last year myself, and ended up with an 11" MacBook Air. Absolutely love it. I got the i7 and 8GB RAM, but most people would never need the i7 (realistically I don't 99% of the time either). The screen is the weakest point yes, but it's quite okay, and when I use the laptop at my desk I have an external 24" anyway. And it's just as portable as an iPad. And the battery life is ridiculous. Not quite up there with the 13" which you can literally* use for an entire work day on battery, but pretty close. I don't see myself ever buying anything significantly larger again, although if the rumoured 12" Retina Air actually makes an appearance this year I'd be very tempted. I thought I might miss the optical drive, but I have needed an optical drive precisely once this year, so used an old desktop I had kicking around.

Edited to add, re: Sony, they're getting out of the computer business. The current models will be their last ever. I would imagine you should still be able to get service at least until the warranty is done.

*literally literally, not figuratively literally

[Web1111a]

The asus is a nice machine

The newer version that is coming may be worth waiting for

[Asudef]

I dunno about other brands but the Retina I got has been my best computer experience.

OSX is so refined on its own platform and I remember hearing that the best Windows8 notebook was in fact the Retina.

If you can get one used and cheap with Applecare, I highly recommend it.

That said, if you have no need for discrete graphics, an Air is great.

Although I'd wait until a new one drops. The current Air, although great with a 12hr+ battery. is still a 3 year old design.

[Dired]

i have to agree with a previous poster about the mba with retina. windows 8.1 is not anything special and if you're coming from a mac why the sudden change? also, seems like the mac support and warranty is the best out there - if anything fails within the eligible period and they just send you a new machine.

[ceewho]

I'm assuming you mean the MBP retina.

Anyway, I would vote for the MBA, as it seems like it would do everything you need it to except having all that RAM (which is still only +$100). Of course if portability is not an issue at all, it's probably not worth it.

[kgreene10]

After 18 months, the SSD in my MBA broke completely. The machine was under AppleCare. I was stupefied that Apple said they would fix it but would not give me the broken SSD to try and recover my data. Of course, if I opened the machine, it would void the warranty and then they wouldn't fix it. The only option to get the data and the fix was to 1) send the whole machine to an apple certified data recovery business for a cost of $2,209 and 2) wait six weeks before I got my computer fixed.

I like apple products but it would be tough to devise a more unfriendly policy to consumers.

Btw, no physical damage to the SSD. It was a logical error.

[Dired]

I'm assuming you mean the MBP retina.


oops, thats correct

[mktng]

I'm still using my Toshiba of 9 1/2 years. Upgraded with the most ram it can take and a ssd. Gotta save my dollars for bike components haha.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

[djg]

Well, I'm typing on a MacBook Pro and I don't get it. It's a nice laptop, really. It looks nice, it's got a really good screen and some nice features . . . it's fine. Some things are quick and easy and intuitive, just like my hatred for that little spinning color wheel that pops up whenever things are less quick and easy than they ought to be. I guess I like the package well enough, and if somebody loves it, then he or she loves it. But its value for me lies mostly in the fact that my wife wanted me to get it and she does my tech support -- finds and evaluates apps, loads stuff, syncs our calendars, etc., etc. Same reason I have an i-phone 5s. If I were flying solo, and focused on basic functionality and saving a few bucks, I'd go elsewhere on both the laptop and the phone. YMMV.

[gemship]

Well, I'm typing on a MacBook Pro and I don't get it. It's a nice laptop, really. It looks nice, it's got a really good screen and some nice features . . . it's fine. Some things are quick and easy and intuitive, just like my hatred for that little spinning color wheel that pops up whenever things are less quick and easy than they ought to be. I guess I like the package well enough, and if somebody loves it, then he or she loves it. But its value for me lies mostly in the fact that my wife wanted me to get it and she does my tech support -- finds and evaluates apps, loads stuff, syncs our calendars, etc., etc. Same reason I have an i-phone 5s. If I were flying solo, and focused on basic functionality and saving a few bucks, I'd go elsewhere on both the laptop and the phone. YMMV.

Well I hear you and agree. I have a 09' 13" macbook. First year of the aluminum body. It was overpriced then but half the price of my 03' imac, spec'd as twice the speed and double the harddrive... so a relative bargain for a new mac. Still running strong and virus free so I guess I got my moneys worth.

[pbarry]

Well, I'm typing on a MacBook Pro and I don't get it. It's a nice laptop, really. It looks nice, it's got a really good screen and some nice features . . . it's fine. Some things are quick and easy and intuitive, just like my hatred for that little spinning color wheel that pops up whenever things are less quick and easy than they ought to be. I guess I like the package well enough, and if somebody loves it, then he or she loves it. But its value for me lies mostly in the fact that my wife wanted me to get it and she does my tech support -- finds and evaluates apps, loads stuff, syncs our calendars, etc., etc. Same reason I have an i-phone 5s. If I were flying solo, and focused on basic functionality and saving a few bucks, I'd go elsewhere on both the laptop and the phone. YMMV.

There's an advantage to having a Mac and an iphone with synching, itunes, etc. I have a Droid, so miss out on some of the features of the cult. ;)

[pbarry]

Two smallish points - I would strongly suggest going somewhere where you can see the machine in person - some laptops look good in pictures but are built shoddy and/or have a keyboard that you hate, but you won't know that until you try to type on it.

And one thing that you will unquestionably hate is going back to a mechanical hard drive after using an SSD. I will never buy a mechanical HDD again except for large external storage drives, nor should anyone that doesn't wish to be annoyed at their computer all the time.

I made this decision last year myself, and ended up with an 11" MacBook Air. Absolutely love it. I got the i7 and 8GB RAM, but most people would never need the i7 (realistically I don't 99% of the time either). The screen is the weakest point yes, but it's quite okay, and when I use the laptop at my desk I have an external 24" anyway. And it's just as portable as an iPad. And the battery life is ridiculous. Not quite up there with the 13" which you can literally* use for an entire work day on battery, but pretty close. I don't see myself ever buying anything significantly larger again, although if the rumoured 12" Retina Air actually makes an appearance this year I'd be very tempted. I thought I might miss the optical drive, but I have needed an optical drive precisely once this year, so used an old desktop I had kicking around.

Edited to add, re: Sony, they're getting out of the computer business. The current models will be their last ever. I would imagine you should still be able to get service at least until the warranty is done.

*literally literally, not figuratively literally

Good points, and I'm leaning towards an MBP again, despite it being way over budget. The PC laptops with SSD and higher res are $1,100-1,500 with 8gb memory. A few $$ more for the MBP... I'll get a portable optical drive as I still have hundreds of images saved on discs.

In the meantime, I swapped an old airport card into a 17" imac that was gathering dust, so not stuck with the smart phone in the interim.

[ceolwulf]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC975LL/A/refurbished-154-inch-macBook-Pro-23ghz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-retina-Display would be the way I'd go if set on a 15".

Only real difference between refurb and new is the box.

[jimoots]

A lot of good points, one of which I'd like to emphasise: Longevity.

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro (17 inch) which I still use to this day. I reckon it cost me around AU$3k, and was selling in the 'States for a little bit cheaper - maybe US$2.5k.

Really it hasn't missed a beat.

A few years ago I was getting itchy to replace it - it was bogging down from time to time. But it only had 4GB of ram, and I'd heard good things about SSD... so I upgraded the ram to 8GB, dropped a SSD in to boot from and removed the optical drive, replacing it with a 1TB mechanical HDD.

Cost about $700 for all the bits (large component of that was the SSD) but it extended the life of the machine, no question. Worth every cent.

I'm looking at buying another MBP in the coming 12-18 months. Not so much because I need one, but because I know that computers and moving parts don't last/work forever. I'll be going down the certified-refurbished MBP pathway, for sure.

Which is an interesting problem to have. All previous machines that I've owned have reached their expiry date due to resource limitations or poor build quality... First time I've ever felt this way about a computer - but it'll genuinely be a sad day when I retire this one.

Anyway a bit long-winded... but Apple stuff is made particularly well, and it does last quite a time. Like expensive cycling kit - when you amortize over the item's life, it ends up being surprisingly affordable.

My story: I work in web design/development and do a bit of other work (video production/editing) that requires some resource hungry processes.

[brando]

Lots of great thoughts in this thread but the op said it all in the first post.

SSD/Retina will make the leap to the MbPro worth it.

TIA

Once you go to that screen and ssd, there's no going back. Any machines without those two specs are obsolete on the shelf.

[pbarry]

You are enablers. :)

[djg21]

So I finally decided it's time to pony up the $$ for a new laptop after my hackintosh Dell Mini gave up the ghost. I've had Apple products for 10 years, but Windows 8.1 Sounds like a good OS and switching doesn't give me pause.

Looking at 15 in PC notebooks with 8gb of RAM, optical drive, and HD screen resolution. It looks like any notebook with an optical drive has HD storage, not SSD. I only use PS Elements, Word, and a few web based programs. An occasional movie when travelling.

This fits my needs: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1043435-REG/sony_vaio_fit_15e_svf1532acyw.html

Thoughts? My dream machine is a Macbook Pro, but they're around $1,500 for the 13in with 8gb RAM . I can't justify the extra coin, unless you all convince me the Sony is a dog and I'll regret it, and SSD/Retina will make the leap to the MbPro worth it.

TIA

I thought Windows 8 was horrible. I returned a Win 8 PC to Dell after 3 days it was so bad.

You can always use a iPad and Keyboard. Microsoft Office is available for the iPad. Granted, you don't have a ton of storage, but with cloud-based storage, there isn't much of a need.

I had been laptop-dependent for work for years. My laptop now stays at home and I use an iPad for virtually everything except large word-processing projects.

[kramnnim]

Good points, and I'm leaning towards an MBP again, despite it being way over budget. The PC laptops with SSD and higher res are $1,100-1,500 with 8gb memory. A few $$ more for the MBP... I'll get a portable optical drive as I still have hundreds of images saved on discs.

In the meantime, I swapped an old airport card into a 17" imac that was gathering dust, so not stuck with the smart phone in the interim.

Y510ps are $900, SSDs are under $100 for 128gb, and under $150 for 256GB...

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y510p/

[pbarry]

Went to the A store last weekend, and the Retina screen really won me over. Earlier in the week handled a Sony similar to the one I was considering, and while perfectly fine, (and it would have been a dream machine 3 years ago), I couldn't envision going back to Windows, even booting to the desktop. A decade of using Macs has me hooked.

Followed ceowolf's refurb 15" recommendation, (seconded by the Apple clerk after showing him the options I was considering), and it arrived yesterday. Momma! This thing rocks! HUGE sea change over the Hackintosh or the old iMac. Speed is crazy fast. Screen blows away everything else, (except the Yoga and one or two others). The leap forward reminds me of the sensation during the first rides on my first nice road bike, a'73 Cinelli SC and even more like the maiden rides on the Merlin.

Thanks for talking me into this. :hello: