new laptop Q - tech-R
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So I'm thinking about getting a new laptop, my budget is around ??500 - ??600 ($1000).
I might breakdown and use it for DJing as it's increasingly hard to find venues that have turntables (the horror). I will definitely be using it for making mixes and stuff, so I'd want decent memory I guess.
Anyone have any suggestions? I know nada about computers. My current laptop is a 5 yr old Dell. I don't know any of the spec about it.
MOke?
I might breakdown and use it for DJing as it's increasingly hard to find venues that have turntables (the horror). I will definitely be using it for making mixes and stuff, so I'd want decent memory I guess.
Anyone have any suggestions? I know nada about computers. My current laptop is a 5 yr old Dell. I don't know any of the spec about it.
MOke?
Comments
What kind of warranty would a refurbed thinkpad come with (if any), and where can you pick one up reputably?
Do you mean something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/388074-exdisplay-lenovo-thinkpad-l520-laptop-intel-core-i5-2450m-2-5ghz-4gb-ram-ebr1-nwb6cuk
Or are refurbed ones even cheaper?
????
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD313LL/A
Factory refurbished macbooks look and run brand new and come with a 1 year warranty that can be extended.
Hmmmm, not really sure why tthe exact same laptop is 300 pounds more on the UK apple store??
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FD314B/A
Maybe a jetsetting strutter could hook you up?
I know diddly squat about PCs,
but
it's taken me a long time to learn diddly about them.
I don't want to start from square 1 with Macs when I'm on square 1 version 6 with a PC.
Think I'll be looking at these HP/Asus things.
Yes, a refurbished one will be cheaper. I don't know what screen size you prefer, but if you want it slim und portable then I would look for a X201 Thinkpad, those have a 12,1" screen.
Got a Samsung at home myself because the spec is very good for the money and I don't take it anywhere to damage it. It's replaced the need for a desktop altogether.
Macs just too expensive over here. Always have been.
I got one of these factory refurbished for a little over $500:
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP-QX411-W01US
It's works great and is built like a tank. Only drawback is the touchpad, which has an awkward feel at times. Fortunately I seldom need to use it - I think they are bad for your wrist and use a mouse whenever possible.
Swapped for a ??400 Lenovo
i3 processor
4GB RAM
500GB HD
4x USB2 ports
Uninstalled all the additional shit, tweaked it (removing all the visual effects and stuff - there's a guide on the serato website), and it should be good to go now. I don't think you'd get a huge amount more by spending more unless you made the switch to a Mac.
Lenovo Z575 1299
Processor A6-3420M (1.5GHz (turbo 2.4GHz, 4MB Cache)
Operating System Windows?? 7 Home Premium 64-bit
RAM 8GB
Screen resolution 1366 x 768
Screen size 15.6"
Hard drive 750GB
Optical disk drive DVD RW
Memory card reader 5-in-1 card reader
USB 4 x 2.0 USB
Modem/Ethernet 10/100M LAN
WiFi 802.11 B/G/N
TV output HDMI
Webcam Yes
Battery Black 6 Cell 2.2A
Accessories included AC power adapter
Size W 376 x D 250 x Thickness 35.5 mm
Weight 2.6 kg
I even like the colour!
And it will go pear, all new computers do.
I want to know whether it's worth my while putting Mac OSX on mine or not...sounds like it might be worthwhile as I only want to use mine for Serato.
Mario - the keyboard seems nice an un-cluttered, easy to keep clean, and the spec seemed to match Flomotion's minimum requirements, so I'll give it a go. Figure spend a bit on one and it might last me a few years.
The appeal is that they're super easy to use, reliable and very fast, especially when you're doing image, audio or video editing. As far as design and solidity goes, I haven't seen any PC that can compare to the Macbook Pro. What I really can't stand about PCs is that there's always a shit ton of programs running on the background that use up memory and slow shit down. I bought my first (desktop) Mac in 1997 in NY, moved to Berlin with it in 2000 and this workhorse served me well up until early 2005 -that's 7 years! Virus infections-zero Repairs-zero. In 2005 I bought a Macbook Pro, moved from Berlin to Africa with it and later to NY and again: Virus infections-zero, repairs-zero, only thing that happened was that the power adapter got fried due to faulty wiring in a Guinean cyber cafe. Started dying (magenta lines on the monitor but still works) in early 2012. There are plenty things about Apple that annoy the shit out of me but I still think I'm going to get another Macbook.
At christmas I ended up buying a Samsung Chronos 7. Looks a bit like a MacBook Pro with the backlit keyboard I have to say. It has advantages (full keyboard like a desktop) but of course the screen is not a retina display and admittedly there is a noticeable difference to a Mac trackpad. However, it came standard with 8GB memory a 750GB HDD but a caching SSD which nicely improves speed.
Whatever your machine is or is going to be, whether laptop or desktop, investing in some extra RAM (min 4GB) and an SSD will make a noticeable difference to your systems performance and life expectancy on the road compared to a traditional HDD.. If you agree and have some stuff to show for it (DJ work, music production, video editing etc.) PM me as I work for the world's largest independent memory manufacturer and we're always looking for cool case studies to show the benefits of our products.
- spidey
Store all your personal data (jpgs, mp3s, movies, tax returns etc.) on external hard drives and back them up on the reg.
Never keep this stuff on the computer's hard disk. Keep that free for the o/s and apps.
If you go with PC, there's a great free app from Microsoft called SyncToy that makes backing up super-easy.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15155
For this I can recommend a small Synology NAS, DS-110 or so.
A couple of things to consider if you haven't already got this computer...
If you are moving from a 32 bit computer to a new 64 bit machine, some of your previous hardware (usually connected via USB) may not have drivers for the 64 bit Windows 7 operating system. Older generation HP printers (older = more than a year) are some of the worst offenders in this regard (you are reduced to using their lametasitc generic universal drivers that never work right). Other hardware, like scanners and even a touch screen Sony TV remote that I have don't have updated drivers at all. If you don't have old peripherals, then never mind.
Batteries. See if there is a manufacturer's 9-cell version of the battery (ACER is notorious for not having 9-cell versions for some models of their laptops) and this will affect battery life. 6-cell batteries will not hold a charge as long as a 9-cell (they are also cheaper, hence why it comes with a 6-cell batt to keep the price point low). There are 3rd party aftermarket batteries but be careful, you can void a warranty if your aftermarket battery destroys your laptop. Use the 6-cell till it dies and then replace it with a 9-cell.
Pro-Tip: To extend the battery life, pull the battery when you just keep the laptop plugged in to the wall socket for extended periods of time. Pop it back in when you know you are going to need it a few hours before to bring it to full charge.
The 8GB of RAM is decent. Make sure the motherboard supports bigger chips if you need it. Windows 7 Home Premium will support 16 GB of RAM max, if you find that you need more than that you will need to upgrade your OS to Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise, or Ultimate to max out at 192 GB of RAM. If the motherboard will not support memory above 16 MB (or if your really unlucky less than that) don't bother upgrading the OS.
The only thing I can see that might require it is the mixing if you are using huge lossless sound files, but then I don't have a handle on memory requirements of sound mixing software (my memory crunch is on the Adobe CS suite side of things, graphics eat memory like nobodies business).
750 GB of Hard Drive space is ok on a laptop, and swapping out a HD in a laptop is one of the least painful upgrades (discounting the software reinstall). The biggest worry is video and large sound files. Then again you can buy 3 Terabyte external drives now so HD space is not really a problem.
Lenovo builds a good machine. I don't have an opinion on the durability of the ideapad line, but their thinkpad lines are built like tanks. They are awesome road warrior machines. If travel damage is a concern there are laptops built to take some shocks. Generally speaking a decent laptop bag with a padded sleeve cover will protect your notebook from the worst stuff during transport. I personally bought an aftermarket sleeve made out of wetsuit material (I live in the Pacific NW and was biking to school) to protect it from moisture.
I hope this helps,
Saracenus
SO do you mean disconnect the laptop from the mains when it's not in use, or actually pull the battery from the lap top when it's not in use? Is it best to use mains whenever possible to extend battery life, or good to run the battery down and recharge? I thought the latter wears any rechargeable battery out...
Thanks for the advice, no worries with old hardware compatibility - I don't have any! Actually need to upgrade my external sound card next.
I leave my battery in because sometimes the kids will unplug something from my chokka 4-way extension leads to charge their shit with, with no thought to what is running off them. The f*cking cheek of them.
Just to clarify this a bit as this thread is about notebooks:
Notebooks take SO-DIMMs. The biggest capacity SO-DIMMs you can get today are 8GB. The maximum number of memory slots you will find in a notebook are two. Therefore you will not be able to put more than a total of 16GB of RAM into a notebook.
No matter what your OS is called, if it is a 32bit version, you can plug in as much memory as you want, your OS will not be able to see more than 3.5GB or thereabouts; the rest is simply wasted.
Once you go to a 64bit OS you can go much higher (for example 16GB on a notebook) but there comes a point where the memory can not be a standard unbuffered DIMM (like in a PC) anymore but has to have so-called register chips which help organising the data flow between the individual memory chips on the module and the memory controller. These registered memory modules might have as much as 16GB or 32GB capacity each, allowing you to go to hundreds of Gig capacity in a system overall, but you can only find them in servers as they are incompatible with the memory sockets in desktop PCs, Mac and laptops.
Yeah, this is what I meant, when plugged into the wall with your charger and you are not going anywhere, pull the battery out so you don't charge up and down and ware it out quicker. Fortunately I don't have kids to yank my laptop plug out of the wall... damn cheeky.
Thanks for that bit. I have been out of the computer support game for over 7 years (switched to bookkeeping and just got my degree in accounting). Good to know the max you can jam in a stock laptop. Is there any laptops that are built using a different RAM chip set to get past the 16 GB hard cap set by SO-DIMMs? Also, is Apple useing SO-DIMMs? I know there are other reasons to get Win7 Pro/Enterprise/Ultimate but I figure RAM would be the main driver for non-laptop users.
Thanks for the knowledge drop...