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New laptop help, please - US/$600/15" screen

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Hello,

First off, I hope I am in the correct forum. If not, I apologize.

I am in the market for a new laptop. My late 2008 MacBook Pro with C2D 2.66 GHz and 4 GB RAM. I think it is one its last leg and it is showing its age. In fact, I am really in fear that it will give out on me soon. It just shuts down randomly and I don't know how long it has left. Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone has some suggestions on laptops.

Here are some of the things that I do, or that I will need a laptop to do for me:

Adobe Creative Cloud Applications (I am a web developer)
Act a media center when I am at home (XBMC, streaming all types of media files)
Budget: just around $600 - That is my limit, but if I can a way better deal, I am all for it.

I need it to be portable, that is why I am going with a laptop. I think that I want to give Windows 8.1 a go instead of OSX this time around.

I found a really good deal on this:

HP ENVY 15" 15-j173cl Notebook
AMD A-Series A10-5750M (2.50GHz)
12GB Memory 1TB HDD
15.6" Touchscreen
1920 x 1080 resolution
Windows 8 64-Bit
Price: $499

I am open to any suggestions. I just happen to have run across this one.

My concern is: Will this configuration be able to handle Adobe CC 2014? I am a web developer and I need Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver open and running at the same time, as well as multiple browsers and browser tabs at the same time. I am on a budget and this fits in my budget quite nicely.

I have heard and read bad things about HP, so I don't know if I should go with that brand. I have been reading that Lenovo or Asus is the way to go, but most of the laptops that I think I would need are out of my price range. And, I don't know if AMD CPUs will provide the power that I need, but then again I am just guessing because I don't really know. I have not owned an AMD product yet.

So, I am really stuck on what to do. Thank you in advance for any and all help, advice and suggestions.

Testudo
 

Kursah

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I've enjoyed my Dell 3540 once I got the drivers sorted out. It should still fit within your budget if not come in under...I was able to get mine for $525 shipped as a refurb with warranty directly from Dell. Has Intel Haswell CPU, uses haswell GPU for desktop and an AMD 8850M (or 265x iirc). The limitations mine had was a slow 500GB HDD I replaced with an SSHD and it only had 4GB DDR3-1600 which I doubled for cheap. Can take up to 1866. Will be stronger on the media front than most APU setups...

I am also not a fan of HP laptops as I repair many of them, but that doesn't mean they're total junk. Those are some nice specs for $500 for sure. I would spend some time researching your options, check out the website gaminglaptopsjunky as well, he's super helpful at finding great deals. For your needs and requirements, I would recommend increasing your budget to buy a higher quality laptop.

I have a budget Asus laptop with an APU and it did surprisingly good, but was at a much lower resolution than 1920x1080. Also as a web dev, I would consider a 17" screen with 1080 resolution or better, for extra real-estate. I love my 15.6" screen but I have to get much closer to it than a 17" screen to read the print and I have 20/20 vision.

My Dell has been a beast...quite capable, easy to lug around, good battery life, plenty of power for gaming and applications. I use it for work (I'm in IT, I use multiple remote sessions as an administrator and have dozens of tabs open at any time, while making ISO's, performing other commands and using tons of resources, testing VHD's in Hyper-V, etc) and school (IT). I hope that helps and good luck!
 
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I've enjoyed my Dell 3540 once I got the drivers sorted out. It should still fit within your budget if not come in under...I was able to get mine for $525 shipped as a refurb with warranty directly from Dell. Has Intel Haswell CPU, uses haswell GPU for desktop and an AMD 8850M (or 265x iirc). The limitations mine had was a slow 500GB HDD I replaced with an SSHD and it only had 4GB DDR3-1600 which I doubled for cheap. Can take up to 1866. Will be stronger on the media front than most APU setups...

I am also not a fan of HP laptops as I repair many of them, but that doesn't mean they're total junk. Those are some nice specs for $500 for sure. I would spend some time researching your options, check out the website gaminglaptopsjunky as well, he's super helpful at finding great deals. For your needs and requirements, I would recommend increasing your budget to buy a higher quality laptop.

I have a budget Asus laptop with an APU and it did surprisingly good, but was at a much lower resolution than 1920x1080. Also as a web dev, I would consider a 17" screen with 1080 resolution or better, for extra real-estate. I love my 15.6" screen but I have to get much closer to it than a 17" screen to read the print and I have 20/20 vision.

My Dell has been a beast...quite capable, easy to lug around, good battery life, plenty of power for gaming and applications. I use it for work (I'm in IT, I use multiple remote sessions as an administrator and have dozens of tabs open at any time, while making ISO's, performing other commands and using tons of resources, testing VHD's in Hyper-V, etc) and school (IT). I hope that helps and good luck!

Thank you very much for your response and suggestion! I use a dual monitor set-up at work, so the screen size, at 15", will do alright for me. Yeah, I am very hesitant to pull the trigger on the HP. It is a pretty good deal, but I don't want to encounter any problems. That hesitation is solely based on things that I have read and heard about HP.

This is a tougher process than I thought it would be lol. Do you happen to know anything about Lenovo?
 

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Ya the company I work for sells them exclusively. Lenovo laptops are pretty damn solid, I have several co-workers that sport the Carbon and Yoga 2. All super happy...those are more expensive than your budget will allow though. As with anything, when the budget is low, you get what you pay for. I spent a couple of months researching, asking questions, researching more before I settled on the Dell 3540 refurb. For my budget it was the best option 6-months ago. My workplace couldn't match the specs this Dell offered.

It all depends on what you can tolerate too. Go out to various stores and use some...see what you like or dislike. I don't care if my laptop has touchscreen as I prefer a matte screen so I can work in more lighting conditions without annoying reflections, glare and finger smudges.
 
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In that budget, you can't expect much, my advise go with intel as cpu and add more money; I work with Photoshop CC, for photo editing most, I owned a amd fx8350, now a lenovo y510p(before that a lenovo g510), PS work better for me on I7 mobile cpu than on amd cpu...I waited longer to have enough money to buy something solid (1300$ in january 2014), for me it is the tool with I make the money to live, so it is important to be reliable and performant, on your actual budget you will find mediocre laptop, suitable for multimedia/web, but not so good for working, but I see people working in Photoshop on 10 years old pc...
 

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I just had to work on a new HP with windows 8 and reinstalling the OS was a PAIN! I installed windows 7 and while it does say windows 7 was supported, half the drivers were missing on the website... So I install windows 8 like came with the machine but to my pain there were also drivers missing on the HP website.. It seemed to be the only way to get every driver was to piece them together off other models that were close to what you have and hope they work. Maybe this was just a HP website error but I spent all day on drivers/install alone when it should have only taken about an hour or less.

I would go with dell if I was getting a laptop for just web surfing and site building (no gaming).
 
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Thank you for your responses! I really appreciate it.

Let me ask you this: Do you think that I need an i7, or could I get away with an i5?
 
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I think I7 it is better, from what I know, on laptops I3 it is a dual core, I5 it is a dualcore with ht , I7U it is a dual core with ht and best it is I7 (quadcore with ht)....
 
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Thank you for your responses! I really appreciate it.

Let me ask you this: Do you think that I need an i7, or could I get away with an i5?
Well the i5 mobile is much different from the i5 desktop. The i7 mobile is essentially a lower clocked desktop i7 (Keeping the 4 cores and 8 threads) while the i5 is more of an i3 desktop (Dual core with hyper threaded 4 cores). If your going for a laptop to use with Adobe CC, you might be interested in this article as well because AMD just announced today the new CC suite will be boosted by AMD graphics meaning that an APU will of course get a huge boost using the GPU to offload work. So if your decision is between an APU and an i7 its going to be a bit harder since you would be mobile CPU bound versus having both a CPU and GPU working it.

I am not sure in actuality where the performance would fall including that exactly since its just been reported for the Adobe CC suite, but its definitely something to think about.

As far as HP goes, in the past I have had issues with HP (3+ years back) with friends laptops and such overheating or failing out right. However in recent times they have buckled down and resolved the issues for the most part. My family has a few and both have worked excellently in recent times!
 
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I tested in PS CC, lenovo g510 and y510p, same I7 cpu, 8gb ddr3l and same ssd, but one with nvdia card , other with amd card, the one with amd card seem more snapy(maybe because of low resolution, 720p vs 1080p), but I get a lot of blue screen because of amd drivers when working with PS CC and vga eanbled in settings(tested 4 weeks with differenr OS and drivers), in the end I get the laptop with nvidia, on game side, the one with nvidia work much better...
 
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So, I upped my budget a bit. I ran across this HP:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA29P1ZC0731

I know that we have discussed HP, and there seems to be some gripes. All that I am looking at is the price/performance here. If I can find another deal like this with Lenovo or Asus, I would probably lean that way. Anyhow, what do you all think about this? Is this a good deal?
 
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I don't like because it is missing a dedicatet vga(in PS can help a lot) and it have touch screen(usually touch screen are glossy(this is a problem if you work in PS) and this type of screen increase the price of laptop)...try to find with matte screen (non-glossy) and non-touch(afaik the dirt on screen you will see when working, after you touch it)...in Est EU the HP brand, for laptops, it is mediocre, some models good, some bad, I usually recommend Lenovo and Toshiba if you need reliable hardware, I dont think you will find a good laptop for PS under 1000USD from a good brand+I7(4th)+matte screen+8gb ram+dedicated vga(this is minimum I find ok to work with PS on mobile hardware)...
 
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So, I upped my budget a bit. I ran across this HP:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA29P1ZC0731

I know that we have discussed HP, and there seems to be some gripes. All that I am looking at is the price/performance here. If I can find another deal like this with Lenovo or Asus, I would probably lean that way. Anyhow, what do you all think about this? Is this a good deal?
Well it would be ok but using Intel's Integrated is pretty abysmal except for the basics and for that price there are options that have NVidia or AMD mobile GPU's.

Thing is when your on a laptop, no matter what encoding or anything in Adobe that requires a lot of CPU power will be limited already compared to a desktop which is why having a GPU to offset (Which Adobe supports both OpenCL and Cuda) the load and give you a significant performance boost. It will help out significantly as even with my recent machines (Bear in mind I mostly video editing, encoding, and things like that when I use Adobe) having just the CPU do everything was ok but when you add the GPU boosting (OpenCL in my case with my R9 290X) went significantly faster.

Here are my recommendations based on your needs/budget:

Lenovo G505
Asus X550LNV
Acer Aspire V3-572G-70TA

If you want to just get the highest processor and not worry about anything else grab this one:
Toshiba Satellite S55t
 
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Go for an Intel and avoid Acer and Toshiba.

My sis has a Toshiba laptop and the USB ports are failing on it and the mobo has some other issues. Soundcard is going bad too. Lots of noise when the power cord is connected.

Amd APUs get really hot too.
 
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Lenovos are good as well as cyberpower.
 
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Well it would be ok but using Intel's Integrated is pretty abysmal except for the basics and for that price there are options that have NVidia or AMD mobile GPU's.

Thing is when your on a laptop, no matter what encoding or anything in Adobe that requires a lot of CPU power will be limited already compared to a desktop which is why having a GPU to offset (Which Adobe supports both OpenCL and Cuda) the load and give you a significant performance boost. It will help out significantly as even with my recent machines (Bear in mind I mostly video editing, encoding, and things like that when I use Adobe) having just the CPU do everything was ok but when you add the GPU boosting (OpenCL in my case with my R9 290X) went significantly faster.

Here are my recommendations based on your needs/budget:

Lenovo G505
Asus X550LNV
Acer Aspire V3-572G-70TA

If you want to just get the highest processor and not worry about anything else grab this one:
Toshiba Satellite S55t
I have a ASUS UltraBook S56C with an i5 3317. I run four jobs on BOINC, number crunching, at 100% CPU usage. All the while surfing the net with, usually, 3-5 tabs, often many more. Last night I had 20 open!

The only drawback I see with the ASUS listed is the same one I have, a 5400 rpm drive. I am on the fence, right now with no Desktops available, about getting an SSD or upGrade to a 7200 rpm platter. One will definitely help with heat and battery life, the 7200 only has a speed plus, well it's cheaper also. Point is, the i5 is plenty capable especially, in your case, with a dedicated GPU.

I would definitely save and get this, also search AMAZON for the same computer, often the beat NewEgg with their sales.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231960
 
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I have a ASUS UltraBook S56C with an i5 3317. I run four jobs on BOINC, number crunching, at 100% CPU usage. All the while surfing the net with, usually, 3-5 tabs, often many more. Last night I had 20 open!

The only drawback I see with the ASUS listed is the same one I have, a 5400 rpm drive. I am on the fence, right now with no Desktops available, about getting an SSD or upGrade to a 7200 rpm platter. One will definitely help with heat and battery life, the 7200 only has a speed plus, well it's cheaper also. Point is, the i5 is plenty capable especially, in your case, with a dedicated GPU.

I would definitely save and get this, also search AMAZON for the same computer, often the beat NewEgg with their sales.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231960

I don't mind that price, at all, and it looks like it would do the job. I upped my budget a bit more and I came across this: ASUS N56JN-EB71. Do you think the upgrade in from dual to quad core is worth the price increase. as far as performance?
 
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This one look good from specs, search for reviews on internet, I usually look at laptop if I can install win 7 on him (at leaast until some win 9, or any psot - win8/8.1 will be on market)...an yes, from 2 core to 4 core will see some benefit, and the 2 core cpu it is U edition( a striped version from normal version)...
 
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I don't mind that price, at all, and it looks like it would do the job. I upped my budget a bit more and I came across this: ASUS N56JN-EB71. Do you think the upgrade in from dual to quad core is worth the price increase. as far as performance?

There is a premium of 150 bucks. In my World, not worth it.

This one look good from specs, search for reviews on internet, I usually look at laptop if I can install win 7 on him (at leaast until some win 9, or any psot - win8/8.1 will be on market)...an yes, from 2 core to 4 core will see some benefit, and the 2 core cpu it is U edition( a striped version from normal version)...

It is not 'Stripped', it is simply undervolted. The i5 also runs single thread processes with a faster TURBO speed than the i7.

Overall, I think the i5 is more than capable for what you want from it. Another thing to consider, the i7 is in a different case. It weighs over a pound more. The only other difference between the two is the CPU. Well, and the battery, The i5, being a U chip, is more power efficient, when one is not power using.

Also, more positive reviews for the i5.

My 2 cents. :D
 
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PS need cpu power, a lot, and a cpu with U it is not just "undervolted", the U laptops are for people who need first to have a lot of battery and light hardware, who work almost only on battery/move, so U can reach the peak/maxim of clock from time to time, but it can not sustained this for much time , I don't say it is bad, but is is not good for heavy cpu software...
 
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Upping your budget isn't a bad thing. Just keep an eye on it and don't go overboard. I originally had a $750 budget for my laptop. Ended up spending about $1000 for my Lenovo. I kinda wish I would have been able to go $1200 since some real nice models were in that bracket but looking back at it now, I'm glad I stopped when I did. Mine is plenty, yeah I wish it had a little more GPU omph...but even if it did, it wouldn't get the performance for the money. Laptops vs desktop is just no contest.

Also while at it, keep in mind various little frills some models have. If you are coming from an Apple background, you'll probably miss things like lighted keyboards if you go with a cheaper model. Weigh it all, have multiple picks to choose from, then go the best of the bunch.
 
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Thanks, everyone, for the input! I really appreciate it.

I will not be using the laptop for on the go stuff. Well, I may sometimes, but for the most part it will either be at home or at work and it will be plugged in. When I am not using it as a work laptop, I will be using it as an HTPC, which again, will be plugged in. This may sound odd, but efficiency and battery life on not necessarily a priority, or at the top of my features list.

I came across what looked like a pretty good deal. It is a Toshiba Satellite P50t. I have not heard the greatest things about certain brands, such as HP and Toshiba, but I also know that it kind of the luck of the draw when it comes to technology sometimes and that you can find horror stories on just about every brand.

Anyhow, how is that compared to the ASUS I posted earlier? Link to ASUS
 
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From last 2, brand wise will be Toshiba, the difference from 2 it is vga cards and type of display, but, from my past experience, amd drivers for mobile vga are very problematic(I get a lot of bsod on lenovo g510 when use PS CC with vga enabled, so I get in the end a nvidia vga card)...check google for reviews (for my y510p I knew before buy that drivers for trackpad and wireless are bad(from forums and reviews), but I almost not use those, so I accepted this)...
 
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System Name My rig
Processor i7 3770k 3.5
Motherboard Gigabyte UD4H
Cooling Cooler Master Seidon 120M Push/Pull
Memory 8GB G.SKILL Ares Series (2 x 4GB) 1866 Mhz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX780 GDDR5-3GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC Graphics Card - GV-N780GHZ-3GD
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From last 2, brand wise will be Toshiba, the difference from 2 it is vga cards and type of display, but, from my past experience, amd drivers for mobile vga are very problematic(I get a lot of bsod on lenovo g510 when use PS CC with vga enabled, so I get in the end a nvidia vga card)...check google for reviews (for my y510p I knew before buy that drivers for trackpad and wireless are bad(from forums and reviews), but I almost not use those, so I accepted this)...

Yeah, I will not be using the track pad often, if at all. I cannot use the track pad with the programs I use. And, besides that, I do not like using it at all. I thought that the Toshiba was a good deal, but I recently switched from AMD to Nvidia graphics in my desktop. I didn't really think about driver issues on the laptops, but now that you mention it, I may just stick with Nvidia there, too.
 
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