Laptop Recommendations

[factgasm]

My dear old HP Pavilion DV9500 has finally expired so I'm in the market for a new laptop. Times were when I fully understood what components to look for, but that was quite some time ago and times have changed.

What would you buy if you were looking? What would you recommend in terms of processor, RAM, hard drive, brand etc?

Is there anything that I should definitely avoid buying?

I'd like to get something fairly high end-sih but old skinflint that I am, I'm thinking of spending no more than US$1,500 (£1,000)

Please go easy on the noob.

[no42]

Macbook Pro's appear to be popular these days.

Really depends on your requirements? what size laptop are you willing to use? what weight laptop are you willing to carry around? Operating System preferences? Will you be running virtual machines? Will you use it to play movies (DVD/Blueray)? Will you be playing network-games eg Call of Duty etc. ?

Basic spec:

i5/i7 core processor 2.3GHz+

8GB RAM minimum

~500GB SSD (Solid State Drive) HDD

Built in Wifi & Bluetooth

Nvidia Geforce Graphics Card (but you may be limited to an Intel HD on your budget)

USB 3 ports (but if your using virtual machines you probably want some USB 2 ports aswell)

DVD/Blueray player for movies on the go?

[factgasm]

Thanks midnitesnake.

Of all things, I hadn't actually considered an Apple.

I wouldn't be using the machine for network games. As far as carrying it around goes, my old dv9500 was a hefty lump to carry about (17.7 inch screen). It used to get quite hot too. It's possible that is wht cooked the graphics card.

I definitely agree with 8GB of RAM (or more). I did see machines with 16GB in Singapore (two years ago!).

Maybe 1TB of HD if possible. Is the i7 processor the best on the market right now for maintsream laptops?

[Foxtrot]

Grab a custom Thinkpad! I think that Lenovo has a customizer on their site :)

I myself have an Aspire One D270 as my laptop, which runs linux nicely once you mess around with it enough.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Foxtrot

[vector]

jesus fuck all that over priced fancy shit. get a little netbook and a used ultrabook of craigslist. youre bound to find some asshole sellin one cheap for some reason. i would just recommend a ssd and a thin small formfactor. /me prefers 10-13" screen sizes for his laptops.

[Lost In Cyberia]

I think it depends what you're using it for, but yea, Apple is just so over priced, I can't justify it. a simple computer like a dell or HP will work fine. You can get an equally adequate computer to a Mac for atleast 300 -400 less.

Edited August 28, 2013 by Lost In Cyberia

[Snubs]

I prefer the Acer Aspire S7 laptop- it comes in at around 13", has a great resolution, all around good specs... They just released the Haswell edition, but you can get the last generation for half the price, equaling around $8-900. Their new ones are around $1500.

[vector]

I prefer the Acer Aspire S7 laptop- it comes in at around 13", has a great resolution, all around good specs... They just released the Haswell edition, but you can get the last generation for half the price, equaling around $8-900. Their new ones are around $1500.

hell yes the s7 is p sick ultra