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[GWX]

This is what I would get.

This is worse than a Macbook Air for the OP. Worse GPU and a heavily throttled CPU, making it slower than the Air for emulation.

edit:

Love my MBA '12. When I have it in my backpack, I basically have to check if it's still there every now and then, it's so light. The battery lasts a working day and the trackpad is glorious of course. It's really a great laptop, one that's actually comfortable to use when you're in the train for instance. Due to smaller screen sizes on laptops when compared to desktop, the OS makes you a bit more productive with the mission control function as well.

I haven't really kept up, but at the time it was the best the choice for Ultrabooks. I can't really imagine other manufacturers were able to catch up, and then I mean in regards to the the touchpad mostly.

Even if they did, scrolling on Windows is so janky it wouldn't really make a difference.

 

[Amentallica]

You're getting us a laptop?!

Spoiler

Comma

 

[NotBacon]

Unix? What kind of super nerd OS is that?

The one running on your MacBook.

The number one reason why anybody should consider a Macbook over a Windows lappy.

It's nice, but not THAT nice.

Brb spending a whole day trying to get drivers to work
Brb 90% of your programs/games don't run
Brb setting up everything takes a long time and even then most things will be broken
Brb getting used to a whole new system when there's zero need

Brb grabbing a time machine so I can go back to 2004 and experience those issues...

My mom always had laptop issues, so I put Ubuntu on it, gave her a 10 minute tutorial and haven't got a call since.
It just works, no viruses, no installers riddled with toolbars, and it's not difficult to figure out clicking the chrome icon opens chrome.

The ONLY argument I'll accept is the lack of games. I guess there are a few people who need more than the 500+ steam games for linux at the moment.

 

[PaulExcellent]

Read the first post.
Read the first post.
Read the first post.

"makboooooook"
No.

Lenovo Y40 (AMD Processor, 7+ battery life)
Lenovo Y50 (i7 Processor, 3-5 battery life)
X1 Carbon
Dell XPS 15

These are pretty decent in portability, and they'll get you the performance you want.

 

[malfcn]

Is 15 the new sweet size? And most seem to have a slab for touch pad. Not individual buttons.

 

[Erebus]

I'm wondering how easy is it for someone who has only been using Windows for their whole life to switch to a Macbook and OS X in general?

 

[Lynn616]

This is worse than a Macbook Air for the OP. Worse GPU and a heavily throttled CPU, making it slower than the Air for emulation.

The Surface Pro 3 i7 model has the same HD 5000 as the air.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

This is what I would get.

Now try using it on your lap.

 

[Forearms]

Razer 14... picked one up late last year when it didn't have a super hi-definition screen, which is pretty unnecessary on a 14" screen anyway. The only plus to the newer screen is it's also a touch screen.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade/

It can play anything I throw at it on High/Ultra settings, and it's not a pain in the ass to lug around when I go places.

 

[GWX]

The Surface Pro 3 i7 model has the same HD 5000 as the air.

The $899 11" Air has that GPU, against the $1,549 Surface Pro 3 i7 with such GPU. And the CPU is still heavily throttled, so my point persists.

 

[Lynn616]

The $899 11" Air has that GPU, against the $1,549 Surface Pro 3 i7 with such GPU. And the CPU is still heavily throttled, so my point persists.

There is some compromises to get at the right balance of thermals and performance for the thinner laptop. I personally would rather have the better screen and thinner machine. Each person will have to decide what is more important to them.

 

[maeh2k]

Personally, as a student I'd get the Surface Pro 3. Not great for gaming, but the ideal device to carry around all day and take notes.

For a laptop, I'd get a business-class Lenovo -- i.e. a ThinkPad. Plenty to choose from. Check out the 440s (and the 440p if you need more power). 14" Full-HD IPS, matte screen. Great keyboard. Good touchpad. Both come with Geforce 730s.
If you don't need a dedicated GPU, there are also the X240, ThinkPad Yoga, and the X1 Carbon.

 

[genjiZERO]

Is the MacBook Pro really that bad for those things I said? I could run Civ 5 on it couldn't I? I don't really need to play brand new stuff or anything.

Also, I saw a YouTube video from a couple years ago of a MacBook Pro running FFXII at full speed. Surely contemporary ones could still do that...

Not that I'm leaning towards a MacBook right now. It's just that the way people here are talking it up, maybe I shouldn't dismiss it so readily

As much as I love my macbook pro, it's terrible for gaming and you'll have to spend about 2000+ to get a full sized one.

 

[terrisus]

If you want to do any sort of emulation, don't get a macbook. If you want good gaming specs under $1000, don't get a macbook.

Seriously, how can people be recommending Macs given what it is the OP wants to do with the laptop?

 

[zero_suit]

Seriously, how can people be recommending Macs given what it is the OP wants to do with the laptop?

They don't read the OP?

 

[terrisus]

They don't read the OP?

Well, yeah, but I figured I'd give people the benefit of the doubt, as opposed to assuming people would just go into any thread that asked for laptop suggestions, regardless of the needs and desires, and just blindly suggest Macs.

 

[zero_suit]

Well, yeah, but I figured I'd give people the benefit of the doubt, as opposed to assuming people would just go into any thread that asked for laptop suggestions, regardless of the needs and desires, and just blindly suggest Macs.

That seems to happen almost every time, though..

 

[terrisus]

That seems to happen almost every time, though..

I know. I suppose I shouldn't assume the best in people in that instance anymore >.>

It's like, seriously people...

All these macbook air recommendations.. did you read the OPs requirements? Good luck emulating PS2 and running modern games on that dual core i5 and integrated graphics.

Read the first post.
Read the first post.
Read the first post.

"makboooooook"
No.

These.

 

[faceless007]

I absolutely love my 2013 MBA, but it's not a gaming machine, so the OP should look elsewhere.

 

[The Maverick]

This is what I would get.

That was a good laugh. Read the OP.

I'd go Dell XPS 15 or X1 Carbon if I were in this position.

 

[Haeralis The BRave]

Thanks for the insight! I've seen quite a few great suggestions. I'm sorry if the things that I'd like a laptop to do sound so demanding, I just figured that it would be possible to find a laptop that could play old games and emulate decently at $900 or below.

I know that they didn't technically give me a price budget, but out of respect I don't think I'd like to get a MacBook Pro esque price. I don't want them to think I'm greedy or taking advantage of them... Maybe I'm silly for thinking something like that, idk

Does anyone know if this one could do what I posted in the op?
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=34-313-742

 

[MercuryLS]

MacBook airs need a resolution refresh if they want to be considered. The screens are shit on them.

MacBook keyboards are also shitty IMO.

The keyboards on the Airs are too shallow (consequence of the thinness). I would agree that it would be worth waiting on the rumored 12" Retina Macbook Air.

Otherwise I would recommend the rMBP 13". It's amazing.

 

[Mii]

I'm in the market for a laptop as well.

A few questions:

1) will there likely be a MacBook Pro refresh before early September? Will the next refresh likely be a small spec bump or an important bump? The macrumors buyers guide suggests I'd be stupid to buy now, but it seems there is doubt the next upgrade will be large.

2) I'll be walking 25 minutes one way to school and back daily. Should I opt for cheaper price and the lighter 13" with Iris, or should I go for 15" and iris pro? Is the pound for bigger screen and better integrated graphics worth it (ignoring price)? Admittedly, the most taxing thing that will be run is excel in windows.

3) I am generally ruling out the MacBook Air as I want to run windows in parallels (air sounds a bit too light on specs to do it reasonably) and the resolution on the Air sounds awful (have a desktop monitor with 2560x1440 resolution and I love my iPad Air). However, 2.9 pounds is very tempting. Am I eliminating the air for bad reasons?

 

[maeh2k]

I'm in the market for a laptop as well.

3) I am generally ruling out the MacBook Air as I want to dual boot windows (air sounds a bit too light on specs to do it reasonably) and the resolution on the Air sounds awful. However, 2.9 pounds is very tempting. Am I eliminating the air for bad reasons?

Anything is fast enough for dual booting. There's no performance cost to dual booting -- just takes up more space on the disk; so maybe don't use a 128GB SSD. If you want to run a virtual machine, however, more performance is great.

The screens on the current MBAs are about two years behind the curve. I wouldn't buy one, either. It's ridiculous how Apple can still get away with them and the MBA is still touted as the best thing ever.

 

[FoxhoundNL]

People that say others didn't read the OP, didn't read the OP:

If someone told you that they wanted to buy you a laptop, and "price is no concern" what would you look for?

I was commenting on that at least. Of course OP can decide himself.

 

[Wiktor]

People recomending ultrabooks without dedicated gpus for a guy who clearly wants to game on his laptop. Wtf is wrong with you people?

Look at some ideapads or Asus line's. You can get there pretty powerful units with enough power to handle emulation and without absolutely shitty for gaming retinas screes (because no, those thin laptops will die before running anything decently at their native res

 

[Wiktor]

Annnd we're done.

IMO, the only time you should consider a Windows laptop over a Macbook Air/Pro is if gaming is a major priority (but you wouldn't want a laptop for that anyway unless you need to be mobile and you state that it isn't the only thing you're looking for) or if budget is a factor.

Or if your top priority is rugedness and typing comfort, in which case you shouldn't consider Macbook or anything else besides Thinkpad

 

[bionic77]

The MBA is my favorite laptop ever (for someone who travels a lot).

For the OP I would strongly recommend you try out a few ultra books and the MBA. You can't change the screen, keyboard or trackpad on a laptop so make sure you are happy with the one you get.

 

[genjiZERO]

Or if your top priority is rugedness and typing comfort, in which case you shouldn't consider Macbook or anything else besides Thinkpad

Yeah I dunno, my Mac is a lot more durable than any PC I've ever seen, and keyboard is pure preference.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

I figured I'd ask. I'm also looking but My budget is tighter (don't want to spend more than 700) whats the best you can get for that?

 

[jon bones]

you're not going to find better than the Retina MacBook Pro.

The 15'' has a dedicated GPU, but the HD 5100 in my 13'' gets the job done if I need to game on it (FFXIV:ARR at very solid frame rate @ 720p.)

Just partition the SDD w/ W7. It's what I did and it works like a dream. Probably takes 7 seconds to restart into the other OS.

 

[Buggy Loop]

MBP 13" retina, i5, 8GB and 256GB model. As thick as the MBA's thickess place, but as a student myself, this doesnt matter once in your bag, nor does the minimal weight difference matters, but dat retina display...

 

[Esqueleto]

you're not going to find better than the Retina MacBook Pro.

The 15'' has a dedicated GPU, but the HD 5100 in my 13'' gets the job done if I need to game on it (FFXIV:ARR at very solid frame rate @ 720p.)

Just partition the SDD w/ W7. It's what I did and it works like a dream. Probably takes 7 seconds to restart into the other OS.

Apple's website shows they all have the 5100 unless you pay 2600$ for a 750m.

To the op. Ps2 emulation is still too demanding. Sotc still has slowdowns on my i7 desktop and 7950. Maybe other games run better but I haven't bothered to back them up. Gamecube runs fine on mobile cpus from what I've seen but I don't know how gpu intensive it is. I'd get something like a sager. They seem to be the best bang for buck.

 

[maeh2k]

I suggested a couple of devices without dedicated GPUs since those were in line with other devices that had been suggested before and I don't actually know how much performance it takes to emulate a Gamecube.

But I guess you'd really be better served with a dedicated GPU. So I'll limit myself to one single recommendation: get a ThinkPad T440s.

It's a great compromise between performance and portability. It's light. Good battery life. Great keyboard. Good trackpad. Great display -- especially on campus when you can't control the lighting conditions, a matte IPS screen is amazing.

German T440s review
Scroll down to the benchmarks. Pretty decent. Lots of current games run at medium settings.

You might be tempted to get a cheaper consumer device that's more oriented toward gaming, but if you want to carry the thing around every day for years, you'll surely be a lot happier with a ThinkPad.

 

[Archer]

Lenovo X1 Carbon

+ultra light
+boss ips touch screen (2560x1440)
+military spec
+haswell
+minimal aesthetic
+not macintosh

I can vouch for this. Awesome super lightweight, powerful ultrabook.

Didn't know the mil uses this. The components are damn durable tho.

 

[Wiktor]

Yeah I dunno, my Mac is a lot more durable than any PC I've ever seen, and keyboard is pure preference.

It's less durable than Thinkpads and no..KB isn't a pure preference. Not any more than Macbook's touchpads are. Macbooks just can't meaure up to Thinkpads in anything related to pure typing. The keys in Thinkpads are more energonomic and have better travel distance. Trackpoint destroys any touchpad for typists, thelaptop design has more comfortable wrist rest, not to mention lower temperatures and matte screens. As a plus you can easily replace the keyboard by yourself if it ever gets broken.

There are many advantages Macbooks have over Thinkpads, but for pure typing? No contest.

 

[jelmerjt]

MacBook Air. I recently bought the 11 inch model and I LOVE it. It's a fast and sturdy ultrabook, and boy is it portable. Seven+ hours of battery life, and it only weighs one kg.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Lenovo Y50

Asus N550JK

Sager N6658

I'd say a Y50. Look at those specs. This particular version might have low video memory though.

My Y580 from newegg has been a good gaming laptop with a i7, 8gb ram, and a 2gb 660m gpu.

 

[kharma45]

This is what I would get.

Yeah SP3 looks the dogs bollocks.

Lenovo X1 Carbon

+ultra light
+boss ips touch screen (2560x1440)
+military spec
+haswell
+minimal aesthetic
+not macintosh

I've a Carbon for work, good enough machine although the newer models with the function buttons replaced with capacitive buttons and the keyboard tweaks haven't went down well at work, nor has the new track pad on them. I remember most reviews not being that big a fan of the keyboard on it either. I've yet to try the newer model though myself to see if the complaints are valid. Keyboard changes Lenovo made do seem odd though.

I suggested a couple of devices without dedicated GPUs since those were in line with other devices that had been suggested before and I don't actually know how much performance it takes to emulate a Gamecube.

But I guess you'd really be better served with a dedicated GPU. So I'll limit myself to one single recommendation: get a ThinkPad T440s.

It's a great compromise between performance and portability. It's light. Good battery life. Great keyboard. Good trackpad. Great display -- especially on campus when you can't control the lighting conditions, a matte IPS screen is amazing.

German T440s review
Scroll down to the benchmarks. Pretty decent. Lots of current games run at medium settings.

You might be tempted to get a cheaper consumer device that's more oriented toward gaming, but if you want to carry the thing around every day for years, you'll surely be a lot happier with a ThinkPad.

I considered changing to a T440 but after the Carbon they're just too big. They're not terrible though and if the OP is wanting to emulate games it'll have the power to do that.

 

[maeh2k]

I considered changing to a T440 but after the Carbon they're just too big. They're not terrible though and if the OP is wanting to emulate games it'll have the power to do that.

The T440s isn't that big either. At 1.56kg it doesn't weigh much more than an X1 or a Macbook Air.

I have a 440p myself, so the 440s already seems small and light. If I didn't need the performance (quad-core with 16GB of RAM), I'd have chosen the 440s. There's always a trade-off. Really depends on individual needs.

 

[DarkFlow]

That glorious first reply.

The Macbook Air (Haswell) is the best laptop ever made.

It's also not under a $1000.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231761

$949 Refurbished Asus N56JR-EH71.

i7-4700HQ @ 2.4 GHZ
1TB HDD
12GB RAM
GTX760M
1080P Screen

 

[Sobriquet]

It's also not under a $1000.

$899 for 11" and $999 for 13"

 

[Sectorseven]

The Macbook Air is nice, but for a little more you can get the much more powerful Pro.

 

[Haeralis The BRave]

My friend recommended this Toshiba. Any opinions?

http://m.toshibadirect.com/product/detail/computers/laptops/qosmio/X70/X70-AST3G23

 

[dark_prinny]

That glorious first reply.

The Macbook Air (Haswell) is the best laptop ever made.

Dennis I´m dissapoint

Retina MBP.

 

[terrisus]

My friend recommended this Toshiba. Any opinions?

http://m.toshibadirect.com/product/detail/computers/laptops/qosmio/X70/X70-AST3G23

Looks very good.

Spoiler

And much better than all of the absurd Mac suggestions in here.

 

[jon bones]

The Macbook Air is nice, but for a little more you can get the much more powerful Pro.

Yeah I was decided between the two and went Pro. Thing is still light and slim, but way more beasty.

I did a lot of testing of various laptops before I bought this one and I have to say... probably one of my best purchasing decisions, ever.

 

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

Yeah I was decided between the two and went Pro. Thing is still light and slim, but way more beasty.

I did a lot of testing of various laptops before I bought this one and I have to say... probably one of my best purchasing decisions, ever.

Yep. Had a 2012 cMBP and just picked up a 2013 rMBP. This thing just blazes and is incredibly light compared to my other Pro.

sogood.gif

 

[jstripes]

Spoiler

And much better than all of the absurd Mac suggestions in here.

It's amazing that some people just can't accept that Mac is a valid choice. It's like they're still clinging to those two decades of Windows domination.

Guys, it's over. It's been over for half a decade. People can buy what they want now.

 

[kudoboi]

Razer Blade Pro
get this if "price is no concern"