• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

What kind of laptop should I get GAF?

Status
Not open for further replies.
jstripes said:
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.
Click to expand...

He has an anti-Apple crusade in every topic where Apple is mentioned. Don't let it bother you too much.
 
AdrianWerner said:
It's amazing some people just can't accept that Windows Laptop can be a valid choice. It's like they're still clinging to 90s market, where PCs were big, ugly and filled with BSOD.

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

It's amazing some people just can't accept that a Linux Laptop can be a valid choice. It's like they're still clinging to early 2000s where you needed a PhD in Computer Science to navigate to facebook and everything was a command line.

Guys, it's over. It's been over for a decade. People can buy what they want now.
 
jstripes said:
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.
Click to expand...

I can kind of relate. I used to feel exactly like him. I just looked at specs and numbers and feature parity and scoffed at the value proposition of a Mac. It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I seriously used a MacBook Air for a while that I more or less fell in love with how elegant and frustration-free the hardware and software was. That's not to say there aren't niggling issues with OSX (particularly, I'd love to have snapping windows from Windows 7 as a default feature), but in terms of general usability, combined with the keyboard and trackpad on the MacBook line, it's just a real pleasure to use.

I don't think a Windows laptop will ever be able to compete simply because the hardware makers and software maker are separate. There really is something to be said for a premium solution that comes from a party that controls both aspects.
 
Don't make the same mistake I made. Don't mix a laptop for college with a gaming one. You'll end up with a gigantic, noisy, hot and heavy machine that can't really run games that well. And if it does, you'll be out of battery after 30 minutes. And then you'll have to look for a socket to plug it in with a gigantic power brick. What's that? You have a presentation in 30 minutes and you can't find a socket? Bad luck.

Also, there is no excuse for a $1000 laptop not to have an SSD. The most annoying thing is having to wait for a 1TB (you won't need that much) 5400 rpm drive to boot up Windows when you need something done quick.

If you want a gaming machine, just get a cheap-ish gaming PC and some sort of a ultrabook. PC will run games much better without the inconvenience and the ultrabook won't annoy you in college.
 
TheDefinitionOfInsanity said:
Don't make the same mistake I made. Don't mix a laptop for college with a gaming one. You'll end up with a gigantic, noisy, hot and heavy machine that can't really run games that well. And if it does, you'll be out of battery after 30 minutes. And then you'll have to look for a socket to plug it in with a gigantic power brick. What's that? You have a presentation in 30 minutes and you can't find a socket? Bad luck.

Also, there is no excuse for a $1000 laptop not to have an SSD. The most annoying thing is having to wait for a 1TB (you won't need that much) 5400 rpm drive to boot up Windows when you need something done quick.

If you want a gaming machine, just get a cheap-ish gaming PC and some sort of a ultrabook. PC will run games much better without the inconvenience and the ultrabook won't annoy you in college.
Click to expand...

I second this.

Having a gaming desktop frees up major possibilities for my laptop purchasing options.
 
Haeralis The BRave said:
Btw, I own an iPhone 5c. Should that have a bearing on the decision to get a Mac vs. PC? Are there cool stuff you can only do for the iPhone only with a MBP?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Right now the best features (imo) are being able to use iMessage directly on your Mac and the seamless photo management through iCloud. The new features coming with iOS 8 will only make it more useful. I imagine this is an area Apple wants to focus on in the future to convert more iOS users to Mac computers.
 
TheDefinitionOfInsanity said:
Don't make the same mistake I made. Don't mix a laptop for college with a gaming one. You'll end up with a gigantic, noisy, hot and heavy machine that can't really run games that well. And if it does, you'll be out of battery after 30 minutes. And then you'll have to look for a socket to plug it in with a gigantic power brick. What's that? You have a presentation in 30 minutes and you can't find a socket? Bad luck.

Also, there is no excuse for a $1000 laptop not to have an SSD. The most annoying thing is having to wait for a 1TB (you won't need that much) 5400 rpm drive to boot up Windows when you need something done quick.

If you want a gaming machine, just get a cheap-ish gaming PC and some sort of a ultrabook. PC will run games much better without the inconvenience and the ultrabook won't annoy you in college.
Click to expand...

Listen to this man.

Also, listen to everyone recommending you a MacBook. You'll thank them later.
 
TheDefinitionOfInsanity said:
Don't make the same mistake I made. Don't mix a laptop for college with a gaming one. You'll end up with a gigantic, noisy, hot and heavy machine that can't really run games that well. And if it does, you'll be out of battery after 30 minutes. And then you'll have to look for a socket to plug it in with a gigantic power brick. What's that? You have a presentation in 30 minutes and you can't find a socket? Bad luck.

Also, there is no excuse for a $1000 laptop not to have an SSD. The most annoying thing is having to wait for a 1TB (you won't need that much) 5400 rpm drive to boot up Windows when you need something done quick.

If you want a gaming machine, just get a cheap-ish gaming PC and some sort of a ultrabook. PC will run games much better without the inconvenience and the ultrabook won't annoy you in college.
Click to expand...

Gaming laptop have gotten better and lighter though. I just bought the gigabyte p34g v2 with gtx 860m in it. The weight? 1.7kg.
 
Yeah, that rMBP definitely went from not even being considered to one of the computers that seem the most appealing, thanks to this thread. I only wish I could find out for sure whether or not it can emulate FFXII at 720p...

I still have until next Tuesday to figure out for sure what I want, thankfully.
 
TheDefinitionOfInsanity said:
Don't make the same mistake I made. Don't mix a laptop for college with a gaming one. You'll end up with a gigantic, noisy, hot and heavy machine that can't really run games that well. And if it does, you'll be out of battery after 30 minutes. And then you'll have to look for a socket to plug it in with a gigantic power brick. What's that? You have a presentation in 30 minutes and you can't find a socket? Bad luck.

Also, there is no excuse for a $1000 laptop not to have an SSD. The most annoying thing is having to wait for a 1TB (you won't need that much) 5400 rpm drive to boot up Windows when you need something done quick.

If you want a gaming machine, just get a cheap-ish gaming PC and some sort of a ultrabook. PC will run games much better without the inconvenience and the ultrabook won't annoy you in college.
Click to expand...


post-28035-youre-very-good-you-you-unders-HcoL.gif
 
Just found out yesterday that Asus is coming with the UX303LN soon. 13.3" i7 with 12GB ram, 3200x1800 AND dedicated graphics. The first high resolution 13 incher with dedicated graphics. Was going to go with the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, but now I'm definitely going to wait for this one. Im dying for some high resolution goodness. Anyone know where I can find info on the UX303 release date in western europe?
 
Does anyone know about student discounts? Specifically, how I could use it without an ID? I have to get a computer next Tuesday, but I won't have an ID again until classes start.

Can I buy online and use my ".edu" email to verify it?
 
Haeralis The BRave said:
Does anyone know about student discounts? Specifically, how I could use it without an ID? I have to get a computer next Tuesday, but I won't have an ID again until classes start.

Can I buy online and use my ".edu" email to verify it?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure (never done it personally so someone else might be able to verify) but I believe if you order online from the education store they don't really do any specific checks for eligibility.
 
Gaming laptop is a bad way to go. All that extra heat in there tends to fry components, and they can't be individually replaced in laptops, plus the extra weight. Get yourself a decent, light laptop with good battery life and save for a desktop gaming rid for your house.
 
AdrianWerner said:
Why? It's much weaker than 15 inch Pro and much less portable than 13 inch air. It's worst of two worlds.
Click to expand...

The extra pound and larger size are problems for the 15".

The low resolution and low power are problems for the Air. Trading up for 0.5 lbs makes sense.

Unless you don't plan to carry around your laptop daily, 13" rMBP is best of both worlds.
 
jon bones said:
if (when) you go rMBP remember to go 8 GB ram & 256 GB SSD

enjoy the best laptop you've ever used 8]
Click to expand...

cosigned.

i have the current 13-inch rMBP in this config and it's unquestionably the best computer i've ever owned. drives two external monitors (plus its own display) without issue, runs for 8-9 hours by itself, beautiful screen, slim and light body, everything good about every other macbook.

what i thought would be its only flaw — the 1280 x 800-equivalent (pixel-quadrupled) resolution — actually turned out not to be an issue at all. it makes sense for casual use, and switching to 1440 x 900 scaling mode has no perceptible loss in image quality or performance. i'm usually a stickler for that sort of thing but i hop back and forth between the two with no problems at all.

seriously, i can't recommend this laptop enough. only go for the 15-inch if you really truly need discrete graphics (i don't, even though i do play games on this thing quite a bit), and only go for the air if you don't mind a terrible screen and if battery life and portability are ultra priorities (i'm more than happy with both on the 13-inch pro). i agree with the "best of both worlds" comments above.
 
maeh2k said:
For starters, it takes the price wayyyy beyond $1000. It's a $2600 machine. At that point you might be better off just getting multiple devices. One for gaming (like a desktop PC) and a portable notebook.
Click to expand...

I understand, but he wasn't joking. He gave our family $3000 (!) which is a lot more than I asked for...

From what I've read though, it's not worth blowing it on a 15' versus the 13'
 
I ended up getting the retina MacBook Pro 13in'! I'm a little disappointed because I couldn't get the 500GB model instead of the 250GB model. I really don't think 250GB was enough, but oh well.

Now comes the process of learning how to use a Mac.

For a Windows installation, a key should be the same regardless of whether or not it is 32bit or 64bit, correct?
 
Haeralis The BRave said:
I ended up getting the retina MacBook Pro 13in'! I'm a little disappointed because I couldn't get the 500GB model instead of the 250GB model. I really don't think 250GB was enough, but oh well.

Now comes the process of learning how to use a Mac.

For a Windows installation, a key should be the same regardless of whether or not it is 32bit or 64bit, correct?
Click to expand...

congrats!

256 will be juuust fine if you use external storage for your hd movie collection

just wait til you get used to swiping between screens.... utility is gonna go through the roof
 
I've been thinking of getting my wife a new laptop. She does designing (web design, banners, etc) for work and I always see macbooks being recommended. She has a windows laptop that is really slow now and uses a mac at work so I guess a macbook would work well for her. Problem is macs always scare my wallet a little T_T. I always felt like I could get a faster windows laptop for the equivalent amount of money spent on a macbook.

Anyway, since I know nothing about macbooks, is a pro worth the extra over the air for that kind of work?
 
georaldc said:
I've been thinking of getting my wife a new laptop. She does designing (web design, banners, etc) for work and I always see macbooks being recommended. She has a windows laptop that is really slow now and uses a mac at work so I guess a macbook would work well for her. Problem is macs always scare my wallet a little T_T. I always felt like I could get a faster windows laptop for the equivalent amount of money spent on a macbook.

Anyway, since I know nothing about macbooks, is a pro worth the extra over the air for that kind of work?
Click to expand...

absolutely without a doubt.

if she uses a mac at work theres no question: retina macbook pro w an external monitor for home use
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

What is your current computer/laptop?
2
55
580
computergeek replied
Should I get Android tablet vs iPad?
14
970
Meicyn replied
  • Poll
Should GAF publicly display what country a user is posting from?
2
58
926
ForAcademicPurposes replied
Is a 60hz display on a laptop bad? I
22
481
deriks replied
GAF should really implement an AI assistant
23
518
Malak replied
Top Bottom