Student deciding what Laptop to go with.

Hello, first time posting here from the UK! For the past year I have been looking at a replacement for my current three year old laptop and I cannot seem to decide what would suit me the best. I will be going on to university in a few months’ time to do a digital art course where I will need a good laptop to work from. My budget stands at £1500 (although due to my interest in enthusiast computers re-emerging I seem to be willing to go a little higher by £250) and I am aiming to buy it around September/October time. I would like this laptop to last me a little longer then my current one so I have been keeping future proofing in mind such as looking at models with mid-end Haswell I7 processors.
Originally I had been looking at going with a gaming laptop from either MSI (GT60 and GT70 models) or Asus (G75VW and VX models) due their high specifications and cooling systems, but after doing some further research I have since learned that for my purposes it would be better going with a workstation laptop with a Quadro graphics card rather than one with a Geforce card.
Presently I am leaning towards going with a Lenovo W530 after reading a few good reviews about it, but I would like to know if there any other options in the market that would fit the bill. Plus any ideas on how to configure it without blowing my budget too much?
P.S (Not sure about Dells after having a terrible experience with one a few years back, while my current laptop is a HP Pavilion that seems to have its moments.)

I agree that the Quadro should be avoided.
A laptop that I have been looking at is the new fourth generation i7 just as an example here is a good starting point from England (as I do not know where you are). It is sort of a starting point system called the Asus G750JW but since the price is only £1124 you should possibly add more memory and an internal SSD (or I believe you can have two internal mSATA drives). There is a step up from the G750JW to a G750JX. Each of these base models has many variations indicated by letter and numbers behind the main part number so you have to be an inteligent shopper. For instance one of our local USA retailer Best Buy has a particular in house model that is called G750JW-BBI7N05, you can see this is a custom version made (probably only) for Best Buy by the "BB" designator.

Similar Messages

What laptops will work with The Sims 3?

I want to play The Sims 3, but don't know what laptops will run it. I really don't care if it runs prefectly.

Starflyer59 wrote:
The only two laptops that BB carries right now that will run the SIMs 3 would be the
Asus G50VT
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9173262&type=product&id=1218044029168
or the
Gateway FX model
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827
Not exactly. Though they are not listed on the BB website yet, some stores already a have new assortment of laptops for sale now.
I just saw a quad-core HP with ATI graphics selling for $1299. I also peeped at least one new Toshiba and Asus model with enough spunk to play this game.
The OP should wait for there local store to get in these units. It won't be much longer.
Disclosure: Former BBY employee.

What laptops are compatibile with Photoshop?..that have 16GB ram...

I recently purchased the Dell XPS 15 as it is configured with the massive power needed to use photoshop and Lightroom. However, it seems that the screen is not compatible and it is unresolvable. I am SOOOOOO disappointed, and now it is Dell's problem as I am sending it back. Apparently this is a known issue that Adobe is aware of but does not care to address. If you use Photoshop with this system, you must view the toolbar with a magnifying glass. So finally to my question, other than the Mac, what laptops have the 16 GB ram, etc. are available to run Photoshop quickly and smoothly?
The main reason that I do not want to go to Mac is that the Mac Book pro is $1000 more expensive. In addition, I still use PS5 and have no need to upgrade. If I get the Mac, not only will I have to pay $1000 more for the computer, I will have to upgrade and go to the PS CC and pay ...forever...for software that I already own to get a Mac version.
Help!

AhrPhotography,
One very important point for a professional photographer, though not related to your questions:
If you use Adobe Camera Raw—and I would assume you do—you are leaving a lot of image quality on the table if you stick with Photoshop CS5. The conversion and rendering in Adobe Camera Raw improved very substantially in ACR 7.4 (and higher) and that requires at least CS6 to run.
You can upgrade to a perpetual-license of Photoshop CS6 for $200 at the Adobe store, or you can sign up for the Photography plan for $10 a month and that includes both Photoshop and Lightroom. The downside, of course is that you never get to own the software. You pay the monthly tribute to Adobe in perpetuity; when you cease the monthly payment your software ceases to work.

Ok i finally decided what i will order with my new mobo. Pls tell me what you think...

Ok i got the 875p neo Fisr pcb 2.9
I have a p4 2.8(800) atm , but im thinking of ordering a 3.0 or 3.2 since i dont overclock much...
Decided to go with kingmax ramm unless someone saiys else i got a reply earlier that someone has this and it works. only thing i worry is they dont come in a duel kit so im gonna order 2 from prolly a bulk load... pc3200 kingmax . newegg has them for 80 a pop. 512 meg a stick. one thing that worries me is they are rated at 2.5 volts and if needed to crank them suckers to 2.7 then i might change the memory order if you guys think that will be a problem.
Got a bfg geforce 600gt coming from best buy for 399.(434 w/tax.)
Gonna get a vantec 520 watt psu, has oveer 25 amps anthe 12, has over everythng LOL.
I dont know what bios this new mobo is so i am wondering if after i install all if i should flash to the latest bios or not to worry about flasshing??
Woot im finally getting close to ordering , only thing i might change is no pcu if you think a 32. from a 2.8 wont make a bigg difference , or if you think the kingmax ramm rated at 2.5 volts might give me a problem . Im afraid to go corsair or very low clas like 2. these are 2.5 . Im my last board the pcb 1.0 after i bios flashed from somethng ( i dont remember which i had i could no longer run in ultra turbo)Ohh ye i had 1.92 b at that time. but for some reason it worked . My only concern is that i wont be able to run in ultr turbo, i could still run in slow on my last mobo but i lost scores in all benchmarks. Well well see what happs this time.
Ill let ya know . thanx for all of you that replied.

the neo lsr or fisr should be great boards . mine kicked butt until i messed with it and i guess the flashing which i did correctly on my board didnt undo when i went back. So all with a pcb 1.0 if it works, dont mess with it. LOL . Worked great and was very fast .
I hope the new pcb 2.0 is just as good.
ohh that was geforce6800 gt not 600 LOL. Sorry im tired been up and stressed over what i should order...
Im out .
Peace !

What laptops are compatible with iPhone and Android?

I am looking to buy a laptop and want to be able to transfer everything from my phone over to it. I was told that I cannot do this with a chromebook. I want something that I can use for an android phone as well.

Thank you! I was looking into a hp that runs on windows 8, but was unsure.

I'm having trouble deciding what do to do with some gift cards of my daughter, 1 they're invalid, 2 the code scrached off, and 3 it's all my fault! What should I do?

I bought my daughter an i-pod when she was around 7 or 8. At Christmas time when people asked me what she wanted I said an itunes gift card! Lots of people bought her one and so to keep them safe I put some in a safe place for when she was older... and lost them. She's now thirteen and is very eager to have some more money on her acount as right now she has 73p. I finally have found the gift cards but when she scratched the foil off the code came too, not to mention that they're out of date, something I didn't realise happened to itunes cards. My daughter is angry as we have at least £70 of unused credit, that other people have spent for her. Is there anything we can do to get the money, as it upsets me to think that itunes would take the money without leting us use it?

iTunes Store Customer Support may be able to help if you can provide them the serial numbers from the back of each of your cards.
The article below shows you how to locate the serial number on the back of your gift card.
iTunes Store: Invalid, inactive, or illegible codes
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1292
Once you have located the serial numbers, contact iTunes Store Support via https://expresslane.apple.com/Issues.action and include those numbers in your email.

What a horrible way to treat customers. I was due for updates on my phones and thought I should maybe check some other prices but have been with Verizon for 20 yrs so ended up there. I got 2 new IPhones 5s and the wife couldn't decide what she wanted so s

What a horrible way to treat customers. I was due for updates on my phones and thought I should maybe check some other prices but have been with Verizon for 20 yrs so ended up there. I got 2 new IPhones 5s and the wife couldn’t decide what she wanted so she stayed with old phone but this locked me into a new 2 yr contract . Within a wk one of the new iPhones started turning on and of like 10 –15 times a day. Wk 2 it turned off and would not turn on again . It was my sons who was in college at the time so we talked and he took it in to a Verizon store where he was told I need to come in since the account was in my name. He was away from home , Verizon could see on account it was his phone they said it was not abused, they could not even turn it on , they sold me the phone give him another phone maybe even a loaner till he gets another. So now I need to go to store and explain to 3 different people this is my phone and my son has it and I need a new one. what a waste of time after about 2 hrs and talking to different people and yes they said there were notes on his account from other person he had talked to from different store. So I finally walk out with a receipt in hand and being told I would have a new phone in a couple days. As I sat in my vehicle thinking this is stupid I looked at my receipt and noticed it said droid on it so back into Verizon I went. The salesman said that’s what your son has on his account. My son had activated a friends old phone so he has one since VERIZON REFUSED to give him one. Another hr 3 people and yes they can see he had a new iPhone and notes on it from other store. Sometimes sorry just doesn't do it. I was now late for a appointment . Now I walk out and have been told I will get a new iPhone in the mail in about 2 wk Yes 2 wks again I bought it there just give me a new one and you send old one back. I will also get a new droid that I have to send back because they said they cant cancel it . In about 3 days I get the Droid and sent it back Verizon mistake and a waste of my time . After waiting over 2 wks and not receiving a new iPhone back to Verizon I went . I am now bitter at Verizon after doing 20 yrs of business with them. 3 people 1 hr later I was told it got delivered to my post office . I got the tracking num called the post office and they say o yes that was the droid. Go back in to Verizon another hr of explaining I walk out being told I will get a new iPhone in a couple of days, We’ll see . Once again I got the phone in your store just give me a new one . Do you realize how much of my time you have wasted ? do you care? O what is Your Policy ? How many Billion did you make last year ? I am Locked into a new 2 yr contract . Why don’t you just release me ? After 20 yrs do you think I will ever renew my contract ?

Simple process. If an iPhone go to the Apple Store and not Verizon
the phone from Verizon will be a refurbished device and not new unless under the 14 day worry free guarantee
good luck

What do I do with my laptop when the shutdown keeps popping on the screen?

What do I do with my laptop when the shutdown keeps popping on the screen?

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

I have a work Mac, an air book, a home Mac; husband has desktop and laptop. That makes 5. My work computer was replaced and I do not know what the company did with it. I am not allowed to deauthorize all. Any way around the year limit?

I have a work Mac, an air book, a home Mac; husband has desktop and laptop. That makes 5. My work computer was replaced and I do not know what the company did with it. I am not allowed to deauthorize all because I did this within the last year when I got my new airbook. Any way around the year limit? I don't know if I can find my old computer and I don't want to wait months to be able to play my ituens purchases on my new work computer.

If oyu already used up your "deauthorize all" option, you need to contact support so they can make an excemption:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/contact/

I have an IBook dual USB Mac OS x laptop. What should I do with it?

I got this laptop from my aunt. It's an old IBook G3 Dual USB laptop with Mac OS x. It was very lightly used. I bought an airport card for it and downloaded a browser for it called Classila. Now I'm wondering: What should I do with it? Are there any games I can buy for it? I can't play any modern games like Minecraft or any others I've tried. I have an Xbox 360 so I dont rely on this iBook for gaming. Any tips? 5 point to best answer. Thanks

I would suggest maximizing the RAM with a 512 MB module.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/100SO512328L/
We need to know how much space is on the hard drive. See if Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility gives you the information on the hard drive (its capacity and available space).
Mac OS X 10.1 is available from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-10-1-OLD-VERSION/dp/B00005QVGV
Once you have installed Mac OS X 10.1, you can then download the update here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1226
Note this:
If updating from Mac OS X 10.1, you must install Security Update 7-18-02 for v10.1 prior to installing this update.
However, this is still a 10-year-old version of the OS and is not very good, so be forewarned.
If the iBook has a drive which is capable of reading DVDs and has enough available space on it, then it would probably run best with Mac OS X 10.4.11 (once you have maximized the RAM with the 512 MB module).
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Requirements:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514

What do I do with old student version of software?

A couple years back I got the student version of Adobe Design Standard CS4. I have since upgraded to CS6 and no longer have any use for my Design Standard software. The discs are just sitting there in the box.
My question is, what do I do with it? I've been told I can't sell it because it's a student version. But what do I with it? I'd hate to just throw it out, but it doesn't serve any purpose for me to hold onto it. Is there a buyback or recycle program?

Cenamaria2787 I would recommend you verify your software license for CS4 is available under your account. You can find information on how to locate your serial nimber under your account at Find your serial number quickly - http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/find-serial-number.html.
For the discs themselves I am not aware of any specific recycling programs for DVDs or CDs. You are also correct that since it is the educational version you can not sell the software.

My laptop hard drive with my itunes library died and now itunes won't sync my ipod to the libary on the new drive without first deleting everything on my ipod. What can be done?

My laptop hard drive with my itunes library died and now itunes won't sync my ipod to the libary on the new drive without first deleting everything on my ipod. What can be done?

Sync with new computer
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

Hi i downloaded windows on my macbook pro without bootcamp and it deleted the mac portion of my laptop and i downloaded os x but my laptop started off with os x lion and i want os x lion back on my laptop what do i do

hi i downloaded windows on my macbook pro without bootcamp and it deleted the mac portion of my laptop and i downloaded os x but my laptop started off with os x lion and i want os x lion back on my laptop what do i do now?

timothymac123 wrote:
and i downloaded os x but my laptop started off with os x lion and i want os x lion back on my laptop what do i do now?
I'm confused. Are you saying that your mac came with an older version of OS X, but you want to be able to use OS X Lion, which you downloaded from the App store? If this is not the case, what do you mean by "I downloaded os x but my laptop started off with os x lion and i want os x lion back"? Specifically, what do you mean by "I downloaded OS X" if your mac came with Lion?

What laptop to get for CS5 or CS6...

Increasingly there appear questions about which laptop to get for CS5/6.
First, the question is why a laptop and why not a desktop?
Laptops are always at least 2 to 3 times slower than a desktop, they are significantly more expensive than a desktop with the same or better performance and they need a wall outlet to use. Batteries don't last long enough for editing and you need a wall outlet for external components (disks, monitor, BD-R etc.) that are required. All that makes a laptop more like an expensive, underpowered luggable machine.
For video editing machines it is always best to use a machine for video editing only and use a second system for other applications and this is especially true for much weaker laptops than desktops.
So, let me repeat the question: What are the considerations to use a laptop over a desktop? You have to be very clear about it to sell the idea to the one responsible for the budget. You also have to be clear about the performance penalty, if you decide to go forward with a laptop.
OK, we got this out of the way. You have good arguments to get a laptop and you have succesfully sold the idea to the one responsible for the available budget.
So what are your choices and what do you need to look for in terms of specs?
First, let me remind you of the article Adobe Forums: What PC to build? An update... because it contains a number of relevant issues that influence your choice. Basically there are three approaches possible:
Get a laptop from a brand company like Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba and the like.
Get a customizable laptop from specialist companies like Sager or Clevo.
Get a custom builder like ADK Video Editing build you a system tuned to your needs.
All these solutions have a number of common components, under the assumption you want to edit HD material:
CPU: at least a quad core i7 processor, preferably with hyper-threading. The faster the better.
GPU: at least a nVidia GTX 660M or better with 1+ GB DDR5 memory.
Disks: at least 2 internal 7200 RPM disks.
Connections: minimum is eSATA plus USB3 ports.
Monitor: at least 1920 x 1080 resolution and 15.4" screen size or bigger.
Memory: bare minimum is 8 GB but workable is only 16 or 32 GB.
Looking at brand names one may come up with a short-list like:
Now, in their standard configurations they are all lacking on some aspects. Insufficient memory, only single disk, or lacking connections. If these can not be configured to meet the above practical minimum requirements, where at least 2 disks is the most crucial, there is only companies like Sager and Clevo to look at. Something like this is about bare minimum, because of the underspecced video card:
Despite the price this will still be around 3 times slower than an equally priced desktop. If that performance penalty is too big, then one can consider a system like this:
Again, despite the price, this system will still be more than 2 times slower than a far less expensive desktop, but hey, you knew that when you decided on a laptop and got approval for the budget, right?
The last option is to go to a custom builder to get a laptop that is exactly tuned to your needs and budget. It will not be less expensive than the Sager route, but it will get you the best balance between performance and price for your needs. Additionally, you get great service if ever needed.
To sum this up, a laptop is a compromise. A compromise in performance and price. It is not for the faint of heart, faint of wallet. It is not a laptop, it is a luggable system on a wall outlet. An alternative is coasters under a desktop system and you can use other wall outlets as well, but with a better price and far better performance.
I hope this will help people to decide if they really need a laptop and if affirmative, to get the right system for their needs.

As usual, Harm has provided very knowledgeable and helpful advice in this matter. I would like to add that if you are inclined, and feel it's worth a gamble.....New Egg has been selling refurbished Asus i7 laptops that have almost all the necessary components for a lower price than normal. You may have to add more memory yourself and add a quality SSD for OS and programs and pagefile, ( cloned from the supplied drive). Then, use the supplied drive for media and all else in the second bay....or, as an emergency backup of your original configuration. I am not sure,but I think if you put a second Marvell controlled SSD in the second bay instead,( Corsair Pro or Plextor Pro...no Sandforce), you may get the benefit of SATA III speeds from BOTH drives for best laptop performance.....I am not sure if earlier criticisms of SSD degradation still apply with these newer Marvell controlled SSDs.
      I DO know that my old Asus G73JW tested MUCH FASTER on Harm's PPBM5 benchmark when I added extra memory,( from 8 to 14GB ), AND used a Corsair Force 120GB SATA II SSD in each of the two internal drive bays. On that site you can see similar laptops to mine performing way slower using less memory and conventional spinning HDDs. At the time, I was careful to choose SSDs that had a high read AND write speed. I have had no issues with my SSDs. I also have used the Seagate Momentus XT hybrid HDD as project drive.....and scored lower on the PPBM test,( not submitted).
      Harm is right.....any laptop will not approach the performance of a good desktop setup....not to mention PPro CS 6 appears to be even more powerful and demanding than the 5.03 I'm using. People are reporting needing at least 32GB memory and more than 2GB video card memory to get better performance.
   Someone posted about Exotic PC selling upgraded laptops, ( some Asus) with up to 32GB memory and muliple HDD configurations....you may be able to upgrade a laptop similarly yourself for less money. Watch the sales at Tiger Direct and New Egg....you may find some thing workable.

What laptop HDD to the experts use? Looking to upgrade Macbook Pro 2007

I changed my mind about getting a portable external HDD and decided to upgrade my internal HDD on my Macbook Pro I purchased back in 2007. The applecare is almost up so I might as well upgrade now while I have the cash.
I would like to know what 2.5" internal hard drive professional video editors recommend (being an amateur editor myself).
I was thinking the Seagate Momentus 7200 RPM 500GB drive but discovered that there are two kinds, one with a free-fall mechanism that some say conflicts with the macbook's own mechanism. Furthermore, I have heard that recent tests show the 7200 RPM 500GB Momentus isn't as fast as its price or specs would make you believe. Is this true?
Have any of you found a satisfying internal hard drive for your video editing on the go needs?
Let me know.
Here are the specs on my current HDD:
Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Model: Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00
Revision: SB4AC7CP
Serial Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Mrkvantosh HD:
Capacity: 148.73 GB
Available: 4.84 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s2
Mount Point: /

The new FCP has a set of codecs just for offline edits its called prores proxy. This is for offline edits only. Professional editors know better than to try to edit on a laptop. This would be the equivalent of pulling a house uphill with a 1955 VW beetle. If you insist on this, both Caldigit and Sonnet make firewire 800 raids. But you will not be able to finish using Proress HQ or Prores 4444. So you need to decide what your audience is. If this is for weddings, that does not require any sort of quality but if your editing episodic TV or even commercials you really need to use a Mac Pro and a proper RAID. and finish with Prores HQ or 4444 and then output to a finishing codec such as MPE2 or what ever the station requires. If you use a homade drive which is what you are suggesting prepare yourself for a world of hurt. These are for storage ...not for editing at best you may be able to use half the drive and be prepared for losing everything on the drive from time to time until the drive fails completely. You must use at least a 7200 RPM drive with a large buffer and preferably a 10,000 RPM drive. again this is at best a short term solution which invites disaster and if you don't have your raw footage backed up someplace your just asking for a nightmare.

Student deciding what Laptop to go with.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for