So my piece of shit laptop died. (3 Viewers)

[ohexploitable]

Don't quite get what you mean about "discussions about laptops" because I am very well aware of that, I don't see where I mentioned desktops.

The i5 laptop I posted is ~$800 full price and remember this is an older model. A new one is due to be released and the price of this model will drop by about $100-200 to clear them out.

The cheapest macbook pro is how much, you tell me to confirm yourself. Most certainly not under 1K.

"The difference in specs when you spend 1.5k on a PC as opposed to 1.5k on a laptop, is phenomenal."

 

[ohexploitable]

i've been telling jarrod to get a macbook air ($1099)

and how it's much faster than anything for everyday use (due to SSD)

and how the 1.6ghz ULV cpu is not noticeable due to osx

 

[Carrotsticks]

do you realise how stupid that sounds?

I said that to make a point, quite clearly you didn't recognise that.

not really, I sort of want a desktop + shit netbook combo.

Good idea! I kinda have the same thing right now, except my desktop is beast.

1K can get you a pretty powerful PC (with monitor + peripherals), which can even play the latest games quite decently, and I know this is overkill for you but you get what I'm saying.

$500 can get you a solid netbook but I suggest against it. I have a couple of friends who use the 11" netbooks and their eyes start hurting after working for a while with it, because of the reduced screen size. 13" is the bare minimum for comfortable work over 1-2hrs + of usage. I would make the laptop the higher-priority target because the parts cannot easily be changed, you'll essentially be stuck with the specs you got it with, whereas a desktop can be changed in a flash.

 

[Carrotsticks]

i've been telling jarrod to get a macbook air ($1099)

and how it's much faster than anything for everyday use (due to SSD)

and how the 1.6ghz ULV cpu is not noticeable due to osx

Did you remember to mention that the hard drive space is only 128GB?

Also, there IS a big difference.

1. My laptop = 3ghz officially as advertised (more like 2.7Ghz though). Macbook Air = 1.7Ghz advertised.

2. My laptop = 10+ hours battery life (I can vouch for this since I have it). Macbook Air = 7.5 hours battery life.

3. My laptop = 4GB RAM. Macbook Air = 4GB RAM.

4. My laptop = 750GB HDD. Macbook Air = 128GB (yes I am aware that it is SDD but he's using it for work anyway, so not quite necessary).

5. My laptop = $700. Macbook Air = $1100.

I do not see why we are debating this, there is a CLEAR winner here.

 

[ohexploitable]

anyway to sum up

a macbook air is faster than this: http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=9456

for everyday use (i.e. jarrod's needs)

purely due to the SSD

/thread

 

[Carrotsticks]

anyway to sum up

a macbook air is faster than this: http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=9456

for everyday use (i.e. jarrod's needs)

purely due to the SSD

/thread

I have one one of the top-end SDDs on my gaming desktop and I have run benchmark tests on it with various games and boot-times. The differences aren't as great as you're making them seem. Adding the fact that he doesn't play games means that it's still going to be overkill unnecessarily.

You forgot to also add the fact that the less space you have, the less performance you have as well so unless OP is excellent at keeping files in order, keeping his HD clean, then the effect of the SDD will be negated by the fact that it's more cluttered due to the limited space.

 

[ohexploitable]

1. My laptop = 3ghz officially as advertised (more like 2.7Ghz though). Macbook Air = 1.7Ghz advertised.

negligible difference for word processing/internet browsing/emails etc.

2. My laptop = 10+ hours battery life (I can vouch for this since I have it). Macbook Air = 7.5 hours battery life.

yeah ok fair enough but 7.5 hours is more than enough for anyone

3. My laptop = 4GB RAM. Macbook Air = 4GB RAM.

4. My laptop = 750GB HDD. Macbook Air = 128GB (yes I am aware that it is SDD but he's using it for work anyway, so not quite necessary).

ssd makes all the difference and is one of the main selling points to the average consumer*

5. My laptop = $700. Macbook Air = $1100.

azn

---

macbook air (with ssd) vs my phenom x4 desktop (samsung spin point f3)

mba can boot faster
mba can wake up from sleep quicker
mba can load ms word faster
mba can load a pdf faster
mba can load an internet browser quicker
mba 'feels' faster

^all that is important for average use

sure my desktop can encode a video faster and give me higher fps in crysis
but that doesn't matter to most ppl

I do not see why we are debating this, there is a CLEAR winner here.

see above

 

[Riproot]

oh ok yay let me build you one!

Preferably before sem starts?

but lol no you don't want a cheap netbook

get like an iPad or an android tablet instead

I said "(or iPad)" in the OP gosh.

I said that to make a point, quite clearly you didn't recognise that.



Good idea! I kinda have the same thing right now, except my desktop is beast.

1K can get you a pretty powerful PC (with monitor + peripherals), which can even play the latest games quite decently, and I know this is overkill for you but you get what I'm saying.

$500 can get you a solid netbook but I suggest against it. I have a couple of friends who use the 11" netbooks and their eyes start hurting after working for a while with it, because of the reduced screen size. 13" is the bare minimum for comfortable work over 1-2hrs + of usage. I would make the laptop the higher-priority target because the parts cannot easily be changed, you'll essentially be stuck with the specs you got it with, whereas a desktop can be changed in a flash.

k but I don't think the screen size will kill me since I use my phone like 24/7 anyways.

Also, I used the compare thingy on the apple store web page and I'm leaning for the lowest MBP for $1229, the 11-inch MBAs ($1049-1199), the 13-inch ($1299), or the low end iMac for $1349.

Is the mac mini + screen worth getting?

 

[Carrotsticks]

Since it seems like you've finalised your decision, I may as well help you with the choices for Mac. I suggest the 13" MBA + Screen. You can get a cheap 24" monitor for ~$250 so overall it will go a wee bit above your budget, but will be worth it!

ohexploitable, you still have a lot to learn about computers, especially laptops. I've been in the PC business for years and I've seen all those points before, nothing new.

 

[ohexploitable]

You forgot to also add the fact that the less space you have, the less performance you have as well so unless OP is excellent at keeping files in order, keeping his HD clean, then the effect of the SDD will be negated by the fact that it's more cluttered due to the limited space.

pretty sure that's a consequence inherent to mechanical hdds

 

[Riproot]

Did you remember to mention that the hard drive space is only 128GB?

Also, there IS a big difference.

1. My laptop = 3ghz officially as advertised (more like 2.7Ghz though). Macbook Air = 1.7Ghz advertised.

2. My laptop = 10+ hours battery life (I can vouch for this since I have it). Macbook Air = 7.5 hours battery life.

3. My laptop = 4GB RAM. Macbook Air = 4GB RAM.

4. My laptop = 750GB HDD. Macbook Air = 128GB (yes I am aware that it is SDD but he's using it for work anyway, so not quite necessary).

5. My laptop = $700. Macbook Air = $1100.

I do not see why we are debating this, there is a CLEAR winner here.

hard drive space isn't an issue because I have an external one and will probs rip my one out of my laptop to make it two which is like 2TB in total, which is honestly quite a lot for me.

1. I don't know what that is.
2. 6 is probs enough for me tbh my longest day without pracs is like 6 hours. (plus train ride is like 8 though, but I probs wouldn't use it in all classes).
3. yay? (I don't know what that is either)
4. Doesn't the smaller HDD make it go faster? I heard that somewhere.
5. ~$1049. But still, dat monies. :/

It seems pretty close to me. :/

I can't make up my mind. :/

anyway to sum up

a macbook air is faster than this: http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=9456

for everyday use (i.e. jarrod's needs)

purely due to the SSD

/thread

what's an SSD?

 

[ohexploitable]

ohexploitable, you still have a lot to learn about computers, especially laptops. I've been in the PC business for years and I've seen all those points before, nothing new.

I've been building and playing around with computers for 5-6 years, I can tell you it's hard to find something matching the specs this laptop for the price.

oh wow i built my first computer in year 6 so that's 8 years

~that makes me soooo cool~

(no)

-

i used to think like you, trying to get the best 'bang-for-buck', buying a cheap core 2 and overclocking the fuck out of it etc.

but now i've realised there are much more important things than just specs and that a saving of $100 or $200 means nothing at all on something you're gonna use for possibly 2-3 years

 

[Riproot]

Please tell me the website is lying.

Otherwise I'd buy that right now.

 

[ohexploitable]

what's an SSD?

SSDs have improved quite a bit since then

 

[Riproot]

???

 

[Riproot]

SSDs have improved quite a bit since then

I'm on my phone and using my phone net because my mum is stupid and put the internet in her room while I was away and turned it off and I don't want to go in there now and wake her up because I'm supposed to get up at ~7am so I can't watch that video.

 

[ohexploitable]

11" macbook air

same screen resolution as most 13.3" laptops (1366x768)

so unless you're 80 years old, get the 11"

 

[ohexploitable]

i'm off anyway cunt

 

[ohexploitable]

nighty night

 

[Carrotsticks]

It's a 'Solid State Drive'.

Essentially, it is a faster version of a hard drive. However, it's MUCH more expensive than normal hard drives, but there are also different types of hard drives and the cost (and speed) depends on the RPM (revolutions per minute) of the hard drive. You start putting that sort of stuff into the equation when you deal with desktops ie: WD Caviar vs WD Green vs Velociraptor etc which can get 5400 --> 10k+ theoretical RPM.

Most people who get hard drives tend to partition their primary drive into a 'OS' partition and an "everything else" partition.

So yes, SDD is faster than HD, which is good ofc. However, it's smaller in capacity. This is bad because the smaller capacity means it's a LOT easier for things to get cluttered (fragmented sorta). This can even go to the point of almost 'cancelling' the effect of the SDD so you may as well just get a normal HD for half the price and twice the capacity.

If you want to make the MOST of SDD, you should get the 256GB one. That way, the 'cluttering' isn't an issue anymore and you can take full advantage of the SDD's proper speeds.

If you get a 64GB SDD for OS but have a separate hard drive for everything else, that's fine because the stuff from the hard drive won't affect the SDD.

However your case is different because you only have the one hard drive, so your work, movies, music etc etc WILL get mixed in with the OS and slow it down.