Opinions on a laptop

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Ok, I have a computer allowance for my day job and the budget is right around ~ $1500 USD, but can go a little higher then that. I am just looking for solid choices and reasons why they are the better choice.

Main needs:

Quad Core CPU (preferably i7)

Strong GPU

4 - 6 Gig of ram

decent size screen

Reliability

Uses:

Heavy duty modeling and design

SSA daily stuff

BOINC crunching (very CPU and GPU intensive)

Limitations, needs to be from Newegg or Amazon. I have been looking for over a week, and have had my eye on a couple, but wanted to get a few educated opinions. Bromo has been of assistance, and I wanted to see what a few other people thought. I had considered using the same funds for building a sweet desktop, but with life being what it is, I need to be more mobile since I will not be at my own machines that often. I had a few Toshiba's in the past from previous jobs that were trusty, and a couple of PowerBooks from way back when that did me right, but it has been a while so I am a tad rusty on the laptop world. Thought about skipping a paid OS, and run my trusty friend Ubunutu, but I need to run Windows due to a few programs that are not usable on Linux. Usually I would just barrel ahead and find one that seemed decent and grabbed it, but why waste such a powerful tool as the SSA member base. Thanks for any ideas.

[nem 2,019]

I like asus, but I am not sure if they have what you are looking for.

[Julian 641]

I've had great success with HP and Sony laptops, I love em'.

Try using Wine! You can run pretttyyy much any Windows program on Ubuntu

i'm liking the Newegg.com - SONY VAIO F Series VPCF121FX/B NoteBook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 16.4" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce 310M

4GB ram 512MB dedicated video memory, Win 7, Blue Ray Drive. I would suggest upgrading the battery though, i really regret not getting an extended battery size.

Site for Wine: My link

And looky here what i found

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=3910

BOINC on Wine = gold

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

[eggyhustles 33]

Asus or msi

Acer's and sony's have a high failure rate.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Asus or msi

Acer's and sony's have a high failure rate.

I did not know Acer's were failure prone.

[Julian 641]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

I have BOINC installed, have for awhile, never really understood how to set it up on teams. Just kinda sat there heh.

Also I've had my sony for maaany years, still running great

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

I have BOINC installed, have for awhile, never really understood how to set it up on teams. Just kinda sat there heh.

Also I've had my sony for maaany years, still running great

Well crap, should have told me. My team, SETI.USA can use all the help it can get. To add your self to a team, you have to select a project in the BOINC Manager ( in the projects tab), click on the "Your Account" or "project's name" button, it will load the project website. Then find the link towards the top left that says "Teams", find "SETI.USA" in the team listings, and click join team.

SETI.USA has a full forum like this one.

[inkfx 3]

I used to do a lot of F@H a few years ago but stopped when I sold my computers and got my laptop. The overclocking forum I belonged to always had contests vs the SETI team. Try to find a laptop with a 7200rpm drive. Either that, or buy an SSD for a boot drive. Most of the 17" widescreen laptops have 2 hard drive bays. Also remember the laptops get REALLY hot when running at 100% 24/7 or however long you run the client. That is the only reason I don't run it on mine. The damn thing just burns up.

[inkfx 3]

After a little research, the Asus for 1599 you linked on newegg is a solid laptop. I looked into the nVidia mobile GPUs and they are just renamed old technology.

[dvalue 17]

They are not available on Newegg or Amazon, but you should look into Sager. They are OEM'd by Clevo.

I have had great success with mine, and a comparable Alienware cost twice as much.

[Julian 641]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

I have BOINC installed, have for awhile, never really understood how to set it up on teams. Just kinda sat there heh.

Also I've had my sony for maaany years, still running great

Well crap, should have told me. My team, SETI.USA can use all the help it can get. To add your self to a team, you have to select a project in the BOINC Manager ( in the projects tab), click on the "Your Account" or "project's name" button, it will load the project website. Then find the link towards the top left that says "Teams", find "SETI.USA" in the team listings, and click join team.

SETI.USA has a full forum like this one.

I believe i got it!

Also added you too.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

They are not available on Newegg or Amazon, but you should look into Sager. They are OEM'd by Clevo.

I have had great success with mine, and a comparable Alienware cost twice as much.

Any specific link I should look at first? I have not heard of them before.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

I have BOINC installed, have for awhile, never really understood how to set it up on teams. Just kinda sat there heh.

Also I've had my sony for maaany years, still running great

Well crap, should have told me. My team, SETI.USA can use all the help it can get. To add your self to a team, you have to select a project in the BOINC Manager ( in the projects tab), click on the "Your Account" or "project's name" button, it will load the project website. Then find the link towards the top left that says "Teams", find "SETI.USA" in the team listings, and click join team.

SETI.USA has a full forum like this one.

I believe i got it!

Also added you too.

Added me? To what?

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

After a little research, the Asus for 1599 you linked on newegg is a solid laptop. I looked into the nVidia mobile GPUs and they are just renamed old technology.

I linked an ACER, which ASUS are you referring to?

[jlftn 11]

once you go Mac, you never go back...just sayin!

[dvalue 17]

They are not available on Newegg or Amazon, but you should look into Sager. They are OEM'd by Clevo.

I have had great success with mine, and a comparable Alienware cost twice as much.

Any specific link I should look at first? I have not heard of them before.

Here'sthe Wikipedia page on them.

And the official site. Ordered mine through Xoticpc.com, I had read that the CS was better through them, but I have not had any major problems requiring them. *knock on wood*

[Duran 387]

once you go Mac, you never go back...just sayin!

Oh get outta here with that!

[jlftn 11]

once you go Mac, you never go back...just sayin!

Oh get outta here with that!

not teh ban emoticon!!

but yeah i hear ya, i wish AutoDesk would make Mac versions

Aaron, what modeling software do you use? I useAutodesk Inventor and Algor at work

[Julian 641]

Julian, I did not know you crunched BOINC. What team are you on? I currently have two Ubuntu boxes crunching just fine with out a dual boot. I was more so referring to software like 3DSmax and such. On another site I was offered these suggestions:

Newegg.com - MSI GX740-079US NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 18.4" 8GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850

I have BOINC installed, have for awhile, never really understood how to set it up on teams. Just kinda sat there heh.

Also I've had my sony for maaany years, still running great

Well crap, should have told me. My team, SETI.USA can use all the help it can get. To add your self to a team, you have to select a project in the BOINC Manager ( in the projects tab), click on the "Your Account" or "project's name" button, it will load the project website. Then find the link towards the top left that says "Teams", find "SETI.USA" in the team listings, and click join team.

SETI.USA has a full forum like this one.

I believe i got it!

Also added you too.

Added me? To what?

to my friends on SETI lol.

[cheese20323 13]

I have always loved Tigerdirect and Their prices look at there prices and I would recommend this comp

Toshiba Satellite A665-S6065 PSAW3U-03Y001 Notebook PC - Intel Core i7-720QM 1.60GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 16 Display, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT330M, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit at TigerDirect.com

[///M5 2,833]

I'd recommend NEVER doing business with Tiger Direct. Their service is terrible and they will rip you off at any chance you can get.

Macs suck

I have almost the same needs and get Asus, Lenovo, and Toughbook recommendations from varying IT departments. Curious as to what you end up with Aaron.

[BASSnoob 22]

Ok, I have a computer allowance for my day job and the budget is right around ~ $1500 USD, but can go a little higher then that. I am just looking for solid choices and reasons why they are the better choice.

Main needs:

Quad Core CPU (preferably i7)

Strong GPU

4 - 6 Gig of ram

decent size screen

Reliability

Uses:

Heavy duty modeling and design

SSA daily stuff

BOINC crunching (very CPU and GPU intensive)

Limitations, needs to be from Newegg or Amazon. I have been looking for over a week, and have had my eye on a couple, but wanted to get a few educated opinions. Bromo has been of assistance, and I wanted to see what a few other people thought. I had considered using the same funds for building a sweet desktop, but with life being what it is, I need to be more mobile since I will not be at my own machines that often. I had a few Toshiba's in the past from previous jobs that were trusty, and a couple of PowerBooks from way back when that did me right, but it has been a while so I am a tad rusty on the laptop world. Thought about skipping a paid OS, and run my trusty friend Ubunutu, but I need to run Windows due to a few programs that are not usable on Linux. Usually I would just barrel ahead and find one that seemed decent and grabbed it, but why waste such a powerful tool as the SSA member base. Thanks for any ideas.

TOSHIBA SATELLITE. ive had mine for 5 years and still running strong as when i fist bought it.

[jlftn 11]

Ok, I have a computer allowance for my day job and the budget is right around ~ $1500 USD, but can go a little higher then that. I am just looking for solid choices and reasons why they are the better choice.

Main needs:

Quad Core CPU (preferably i7)

Strong GPU

4 - 6 Gig of ram

decent size screen

Reliability

Uses:

Heavy duty modeling and design

SSA daily stuff

BOINC crunching (very CPU and GPU intensive)

Limitations, needs to be from Newegg or Amazon. I have been looking for over a week, and have had my eye on a couple, but wanted to get a few educated opinions. Bromo has been of assistance, and I wanted to see what a few other people thought. I had considered using the same funds for building a sweet desktop, but with life being what it is, I need to be more mobile since I will not be at my own machines that often. I had a few Toshiba's in the past from previous jobs that were trusty, and a couple of PowerBooks from way back when that did me right, but it has been a while so I am a tad rusty on the laptop world. Thought about skipping a paid OS, and run my trusty friend Ubunutu, but I need to run Windows due to a few programs that are not usable on Linux. Usually I would just barrel ahead and find one that seemed decent and grabbed it, but why waste such a powerful tool as the SSA member base. Thanks for any ideas.

TOSHIBA SATELLITE. ive had mine for 5 years and still running strong as when i fist bought it.

Wow really? Im about to toss mine. Had it only 3 years and the battery went to crap, screen began to develop dead pixels lines, overall typical windows slow, overall piece of junk, literally fell apart and i barely used it. I would personally steer very far away from Toshiba but thats just my $0.02 good luck finding a laptop!

[jlftn 11]

I'd recommend NEVER doing business with Tiger Direct. Their service is terrible and they will rip you off at any chance you can get.

Macs suck

I have almost the same needs and get Asus, Lenovo, and Toughbook recommendations from varying IT departments. Curious as to what you end up with Aaron.

have you ever owned a mac? not trying to stir anything up, just being curious!