The company I work for has decided to discontinue the PC purchase program next month and I'd like to get in on it one last time before it goes away. I'm looking for a gaming laptop to replace my aging Dell. The program gives us $1000 max. I'm okay with going a little over, but would like to keep it under $1100. This will be mostly for gaming.

Requirements:
Fast discrete video card - GTX860 or better would be preferable
Fast CPU - would like to keep to a quad core i7
15.x or 17.x screen. 1920x1080 or higher res.
At least 8GB RAM
Other standard laptop crap - WiFi, BT, USB3 ports, HDMI out, Card reader. Not all essential, but I can't really imagine any decent laptop not having them.

Would be nice:
Backlit keyboard - Not quite a dealbreaker, but darn close.
Decent speakers - My Dell has a 2.1 JBL speaker setup on it. Would like something similar
BD drive - Optical drive is entirely optional, but a BD drive would be nice.
SSD drive - Either a separate SSD drive for the OS or a hybrid drive. My ultrabook has a 750GB HDD + 8GB SSD hybrid. The 8GB SSD cache drive makes a big difference.
Touchscreen
Thunderbolt port

Faster is always better, but I need to stay within the budget. As of right now, it looks like my best bet is going to be a Lenovo Y50 series. I'd welcome any suggestions.

 

Never fails, as soon as I put the thread up I got a deal in my email for a Y50.
i7-4700HQ
16GB RAM
2GB GTX860M & Intel 4600 in Optimus config
Intel 7260AC wireless + BT 4.0
256GB SSD
External DVD burner
JBL 2.1 speaker setup with Dolby Live
Red backlit keyboard
15.6" 4K IPS screen

I like how slim and light it is. Startup is lightning fast. Not a huge fan of the red backlit keyboard, would've preferred blue or white but I get it. Probably has to do with the JBL tie in. Speaker grilles are red too.

The 4K screen is freaking gorgeous! That said, not everything scales properly. The Blizzard Launcher comes up smaller than a credit card and is nearly impossible to read. I would've preferred the 1080p screen, but the deal was only on that one model so I had to jump on it. $1100 shipped, couldn't pass it up.

 

4K on a 15.6" screen would cause a lot of scaling problems for sure.

 

Can someone recommend a lightweight laptop with 8GB of RAM and I prefer and SSD drive? I want something that I can shove into my bag along with my work laptop. I've been using a Chromebook but I now have a need to be able to run a Windows virtual machine.

I am considering 13" Macbook Air but what are my options in the windows world?

 

Throw a copy of Windows on the Macbook, honestly that's what I'd recommend.

But in terms of native Windows laptops:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA24G1S90913

And despite the photo shown, it has Windows 7, not 8.

 

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro or ThinkPad X1, Acer Aspire S7, Dell XPS 13, Asus Zenbook, Toshiba Kira,.....

 

Can someone recommend a laptop that I can use for my new construction software consulting job? I'll want to install SQL Server 2012, Crystal Reports, Office, and some other software. I'd like to spend around $1000-$1200 but could pay up to $1500 if needed.

 

How portable and how rugged does it need to be? I'd say for ruggedness avoid the Dell ATG series. We've got them right now and they're nothing but trouble. The built in carry handle is the only thing I like about them. The screens melt way too easily. If you need a rugged one, just bite the bullet and get a Toughbook.

If you're just looking consumer grade, probably anything with a decent size hard drive and at least an i5 would be fine. Personally, I've had great luck with Sonys. Not so much with HPs. Had a few bad mobos with them.

 

The laptop will primarily be used at home and an occasional trip to a local client so it doesn't have to be rugged.

 

+1 Running Bootcamp on my Pro and Air is a great experience. There was an article saying that Macbooks are the best Windows machines and they are. I tried so many Windows laptops (including every version of the Surface pro) and the experience on the Macbook is the best in terms of performance and keyboard and trackpad. Plus you get OSX as well. Get one with at least 256GB though. Also, I would wait until the 9th to see if that rumored Air is announced, even if you dont want the new one, it will drive the old price down a bit.

Other then that, I found Toshiba and Asus to be pretty good (though I had a Zenbook which I hated because of the keyboard and trackpad).

 

Asus makes good ones in that range.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on running windows on MAC via Fusion as opposed to Bootcamp/parallel?

Has anyone done it? advantages/disadvantages?

 

I haven't tried it recently. But.. I DID read this, this morning:

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...-data-centers/

 

Does any of the current Macbooks have user upgradable RAM or hard drives?

 

Only this one: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma.../A&step=config

Until its discontinued next year.

 

For anyone running windows on a MAC (any method):

Can windows read/write to a thunderbolt attached storage device at thunderbolt speeds?

 

Yes, def in Bootcamp. Never tried in a VM but should see it.

 

None of the software on your list has very high system requirements. Personally, I'd say keep an eye on the ads and find something that you like. If it were me, I'd go with a full HD screen, i5 or i7, at least 8GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive. I'd probably get something with decent sound too, so that when you're listening to music in the background it doesn't sound like you just set a pair of headphones on the desk.

I have no experience with Mac's, but I've always heard good things. I set up a Hackintosh a few years ago, but haven't done much with it since. It all seems to be pretty intuitive. If you're going to go that route, get one with a big hard drive to ensure you have plenty of space for your Windows and Mac environments.

 

And you were able to write with windows at thunderbolt speeds?

 

Yep, used to have a bug that froze windows if you plugged it in after it booted.

 

Awesome, thanks.

 

Happy fappening.

 

OK, so I am interested in a MBP, but want to be able to drop my own SSD into it. I realize the latest generation is not able to do this, so I am looking for a refurb/used of the last model that had a spinning platter hdd.

What 13" model exactly would this be?

 

The current non-retina lets you: Configure - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

The drive in the rmbp will be faster than your SSD since it uses pcie instead of SATA 3

 

I've setup windows Xp on a couple iMacs, you're tech savvy enough that it'd work for you, noobs can get confused with it though.

TB on windows, just make sure you have the device plugged in before you boot to windows because apple drivers don't support plug n play. Think of it like a ps/2 keyboard

 

It is but I doubt he'll notice the difference. Even with the change most average users would notice nearly nothing in terms of speed.

 

I saw for the first time a current MBP in person at the Apple store yesterday. I have to admit that's an impressive looking laptop. It's much thinner than I thought, not much thicker than an Air. I also can't believe how tiny that Mac Pro trash can is. Way smaller than I thought.

I'm looking around on ebay. I see some that are a few years old (models that still have optical drive). Some of them have upgraded RAM and SSD drive.

 

Ordered 13" MBPro Retina 8GB 256GB, thanks for your help

 

Nice!!

 

MBP vs MBA

How much am I losing with the MBA versus the MBP?

For similarly spec'ed machines (i7, 8gb, 256GB), The only differences I am seeing is the processor speed and HD500 vs. Iris video.

Also, 54wattHour battery in the Air and 72wattHour in the MBP although they claim similar usage stats for battery life.

 

the mbp has a much better screen...

worth it for me

 

Ahh, forgot about resolution.

interdasting.

 

MBP has some extra ports on it too. For example, 2 lightning instead of 1. That's more or less why I went with Pro. A little bit better connectivity and not much heavier.

 

Good point. Thanks.

it only appears to weight about a 1/2 a pound more than the air, and you get much better resolution, ports, processor speed, cooling (I have to assume) etc...

 

Is an upgrade to an 802.11ac router worth it? I have an N router now.

 

I dont notice much difference between 5Ghz and 801.11ac

 

Ok thanks, I think I'll keep my N. If I need a speed bump I'll just buy the gig adapter to use when the laptop is on my desk. I don't feel like spending money on a new router now.

 

Wow, ordering from Macmall is annoying. I ordered from them because it's cheaper than the Apple store and no sales tax. I also used Shoprunner 2day free shipping because it's free with an Amex card.

I ordered on Wednesday. On Thursday I get an email from Macmall saying they need me to call in to verify credit card. I call in and then it becomes a hassle because I didn't call them from my home phone. Thirty minutes later that is straightened out.

Now the annoying part, it looks like it still hasn't shipped. The thing about using Shoprunner is that the shipping tracking number will not show up on the Macmall website. No idea why that is, so dumb. Macmall says to check Shoprunner site. The Shoprunner site says it hasn't shipped yet. WTF? Why offer free 2 day shipping if it's going to take a week or more to get the damn thing? This is the second time I have used ShopRunner since Amex gave it to me free and both times it has been slow. I'm now convinced ShopRunner sucks, I won't use it anymore.

 

I'm happy with my MBP. I am using it as a desktop replacement. I added a Thunderbolt to DVI adapter to drive my 24" Dell Ultrasharp and I also got the Thunderbolt gigabit adapter. The wired gig adapter is great for moving around large files.

I'm glad I went with the 256GB drive since I need to be able to store a couple of Windows VMs local. That would have pretty much filled up the 128GB. I'm also getting more use out of my NAS now as I am storing less frequently used data there. I used to use an external drive for that.

The only annoying thing right now is running Windows on Fusion. The font size is fine on my Dell monitor but when I try to run the VMs on the Retina display the fonts and icons are very small. In Windows I can set the magnification to 150% to make it look okay, but then when I move it over to the Dell monitor I need to resize it again.

One other comment I have is that the MBP feels much more solid than any other laptop that I have used.