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Thread: Laptop ideas (part deux)

  1. #1
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    Question Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Yes, I know I had a topic on the old board about this, but I cannot get to the post and the parameters of the situation is different now. I am no longer with the prior company that was going to pay for the machine. So my budget has decreased to a max of about $1100 or so.

    Primary needs:
    • Will become my daily machine for an e-commerce business, so heavy use and daily travel with me to and from day job.
    • Has to be reliable as possible, I will sacrifice features and performance for reliability.
    • Handle some heavy graphic strain from intensive programs like 3D Studio Max, Photoshop and AutoCAD2011.
    • Good size monitor for above programs.
    • Quadcore processor if possible.
    • 4+ gig ram.
    • Moderate HD space.
    • 64-bit


    Secondary needs:
    • BOINC.
    • GPU that is BOINC friendly.
    • Heavy Internet traffic.
    • Minimal Bloatware.


    I have a few personal preferences, but due to BOINC and software needs, the Macbook preference is nixed. I do favor Toshiba and Dell, but I am open to ideas. I have been scouring Newegg every few weeks.


  2. #2
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    I'm posting here so I can remember to look at this when I get home. Will edit this post with thoughts then...

  3. #3
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    If you are interested in a laptop that can handle the abuse of constant travel, take a look at Panasonic's Toughbook series. Most aren't military spec but are much better than the average lappy.


    Future Maker? Teensy 3.6

  4. #4
    Teratoma
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    HP EliteBook Laptops also meet Military specs (but are not as tough as Toughbooks) Graphic options are limited last I checked.

    For durability and long term reliability I really llike Thinkpads. Need to look at the W series. I have a 510 with an i7-820QM and a Quadro FX 880M. The W710DS has a slide out secondary display. Very cool! It also supports dual Hard Drives so you can have SSD and traditional spindles in on box.

  5. #5
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Ok - there's reliable, and then there's RELIABLE. The stuff that's been linked to before I think falls in the RELIABLE category. My off the shelf Toshiba is reliable. As long as you treat your lappy well, you should be good. The single best investment you can make for it is probably a good quality carrying case...

    From a quick browsing of Newegg, these caught my eye (in no particular order):
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115857
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152207
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146848

    The middle one will be your best BOINCer (easily 200k/day, I'd guess) and should run the crap out of your graphics programs, but is at the top of your budget.

    Also, you should probably invest in a laptop cooler to be on the safe side...

  6. #6
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Thank you for all the feedback guys. I am hesitant with HP, I have had bad luck with more then a number of HP machines. Never owned an ACER or MSI. The Lenovo's CS history is a turn off. I was checking out the MSI's last go round.

    For the Lenovo, would it be able to run as a pseudo 8-core with the i7? Was able to do that for a little while on a friends i7 920 for a little while. I tend to focus on CPU based projects, hence the question in terms of the MSI's i5 in comparison.

    Now, would the feature set on this Toshiba be worth the few extra dollars?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo


  7. #7
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Hi Denim,
    If you're mainly focused on CPU projects, I wouldn't base the decision off whether you can run one as a "pseudo 8 core" or not. If other factors point toward that model, that's great and *may* be a slight gain in some projects. However, I know during the long 13 day PG Challenge we had with PG, many of the high end German rigs were turning OFF their HT, because it was running more than twice as long with it on.

    For example, if it took 1 hr. for the i7 to spit out 4 WUs with HT off, it took more than 2 hr.s to chew through 8, so it was actually less credits per hr. with the HT on. They were all telling each other to turn HT off once they figured that out.

    Just something to consider and of course, might not hold true for every project.

    I would be real tempted to get which ever model has a better graphics card. And not just for crunching, but for actual use - sometimes graphics in a lappy can be a real dog!

  8. #8
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Quote Originally Posted by denim View Post
    Now, would the feature set on this Toshiba be worth the few extra dollars?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo
    I would say no - You're upping the processor (from an i5 to an i7, but decreasing its speed) and the screen size, but downgrading the video card compared to the MSI lappy. Given what you're doing, I'd invest more in the GPU than the CPU.

  9. #9
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Dude! Mark this date on the calendar: Maxwell and I are in agreement on something! Just had to razz Mr. MM himself a little.

  10. #10
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    Re: Laptop ideas (part deux)

    Quote Originally Posted by Maxwell View Post
    I would say no - You're upping the processor (from an i5 to an i7, but decreasing its speed) and the screen size, but downgrading the video card compared to the MSI lappy. Given what you're doing, I'd invest more in the GPU than the CPU.
    I admit, I do like the SSD drive on the Toshiba, would mean killer start up times. The complaints about the Toshiba is the size and weight, so that is something to consider too.

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