Laptop purchase advice

[LinuxFanBoi]

This week I'll be purchasing a laptop computer. I'm leaning towards an $800 budget. I'm partial to Toshiba laptops, but not 100% committed to that brand. nVidia is my GPU of choice however it seems that laptops with these GPU's put me a bit over budget.

So how do the Intel GMA chips stack up performance wise with Compiz and video performance?

[beastrace91]

Intel chips suck... I'd HIGHLY recommend PowerNotebooks.com (http://powernotebooks.com/). I got my high end laptop from them and it is fantastic! They also have a few models within your price range - they also ship their models with a blank hard drive if you want, so no M$ tax ;)

Regards,
~Jeff

[dmglouis]

Well, if you're in the market for a 17 incher, here's a nicely equipped one for ~$800: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5254799&CatId=4938

It has discrete nvidia graphics, a pretty new processor, and a 320GB hard drive.

As for Intel GMA vs discrete, go for discrete. When you need the extra graphics performance (HD video, gaming, etc), you will appreciate it.

[PariahVayne]

x

[LinuxFanBoi]

They are ok with basic Compiz and video playback, but just expect some bugs and forget about any kind of semi-decent 3D.

I'm not going to be playing games on it. All I am concerned with is Linux driver support that isn't going to be relegated to legacy on a moments notice (gives ATI the stink eye), enough power to run Compiz w/ eye candy, and quality video playback.

Looking for a core 2 duo CPU, will be used mostly for my classes relating to my computer engineering major, so probably some math intensive applications like Mathematica will be used on it. My major will involve a lot of electrical engineering as well, so complex number crunching is a must.

[PariahVayne]

x

[LinuxFanBoi]

Found the one!

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/34-114-719-TS?$S180W$ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114719)

Only slightly over budget because of shipping cost. Pros: better GPU than I planned on buying. Cons HDD a bit slow on the RPM, but wth, this isn't a server or anything.

Only thing I'm a bit uncomfortable with is no quoted bater life estimate, but I know that's subjective anyway. I haven't actually made the purchase yet so if anyone sees any potential problems running Linux on this, please share your concerns. Gonna be buying on Thursday, so plenty of time to change my mind.

[PariahVayne]

x

[drawkcab]

Intel chips suck... I'd HIGHLY recommend PowerNotebooks.com (http://powernotebooks.com/). I got my high end laptop from them and it is fantastic! They also have a few models within your price range - they also ship their models with a blank hard drive if you want, so no M$ tax ;)

Regards,
~Jeff

Yup, I've bought two from these guys--one is an MSI and the other is a Compal. They're great.

[LinuxFanBoi]

Yup, I've bought two from these guys--one is an MSI and the other is a Compal. They're great.

I took a look at that site, and they offer some great systems I like how customizable they are, however they hit me with sales tax and a high shipping cost that put me more than $100 over budget. No sales tax on newegg!

[stefcep]

Asus and Toshiba recently had the highest reliability ratings. HP reliability was poor. That mirrors my experience. I had a HP 2133, fried motherboard after 3 months. Then bought a HP DV 4: dead drive after 6 weeks, lots of heat. My sons Asus has not missed a beat in 3 years, my brother's Toshiba likewise. On the spec sheets the Toshiba always seem to give you less for the money, but in day to day perfromance in actual use they seem to work just as well. I think Toshiba just design them better and to last. And go fo nvidia-based graphics if you want to use Linux.

[LinuxFanBoi]

Asus and Toshiba recently had the highest reliability ratings. HP reliability was poor. That mirrors my experience. I had a HP 2133, fried motherboard after 3 months. Then bought a HP DV 4: dead drive after 6 weeks, lots of heat. My sons Asus has not missed a beat in 3 years, my brother's Toshiba likewise. On the spec sheets the Toshiba always seem to give you less for the money, but in day to day perfromance in actual use they seem to work just as well. I think Toshiba just design them better and to last. And go fo nvidia-based graphics if you want to use Linux.

The reason I lean towards Toshiba is pretty antiquated. Back in the day(15 years ago), Toshiba had the best laptop displays at affordable prices, and that brand recognition stuck with me for ever.

[drawkcab]

I took a look at that site, and they offer some great systems I like how customizable they are, however they hit me with sales tax and a high shipping cost that put me more than $100 over budget. No sales tax on newegg!

Well you have to figure in the fact that if you buy their "powerpro" laptops (rebranded compals and msis) you get a free three-year extended warranty which more than balances the shipping and sales tax break from Newegg.

You also get someone in America who speaks English to talk to if there's a problem. Donald runs the operation and there is a pretty good chance that if you call them, you can talk to him.

[macogw]

Intel graphics are all I use :) Work great with Compiz!

Though I rather like http://www.zareason.com/shop/product.php?productid=16213&cat=250&page=1 ($699 for Intel version $799 for Nvidia version) if you want to support an Ubuntu-only company. I played with that model at the Ohio Linuxfest.

[LinuxFanBoi]

Well you have to figure in the fact that if you buy their "powerpro" laptops (rebranded compals and msis) you get a free three-year extended warranty which more than balances the shipping and sales tax break from Newegg.

You also get someone in America who speaks English to talk to if there's a problem. Donald runs the operation and there is a pretty good chance that if you call them, you can talk to him.

I understand that, and I'm not saying that they're offering a bad service or product. What I'm saying is, it's beyond my budget for the time being. The Toshiba laptop I'm interested in only goes $14 over my budget on newegg.com which is doable, $100 over is not in the cards, at least if I want to buy before next semester starts.


Though I rather like http://www.zareason.com/shop/product...cat=250&page=1 ($699 for Intel version $799 for Nvidia version) if you want to support an Ubuntu-only company. I played with that model at the Ohio Linuxfest.

I like the idea of supporting a company thats dedicated to my OS of choice, but after upgrading the memory to 4 gig and the hard drive to 320 gig, the price isn't competitive with the Toshiba I'm looking at that has more screen.

[jbrown96]

I do not recommend getting discrete graphics for Compiz. I got a thinkpad a couple years ago with a Nvidia Quadro 570m instead of the Intel graphics. Honestly, it hasn't been worth it. Nvidia drivers are pretty good, but you do run into problems every once in a while. Intel graphics are built right into the kernel now, and work with issue almost all of the time. One of my friends has a Dell laptop with almost identical specs, but Intel graphics instead of Nvidia. His computer uses ~4 watts less than mine. This a about a 20% difference. I believe that Nvidia plans to add better powersaving features to their drivers in the near-future, but they certainly use more power than Intel graphics.


Intel graphics have improved a lot lately. I think the newer ones support HD decoding, although I'm not sure any Video players have implemented it yet (might take 6 months or so). Compiz wont' be a problem at all.


Since you considering this for a laptop, I would seriously think about how much battery life matters. There aren't many situations where discrete graphics make much of a difference. It really depends on your usage, but there are probably limited situations where it would ever matter.

[macogw]

I like the idea of supporting a company thats dedicated to my OS of choice, but after upgrading the memory to 4 gig and the hard drive to 320 gig, the price isn't competitive with the Toshiba I'm looking at that has more screen.

Didn't you say the Toshiba was $815 (you said $15 over budget)? This is $812 with 4/320...unless you're going for the 7200RPM disk?

[LinuxFanBoi]

Didn't you say the Toshiba was $815 (you said $15 over budget)? This is $812 with 4/320...unless you're going for the 7200RPM disk?

$812 yes, for the one with Intel graphics. for the one with nVidia graphics that you mentioned being 799, would go much more over budget after a HDD and ram upgrade, but alas I cant find it anywhere on that site.

[RabbitWho]

Did I post on this before?

If so I'm repeating myself so I'm sorry.. Anyway my laptop is a Dell and it costs 100 euro more on their website now then it did when I bought it. Moral: Don't buy a laptop between September and Christmas.

Maybe it's just dell though.