Need help from the computer folks...

[bluebutton]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

By general reputation thinkpads are sturdier and since longevity is an important feature and budget isn't, for similar specs, I'd recommend the thinkpad. But DA has experience with thinkpads and I don't. I've only heard the "word on the street"

[windsor]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

I have an ENVY 17. I have been VERY happy with it.

[windsor]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

By general reputation thinkpads are sturdier and since longevity is an important feature and budget isn't, for similar specs, I'd recommend the thinkpad. But DA has experience with thinkpads and I don't. I've only heard the "word on the street"

That stupid trackball/button in the middle of the keyboard is reason enough for me NOT to buy one. I have used them at work...HATE is not too strong a word.

[bluebutton]

That stupid trackball/button in the middle of the keyboard is reason enough for me NOT to buy one. I have used them at work...HATE is not too strong a word.

I totally forgot about those--yes, I never liked them either. I am actually using a wacom tablet w/ my desktop as my mouse these days. W the netbook, I just live w the trackpad.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

By general reputation thinkpads are sturdier and since longevity is an important feature and budget isn't, for similar specs, I'd recommend the thinkpad. But DA has experience with thinkpads and I don't. I've only heard the "word on the street"

That stupid trackball/button in the middle of the keyboard is reason enough for me NOT to buy one. I have used them at work...HATE is not too strong a word.

I agree. We sell a few every year, and it has always struck me how they have never updated their design. Both ugly and annoying, rolled up into one nice, neat, black, boring package.

[bjornolf]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

By general reputation thinkpads are sturdier and since longevity is an important feature and budget isn't, for similar specs, I'd recommend the thinkpad. But DA has experience with thinkpads and I don't. I've only heard the "word on the street"

Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but I didn't see any thinkpads with 17" screens that met my other needs.

[DevilAlumna]

I was thinking about going with an HP ENVY 17 with 12 GB RAM. You think a thinkpad is the better option?

By general reputation thinkpads are sturdier and since longevity is an important feature and budget isn't, for similar specs, I'd recommend the thinkpad. But DA has experience with thinkpads and I don't. I've only heard the "word on the street"

That stupid trackball/button in the middle of the keyboard is reason enough for me NOT to buy one. I have used them at work...HATE is not too strong a word.

Wow, that's a pretty strong emotion for such a tiny, little red stub, Windsor. ;)

I've had thinkpads for all but 18 months out of the last 12 years, so I'm really used to it. I like that I don't have to move my hands from the typing position, to reposition the cursor.

My current thinkpads are both touchscreen tablets, running Windows 8 - I'm surprised at how much I use the touch features these days. Something to consider, Bjornolf, since you sound like your next machine will be in service for quite a few years.

[windsor]

Wow, that's a pretty strong emotion for such a tiny, little red stub, Windsor. ;)

must not go there..........

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Was phone shopping yesterday at my local Verizon store, Sam's Club and Costco, and while at Sam's Club they had an Asus 15.6" laptop with an Intel i3 (2nd generation) processor 6 GB RAM and 750 GB HD on sale ($100 off) for $429 until June 5th while quantities last. Nice box for the price. I only mention it since y'all commented on Asus above.

Oh, I picked up a Moto Droid Bionic at Costco yesterday. $60, with their standard bonus pack included, which gives me a car charger, an extra battery and battery charging dock, a couple of screen protectors and a couple of cases for the phone. The extra battery and chargers almost make the phone free. The Bionic is not the latest and greatest phone from Motorola, but it's so far advanced from the original Droid that I've had as far as web browsing, internal memory (16 GB) and processor speed (1.0 GHz) that I am pleased. And we put my 16 GB micro SD card from my old phone into the new phone so all my pictures are there! The newer Razr phone ($150) has a 1.2 GHz processor, same memory, but the battery is not removable (so doesn't come with an extra battery!) Is that worth an extra $90? I doubt it. The Razr Maxx ($200) has a much bigger battery (also not removable) and neither Costco nor Sam's currently offer it.

[DevilAlumna]

Wow, that's a pretty strong emotion for such a tiny, little red stub, Windsor. ;)

must not go there..........

Yeah, I was trying hard not to use the word 'nubbin,' because that seemed worse in that sentence.... ;)

[bjornolf]

Wow, that's a pretty strong emotion for such a tiny, little red stub, Windsor. ;)

must not go there..........

Yeah, I was trying hard not to use the word 'nubbin,' because that seemed worse in that sentence.... ;)

This whole conversation, I was thinking of Friends, when Chandler had the third, um, part. So when I saw the word nubbin, I just cracked up.

[bjornolf]

Finally got my shit together and am picking a laptop. Just a few quick questions about options:

1. Big price jump from 8 to 12 to 16 GBs RAM, basically $100/jump. Is it worth the jump? Will I notice a difference? I assume I want at least 12, but what about the 16?
2. Big price jump to go from i7 2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 cache to i7 2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 cache to i7 2.7 GHz, 8MB L3 cache processor (+/- $200/jump). Again, is it worth the price? Would I notice? Best to go with middle one?
3. If I had to choose between 12 GBs with suped up processor v. 16 with middle or bottom one, which?
3. Intel 2x2 v. 3x3 802.11 WLAN. Not such a big price jump, but how much difference will it make?
4. 1TB 5400RPM drive v. 750GB 7200RPM hybrid drive. Price difference is negligible. Doubt I'll fill up the 750, let alone 1TB. Which drive is more reliable? Will I ever notice the speed difference?
5. Windows 7 home premium v. pro v. ultimate? Price difference is big. All in 64 bit. I think I know this one.

Thanks so much.

[YmoBeThere]

3 or 4 years ago, I would have had answers or at least opinions for you. I'm very out of touch these days. I've been looking for an ultrabook for myself to replace a several years old netbook. But I really want a Blu-ray drive to watch movies while traveling. They are available in some of the heavier ultrabooks(slightly over 4 lbs.) but the rest of the specs aren't exactly what I would like.

[YmoBeThere]

I would agree with DA, I like the Thinkpads and used the trackpoint much more than a trackpad. Honestly, the trackpads all get in the way of my typing. Sure, I may have bad typing form but I would rather blame the equipment and its design rather than blaming myself.

[DevilAlumna]

Finally got my shit together and am picking a laptop. Just a few quick questions about options:

1. Big price jump from 8 to 12 to 16 GBs RAM, basically $100/jump. Is it worth the jump? Will I notice a difference? I assume I want at least 12, but what about the 16?
2. Big price jump to go from i7 2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 cache to i7 2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 cache to i7 2.7 GHz, 8MB L3 cache processor (+/- $200/jump). Again, is it worth the price? Would I notice? Best to go with middle one?
3. If I had to choose between 12 GBs with suped up processor v. 16 with middle or bottom one, which?
3. Intel 2x2 v. 3x3 802.11 WLAN. Not such a big price jump, but how much difference will it make?
4. 1TB 5400RPM drive v. 750GB 7200RPM hybrid drive. Price difference is negligible. Doubt I'll fill up the 750, let alone 1TB. Which drive is more reliable? Will I ever notice the speed difference?
5. Windows 7 home premium v. pro v. ultimate? Price difference is big. All in 64 bit. I think I know this one.

Thanks so much.

Don't you want to wait for the new PCs to start coming out in a month or so? If you don't HAVE to replace your laptop in the next month, I'd strongly urge you to wait until the Thanksgiving weekend - great deals that time of year. Plus, Windows8 hardware will be coming out, so anything with Windows 7 on it will be even more steeply discounted.

That said, if you buy a machine with Win7 on it now, you're eligible for a $14.99 upgrade to Win8 when it's released.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... rade_en-us

What do you typically do with your laptops? Gaming or other hardcore processing (like videos/photos)? Just Email/web? Something in between? It's kind of hard to provide "is it worth it" advice without knowing what tradeoffs you'd probably notice (or not notice.)

[bjornolf]

Sorry. I posted all of that when I started this thread, but I realize that was months ago. I don't do much gaming on pc. I'm mostly a console guy when it comes to that, though that's pretty much due to my never having owned a laptop that didn't suffer nasty slow downs during gaming b/c 99% of mobile processors just weren't up to the task, at least the ones I could afford. My pc gaming is mostly limited to solitaire, minefield, and maybe the occasional word scrambling game on facebook. I do a lot of photo and family home video editing and uploading, though.

I'd pretty much settled on the HP Envy, mostly because it was the only decent laptop w/ a bluray drive and a 17" HD screen. I'm not overly worried about carrying it around. I use my ipad for that mostly. If a good lenovo/thinkpad comes out with 17" screen, I'd look into it though. The only one their site had said it was out of stock and they didn't know when it would come back.

As for waiting, I'm kind of reaching critical mass. I've put off getting one for three months now and limping along with my ipad as I've basically been afraid of pulling the trigger and getting the wrong thing. However, I have things I need a real computer for now that the kids are back in school. I MIGHT be able to hold off. Is there anything awesomely new coming out, or will it basically be the same hardware with the new OS?

Thanks.

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

???? Is something wrong with Internet Explore? It was running so slow on Saturday. And I tested it again today, very very slow.

I switched to the Google Chrome browser on Saturday.......

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

I brought home my new MacPro yesterday and am totally and completely lost. Bought Native a hamburger today in exchange for an hour of tutoring. He's a great teacher, but it was like drinking from a fire hose!
Love, Ima

[TillyGalore]

I brought home my new MacPro yesterday and am totally and completely lost. Bought Native a hamburger today in exchange for an hour of tutoring. He's a great teacher, but it was like drinking from a fire hose!
Love, Ima

I love my MacBook Air. Maybe I could buy Native a burger and he gave give me a tutoring session too.

[bjornolf]

Um, help?