Laptop advice!
Hello all,
I hope this isn't considered inappropriate use of the blog, but this is somewhat related to the class so I hope the ever-wise and compassionate Dr. Pagano will forgive the shameless self-indulgence of this humble, wayward tadpole. I am in the market for purchasing a laptop (partly due to the utility it could provide me in this class) and I wanted to hear some advice from the folks in the class since it seems like I was the only one still rockin' the old school pen and paper in class today.
A bit about my intentions with the laptop:
I hope this isn't considered inappropriate use of the blog, but this is somewhat related to the class so I hope the ever-wise and compassionate Dr. Pagano will forgive the shameless self-indulgence of this humble, wayward tadpole. I am in the market for purchasing a laptop (partly due to the utility it could provide me in this class) and I wanted to hear some advice from the folks in the class since it seems like I was the only one still rockin' the old school pen and paper in class today.
A bit about my intentions with the laptop:
- I have a desktop at my apartment that I bought in '06. I like it, but I feel like I need the convenience of the laptop more and more. Aside from taking notes quicker (I write slowly), I have a good chunk of free time in the middle of my day between classes which I usually spend using the PCs at Library West. Having a laptop would give me more freedom to move around campus and carry my personal data around with me.
- I'm a multimedia guy. I do video editing as well as 3D modeling and some amateur game development (mostly 2D stuff but I want to branch out). Being able to work on this on campus would be ideal and it would help if I could show off prototypes, assets, etc. to the group for our project this semester.
- Graphics card capable enough to not chug on programs like Adobe Premiere, Maya or the Unreal Editor. Having multiple cores and a decent processor also qualify I guess.
- I don't do a whole lot of hardcore graphics-intensive gaming on my PC (partly because it's old and un-upgraded), but I would like to be able to play games like Left4Dead and Team Fortress 2 on the thing without the grody video lag I get now. I have a feeling I'd be doing more of it if I had a PC that was up to snuff.
- A capable battery. I know this is kind of a tall order when you're talking about semi-powerful laptops, but I hear tell of newfangled laptops that can switch between integrated and more powerful video cards to preserve battery life. But something that could last 2 or 3 class periods worth of taking notes if I can't find a power outlet.
- I'm kind of flexible on price, I'm budgeting around $1k for it.
Comments
I would also go for a smaller screen. From personal experience, I thought I would like a large laptop better because this is America and the bigger the screen the better... right? Wrong! My laptop is so friggin' (excuse my southern influences) heavy and the large screen doesn't make life a whole lot better. So I would recommend a 14".
On the graphics card subject: I'm pretty sure that most new laptops will come with a card grand enough. I have an '06 desktop as well and it couldn't run my computer games, but my brand new laptop runs them perfectly. Try picking out a few and comparing them on a website. I'm going to recommend tigerdirect.com It's where I got my laptop, and the price was really great for the laptop I got.
And one more recommendation. Make sure you buy an i3, i5, or i7 intel core processor because the whole point of technology is to advance forward, so buying the new stuff is the way to go. In my personal opinion at least.
I hope I was helpful. I'm sure someone is going to disagree with one of my points :)
@Caitlyn: Yeah I feel like almost any modern graphics card would be an improvement, especially coupled with one of those fancy i5/i7 processors. I've got a few laptops in mind that would be killer.
@Matt: Yeah I'm debating this with myself right now. I looooove large screens, but if I have an HDMI output then I'll probably be watching videos and such on that instead. But having a decent screen on the machine itself would also be immensely enjoyable.
@Callie: I'm really curious about all the multimedia editing software Mac owners can brag about, but I think ultimately there are too many apps and games that I can only play on Windows for me to consider it.