My next PC

[Onkel Neal]

Since I have gone mobile as a truck driver (in Green Bay one day, Alabama the next), my next PC will be a laptop. I've got and had laptops before but mainly budget models, as I did all my website work on my gaming desktop.

I am leaning toward the Carbon X1 from Lenovo.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/

I like the HDMI out port, backlit keyboard, SSD hard drive, and bluetooth for my mouse.

Any pros or cons? It does not have a dedicated grfx card, apparently that is not possible with ultr books, so I will have to live with no hard core gaming. It's not like I have a lot of time to play games these days anyway :dead:

But you can't guess what mah favorite feature (http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/) is.... :arrgh!:

[Sailor Steve]

You like having the Backspace and Delete keys touching each other, because it makes life more interesting. :O:

[the_tyrant]

In my opinion, it is quite decent. But hey, if all you want to do is play silent hunter, the integrated graphics should be more than enough. Intel HD 4400/5000 is surprisingly good.

The keyboard change however, is atrocious. I much prefer the old classic thinkpad keyboard over the new one.

If you would like more powerful gaming, consider this model: https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX302LG/specifications/

It is one of the few ultrabooks with dedicated graphics.

[Onkel Neal]

Yeah, I like that ASUS, for me a smaller screen is more desirable. You would pick it over the Lenova?

[CaptainHaplo]

We are a Lenovo shop for our laptop users. I have to say, the T440 is a good little machine. I prefer the T430 simply because of the greater HD space (the 440 is SSD, the 430 isn't) and the lid latch. I have a 410, 430 and 440 - the 410 and 440 are work machines, the 430 is much more my "game" machine simply because of space.

My only concern recommending the 440 besides space - is the fact that the 410 - 430 all used the same chassis. Issues with the 410 were ameliorated with the 420/430 - so its a solid chassis with no issues. The 410's had cooling fan and docking port plug problems in many of ours. Those are no longer an issue with the later models using the same chassis. The 440 uses an entirely new chassis - so I am somewhat concerned to see how steady the fan and dock port are long term. Oh - and the 440 can't support a built in CD/DVD drive - you have to get a USB one (which is a good idea anyway).

Note that the T420 and above does come with an Nvidia chipset - so "integrated" graphics are still very good. Just max out your ram and if going 440 - disk as well.

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks, Cap. I am still flogging my Dell Inspiron. Hard to believe I bought this thing for college, that was 5 years ago. :hmm2: I've got the itch for one of those machines you described, I'm just hesitant to spend the money.

[Threadfin]

I know this is an older thread and perhaps you've already pulled the trigger Neal. I also wanted to get a great gaming laptop for various reasons. I have been building my own desktops for years, but I ended up getting a laptop from xoticpc.com

The one I had built was not cheap, but runs everything at everything on. What I liked about this company was the number of hardware options, they aren't exclusively AMD or Intel, or nVidia or ATi.

I had it built a year ago August.

Basic specs are:

Sager/Clevo P370SM3 chassis (17" screen, backlit board, every port you can think of)
i7 4700 MQ
16 GB RAM
nVidia GTX 780M
1 TB Crucial SSD
Win 7

Again, not cheap, a couple bills, but that's what I wanted and the company was excellent and I recommend them.

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks for sharing. I am still soldiering on with my old laptop, but I am edging closer to getting a replacement. Capt. Halpo has been helping me with some ideas, too. Your custom job sounds ideal. I may want to aim for a smaller screen, but perhaps that would affect the overall performance options, too small = limited hardware....:06:

[Threadfin]

Hey no problem Neal, and I had a quick look at the 15" laptops and the hardware options are the same as the 17" so I don't think that going a little smaller will have any effect on the options you choose, but it might depend on which chassis is chosen, as some will be a little larger or smaller, or have different internal arrangements.

After having another look at their site though, I do not see Ati and AMD options any more, so that looks to have changed.

[Onkel Neal]

How about this baby (http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd?fl=p&dgc=EM&cid=284642&lid=5438012&acd=12309159430259870), looks like an 11" laptop but with a 13" screen. Supposed to be really bright, which is something my current Dell is not. It has a solid state driver and backlit keyboard....:hmmm:

5th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-5200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.70 GHz)

Is that a decent cpu? I have gotten quite out of the loop...

Laptop of dreams? http://gizmodo.com/dells-new-xps-13-sounds-like-the-laptop-of-my-dreams-1677342235


.

[CaptainHaplo]

The CPU is solid. Don't go for less than 8G of Ram. Looks like the biggest HD you can get is 256G - still kinda small. I would avoid the touchscreen version unless you really, really want one. Remember - screen may be bright but will you see it through all the fingerprints - and its one more point of failure.

I would really check with them via phone if you want that one and see if you can't upgrade the HD to a 512G. Other than that - its a solid machine on paper. You should really go look at one to make sure your comfortable with the chassis feel.

[Onkel Neal]

Good idea. I can live with a 256 GB HD. I usually store big files on an external HD. I agree about the touchscreen. Don't want one at all. I will see where I can put my hands on a demo.

[Onkel Neal]

When Windows 10 is available, I'm getting it. Final.:woot:

[Herr-Berbunch]

I agree about the touchscreen. Don't want one at all.

I've spent a couple of days this week giving some Surface Pro 3 tablets a blast, great machines but I wouldn't recommend one because of the price (but screen is amazing). I'm here to say that you shouldn't dismiss touch screens completely, when I went back to my laptop I found myself occasionally trying to touch the screen because it really was so much more convenient.

[Onkel Neal]

I hear you. I like touch screens on my phone and Kindle, but that's because they really aren't suited for a mouse. I do a lot of copy/pasting, it is a lot easier with a mouse.

[nikimcbee]

Since I have gone mobile as a truck driver (in Green Bay one day, Alabama the next), my next PC will be a laptop. I've got and had laptops before but mainly budget models, as I did all my website work on my gaming desktop.

I am leaning toward the Carbon X1 from Lenovo.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/

I like the HDMI out port, backlit keyboard, SSD hard drive, and bluetooth for my mouse.

Any pros or cons? It does not have a dedicated grfx card, apparently that is not possible with ultr books, so I will have to live with no hard core gaming. It's not like I have a lot of time to play games these days anyway :dead:

But you can't guess what mah favorite feature (http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/) is.... :arrgh!:

Thank you for contributing to my bonus.:yeah::salute:

[Onkel Neal]

Hey, you are the reason I do it!

[Wolferz]

A Quantum computer?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/quantum-computers-will-make-your-laptop-look-like-an-abacus/ar-BBj9UAh?ocid=iehp

It can do your thinking for you.:huh::up:

[Onkel Neal]

Good idea. I can live with a 256 GB HD. I usually store big files on an external HD. I agree about the touchscreen. Don't want one at all. I will see where I can put my hands on a demo.

Now Dell has a 15 inch version....oh, what to do? Go for max portability? Or bigger screen? :88)

[Onkel Neal]

I/m making my choice: as soon as they release this, I'm getting one. As long as they make a non-touch model.
http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-hp-dell-and-asus-all-cook-up-new-laptops-with-intel-skylake-inside/97901.html

Core i7 Skylake punch, 8GB RAM, 256GB solid state drive, optional dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 940M graphics, you name it, the upcoming Dell XPS 13 will offer it.

Latest Intel Skylake chip: CHECK
Windows 10 preinstalled: CHECK
GeForce card (surprise): CHECK
Home and End keys: Alas....

[Archibald]

I would wait with the W10, and instead run with W7 64, I run sometimes with 10 and afterwards,tis go bananas.:haha:

[Onkel Neal]

Any day now....
http://www.fudzilla.com/news/notebooks/38922-new-dell-xps-13-gets-16gb-ram-1tb-ssd

Although, I am now contemplating the 15" model....

Anyone familiar with theNvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics card?

[Onkel Neal]

no? :wah:

While waiting for the Dell update, doing some compariso shopping

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2472500,00.asp

http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/alienware-13
Which only makes deciding more difficult....

[Herr-Berbunch]

That Alienware screen would be amazing, we use that res on Surface Pro 3 tablets and it's such a difference compared to my usual 1050 23" monitor. That graphics amp sounds interesting, and maybe a necessity for gaming but I don't know. Glad it's not my choice. :D

[Onkel Neal]

The Decision has been made. :timeout:

New XPS 15 Non-Touch
Date & Time: October 10, 2015 2:01 PM CST

It is only an inch wider than my current 13", and a pound lighter.


Base XPS 15
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64-bit English
Memory 16GB (2x8GB) 2133Mhz DDR4 Memory
Keyboard Backlit Keyboard, US English
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5
Driver Dell Wireless 1830 Driver (Windows 10)
Hard Drive 512GB PCIe Solid State Drive
Wireless DW1830 3x3 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1
Cable PowerCord 2.5A 1M C5 E3
Documentation/Disks Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French Multi-language)
Support 1 Year Ltd Hware Warranty: Mail-in; Customer supplies box, Dell pays shipping
Systems Management XPS 15 Software
PalmRest US Palmrest
Placemat Win 10 Placemat
Retail Software Dell.com Order
Primary Battery Dell 84 WHr 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
Processor 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core (6M Cache, up to 3.5 GHz)
Packaging Label Dell.com Order
Packaging System Shipment Material, 5510
FGA Module XPS151605_1630_P/XPS151701_1630/US/CA/BTO
Processor Branding Intel® Core™ i7 Label
Display 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge
Office Productivity Software – Word, Excel, Powerpoint & more No Office License Included
Non-Microsoft Application Software Additional Software
Security Software McAfee LiveSafe 12 Month Subscription
Power Supply 130W AC Adapter

Oh baby, baby!

[Onkel Neal]

Took long time. Man, the expected delivery date was listed as Nov 13 :wah: which I assumed was due to this being a new product. I watched the order page every day, listed as PreProduction. Finally after 12 days, it changed to Production. Nice feeling. This afternoon, after 4 days in Production, I got an email from Dell titled Dell`s Terms and Conditions of Sale...hmmm. OK, I check the order page: "No Recent Orders". :o Oh what? :dead:

I was on hold waiting for sales to explain wth was going on, and after 315 refreshes, the order page came back up with Shipped: expected delivery date 10/28. :/\\k:

[DragonRider]

Great News Hope its all you were waiting for :up:

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks :D Oh man, my current laptop just went through three checkdiscs before it would boot up, I hope it will hang on a few more days.

[Onkel Neal]

Well, my new laptop arrived Thursday, I spent all Fri and most of today setting it up, getting Outlook configured and the PST file whittled down. Loaded my tools and programs (FTP, ClipTrakker, Image Composer, Front Page, Office, etc). Installed Classic Shell and dumped all those bloated tiles. Now I can ease back and enjoy. No more "Not Responding" errors, everything is nice and fast. I can even play some games with this one. Although I may have some trouble without a CD player.... :cool: I will find a way.

[Sailor Steve]

Although I may have some trouble without a CD player.... :cool: I will find a way.
I bought an aftermarket burner. Just one more USB plug-in.

[Onkel Neal]

Yeah, I got an LG DVD unit to load programs on the new laptop when they come on CDs, amazingly enough it only cost $40. Man, stuff is so cheap these days. I remember my first 4X CD burner was something like $400.

Still, if any of the games need the CD in the drive...well, there is no drive.:wah:

I'm sure there's a way around it.

I am really happy to have a 15.6" screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution, it sure fits a lot more on the screen than that 13" with 1280 x 800. :rock::rock::rock: