Thinking on a new Laptop

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Jeff Romard

Jeff Romard

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Sep 4, 2006
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Sydney, Nova Scotia
I have several machines my regular performance machine is a Dell Inspiron 1525 that is 11 years old and works like a top. I have 3 Toshiba units also and a Dell 1505 that I haven't turned on in years. The only one that does video well is the old 1525 the newer Toshiba's stutter and crash with VDJ running video

So using some logic the 1525 is pretty long in the tooth it can't last forever. the Toshiba's do audio just fine so I'm not in a hurry or stuck I don't do video on a regular basis maybe 3-4 times a year average. As of today the next video I'll be doing is in October if worst came to worst I could use a tower for that

The new machine would be the main video machine and a backup for audio to the old 1525 until I retire it or it dies (I believe I'm emotionally attached to this machine LOL)

I'm looking at a top end budget of $1200 Canadian which would translate to about $950 American...I can go higher if necessary but I'd like to stay in that neighbourhood..

I want a PC. Mac might be better for you but I don't want one I'd also like a 17" screen or bigger..Not a deal breaker but would be nice

What would you suggest?
 
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I like something like this...

2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver

m.newegg.com

2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver - Newegg.com

Buy 2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Newegg shopping upgraded ™
m.newegg.com m.newegg.com

Hard drive size might need to be upgraded. Don’t know how much music you carry???[emoji4]

I like HP’s. Some don’t. Not gonna argue about brands. I like Dell’s too, but there was a time I didn’t. If you ever have to work on a Dell or an HP, you’ll know why I like them.
 
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DJ Bobcat said:
I like something like this...

2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver

m.newegg.com

2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver - Newegg.com

Buy 2019 HP 17.3" HD+ Premium Home & Business Laptop PC, Intel Quad Core i7-8550U Processor up to 4.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW, WIFI, HDMI, Bluetooth, GbE LAN, Windows 10, Silver with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Newegg shopping upgraded ™
m.newegg.com m.newegg.com

Hard drive size might need to be upgraded. Don’t know how much music you carry???[emoji4]

I like HP’s. Some don’t. Not gonna argue about brands. I like Dell’s too, but there was a time I didn’t. If you ever have to work on a Dell or an HP, you’ll know why I like them.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob. Nice machine but it doesn't seem to be available in Canada

I'm not a brand snob I can't even say I have a favourite. i've had bad Dells as well as the good ones, Toshiba, HP, Acer, and even a Asus I bought used

I have a couple of hundred gig of audio I use and about 4 TB of video but they are on external drives
 
My favorite was Toshiba but they got out of the laptop business. I really like Lenovo, ASUS and Dell. We run Dell's in the office. The biggest issues I see are software driver problems, we've had a few SSD's go south and had one system short out and catch on fire (smoke, sparks and flames).
 
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ittigger said:
My favorite was Toshiba but they got out of the laptop business. I really like Lenovo, ASUS and Dell. We run Dell's in the office. The biggest issues I see are software driver problems, we've had a few SSD's go south and had one system short out and catch on fire (smoke, sparks and flames).
Click to expand...

The only issue I ever had with the Dells was my own stupidity I dropped it and had to replace the drive. the older one developed an audio issue it was making a blip sound during songs I did everything from change the library to the backup to reinstalling windows. I never did figure that out
 
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I am on my third Dell since naught5 and Ive had very little issues with them, all software related, the only hardware issue was the HD going out on my last one. Not really a brand snop and open to using other brands too.
 
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Handinon said:
+1 on the big screen. I don't even run a desktop in the house anymore, just multiple 17" laptops.
Click to expand...

I have desktop computers all over the place... living room, bedroom, guest room, office, and studio, but end up using my laptop while sitting on the couch most of the time. If I go to any of those other places to use a computer, I start to get lonely.[emoji1]
 
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I run 1 desktop with a lot of local storage and everything else is a laptop or tablet.
 
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I'm done paying $900 or more for a new machine. The turn-over on technology has become so short (computing price/performance ratio now nearly doubles each year) that the market is flooded with excellent deals on just behind the curve products and used business machines. I'd rather not be on the cutting edge - which is where all the nuisance issues occur.

I've gotten some great Intel i7 machines with 16GB RAM and SSD drives for no more than $300 and have no issues with them at all. I intend to pickup some more with slightly lesser specs to use simply as players for audio, karaoke, video loops, or Powerpoint.

I won't do another desktop unless I setup some kind workstation for graphics or video editing. Outside of those creative aspects I don't see myself being parked in any one place long enough to justify a desktop setup.

I used to like the large 17" laptops. Now I prefer portability more, and just leave a large screen monitor on the desk as a secondary display when in the office.
 
Last edited:
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I have 2 desktops in the family room one in the studio and one of the girls has one upstairs. They all have Mixmeister and a library installed just in case ;)
 
Proformance said:
I've gotten some great Intel i7 machines with 16GB RAM and SSD drives for no more than $300 and have no issues with them at all. I intend to pickup some more with slightly lesser specs to use simply as players for audio, karaoke, video loops, or Powerpoint.
Click to expand...

I got to make a trip to the US I guess when I'm ready to buy. I was looking at an i5 with 8 gig of ram and 500 Gig SSD and it was $799 here.
 
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Saw this one on sale at NewEgg today...

DELL Laptop Vostro 9PJCR Intel Core i7 8th Gen 8565U (1.80 GHz) 8 GB Memory 256 GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce MX130 15.6" Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

m.newegg.com

DELL Laptop Vostro 9PJCR Intel Core i7 8th Gen 8565U (1.80 GHz) 8 GB Memory 256 GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce MX130 15.6" Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - Newegg.com

Buy DELL Laptop Vostro 9PJCR Intel Core i7 8th Gen 8565U (1.80 GHz) 8 GB Memory 256 GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce MX130 15.6" Windows 10 Pro 64-bit with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Newegg shopping upgraded ™
m.newegg.com m.newegg.com

... If you’re going for portability, that’s not too bad.
 
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I have one desktop and one laptop. I use the desktop only because well it's at my desk and has my dual screens. I said a couple of years back my new computers will only be laptops. No sense in having boat anchors anymore. Maybe if you're in high end video production or code compiling even then the gap between lap/desk tops has closed considerably in the last year or two.

The only reason to buy a desktop over a laptop is storage and expansion slots which most don't need. Looking at the mobile device market, I doubt the price difference between desktops and laptops is due to miniaturization of components needed in laptops it's because people simply aren't buying desktops.
 
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Desktop computers don’t have to be big... Not anymore. My main desktop workstation is a tower with multiple 5 1/4 drive bays, and I have 4 removable hard drives in it. But it’s SO unnecessary anymore. You can get a little i5 or i7 Nano PC and add a 2TB hard drive to it, and you have more than enough power and storage for pretty much anything. Many support dual 4K monitors. Those big towers just don’t make much sense anymore.
 
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steve149 said:
Was $769 ...

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com
Click to expand...
My current main use laptop , I have the i5 version, but everything else was the same.

I bumped up the ram to 16 and swaped out the HD for that hybird SSD/HD , the next thing that gets upgraded is the SSD , I have just under 30 gbs free.
 
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I have purchased all of my previous laptops at Best Buy.

...My brother bought a refurbed Laptop off of Ebay for my Dad last month. It was only $130. The Iaptop has a I5 in it that is quicker than my machines processor! It also had 8 gb ram. The only downside was that it came with like a 128 gb SSD, but he added more storage space to it before he gave it to my Dad. I thought it was a great deal. I think it was a 14" laptop.

I am planning on my next laptop purchase actually coming from Costco. Most of their machines come with a lot of Ram and storage space, and are beefier models than what you can find at Best Buy outside of gaming laptops.
 
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DJ Bobcat said:
Desktop computers don’t have to be big... Not anymore. My main desktop workstation is a tower with multiple 5 1/4 drive bays, and I have 4 removable hard drives in it. But it’s SO unnecessary anymore. You can get a little i5 or i7 Nano PC and add a 2TB hard drive to it, and you have more than enough power and storage for pretty much anything. Many support dual 4K monitors. Those big towers just don’t make much sense anymore.
Click to expand...
My newest desktop circa 2012ish is a mini-tower form factor it's amazingly small and not all that heavy even when compared to desktops I've that were newer.
 
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