Laptop for work

Jethiel

Jethiel

Moderator
Hi guys, those of you that have known me for awhile understand this thread from me. I am an un-geek. As much as I'd love to know more about computers I just don't have the knack. Anyway, just looking for a work laptop and trying to keeping it around (or below) $1K.

This is one that I have interest in on Newegg: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696

I know the processor is quite the step back but also looking at: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-BDL_NB_BTS10_08(ME).aspx

I would love the larger screen for viewing PDF blueprints and the like. I will not be putting this laptop through the ringer as in graphics but want a decent machine to play WoW on after hours as well. My wife would prefer I spend less, so any sort of 'bang for your buck' deals are greatly appreciated. :D
 
Couple of notes, first if this is not to be a gaming machine, you don't need "discreet" graphics card, integrated is fine (will save you about $200+). If you plan on going bigger than the normal 15.x monitor (like a 17"), you should be aware getting a bag that will fit the extra wide is a pain in the butt and more expensive. My opinion for what it is worth, you don't need to spend much more than $700 bucks on a work box. Dropping the i7 (overkill, i5 or i3 is plenty), discreet video and 17", will easily bring this under 700 bucks. For example ...

From Dell ...
http://www.dell.com/ca/p/inspiron-laptops?~ck=anav starting about $500

From Bestbuy, all laptops using the i3 processor from Intel
http://www.bestbuy.ca/Search/Search...re%20Site&pcname=MCCPCatalog&AllowSecure=True

Lots of options
 
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Thanks Adam, I think I will just mosey on over to Best Buy and have a look around then. Much appreciated!
 
Yeah, get a good idea of what technologies and must-haves you need and ignore the brand names for now. I know when I bought myself a laptop for my MBA, I had three criteria that were must haves:

- 4 GB of RAM (I knew I would be running a suite of apps and doing presentations)
- 802.11n (it was the newest wireless standard at the time - faster wireless meant faster printing and copies files around my home network)
- HDMI (I wanted it to double as a dvd player in our new reno'ed bedroom for the times when I wasn't working :)

I paid 650-ish two years ago. I have no complaints at all even after I just upgraded it to Windows 7 and Office 2010.
 
That is a nice looking pack! My wife loves LL Bean which means it would probably not end up in my permanent possession...
 
Only recommendation I would have is to really try to figure out what you will use it for. Like Adam said you pay more for a "discreet" video card, however if your using it for work most of the time but figure you may be using it to play wow or other games in the evening some then it may be worth it, standard on board video controllers are very very limited.

The place were I bought my wife's Notebook from was NCIX. They have great prices and the fact they have an actual store in Vancouver was one of the first reasons I tried them (Also a friend recommended them and had bought a number of items from them)

We bought my wife a Asus notebook which was a much better (higher CPU, discreet graphics, bigger/faster hard drive and better screen) then what I could get from Dell for even close to the same price and that was with my 15% discount as I was an Dell employee at the time :)

For around $1000, something like this is nice ($1049.99)

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51919&vpn=N61JV%2DQHDA1W%2DCBIL&manufacture=ASUS

Which is the ASUS N61JV-QHDA1W-CBIL Intel i5 430M 4GB 500GB 16IN HD GeForce GT320M Windows 7 Premium Notebook

Gives you 16" HD screen
Win 7 Home Perm,
4 gigs DDR3
i5 processer
for graphics the Geforce GT325M with 1GB ram :)

Just another option, not saying at all you should spend more, it all depends on what a person wants and how you will use it. The more options a person sees the more they know what's out there and the more likely they will get what they need/are looking for :)
 
looks like a great one is acer makes better laptop then desktops, so in that case it is good. spec and all look great adam and rob know more then me tho, but if it is what suits you best then I say go for it.
 
I wouldn't mind having one of these. For work, I'm asking that they get me a 17" MacBook Pro, but then again, we're an Apple video shop and thus need Apples for our video production workflow...
 
Looks like a nice unit, great CPU and video, should be great for work and have no issues with gaming at all. 5400rpm harddrive but really thats fine in a notebook as a 7200rpm can cause heat issues. Battery life is a little low but then again it will be with a more powerful CPU and GPU like that, just something to be aware of if you plan to use it away from power quite a bit, not an issue at all if your plugging it in a work etc.

Only thing I would want to double check on it if you can is how the screen is. It doesn't say a lot on it just backlit and glare from even regular lights can be an annoyance if screen is wonky.

If they have one on display go and check it out, see if they can unlock it so you can sit down with it and try it at different angles, not the same as at home/work as the lighting is so different but will give you an idea anyway.
 
I echo Rob's comments. Looks great, I especially like the 8GB of RAM. My only concern with Acer is their warranty and past performance on issues of overheating. Take a few moments and google acer laptops (narrow your search to the past year). It is the things they don't list on the ads that will bite you. Warranty only matters when you need it and that is not the time to find out it fall short of your expectations.

Keywords I used: acer AS7745G consumer reports
 
I really like the key spacing, makes it feel a lot more like a regular keyboard because the keys aren't hugging each other. The screen is phenomenal and the sound is pretty slick (Harmon Kardon system). One of the feautures I absolutely love is the lock on the touch pad. For when I am typing a lot I don't have to worry about my palms touching and causing a bunch of havoc. I haven't been able to use it too much yet because I haven't been at the office to transfer all my files and such. That just gives me time to set WoW to download and give it the time it needs. I have only bought digital copies of WoW and in our current house our internet is quite slow so it only downloads at about 90kb/sec...yes, it takes forever. Plus all the updates? I will most likely buy the retail box copy of Cataclysm when it comes out :)

cons? I can't stand the shift key on the left hand side. It is half the regular size so i end up hitting the \ key that is occupying that space. I know, I just have to get used to it.
 
y not do a straight file transfer of wow between the desktop and laptop. also if you with telus it cost I believe $5 more for there highest speed internet then there regular. you would notice a lot of difference getting the higher mb/s one.
 
We were already supposed to be on Telus highest speed for residential but the rental we are in right now is not currently supported :S

Straight file transfer? I am assuming that I would have to know which files need to be transferred for this to work smoothly and correctly...
 
just grab the whole wow file and transfer it to the laptop as long as they are both on the network.
 
Yup, straight copy of the World of Warcraft folder which contains everything. After it takes an hour or two, you should run the repair checking files only. A network copy is not 100% all the time so a bit level errors can occur. Save yourself the pain of wow crashing occasionally or long load times and run the repair.
 
I dunno rhys, you always do that and then you have had some wonky issues with wow as well :)

you could also borrow some one elses disk to install, which is totally legit as its just the game files and you will be loading/playing under your own account.
 
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