In my line of work, everyone uses a laptop. Specifically Macs. I don't know what the entertainment industry's fascination is with Macs, but I don't want something overpriced and needing replacement in a year. So I'm coming here for advice on a new laptop. I've been using a desktop this whole time, but I'm starting to work in a position where I'll need something more mobile.

My only requests/requirements are that I'd like it to have a Blu-ray drive (or at least allow me to replace the optical drive with a Blu-ray drive), a dedicated graphics card (I doubt I'll be gaming much on it, so nothing too fancy necessary), and 1920x1080 or some other HD-friendly resolution. Also I keep seeing laptops without LAN ports as I'm searching myself, and I'd like this laptop to have one. The wireless at work is shit.

My budget is ideally anywhere between $700 to $900, but if I absolutely have to I can break $1000.

EDIT:
Side note, I did look at Dem0n's http://www.staredit.net/topic/15214/ topic first, but it seems like we have different requirements.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jul 12 2012, 1:41 am by DevliN.

Last I checked, Apple doesn't have unique parts anymore really...PC/Mac use the same pieces. And I think you install the Mac OS on a PC...so maybe you should buy a pc and then the OS? Your money might stretch further...

My Lenovo was about 750... http://shop.lenovo.com/us/laptops/essential/g-series/g570 , but the dedicated graphics cards added several hundred to the price. And I don't think this is blueray. :\

I don't really care for the Mac OS, I'm fine with Windows 7. I didn't mean to make it seem as if I wanted a Mac. That was just a minor rant about how everyone in this damn office has a Mac and I don't understand why. If I had the money to buy a Mac, I'd instead use that money to buy a nice Windows laptop and then spend the remaining $1000 on better things.

Yes, yes they do. They may use the same CPU but replacing anything is out of the question due to all their stuff either being soldered onto the motherboard directly or of a form factor that isn't available anywhere else.

Here's the laptop I've had for the past couple years: http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-W500-Mobile-Workstation/dp/B001MEHXJY. It has a removable disc drive, so you could probably find a Blu-ray drive to pop in there, but they're kinda expensive to buy individually. Here's one on Newegg for $100, but you could probably find a better deal.

The resolution on the laptop is 1920x1200 and it has an Ethernet port. As long as you get a fan controller (like TPFanControl) to prevent overheating and set the game's resolution to its smallest, it can run SC2 with mixed settings between low and medium, and I've played Skyrim without problems on it with low settings as well.

I think that meets all your requirements and fits your budget. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a steal, though, regardless of what the list price says this thing is worth.

www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZSBM0W

^ ? Quadro for workstation work since you said you aren't gaming.

I didn't put a lot of searching into this, so do some research before purchasing, but this looks promising:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214689

It's refurbished, but it's very cheap (the blue-ray makes stuff expensive), has good specifications (1080p screen, i7 processor (either 2nd or 3rd gen, not sure), discrete GPU (not fantastic, I don't know what your requirement is)). Not sure, but it might even have a 3D screen. I would expect potential downsides to be the weight (7.5 pounds), battery life (expect ~2 hours) and build quality (these kinds of computers typically have great computing power for the dollar, but the rest may be a bit off - do some research).

Oh, and I'm not quite sure what a LAN port is.

LAN (local area network), (wired) ethernet, RJ-45 all can describe a wired network connection. That computer has it on the back.

A LAN port is an ethernet port, for internet access. I realized after I typed up that OP that the laptops I was looking at did have them, but they were either hidden or on the back of the laptop.

EDIT:
Wow I should have refreshed this page before responding.

Soooo, devlin. Feedback so we can make better suggestions?

Sure. I looked at that Toshiba when I first started searching for a laptop and generally like it, but I think I've come to realize that I can ditch the blu-ray drive and most likely lose the 1080p display if I end up with a 17-inch screen and a high enough resolution that I wont feel like I need more space (I don't really know how to describe this one). Having a 1080p display would be great for what I do for work, but I'm finding it difficult to find one in my price range at 17". So I guess ideally my new specifications are: under $900, 17"+ display, high enough resolution to enjoy HD-quality things, dedicated graphics card.

My friend just bought this and I've been playing with it in our downtime at work. It plays movies great, plays games really well (though that's not really my main concern), and is doing everything I need it to do for my job. I know nothing of Acer, though, so it could turn into a huge pile of crap down the line, but for now this laptop is great and I'll probably end up ordering one myself.

Mmm. Along the same lines, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215408 is the exact same computer for $80 less, but 4GB RAM instead of 6 and 2.5GHz processor instead of 3.1. I wouldn't expect a noticeable performance difference unless you multitask a LOT (4GB is fine for me having several Excel/Onenote/word windows, 20 tabs with netflix and such, powerpoint, matlab, which is what I have open right now), or do really intensive processory things.

Maybe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214871 .

Otherwise, yeah, that's a good choice.

Go with 6GB. While 4GB is fine now, it will not be in say 2 years. And laptops aren't as easy to upgrade as desktops.

As for the CPU 3.1 is faster than 2.5 but probably not by as much as you'd expect. However it will shorten your battery life.

It depends what he does, and how clean he keeps it. I had some RAM shortages last year, despite not actually doing anything particularly intensive, due to background processes and who knows what else. Fresh reinstall of Windows, reinstall of stuff I need, and I'm running more than I did before and only at 70%. So, for "casual" multitasking, I'd say 4GB is fine now, and it will be fine in two years, and 2GB isn't worth $80. If your computer is dirty, you'll have shortages even with 6GB. However, if he needs to do RAM-intensive things (I dunno, modify huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge images or something), it might be worth it.

If I order that from Newegg, the total will be $719.86 with tax and free 3-day shipping.
If I order the other one from Amazon, the total will be $733.98 with no tax and $3.99 1-day shipping (I have Amazon Prime).
So really I'm looking at a price difference of $14.12 for the 2GB of RAM. In that case, I'm mush more inclined to go with the 6GB model.

Going back to what I said earlier, though, has anyone heard anything negative about Acer?

EDIT:
I checked the laptop from Amazon and the CPU is actually 2.5GHz, not 3.1. Those lying bastards.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 18 2012, 11:24 pm by DevliN.

Mine came with bloatware, and the backlight went bad after a year and a half or so (would flicker out sometimes; closing/reopening the lid and toggling the backlight with Fn+F3 would fix it). I have a tendency to crimp my cables, so I had to replace the charger a few times. The hinge got pretty bad after a while, too, but if you're comfortable taking it apart and tightening the bolt, most laptop hinges can be fixed that way. Other than that, no problems. Rarely got a blue screen (I think it was only for driver issues with the integrated graphics; downgrading suppressed it).