Help me pick a faster laptop!
June 8, 2015 8:47 PM Subscribe
I'm daunted by the variety of laptops out there--please help me pick a new one, based on some modest specs.
I currently have Dell Inspiron Mini, which I don't really have any problems with EXCEPT I made the mistake of ordering a model with the most basic processor. As a result, it's abysmally slow if I've got more than 2 programs open. Watching that little circle going round and round and "not responding" at the top of the screen are driving me bonkers.
For a new machine, therefore, my only absolute requirement is that it be blazing fast!! and will easily let me tab between different programs.
Not so important:
- storage space (I already have a 1 TB external drive)
- optical drive
Would druther, but not necessary:
- full-size keyboard
- multiple USB ports
- doesn't weigh a ton
- priced less than $1,000
Can you help, people who know more about these things than I do?
I currently have Dell Inspiron Mini, which I don't really have any problems with EXCEPT I made the mistake of ordering a model with the most basic processor. As a result, it's abysmally slow if I've got more than 2 programs open. Watching that little circle going round and round and "not responding" at the top of the screen are driving me bonkers.
For a new machine, therefore, my only absolute requirement is that it be blazing fast!! and will easily let me tab between different programs.
Not so important:
- storage space (I already have a 1 TB external drive)
- optical drive
Would druther, but not necessary:
- full-size keyboard
- multiple USB ports
- doesn't weigh a ton
- priced less than $1,000
Can you help, people who know more about these things than I do?
Your performance issues are more likely due to having a traditional drive rather than a newer solid state drive. Any new laptop with an SSD will seriously impress you with speed.
posted by Cosine at 9:30 PM on June 8, 2015
posted by Cosine at 9:30 PM on June 8, 2015
The one thing to check for on the processor side, more than speed, is to have at least two cores, which can help with responsiveness compared to processors that only have one.
posted by foxfirefey at 9:49 PM on June 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 9:49 PM on June 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
The last variable we need you to establish is preferred screen size (and perhaps battery life and heft).
I'm guessing the Mini had an Atom or old Pentium Mobile style processor, super-slow, low-power Intel stuff that they kind of dumped on the market during the netbook craze (specifically the earliest Atoms which I'm pretty sure all of the 9-10" netbooks sported at one point). The hard drives were notoriously slow in the cheap netbook market as well, from 4,200-5,400 RPM, but the processors were genuinely slow as hell too, even running Windows XP with bare-bones software installed.
If you're dealing with general productivity apps, I'd go for an i3 or i5 processor, make sure it has a solid-state drive, 256 GB in my opinion to be "future proof" for bloated software expansion and things you just want to keep on the laptop itself.
It's tricky picking out PC laptops because established good models rotate out quickly, by the time you know they're a good choice with no nagging issues that hit after 1-2 years.
After dealing with Dell since 2003 I would avoid them in the laptop space, but maybe something has changed? For the most part I think you're better off with Lenovo or HP.
Spend some time hanging out right here (TigerDirect.com search for Lenovo laptops from $750-999 -- the comment preview kept eating the longer URL)
posted by aydeejones at 10:06 PM on June 8, 2015
I'm guessing the Mini had an Atom or old Pentium Mobile style processor, super-slow, low-power Intel stuff that they kind of dumped on the market during the netbook craze (specifically the earliest Atoms which I'm pretty sure all of the 9-10" netbooks sported at one point). The hard drives were notoriously slow in the cheap netbook market as well, from 4,200-5,400 RPM, but the processors were genuinely slow as hell too, even running Windows XP with bare-bones software installed.
If you're dealing with general productivity apps, I'd go for an i3 or i5 processor, make sure it has a solid-state drive, 256 GB in my opinion to be "future proof" for bloated software expansion and things you just want to keep on the laptop itself.
It's tricky picking out PC laptops because established good models rotate out quickly, by the time you know they're a good choice with no nagging issues that hit after 1-2 years.
After dealing with Dell since 2003 I would avoid them in the laptop space, but maybe something has changed? For the most part I think you're better off with Lenovo or HP.
Spend some time hanging out right here (TigerDirect.com search for Lenovo laptops from $750-999 -- the comment preview kept eating the longer URL)
posted by aydeejones at 10:06 PM on June 8, 2015
Also I wouldn't buy anything with less than 8GB of RAM in this day and age, unless I had an immediate plan to upgrade it to 8GB, and often in the sub-$1,000 price range you'll find nearly the perfect laptop but with a standard 500GB - 1TB hard drive, perhaps with "hybrid SSD" technology.
That hybrid technology is nothing to sneeze at but I like the shock-proof reliability and better performance of a pure SSD, and "aftermarket" or upgrade SSDs purchased separately allow you to seek out the best deal and performance. If you didn't already have an external drive I would mention the side benefit of purchasing a laptop without an SSD only to quickly replace it -- for another $15-30 you can put your old hard drive in an enclosure and use it as an external drive. Certainly it doesn't hurt to have more than one backup, especially if you have more data than your PC's internal drive can handle, in which case you want to keep that data stored as multiple copies on multiple drives.
I'm rambling a bit but the point is, you might not get everything you want AND an SSD right off the bat, but they don't cost all that much to buy separately any more (that's a $97 Samsung 256GB decent-performance drive, better than you'll often get pre-installed in a laptop).
Long story short, to be happy in this day and age I would shoot for an i3 minimum, ideally i5 processor (there are different generations but any newer laptop is going to be a huge improvement), 8GB of RAM, and an SSD, even if you end up buying the SSD separately.
posted by aydeejones at 10:16 PM on June 8, 2015
That hybrid technology is nothing to sneeze at but I like the shock-proof reliability and better performance of a pure SSD, and "aftermarket" or upgrade SSDs purchased separately allow you to seek out the best deal and performance. If you didn't already have an external drive I would mention the side benefit of purchasing a laptop without an SSD only to quickly replace it -- for another $15-30 you can put your old hard drive in an enclosure and use it as an external drive. Certainly it doesn't hurt to have more than one backup, especially if you have more data than your PC's internal drive can handle, in which case you want to keep that data stored as multiple copies on multiple drives.
I'm rambling a bit but the point is, you might not get everything you want AND an SSD right off the bat, but they don't cost all that much to buy separately any more (that's a $97 Samsung 256GB decent-performance drive, better than you'll often get pre-installed in a laptop).
Long story short, to be happy in this day and age I would shoot for an i3 minimum, ideally i5 processor (there are different generations but any newer laptop is going to be a huge improvement), 8GB of RAM, and an SSD, even if you end up buying the SSD separately.
posted by aydeejones at 10:16 PM on June 8, 2015
Lots of ram and an SSD hard drive. Any laptop with those will have a more than good enough cpu.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:18 PM on June 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by blue_beetle at 10:18 PM on June 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Dell XPS 13. Apply directly to frustration, symptoms will subside immediately(while random people go "woah, cool laptop")
It's a 13in display with a full keyboard in the shell of an 11in machine. Basically the first interesting thing to happen to laptop design since the macbook air.
It's up on dell outlet and other places really really often. The base one has been as cheap as $500 as a refurb or on dell outlet and you'll be fine with that. But try and get 8gb of ram, because you can't upgrade later, Apple style. There isn't really a bad config though. Worth noting the basic model with the 1080p screen gets several more hours of battery life than the awesome qhd screen model, but neither sucks in that department.
The yoga 3 11 is also a stellar option, and as cheap as $500 on lenovo outlet(which you should also check out). It's also nearly fanless, and folds in to a tablet if that sounds interesting. The XPS 13 has a lot more horsepower, though.
$1000 should be enough to snag a deal on the 13in retina macbook pro as well. Can't say a single bad thing about those. Used them a lot, and i'm typing this on the 15in model. It's a mac though, and i'm not sure if you're looking for a mac. Same caveats as above apply in that you want an 8gb model because you're stuck with that you get on day 1. This squeeks in under your max price and is properly equipped. Deals with happen on the new model with the latest ridiculous force feedback trackpad though, which will take it down below 1k.
posted by emptythought at 12:20 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's a 13in display with a full keyboard in the shell of an 11in machine. Basically the first interesting thing to happen to laptop design since the macbook air.
It's up on dell outlet and other places really really often. The base one has been as cheap as $500 as a refurb or on dell outlet and you'll be fine with that. But try and get 8gb of ram, because you can't upgrade later, Apple style. There isn't really a bad config though. Worth noting the basic model with the 1080p screen gets several more hours of battery life than the awesome qhd screen model, but neither sucks in that department.
The yoga 3 11 is also a stellar option, and as cheap as $500 on lenovo outlet(which you should also check out). It's also nearly fanless, and folds in to a tablet if that sounds interesting. The XPS 13 has a lot more horsepower, though.
$1000 should be enough to snag a deal on the 13in retina macbook pro as well. Can't say a single bad thing about those. Used them a lot, and i'm typing this on the 15in model. It's a mac though, and i'm not sure if you're looking for a mac. Same caveats as above apply in that you want an 8gb model because you're stuck with that you get on day 1. This squeeks in under your max price and is properly equipped. Deals with happen on the new model with the latest ridiculous force feedback trackpad though, which will take it down below 1k.
posted by emptythought at 12:20 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
8GB RAM, Core i5 or better CPU, SSD hard drive, not made by Toshiba or HP/Compaq. Hard to go wrong otherwise.
posted by flabdablet at 12:56 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 12:56 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Plenty of good suggestions above. Wherever I end up buying my computers, I often will use NewEgg's product search tool because of the degree of granularity it offers. I built a search for machines it sounds like might be in your ballpark here. It will at least give you a tool for comparing machines that seem like they might work for you. I'm sure there are other such tools out there that are just as good.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 2:23 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 2:23 AM on June 9, 2015
I had to buy a laptop like ... immediately, with no research, RIGHT NOW (then), for a new job I started earlier this year. I just decided what I was willing to spend, my minimum specs (8GB RAM and SSD), and purchased around that. I got an ASUS with 8GB RAM, SSD, an I5 processor, and a huge screen - that is my only problem with it, actually - it's too big to easily fit in my backpack, and it's a bit heavy after slogging it around over my shoulder all day. But ... it's blazingly fast for what I want it for (Word, Excel, Outlook, web browsing, remote desktop, Putty, Citrix client ... nothing terribly taxing, but lots of multitasking).
It cost me about $550 Australian, which is about $420 US.
posted by Diag at 3:57 AM on June 9, 2015
It cost me about $550 Australian, which is about $420 US.
posted by Diag at 3:57 AM on June 9, 2015
nthing that what you're after is "RAM/IO fast" not "CPU fast"; nthing i3 or i5 + 8GB + SSD, and if it's a choice between compromising on the CPU vs RAM and SSD, then compromise on the CPU.
posted by holgate at 7:38 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by holgate at 7:38 AM on June 9, 2015
I have a Toshiba which cast in the $800 range a couple years ago. I find the screen to be highly reflective and much harder to use in bright areas than the Dells I use at work. Just something to check out.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:50 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by SemiSalt at 10:50 AM on June 9, 2015
Very happy XPS13 (early 2015 version) owner here, though my specs include a QHD touchscreen, 8Gb RAM and a 256Gb SSD. I still get roughly 6-8 hours of battery life with full 3200x1800 resolution during normal daily usage. I even play World of Warships quite happily despite the seemingly small screen; don't let the 13 inch size fool you, this thing is such a beautiful beast.
However, it does fall outside and above your price range by about $300 or more if bought new. The currently available version with 1080p (FHD non-touch screen), 8Gb RAM and a 128Gb SSD costs $999 before taxes.
They do have a linux based "Developer Edition" that is based in part on Dell's Sputnik project but I would not suggest it to anyone who doesn't fetishize older versions of Ubuntu. It runs 12.04 which is far enough out of date to cause numerous headaches. I am currently dual booting Windows 10 Technical Preview and Fedora 21 on mine.
posted by schade at 3:38 PM on June 9, 2015
However, it does fall outside and above your price range by about $300 or more if bought new. The currently available version with 1080p (FHD non-touch screen), 8Gb RAM and a 128Gb SSD costs $999 before taxes.
They do have a linux based "Developer Edition" that is based in part on Dell's Sputnik project but I would not suggest it to anyone who doesn't fetishize older versions of Ubuntu. It runs 12.04 which is far enough out of date to cause numerous headaches. I am currently dual booting Windows 10 Technical Preview and Fedora 21 on mine.
posted by schade at 3:38 PM on June 9, 2015
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posted by primethyme at 9:28 PM on June 8, 2015