In the market for a laptop. Suggestions?

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:49 pm

John Jeffers wrote:
Snarl 12/8 wrote:Somebody maybe could get OSX to run on my daughter's Asus, but it won't be me. OSX slows me to a crawl. Where's the fucking scroll wheel?!
The scroll wheel is on your mouse, where it's always been, and it works just fine. I've heard a lot of complaints about OS X from people who don't understand it, but that's a new one. It used to be "how am I supposed to get any work done when the mouse only has one button?" You can use any mouse you want. You don't have to use the one Apple gives you (which, BTW, has multiple buttons and scrolling).
It's been "that long" since I tried it.

Look, I've seen people fly using Macs. I just can't really be arsed to learn a whole new OS/workflow when Windows and Linux work just fine for what I do 99% of the time. I don't think people who use Macs are necessarily idiots, but evangelizing any platform that's not giving you a paycheck is pretty dumb IMO. They all suck at some stuff and excel at others.
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Post by John Jeffers » Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:02 pm

Snarl 12/8 wrote:
John Jeffers wrote:
Snarl 12/8 wrote:Somebody maybe could get OSX to run on my daughter's Asus, but it won't be me. OSX slows me to a crawl. Where's the fucking scroll wheel?!
The scroll wheel is on your mouse, where it's always been, and it works just fine. I've heard a lot of complaints about OS X from people who don't understand it, but that's a new one. It used to be "how am I supposed to get any work done when the mouse only has one button?" You can use any mouse you want. You don't have to use the one Apple gives you (which, BTW, has multiple buttons and scrolling).
It's been "that long" since I tried it.

Look, I've seen people fly using Macs. I just can't really be arsed to learn a whole new OS/workflow when Windows and Linux work just fine for what I do 99% of the time. I don't think people who use Macs are necessarily idiots, but evangelizing any platform that's not giving you a paycheck is pretty dumb IMO. They all suck at some stuff and excel at others.
Correcting a misperception isn't evangelizing. I don't give a crap what you or anyone else uses. Use what you know, and what lets you work the fastest. I like Macs, and I also like Windows, and I even like Linux for certain tasks. If someone was on here talking shit about Windows or Linux that I knew to be wrong, I'd say something about that, too. Use Windows if it works for you. Win 7 is really, really nice. Just don't be talking about Macs if you don't know any better. That's all I'm saying.

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metanoiastudios
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Post by metanoiastudios » Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:47 pm

Man, I have to say...I'm VERY torn between the MBPs and the Lenovo T series (although the W series appears to be in closer competition to the MBPs).

I think it should be noted that at this point I DO intend on replacing my desktop with this unit completely, meaning that it would have to be powerful enough for mixing (and for running Nebula).

For $1,979.00 I could purchase a Lenovo Thinkpad W510, which gives me:

Intel Core i7-820QM Processor (8M Cache, 1.73 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode - English
15.6" HD (1366 x 768) AntiGlare Display with LED Backlight and WWAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 memory
8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
Camera, 2.0 MP
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
Express Card Slot & 5 in 1 Card Reader
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 135W AC adapter
Bluetooth w/ antenna
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Gobi 2000 3G with GPS)
SIM Card: USA

Thoughts?
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Post by BrontoSoreAss » Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:11 pm

My thinkpad fucking rocks. Lenovo semi-frequently has 30% sales for products over 1500 - if you can hold out for one of those to pop up it will save a bunch of money.

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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:29 pm

Just for the record, I knew that Macs had super-cool mouses now when I typed that. I was being hyperbolic to make a point about MY relationship with Macs. My first computers were Macs. My first recordings were on Macs. I had two jobs in a row where I was the only person in my dept. with both a Mac and PC on my desk. Back when a lot of people believed that you could only do graphic design and multimedia on Macs and only PC's were suitable for serious work. I've compared them side by side (years and years ago) and came to the conclusion that every tool has appropriate and inappropriate uses. Over the years I've drifted away from Macs and haven't really seen anything to make me believe that they are worth the premium - for ME.
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metanoiastudios
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Post by metanoiastudios » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:07 am

Alright guys, REALLLY need your opinions here. I've customized my own machine via Lenovo's website, and came up with the following:

ThinkPad T520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
15.6" HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband
8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Hard drive: Intel 160 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the exact same processor that's in the new MBPs? if so, I would be able to get this deal for $1,493. This seems like a much more powerful machine for tracking/mixing than my quad-core Intel Core 2 w/ 4GB ram.

Also, should I get a regular 7200 RPM drive, or the SSD? If I get the SSD I'd obviously use an external drive for my audio files.

Help!! :)
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Post by John Jeffers » Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:27 pm

metanoiastudios wrote:Alright guys, REALLLY need your opinions here. I've customized my own machine via Lenovo's website, and came up with the following:

ThinkPad T520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
15.6" HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband
8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Hard drive: Intel 160 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the exact same processor that's in the new MBPs? if so, I would be able to get this deal for $1,493. This seems like a much more powerful machine for tracking/mixing than my quad-core Intel Core 2 w/ 4GB ram.

Also, should I get a regular 7200 RPM drive, or the SSD? If I get the SSD I'd obviously use an external drive for my audio files.

Help!! :)
Get the SSD. They make a huge difference. You should be using an external drive for audio anyway. And see about upgrading the display to a higher res. 1366x768 isn't enough room for a DAW in my opinion.

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what sw are you running?

Post by ampguy » Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:11 pm

ask your vendor, or user groups, what hw platform works best for your chosen tools.

for general purpose computing, both macs and windows are cool. macs cost a lot more.

here's 1 data point, macbook air 13" is not noticeably faster than 5 year old dell inspiron, for web browsing, general use. but is much thinner. ironically, the dell has firewire, the macbook air doesn't.

macbook air can't run with lid closed (unless you hack some washer deal up), and you have no page up or page down keys but the touch track is pretty cool.

I'd go for high res, and get ssd, then worry about mac or pc. Second the Lenovo T410 or T510, just get HD+ or FHD (1440x900 or higher), you can get used macs with the 1280x800 or 1376x768 screens, but then you are spending all your time scrolling or squinting.

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Re: what sw are you running?

Post by John Jeffers » Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:40 am

here's 1 data point, macbook air 13" is not noticeably faster than 5 year old dell inspiron, for web browsing, general use.
As someone who actually owns a Macbook Air, I call BS on this. The Air is most definitely faster than a 5-year-old Inspiron. The SSD that's present in every new Macbook Air makes them a lot faster that you would expect them to be given just the processor specs.
macbook air can't run with lid closed (unless you hack some washer deal up), and you have no page up or page down keys but the touch track is pretty cool.
Tell that to my Macbook Air sitting in front of me, running just fine with the lid closed. No hacks required.

There are no dedicated page up/page down buttons, but fn-up arrow/fn-down arrow does the same thing.

One more time for the record: I'm not trying to talk anyone into getting a Mac, as I really do not care what you choose to buy. I have no emotional stake in Apple, but the misinformation in this thread should be pointed out.

Final point: I love my Macbook Air, and I think it's the best laptop I've ever owned for a lot of reasons, but I would NOT recommend it for recording for one simple reason: NO FIREWIRE. That really is a dealbreaker for a lot of scenarios.

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Re: what sw are you running?

Post by ampguy » Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:50 pm

hmm, maybe it's because the one i use has only the 1.86 cpu? is yours faster?

how do you get yours to not go to sleep when closing the lid?

thanks for the top on fn/arrows
John Jeffers wrote:
here's 1 data point, macbook air 13" is not noticeably faster than 5 year old dell inspiron, for web browsing, general use.
As someone who actually owns a Macbook Air, I call BS on this. The Air is most definitely faster than a 5-year-old Inspiron. The SSD that's present in every new Macbook Air makes them a lot faster that you would expect them to be given just the processor specs.
macbook air can't run with lid closed (unless you hack some washer deal up), and you have no page up or page down keys but the touch track is pretty cool.
Tell that to my Macbook Air sitting in front of me, running just fine with the lid closed. No hacks required.

There are no dedicated page up/page down buttons, but fn-up arrow/fn-down arrow does the same thing.

One more time for the record: I'm not trying to talk anyone into getting a Mac, as I really do not care what you choose to buy. I have no emotional stake in Apple, but the misinformation in this thread should be pointed out.

Final point: I love my Macbook Air, and I think it's the best laptop I've ever owned for a lot of reasons, but I would NOT recommend it for recording for one simple reason: NO FIREWIRE. That really is a dealbreaker for a lot of scenarios.

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Re: what sw are you running?

Post by John Jeffers » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:54 pm

ampguy wrote:hmm, maybe it's because the one i use has only the 1.86 cpu? is yours faster?
I have the 2.13 Ghz processor, but I've spent some time on the "slower" model as well. It ain't slow, in my opinion.
how do you get yours to not go to sleep when closing the lid?
It goes to sleep when I close the lid -- which is how I would expect and want a laptop to behave. But then I plug in an external mouse/monitor/keyboard and it wakes back up, running just fine with the lid closed (which is how I use it most of the time).

If you really want to run it with the lid closed and no external peripherals for some reason, you can install InsomniaX to disable sleep mode.

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Re: what sw are you running?

Post by ampguy » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:14 pm

cool, thanks for the tips. lots of times I want something to complete, like an upload or download, but don't want the cats to sit on the keyboard and send out spam, so I like a computer that can run with lid down. thanks.
John Jeffers wrote:
ampguy wrote:hmm, maybe it's because the one i use has only the 1.86 cpu? is yours faster?
I have the 2.13 Ghz processor, but I've spent some time on the "slower" model as well. It ain't slow, in my opinion.
how do you get yours to not go to sleep when closing the lid?
It goes to sleep when I close the lid -- which is how I would expect and want a laptop to behave. But then I plug in an external mouse/monitor/keyboard and it wakes back up, running just fine with the lid closed (which is how I use it most of the time).

If you really want to run it with the lid closed and no external peripherals for some reason, you can install InsomniaX to disable sleep mode.

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Post by mrufino1 » Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:41 am

I have a t410 and it is working great for music on windows, linux for everything else. Plus, for about $15 on ebay, you can get a hard drive caddy that goes int he media bay, then you have your audio drive too without anything external.

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Post by metanoiastudios » Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:48 am

mrufino1 wrote:I have a t410 and it is working great for music on windows, linux for everything else. Plus, for about $15 on ebay, you can get a hard drive caddy that goes int he media bay, then you have your audio drive too without anything external.
Nice! what kind of processor and how much RAM? Do you find that it runs smoothly with more than 20 tracks, multiple plugins and VSTis running at once? being able to mix with decent latency and no dropouts will be paramount to my decision, and if I can save a few bucks going the Lenovo route, I'd love to do this.
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CraigS63
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Post by CraigS63 » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:33 pm

I would be interested in seeing how the new Lenovo laptops do, as far as latency,
i.e. running the program found here:

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

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