Author Topic: Which desktop/laptop should I get?  (Read 8280 times)

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #40 on: August 28, 2024, 11:50:48 AM »
Highly doubtful that a 7xxx series Latitude is plastic. More likely that it is some kind of lightweight polymer that feels like plastic, as seen on Grams and Lenovo's X laptops. (This is an educated guess, not fact.) Latitude is famous for their keyboards, second only to Thinkpads, so makes sense you would enjoy them.

Regarding Grade, since they are called Cosmetic Grade, I don't know how bad Grade B will be. But since you seemed to be makpid on A, I matched it (especially because I wanted to be accurate when calling it 'virtually the same' as your model). Faced with this exact choice, I personally would buy the B.
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Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #41 on: August 28, 2024, 11:54:06 AM »
What difference does it make it make if metal or plastic?
What does build quality refer to?
Metal and plastic: one particular aspect of build quality but not the whole story. Metal dents when impacted; plastic shatters. The most common problem with laptops - namely, dropping them - is significantly less likely to kill the laptop if metal.
For the rest, it is obvious that companies lavish more attention to the quality of certain lines versus others. This is the main reason to get a higher-end laptop versus a lower-end one.
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Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #42 on: August 28, 2024, 12:51:17 PM »
Highly doubtful that a 7xxx series Latitude is plastic. More likely that it is some kind of lightweight polymer that feels like plastic, as seen on Grams and Lenovo's X laptops. (This is an educated guess, not fact.) Latitude is famous for their keyboards, second only to Thinkpads, so makes sense you would enjoy them.
You're right. I thought it was plastic, but just looked it up, and it's apparently carbon fiber. Had no idea.

Regarding Grade, since they are called Cosmetic Grade, I don't know how bad Grade B will be. But since you seemed to be makpid on A, I matched it (especially because I wanted to be accurate when calling it 'virtually the same' as your model). Faced with this exact choice, I personally would buy the B.
Got it. Gonna try to find some reviews of Dell Refurbished in Canada, and then decide between A and B based on what others got.

Thanks for all your help on this!

Offline Elee

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #43 on: August 28, 2024, 10:34:31 PM »
Photoshop recommends an MX series Nvidia graphics at a minimum (they used to require even more, but it apparently was for their 3D stuff, which they since moved to a different program).
If you want smooth Photoshop usage, a budget gaming laptop that has good colors should be good for you. If you want to throw money at your old laptop, be my guest, but don't expect Photoshop not to krechtz anyway.
Do you want a specific laptop recommendation, or recommendations for RAM / SSD?

Delayed response

I would prefer recommendations for RAM / SSD.

Thanks!!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #44 on: August 29, 2024, 02:07:44 AM »
Delayed response

I would prefer recommendations for RAM / SSD.

Thanks!!
Bear in mind that even after purchasing the parts, you will still need to pay someone to upgrade them OR figure out how to do it yourself. I'm not in Lakewood; maybe ask for upgrade help in the Lakewood threads.
RAM: up to two DIMMS of DDR4 2666 or 3200 (no difference to you, whichever is cheaper). You will be buying a set of 2 x 16GB such as this one (make sure you are getting the one labeled 2 x 16GB) for $48:
Timetec 32GB KIT(2x16GB) DDR4 2666MHz (DDR4-2666) PC4-21300 (PC4-2666V) Non-ECC Unbuffered 1.2V CL19 2Rx8 Dual Rank 260 Pin SODIMM Laptop Notebook PC Computer Memory RAM Module Upgrade



Tell me how much space you need and I'll find you a good SSD (an M2 2280 that is NVMe/PCIe - they are the same thing).

Also, as I said:
don't expect Photoshop not to krechtz anyway.
It is the integrated graphics that is more at fault for your Photoshop performance than the RAM (although a full SSD may be creating problems, 16GB of RAM is often enough).
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Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #45 on: November 05, 2024, 07:50:15 AM »
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2505008/why-you-shouldnt-buy-a-laptop-based-purely-on-its-specs.html

A summary of a few points made:
1. Laptop GPUs can run as low as 40W and as high as 140W. Often a lower spec graphic card at higher wattage can outperform a higher spec card at lower wattages.
2. Some laptops are built with more robust cooling and/or headroom. This is especially true regarding bulkier computers. Because all laptops use varying wattages, boosting their performance when the cooling allows for it, laptops with the same specs can have significantly different performance because of the cooling headroom (or lack thereof).
3. This is why you should always visit OUR website and we should tell you what computers to buy. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we get commissions when you buy computers that we link to.
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Offline cholent

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Re: Which desktop/laptop should I get?
« Reply #46 on: November 27, 2024, 07:35:29 AM »
My daughter needs a laptop for college work, I assume any basic laptop would essentially meet her needs. I'm looking to buy one on Dell using 3x platinum credits, what's the best laptop value for under 550? (Which would be 600+ after tax)
Don't ask stupid questions and you won't get stupid answers