Recent content by dav_jw

Depends on what is more important to you. Both should perform very similarly in most usage, the Radeon M260 is very similar to the 8750M. The Intel CPU will however be a bit quicker and use less power than the AMD A10 in the HP. However, the HP has a smaller battery, so this advantage might...

No problem. Be careful with the one you listed from ebay, though. I saw a similar model on Amazon. If you read the details, it states: "Digital Optical Audio Input: for recording digital audio from audio receiver, amplifier, mixer or recorder and saved in computer files for playback or disc...

If I understand correctly, what you are looking for is a DAC (digital to analog converter), to convert the digital signal from the optical output of your PS4 to a multi-channel analogue signal to use with your computer speakers. A six (at least) channels DAC. Most of those DAC, are, however...

Between those two, if your mind is really set on one of those, I'd get the Razer Blade (not Pro). It's smaller, lighter, has a higher resolution screen (though you'll probably have to select a lower resolution when gaming), similar CPU (200Mhz less), better GPU and is cheaper. Half the amount of...

Those temperatures aren't an immediate danger. They are a bit high (especially the CPU), but nothing unusual for a laptop. In the long term, those temps might have a negative effect on your notebook longevity, but we're talking about years if not decades. I believe it should be able to handle...

Sadly, most likely not. Most laptops components are soldered directly onto the motherboard, which practically voids any upgradability. Quite a few will have socketed CPU and RAM, but your laptop doesn't need an upgrade on any of those fronts. Adding a discrete GPU to a laptop isn't feasible in...

Prime95 is also quite a bit more intensive than your usual applications, but still, your CPU should throttle before it crash due to overheating. I'd try to reapply the thermal paste and clean the fan(s) to see if you can improve your temps. You could also try raising the back of the notebook...

I'd get the Z50-70. The i7 4510 should be fast enough for those applications (but the 4702MQ is quite a bit faster in heavily threaded workloads, single/dual core frequency is about the same with turboBoost). The 840 should be quite a bit faster than the 740, so this could help a bit in Adobe...

Only problem with the U430 is the TN display. For image work, that is far from ideal, as IPS displays will usually have much better color fidelity.

The Lenovo Thinkpad series is aimed at professional users, and is hence in its own league in terms of build quality. There are a few equivalents from other brands, like the HP Elitebooks (and ZBooks) and the Dell Latitude. The "Slim" models will usually be pretty conservatively equipped, while...

I can vouch for the Sony Vaio Pro 13. It's an ultrabook with similar specs to the Macbook Air, (i5-4200U, 8GB, 128GB PCIE SSD, 1920x1080 IPS LCD, Intel HD 4400). I believe you can customize it on Sony website. It is exceptionally portable and is probably the lightest notebook in its class...

According to this (scroll down for gaming benchmarks), you should have about 22fps at high, 45 at medium and 66 at low (720p). http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-740M.89900.0.html

At that price range, the Monoprice is a good choice. It really depends on your needs/preferences. Here are a few more suggestions, just to add to your confusion :D: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M30-Professional-Closed-back-Headphones/dp/B00007E7C8/...

I meant try them on another device, also with wireless/bluetooth. Nevermind what I said about the muted channel, it should work if you plugged it.