Hey everyone, first post here. Most of my research lead me to this site, so I fugred I would register here to hopefully get my remainig questions answered.
I currently own a desktop. It is almost six years old, but still works relatively good. It is a first gen P4 with hyperthreading, 3.2ghz, 4gb PC3200 SDRAM, and has a 512mb AGP graphics card. This setup was (with an 18 inch flat monitor) about $3,000 when I bought it in early 2003. I tend to spend the big bucks on almost anything I buy, intending to use it for a long period of time.
I would love to get a new desktop, because frankly, for half the cost, you can get something better than any laptop. However, I am going to be moving around a lot soon, so unfortunately, I need to spend the big bucks on a very high quality laptop to act as a replacement desktop. I do pretty much everything: Lots of photoshop, gaming, reports, word processing, e-mail, business, photography, etc. I need a lot of storage, a lot of power, and a lot of screen size. I am looking to spend between 2400-2800 dollars. I'll list the specs of what I am currently looking at, then onto the questions.
Current prospect Laptop:
Sager NP9262 - Gaming Laptop
Display: 17" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Glossy Widescreen
Modular Video Card: nVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX 1GB
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9650 3.0GHz Processor w/12M L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
Arctic Silver 5: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
System Memory: 4GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (64bit Vista Required)
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA II 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
Second Hard Drive: 250GB SATA II 3Gb/s 5,400 RPM Hard Drive
Hard Drives in RAID: RAID Disabled
CD/DVD Read/Writer: Blu-Ray Read - DVD-CD R-RW
Memory Card Reader: 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader (All versions of MS + SD/MMC)
Wireless Networking: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11a/g/n
Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth Wireless
Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
Operating System: Windows Vista Premium - (64-Bit installed - 64 and 32-bit CD included)
AC Adapter: Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
Carrying Case: Standard Carrying Case
Sager Limited Warranties: 3-Year Labor 1-Year Parts Warranty (Year 2 & 3 Paid by PNB)-Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Support
Price: $2,773.23
First question: Is now a good time to buy, or should I wait a bit for more quad core processors to be readily available on laptops, and for them to come down in price? Quadcores are just now starting to come out en masse for laptops. The Q9650 looks to be pretty amazing, and easily overclockable, but if I wait a few months (which I am fine with) will another, faster, better Quad Core be available, or will they come down in price much?
Second Question: Processor Upgradability -- With the core I7's due out towards the end of this year, Will I be able to upgrade at all? Never owned a laptop before, so not sure how that works. Is the socket of the I7 the same as the Quad Core?
Third Question: where to buy from / customize. I've googled around, but the powernotebooks.com website seems to have BY FAR the best prices. Any other places where I can customize?
Question four: Why is it only 45 extra dollars to go from 2gb of ram, to 4gb of ram, but 700 dollars to go from 4gb of ram to 8gb of ram? Do laptops only have 2 ram slots? Couldn't I just buy the 2gb sticks for a decent price? Again, have not owned a laptop before, so not sure how they work.
Question 5: Overheating. How are quadcore laptops with heat? I haven't found many sites that let me upgrade the heatsinks/fans. I intend to overclock, but I hear the quads do that pretty well. Will I be able to upgrade the heatsink/fans myself? Or is this a no-no with laptops.
Question 6: Any other recommendations based on my system? Mostly with respect to the processor. I haven't kept up too much on the new sockets/processors that have come out over the past few years. Usually I go with intel, but does AMD have anything to offer aside from being much cheaper? Even so, where can I go to buy AMD based notebooks?
Question 7: I just heard from this site that the multipliers in the BIOS to overclock are locked. Is there any way around this? Any Responses are much appreciated, thanks for your time!
I currently own a desktop. It is almost six years old, but still works relatively good. It is a first gen P4 with hyperthreading, 3.2ghz, 4gb PC3200 SDRAM, and has a 512mb AGP graphics card. This setup was (with an 18 inch flat monitor) about $3,000 when I bought it in early 2003. I tend to spend the big bucks on almost anything I buy, intending to use it for a long period of time.
I would love to get a new desktop, because frankly, for half the cost, you can get something better than any laptop. However, I am going to be moving around a lot soon, so unfortunately, I need to spend the big bucks on a very high quality laptop to act as a replacement desktop. I do pretty much everything: Lots of photoshop, gaming, reports, word processing, e-mail, business, photography, etc. I need a lot of storage, a lot of power, and a lot of screen size. I am looking to spend between 2400-2800 dollars. I'll list the specs of what I am currently looking at, then onto the questions.
Current prospect Laptop:
Sager NP9262 - Gaming Laptop
Display: 17" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Glossy Widescreen
Modular Video Card: nVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX 1GB
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9650 3.0GHz Processor w/12M L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
Arctic Silver 5: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
System Memory: 4GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (64bit Vista Required)
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA II 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
Second Hard Drive: 250GB SATA II 3Gb/s 5,400 RPM Hard Drive
Hard Drives in RAID: RAID Disabled
CD/DVD Read/Writer: Blu-Ray Read - DVD-CD R-RW
Memory Card Reader: 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader (All versions of MS + SD/MMC)
Wireless Networking: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11a/g/n
Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth Wireless
Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
Operating System: Windows Vista Premium - (64-Bit installed - 64 and 32-bit CD included)
AC Adapter: Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
Carrying Case: Standard Carrying Case
Sager Limited Warranties: 3-Year Labor 1-Year Parts Warranty (Year 2 & 3 Paid by PNB)-Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Support
Price: $2,773.23
First question: Is now a good time to buy, or should I wait a bit for more quad core processors to be readily available on laptops, and for them to come down in price? Quadcores are just now starting to come out en masse for laptops. The Q9650 looks to be pretty amazing, and easily overclockable, but if I wait a few months (which I am fine with) will another, faster, better Quad Core be available, or will they come down in price much?
Second Question: Processor Upgradability -- With the core I7's due out towards the end of this year, Will I be able to upgrade at all? Never owned a laptop before, so not sure how that works. Is the socket of the I7 the same as the Quad Core?
Third Question: where to buy from / customize. I've googled around, but the powernotebooks.com website seems to have BY FAR the best prices. Any other places where I can customize?
Question four: Why is it only 45 extra dollars to go from 2gb of ram, to 4gb of ram, but 700 dollars to go from 4gb of ram to 8gb of ram? Do laptops only have 2 ram slots? Couldn't I just buy the 2gb sticks for a decent price? Again, have not owned a laptop before, so not sure how they work.
Question 5: Overheating. How are quadcore laptops with heat? I haven't found many sites that let me upgrade the heatsinks/fans. I intend to overclock, but I hear the quads do that pretty well. Will I be able to upgrade the heatsink/fans myself? Or is this a no-no with laptops.
Question 6: Any other recommendations based on my system? Mostly with respect to the processor. I haven't kept up too much on the new sockets/processors that have come out over the past few years. Usually I go with intel, but does AMD have anything to offer aside from being much cheaper? Even so, where can I go to buy AMD based notebooks?
Question 7: I just heard from this site that the multipliers in the BIOS to overclock are locked. Is there any way around this? Any Responses are much appreciated, thanks for your time!
/store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro
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