Buying a new laptop for the first time in 10 years (w/Laptop Buyers FAQ)

deepfryerdan

Estimable
Jul 15, 2014
2
0
4,510
I haven't had to buy my own laptop in years (literally, 10 years ago this month) thanks to my job purchasing one for me. Switching jobs and it's time for a new one. I feel daunted by all the options available now. I don't really know where to look anymore. Hopefully, I've come to the right place.

1. What is your budget?
Less than $1000

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Larger than 14"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
No Preference

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 2 hours

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
No

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photoshop (large files: 100mb+), Coding, Watch Porn, the ability to have many programs running at once (8+)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
~256gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Just some place trustworthy

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
At least 3 years, 4 would be ideal. I've never had a problem keeping a laptop running for less than 3 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
None Needed

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I've always liked Toshiba and Lenovo computers. Not a fan of HP but if the features and price are right...

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I'd like to try out the Intel i7 processor. An SD card reader would be a plus. Dual hdd would be amazing if I could change it out myself when it fails

 
Solution
That Lenovo Z710 seems great, the Intel HD 4600 graphics card is an improvement from the standard HD 4400.
I don't use photoshop but maybe the Y series should be considered? For the dedicated GPUs
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y40/
Do you need high color accuracy when working with Photoshop and watching porn? If so then you need to increase you budget because generally speaking only certain workstation class laptops have what you are looking for and they cost $1,500 to $2,999 for the base model depending on the brand.

If color accuracy and viewing angles are not very important, then you can get by with just a standard laptop.

Although you said resolution is not a major concern, the larger the screen resolution the least amount of time you will be scrolling around because you see more at a single time. However, a 1920x1080 resolution screen will generally push the cost of the laptop very close to your budget if not beyond.

The Core i7 CPU (especially if you are referring to the quad core versions) will most definitely push the cost beyond $1,000. That's without a 1920x1080 resolution screen.
 

deepfryerdan

Estimable
Jul 15, 2014
2
0
4,510
@jaguarskx Color accuracy isn't too big of a deal. I work for an ecommerce company and I don't need the photos to be *that* great. You're right about the resolution, though. I'll take what I can get but bigger would be better.
 

Felipe259

Estimable
Jul 17, 2014
69
0
4,610
That Lenovo Z710 seems great, the Intel HD 4600 graphics card is an improvement from the standard HD 4400.
I don't use photoshop but maybe the Y series should be considered? For the dedicated GPUs
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y40/
 
Solution