What is the best laptop for multitasking under 2500.00

[HAOG]

I run a home based financial business. I prefer a laptop because I often visit clients at their place. Portability is not an issue, I just want a computer that can handle whatever I throw at it and not freeze up or stop responding or take long to process.
I my typical applications running simultaneously at any given time include:
1. soft phone
2. MS outlook
3. MS Excel
4. Adobe 9.0 Pro
5. MS Word
6. and Online Surfing
I just priced a Lenovo with:
• Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor (8M Cache, 2.70 GHz)
• 16 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
• 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
I just bout a VIAO and I’m very disappointed not just with the performance but the technical support.
all they know how to do is to instruct you to reset your computer to factory defaults, instead of addressing the problem. Needless to say it never gets resolved

 

[tcfraz]

I dont know alot about laptops, but look for one with a SSD. SSd's greatly inprove load times and are much faster than hard drives. With a 2500 dollar budget you should be able to get a decent size one in a laptop with a quality cpu. The lenovo laptop looks nice id just try to change the harddrive for a 120-250 gb ssd and maybe get an external harddrive if needed.

 

[alyoshka]

What does that mean? That you just priced a lenovo and bout a VIAO?

You want a laptop, so of course portability is not an issue OR you want a computer that is easy to carry since you can manage to carry a computer everywhere you go?

There is not a single laptop in the market that can guarantee and neither can we that it will not freeze or stop responding or take long to process, since it goes with the territory.
And any machine, even a billion dollar super computer can show signs of fatigue if you were to toss those 6 activities at it , it just ain't necessary that this is because of the hardware it could also be caused by bad/poor programming, an anomaly... like in the matrix.... anything... there are no guarantees...

 

[HAOG]

I dont know alot about laptops, but look for one with a SSD. SSd's greatly inprove load times and are much faster than hard drives. With a 2500 dollar budget you should be able to get a decent size one in a laptop with a quality cpu. The lenovo laptop looks nice id just try to change the harddrive for a 120-250 gb ssd and maybe get an external harddrive if needed.

I tried, unfortunately the largest SSD they had was an Intel 160 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA.

I keep alot of files on my computer since I operate a paperless office so all of my clients' documents are on my computer ( pdf ) files.

the rep said that since I currently have in use aproximately 145gb and will probably grow, the recomendation was to go with the 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm.

I don't know if that is the best way to go about it but he did say that the largest was 160 GB on the SSD.

 

[HAOG]

What does that mean? That you just priced a lenovo and bout a VIAO?

You want a laptop, so of course portability is not an issue OR you want a computer that is easy to carry since you can manage to carry a computer everywhere you go?

There is not a single laptop in the market that can guarantee and neither can we that it will not freeze or stop responding or take long to process, since it goes with the territory.
And any machine, even a billion dollar super computer can show signs of fatigue if you were to toss those 6 activities at it , it just ain't necessary that this is because of the hardware it could also be caused by bad/poor programming, an anomaly... like in the matrix.... anything... there are no guarantees...

I meant to say that i ordered a VIAO and was very dissapointed. Now they have refunded my money and i'm on the market for a new one.

and portability is not an issue, meaning that the size and weight of the laptop is not a deal breaker. Most of the time it'll just be a desktop replacement.

 

[k1114]

I know you have a high budget, but I would actually suggest something along the lines of this. http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000000F3%3A00004F49%3A I'm guessing the one you priced out is probably 2-3x higher price. The cpu is only .5ghz more which is hardly a difference and your tasks just needs more cores rather than more power. Ram is an easy upgrade but I doubt 8gb isn't enough and 16gb ram is $140. I know 5400rpm will be noticeably less responsive but you can get larger ssds from somewhere else like newegg/amazon (although 500gb costs $600). You could have client documents on an external hdd and get a smaller ssd. I'm just a budget minded individual so this may not be ideal for you, but it's just a suggestion.

 

[HAOG]

I know you have a high budget, but I would actually suggest something along the lines of this. http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000000F3%3A00004F49%3A I'm guessing the one you priced out is probably 2-3x higher price. The cpu is only .5ghz more which is hardly a difference and your tasks just needs more cores rather than more power. Ram is an easy upgrade but I doubt 8gb isn't enough and 16gb ram is $140. I know 5400rpm will be noticeably less responsive but you can get larger ssds from somewhere else like newegg/amazon (although 500gb costs $600). You could have client documents on an external hdd and get a smaller ssd. I'm just a budget minded individual so this may not be ideal for you, but it's just a suggestion.[/quotemsg



To be honest with you, I don't like the big $$$$$ tag that comes with the options I’ve chosen. But just returned a Sony F Series that was the worst computer I’ve ever had.

I custom ordered it with the following:
• Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM quad-core processor (2.20GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.30GHz
• 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
• 640GB (7200rpm) hard drive
This computer has been a nightmare. From day one I felt that it did not perform to reflect the upgrades and the quality ( brand name ).
Since I’m not a big computer guy, I just want to buy something that comes loaded out the door.
As much as it is an issue of speed, it is more a question of what brand is more RELIABLE.
I'm sick & tired of freezes and having to reboot. This takes a big toll on me since it's counterproductive and it frustrates the heck out of me and I have a stressful job as it is. the last thing I need is to sit there and argue with a tech support. I just want something that works and if I do have a question, I expect support to be there and to know how to solve it.
Sorry about venting. I've never tried Lenovo. Do you recommend it ?
thank you.

 

[gondo]

Definitely Sager. Best quality out there using a Clevo platform. WHen you customize one get one with the cheapest CPU that is 6MB cache not 4mb. But at $2500 it'll have that for sure. You choose the platform that has the screen and video card your after.

FOr better performance try an SSD with a second storage drive in the CD-ROM bay. Or keep the burner and use an external hard drive.

Either way Sager is my vote.

 

[Pyree]

I think you are just experiencing the bloat ware. A i7-2720QM with 8GB RAM and 640GB 7200rpm drive should be able to handle multi-task and business computing not just fine, but in fact with ease.

You don't want a Sager. Yes they are power house but they are meant for gaming and not for business. The battery life IMO will be insufficient for running around.

I recommend you to uninstall all bloat ware and disable all unnecessary process after you received your new laptop.

 

[lafontma]

I run a home based financial business. I prefer a laptop because I often visit clients at their place. Portability is not an issue, I just want a computer that can handle whatever I throw at it and not freeze up or stop responding or take long to process.
I my typical applications running simultaneously at any given time include:
1. soft phone
2. MS outlook
3. MS Excel
4. Adobe 9.0 Pro
5. MS Word
6. and Online Surfing
I just priced a Lenovo with:
• Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor (8M Cache, 2.70 GHz)
• 16 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
• 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
I just bout a VIAO and I’m very disappointed not just with the performance but the technical support.
all they know how to do is to instruct you to reset your computer to factory defaults, instead of addressing the problem. Needless to say it never gets resolved

Seems like overkill for what you will be doing... You dont mention the specs of the Viao so its hard to see if you are doing a major upgrade

Edit: nevermind you crossposted at the same time i did... Viao should of been sufficient, nothing you are doing requires at lot of memory/CPU. As mentionned above Sager are mostly gaming machines and have poor battery life

 

[jitpublisher]

I agree with the posts above about all the junk laptops come installed with.
None of the programs you have listed require a lot of processing power or memory to run, basically you are running the Microsoft Office Suite, along with Acrobat, any mid range laptop should handle these tasks all at once, quite easily. If it doesn't, there is a problem and it should be returned.

 

[Cykotr0n]

Coincidentally, I just purchased a laptop that is using the programs you mentioned HOAG. Been very pleased with its performance. Not only does it do MS outlook, MS Excel, Adobe, MS Word, and Online Surfing (usually 2-3 of these running at the same time) it does some gaming as well (not that I need gaming but it does prove the laptop is very strong). Tried Star Wars The Old Republic on Max settings and it was about 25fps. It didn't come with an SSD but it did come with a nice 640gb HDD and Blu-ray.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214611 (TOSHIBA Satellite P755D-S5172 Notebook AMD A-Series A8-3520M 1.6GHz) is what I purchased. However I would have rather bought a http/www.frys.com/product/6793735?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG (Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 Series Gunmetal Gray Laptop). The Reason I didn't go with the Lenovo was because i have a huge Blu-ray collection and wanted a laptop to play movies on long road trips which the Toshiba offers. also the Toshiba came with 6gb of ram instead of 4gb at the time (6gb is better since the gpu is not dedicated). I wanted to go with the Lenovo since it had Aluminum finish which adds sturdiness and cooling to laptops.

For what your doing, I believe an A8 processor would fit your bill. Intel's i7 would be overkill for the things you described your using.

 

[HAOG]

You may be right, but that is the point of buying a powerhouse. Since I'm NOT a computer expert I don't want to go and remove programs since I don't know what the heck I’m doing and when I called Sony and had them do it was even worse than if I did it myself. After they were done my computer was even worse to the point that when I called back they just replaced the computer.

I've wasted so much time with crashes, poor service, and time in transit that I've probably lost more money than the cost of the computer and that is just what I'm trying to avoid.

thanks again for your input.

 

[mohammedvazeer]

I run a home based financial business. I prefer a laptop because I often visit clients at their place. Portability is not an issue, I just want a computer that can handle whatever I throw at it and not freeze up or stop responding or take long to process.
I my typical applications running simultaneously at any given time include:
1. soft phone
2. MS outlook
3. MS Excel
4. Adobe 9.0 Pro
5. MS Word
6. and Online Surfing
I just priced a Lenovo with:
• Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor (8M Cache, 2.70 GHz)
• 16 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
• 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
I just bout a VIAO and I’m very disappointed not just with the performance but the technical support.
all they know how to do is to instruct you to reset your computer to factory defaults, instead of addressing the problem. Needless to say it never gets resolved

Have you tried looking at Hp....they have got an impressive business notebook....the Elitebook....what a machine...should handle all tasks without a sweat....even some video editing/applications..
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158147

Good luck...

 

[Memnarchon]

Hello.
Since you need SSD+HDD and core i7 (you will have 8 threads) for multitasking, in my opinion the best option is:
MSI GT783-625US Notebook Intel Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) 17.3" 16GB Memory DDR3 750GB HDD + 128GB SSD HDD 7200rpm Blu-Ray Burner NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M
$2,499.99
from newegg: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152303

 

[gondo]

Sager isn't only gaming. They have no bloatware whatsoever. Just a fresh install of windows. And you actually get a copy of windows, not this trash on a partition you have to burn yourself.

Sager has a model that will compete with any other manufacturer at a better price. You choose the video and screen size you want then customise the components. If you want gaming get the big videocard, if you want business then choose a smaller video platform. Very simple.

It's an industry known fact that Clevo makes the best laptop platform, and Sager is one of the best manufacturers to use Clevo. I've owned many laptops and the Sager tops them all. They also have the best heatsink and cooling.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I refuse to buy from the big name brands that just slap a label on something made for them by someone else. I have been buying strictly Clevo laptops for the past 5-6 years .... never heard of Clevo ?

Chances are you never heard of the companies that made the laptops you have owned in the past. The vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM).....Major relationships include:

Quanta sells to (among others) HP, Lenovo, Apple, Acer, Toshiba, Dell, Sony, Fujitsu and NEC
Compal sells to (among others) Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and HP/Compaq
Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to Dell, Acer, Lenovo and HP
Inventec sells to Toshiba, HP and Lenovo
Pegatron (former manufacturing & design division of Asus) sells to Asus, Toshiba, Apple, Dell and Acer
Foxconn sells to Asus, Dell, HP and Apple
Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP
Clevo sells base ystems and components to Sager, Voddoo PC, FalconNW & all the other "boutique" brands.

http/forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

CLEVO is a large Taiwanese computer company specializing in laptops. While the Clevo brand name is perhaps not widely known, their products are re-branded and sold by known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc.
They are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs.

http/forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/592609-clevo-guide-v3-0-faq-reseller-info-read-before-posting.html

Look at the Clevo P170 series....best place to the view the models is here:

http/www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=product&filter=4

Figure out what model ya want there but I'd advise against buying as support at Prostar has dropped off badly in recent years. Go over to a site like xoticpc.com or others that you find listed on the distributor lists at the above links.