Posts by Brandon Torres

darkowl72 said:Cut the crap...

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-....138026.0.html

If you look at the link, the biggest takeaway is that the 950m comes in two flavors—GDDR3 or GDDR5—whereas the 960m only ships with GDDR5.

Are there differences between them? Sure. Is there a massive gap worth sweating over? Not really.

I also forgot to mention: if you aren't dead set on a Toshiba, take a look at some other laptops. You can find plenty of solid options for similar money, or even less. Check out these models here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/laptops/search?sort=price_low_to_high

And honestly, just hunt for the best deals on Amazon.

By the way, do you think the 1060m will become cheap mainstream gear in a month and tank laptop prices? That would be nice... but it's probably a pipe dream. 🤷

The 1060 series likely won't even be available in November. Much like the desktop market, we'll see two faster siblings first, but they are unlikely to appear in entry-level machines.$3.25.
In fact, you can count on one hand how many models feature a 1070M or 1080M on a 15.6" screen.
Therefore, the 960 NVIDIA is the best value, or alternatively, pick up a temporary solution for six months—something with an i5 and 940M for around $600—and sell it once better hardware arrives.
Toshiba even offers an authorized trade-in program for their computers at a discounted rate.

wiredotter14 said:It’s a joke that they only offer a 12-month warranty. Doesn't mean the gear is junk, though—it just means they're cutting corners on the cost of handling returns.

Look, by law you get a full 24-month warranty anyway. These 12 months are just for the easy stuff—handling claims directly through the service center without the headache.

That Dell looks decent enough. It’s got an FHD screen. You can probably hunt down an i7HQ in that price range too, but this one's alright.

There is a specific line from HP where, if it comes with a 9-cell battery, they actually provide a three-year warranty covering both the laptop and the battery itself. I haven't seen that elsewhere.
http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=P2520LA-DM0643D
It looks great to me, and apparently, the battery lasts over 15 hours under actual workload.

darksurfer said:I've been browsing laptops endlessly, but I can't figure out which one is actually reliable and well-built. It seems like there aren't many high-quality options with small screens in this price range, but here we are...

Do you have any recommendations for a laptop under $1167? I need something with a screen up to 14" because I travel a lot and want it to be light and compact. It'll just be for standard tasks—watching movies, browsing, storing photos, etc.

Quality and portability are key, and I don't want it to start lagging due to weak specs in three years.

My ideal would be an affordable 13" model, but all I see is this Apple.
http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=X302LA-FN184D

However, this looks like an absolute steal for just three bucks:
http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=X455LA-WX327T

A 14" with decent Windows features and an i3 Broadwell processor is quite tempting... it looks a bit rugged, but the price is unbeatable.

darkowl72 said:...

There isn't really a choice here; there is only one option: a machine built on an Intel Celeron processor. Regardless of what my colleague suggests, you won't find much joy in a quad-core either—it’s just as mediocre as everything else in that tier. Since technically it isn't even a true Celeron anymore—much like how a Pentium isn't truly a Pentium since they've both evolved from the old Atom architecture—this computer is strictly for single-tasking. Any attempt at alt-tabbing will feel like an eternity. You can listen to music, browse the web, or watch a high-res movie, but as I mentioned, you can only do one at a time. If you aren't used to modern speeds, it might suffice, but in reality, most people would succumb to frustration over the lag. Even an SSD won't save a Celeron.
Regarding the warranty, opt for the longest manufacturer's warranty available and ignore those questionable third-party insurance plans; the silver lining is that there isn't much to break on these machines in the first place.
And yes, steer clear of AMD E series processors at all costs, unless someone is clearing out old stock and offering an A4 or A6, which would be a better value than a Pentium.
IMHO, the absolute baseline should be an i3; anything lower than that ought to be banned from sale.

taipan said:http://www.bhphoto.com/catalog/product/12345
http://www.bhphoto.com/catalog/product/67890
http://www.bhphoto.com/catalog/product/54321

Here is a decent option. It is a shame it lacks Full HD resolution, though an external monitor solves that. Besides, games will run faster at 1366x768. Heh. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/search?q=F555LB-XX528D

Timothy Kim60 said:Installation follows the standard procedure. It really comes down to whether you require an official license—say, for a corporation—or a "gray market" version, which we obviously won't discuss here.

It’s unverified, yet it runs flawlessly on my machine, and I've been using it all week. If you're skeptical of the newer, more complex builds, this remains a solid choice.

Timothy Kim60 said:If there's a DVD-RW drive, you could just swap it out for an SSD caddy.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately, that won't work on the K550JX series. It works for the K555, but not the K550.
I got that information directly from an authorized service center.

feralpanther13 said:I was checking the Dell support site to see what the blinking Caps Lock light actually means.

Continuous blink
AC power adapter LED
Power adapter
Insufficient power

So it’s claiming there isn't enough power being supplied, yet the exact same thing happens whether I'm on battery, plugged in, or using the adapter without the battery.

Dell... Holy Pooh... 🙂

frozenlynx20 said:Hi, I'm looking for a 15.6" laptop for college. I need it to handle various tasks, but the priority is being able to run demanding games—so a strong GPU and CPU are key. I want the best specs in its class without overheating issues or poor build quality. Battery life should be decent, and ideally, I'd like at least a 2-year warranty and Windows pre-installed. Thanks in advance. 🙂)

In my opinion, one of the better choices for gaming is
http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=K550JX-DM013D
Dell manages cooling better than most brands, even in these mid-range series. The only downside to this machine is the lack of an extra drive expansion slot; essentially, you're stuck with the original drive or you can swap it out for a 2.5" SSD.

Thomas Flores74 said:I was thinking about picking up that ASUS card over at San Francisco, but I'm not sure; I'm hesitant to pay upfront. I much prefer having everything delivered so I can just hand the cash to the driver.

San Francisco, PCMag, Future, Micro Center—I have zero issues with any of them. I used to work in distribution and know most of these people personally. They're reliable, and you certainly don't have to worry about getting scammed.🙂

fadedorca66 said:And unfortunately, there isn't much you can do. As far as I know, the turnaround for repairs can take up to 45 business days, so it’s a bit of a headache. It probably isn't even that they're being lazy, but rather just a messy process (shipping the GPU back to the manufacturer, waiting for a replacement unit, etc.). It easily takes 2-3 weeks just for parts to arrive.

The legal timeframe isn't actually set at 45 days; it's left undefined, referring instead to "reasonable and acceptable" repair time, which is open to interpretation. Essentially, there is no explicit number of days mentioned anywhere.