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Starting to look for a new computer

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EC-Skier
Posts: 3899 - Karma: 668
Hey guys,
So, graduation is coming up and I am off to college next year and I need a new laptop. I have had the same laptop for the past 6 years and it always needs to be plugged in, it can barely handle HD footage or Premiere. So now I am starting to look for a new computer to edit video and photo with.
I do not really know much about computers so I figured I'd ask you guys for your help.

Requirements:
- Needs to be a laptop due to the fact that I need to take it to college and travel with it
- Needs to be able to handle Premiere Pro, After Effects, as well as Photoshop
- Preferably under $800
- I do not really want a Mac

Got any suggestion? +k for help
Mar 1 2013 12:20PM
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1337
Posts: 31049 - Karma: 29,195
wait for the samsung 9 w/ QHD display
Mar 1 2013 12:30PM
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phreshpow
Posts: 834 - Karma: 133
Save up more money. You are not going to get a laptop you are truely satisfied with/meets your requirements for $800. I bought a shitty Acer for probably around $750 at the beginning of college and the battery crapped out on me, causing many unexpected shut downs that pretty much screwed over the computer...right before finals is not when you want your laptop to go down and have to deal with fixing it or have to research and buy a new one (learn from my experience)

I have a second gen HP Envy 15 and love it. Wait for a sale and they can be had for probably ~$1200 with the specs you are looking for, maybe less depending on how you configure it. Good luck!


Mar 1 2013 12:51PM
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1337
Posts: 31049 - Karma: 29,195
Have they fixed overheating issues and overall shittyness?
Mar 1 2013 1:02PM
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phreshpow
Posts: 834 - Karma: 133
The first gen was absolutely god awful from everything I read and heard. The second gen has been nothing but good to me.

I play some games occasionally and it can get very hot with the dedicated graphics card running, but I mean it is a laptop running some pretty demanding games, so I feel like that is reasonable. I use a cooling pad and it deals with the heat much better.

The trackpad is great and has multitouch, not quite as nice feeling as apple's, but about the best I have ever used on a PC. The speakers are awesome, they get louder than any laptop I have heard with good bass and sound quality, for a laptop. The beats audio was a complete gimmick on the first generation, but they really got their shit together for the new model.

My one largest gripe is that there is some keyboard flex on the left hand side, but I don't really notice it that much (and I don't type too much, not a journalism major or anything). I knew about it before I bought it, from reviews, and it wasn't a deal breaker for me - it still isn't.

After a year, the battery doesn't last quite as long as it used to, but that is to be expected from any electronic device I've ever used pretty much. It still lasts a good amount of time though and I don't usually have to worry about it dying on me.

I really like mine and I think it is a great value (although not cheap) considering mine has a 1080p screen, aluminum body, dedicated graphics card, great speakers, one of the faster i7s & 8GB of RAM.
Mar 1 2013 2:45PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
you say this too often haha.
Mar 1 2013 5:54PM
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1337
Posts: 31049 - Karma: 29,195
lolololool
Mar 1 2013 6:47PM
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Mitchell.
Posts: 1650 - Karma: 630
If your not going mac, I would go asus. The build quality is similar, idk there the only pc brand I recommend.
Mar 1 2013 10:17PM
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_RNS_
Posts: 172 - Karma: 736
I had the 17 and it sucked soooo much. It couldn't run chrome without getting hot within a few minutes. I ended up getting a MBP with Retina display two years later because I couldn't handle how bad that computer was. I don't care if people hate macs, I love my MBP with Retina.
Mar 2 2013 8:19AM
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EC-Skier
Posts: 3899 - Karma: 668
thanks guys, +k to the answers
Mar 3 2013 8:47AM
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