New Laptop Questions

Decked out MBPr like this one

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Processor+Speed_2.8GHz&catName=MacBook-MacBook-Pro&ci=13223&N=4110474291+4294948825+4254301290+4294948954

You could probably configure it differently with a smaller SSD and save a little money, but 16gb of ram, 2.8ghz i7 and a dedicated graphics card ( AMD Radeon R9 M370X ) is ideal, that'll max your budget but with apple products, its worth spending extra money.

Mac or PC?

Screen Size preference?

Desired weight/thickness?

Battery life?

Also, what will you be shooting with? 3000 can get you a ton of power, and depending on what kind of footage you are editing, that will change where you start to see diminishing returns on for price to performance.

For now, its pretty clear that you want something with an i7, 16gb ram, a decent size ssd, and an dedicated gpu (at a minimum). Above that, you will pay more for better graphics (which you only need for very high performance gaming), 4k screens, and things like that. The asus gl551 is only $1200 and has all of this, so if you don't need more than that for now, you will be better off getting it, using it for 2-3 years and then getting another in 2-3 with the money you saved. If you step up to a gigabyte aorus x7 for $2500, you get a larger ssd, 1tb of hdd storage, and a marginally better processor. You also go from good to absolute beast mode in terms of graphics performance, but you will only notice this difference if you are playing the newest games at maximum settings and high resolutions. These sites may help show the difference:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-970M-SLI.129392.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-960M-Review.137893.0.html



Most laptops aren't going to get any faster than they are the day you buy them (with the exception of gamin/workstation ones with mxm and socketed cpu's), and it would be a big waste of money to buy something you won't need the full power of immediately, and then have it be outdated soon after.

p.hawksMac or PC?

Screen Size preference?

Desired weight/thickness?

Battery life?

Also, what will you be shooting with? 3000 can get you a ton of power, and depending on what kind of footage you are editing, that will change where you start to see diminishing returns on for price to performance.

For now, its pretty clear that you want something with an i7, 16gb ram, a decent size ssd, and an dedicated gpu (at a minimum). Above that, you will pay more for better graphics (which you only need for very high performance gaming), 4k screens, and things like that. The asus gl551 is only $1200 and has all of this, so if you don't need more than that for now, you will be better off getting it, using it for 2-3 years and then getting another in 2-3 with the money you saved. If you step up to a gigabyte aorus x7 for $2500, you get a larger ssd, 1tb of hdd storage, and a marginally better processor. You also go from good to absolute beast mode in terms of graphics performance, but you will only notice this difference if you are playing the newest games at maximum settings and high resolutions. These sites may help show the difference:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-970M-SLI.129392.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-960M-Review.137893.0.html



Most laptops aren't going to get any faster than they are the day you buy them (with the exception of gamin/workstation ones with mxm and socketed cpu's), and it would be a big waste of money to buy something you won't need the full power of immediately, and then have it be outdated soon after.

screensize, i want 15 inches at least, i hate the small screen.

weight and thickness, i really dont care, i wont be travelling with it much.

battery isnt crucial, i wont be doing much where i cant charge it for more then 3-4 days at a time.

for the most part its only gonna be canon dslr stuff il be editing but i just get really pissed when im editing
stuff on my family computer and it starts lagging and freezing...

i will be doing little to no gaming at all so thats not important to me

obviously i dont want it to be some standard def screen but i dont need the 4k

this was really helpful man thanks, real quick could you explain ram, gpu, and ssd? it might help if im looking around myself

akt416screensize, i want 15 inches at least, i hate the small screen.

weight and thickness, i really dont care, i wont be travelling with it much.

battery isnt crucial, i wont be doing much where i cant charge it for more then 3-4 days at a time.

for the most part its only gonna be canon dslr stuff il be editing but i just get really pissed when im editing
stuff on my family computer and it starts lagging and freezing...

i will be doing little to no gaming at all so thats not important to me

obviously i dont want it to be some standard def screen but i dont need the 4k

this was really helpful man thanks, real quick could you explain ram, gpu, and ssd? it might help if im looking around myself

Also, fairly important, but do you want a mac? If you get a mac, you can install windows. If you don't get a mac, it is technically possibly to install the mac os on third part hardware, but you need to pick parts out specifically ahead of time (so laptops are much more difficult because the y come preassembled), and it is not necessarily 100% stable. I have done it before, but if you don't like tinkering with computers/have a good knowledge of how they work, I would encourage you to stay away from this option (google hackintosh for more info).

What is your current workflow for the canon dslr? Like if you just got home from the mountain with all your footage and are ready to edit, can you give me a step by step process of what programs you use, what you do in them, and where you notice problems? The more specific the better.

Also, you wrote 3-4 days without charging, I'm hoping you meant 3-4 hours. If you are running full blast, 3-4 hours is decent. You can use it, close it, then pick up the next day with minimal battery losses, but I haven't seen any (mainstream) laptops that can run for multiple days of hardcore usage.

CPU: Central Processing Unit. The brain of the computer. Intel and AMD are the main manufacturers. AMD isn't typically found (for the CPU, they also make GPU's) in high end laptops (I'm also going to skip over things that are less relevant to you, like overclocking). You can also think of the cpu like an engine. At the most basic level, we have a 1 cylinder engine, this is like a single core cpu. The faster you rev the engine, the more power it puts out, for CPU's this is called clock speed. Typically, higher clock speed means better performance, as long as nothing else is holding it back. Another way to get more power is to use a bigger engine with more cylinders, which is like a multicore cpu. Think of video editing like towing something heavy. A big engine with more cylinders will have more towing power even if it has a lower top speed than an engine with less cylinders.

So, if you have the choice between dual or quad core, you should get the quad core. Where it can be confusing is that intel has a technology called "hyper threading". It essentially tells the computer that each core is 2 cores and then it loads the cores as efficiently as possible. For some applications, this doesn't matter at all. For others, video editing and CAD in particular, it can give a 1.7x boost in performance. So, same computer, same speed processor, but one will finish in a little over half the time. That is the one you want to get. You should be looking at quad core intel i7's as they have hyper threading and will give you the best performance.

RAM: Random Access Memory. Not to be confused with storage. If your hard drive is your filing cabinet, ram is all the stuff on your desk that you are currently looking at (or left there because you forgot/are messy). More RAM is like more desk space. It lets you access more files at once, and it makes working with very large files much easier. I used to have a macbook with 8gb of ram. I tried doing some panoramas in photoshop, and it would sometimes crash (it was also 30-40+ images at once, a lot for a laptop). I upgraded to 16gb, and I was able to do the same task in 20 minutes, and then watch youtube or browse the web without decent performance while photoshop was working. You want at least 16gb, 32gb is probably overkill, but if the price is right (or the computer can't be upgraded after ordering), go for it.

HDD: Hard Disk Drive. This is where all of your stuff is stored. They contain a rotating disk. Usually, it rotates at 5400 RPM. Some go at 7200 RPM, and you can access files faster. Some go even faster, but they aren't very common, especially in laptops.

SSD: Solid State Drive. These are slowly replacing hard drives. They are like large memory cards. They are more expensive, but they blow hard drives out of the water in terms of performance. For example, my mothers macbook had a regular hard drive, and she told me the computer was running slow (but wasn't ready for a new one). I had already upgraded her ram, so the nest step was to swap the hard drive with an SSD. Before, her computer took about a minute to boot up and be ready to launch programs, and a few seconds to wake from sleep. Now it boots up in about 10 seconds, and it wakes from sleep nearly instantly. Another advantage is that it has no moving parts (which is why I said it was like a memory card). I am not encouraging you to test it, but SSD's are considered very durable and are unlikely to loose data if you drop your computer. Some HDD's have motion sensors in them which try to stop the drive if they detect a sudden movement, but if you drop a hard drive while it is running, you can lose data or even the drive depending on the severity of the impact. The main downside to SSD's is cost. They are continuing to come down in price, but they still cost tons more than HDD's.


So, you should get a computer with an SSD of 256gb or larger. If it is m2/msata, that i even better, but don't worry about this too much yet. It should also have a 1TB or larger HDD. I put windows, current games, and then current files I am working with on my SSD so I can take advantage of the speed, and I put everything else on my HDD's because they hold 8x as much for about half the cost. You can do all SSD, it just gets really expensive, and you don't need things like your itunes music taking up all that space. I would recommend having an internal drive (instead of external) for editing, or at least enough space to move files from the external to your computer. Otherwise, performance will suffer, especially if it isn't a USB 3.0 or faster drive. ***Maybe someone can help clarify, I know some connections allow for editing off an external disk with good performance, but I'm not super familiar with it*** You will definitely want to have an external for backups.

GPU: Graphics Processing Unit. This is what drives your display, plays video, all that good stuff. Most processors have a weak one built in, but they are getting surprisingly strong. I have a surface pro 2, and it can even handle some games ( and give good performance if the settings aren't too demanding (tried with tomb raider, everything on minimum). The surface also plays back 4k video from my gopro perfectly. Intel has been working very hard to improve the integrated graphics and to aid in video playback specifically.

Then we have dedicated GPU's. These are made (primarily) by Nvidia or AMD. Nvidia is more common in gaming laptops, I believe in desktops as well, but less so (I have an AMD card in my desktop). They do the same job, they just do it a lot better. The downside is that they take up more space and use more power. That makes them bad for tablets and very small laptops. For anything mid sized (or larger) though, they are great. Besides driving the display, one of the biggest advantages to having a dedicated card is that it can assist the processor in rendering. I am having trouble finding anything specific that actually shows how well each card boosts performance for each type of task. The key here though is that it can assist the processor and not the reverse. The processor still will do most of the work, so if you go all out on gpu thinking it will give you the best for gaming and video editing , you will be disappointed (not saying you were going to, just giving an example).


I think that's just about all I've got time for right now. Let me know if you have questions, happy to help if you need more specifics, technical or buying advice.

p.hawksAlso, fairly important, but do you want a mac? If you get a mac, you can install windows. If you don't get a mac, it is technically possibly to install the mac os on third part hardware, but you need to pick parts out specifically ahead of time (so laptops are much more difficult because the y come preassembled), and it is not necessarily 100% stable. I have done it before, but if you don't like tinkering with computers/have a good knowledge of how they work, I would encourage you to stay away from this option (google hackintosh for more info).

What is your current workflow for the canon dslr? Like if you just got home from the mountain with all your footage and are ready to edit, can you give me a step by step process of what programs you use, what you do in them, and where you notice problems? The more specific the better.

Also, you wrote 3-4 days without charging, I'm hoping you meant 3-4 hours. If you are running full blast, 3-4 hours is decent. You can use it, close it, then pick up the next day with minimal battery losses, but I haven't seen any (mainstream) laptops that can run for multiple days of hardcore usage.

CPU: Central Processing Unit. The brain of the computer. Intel and AMD are the main manufacturers. AMD isn't typically found (for the CPU, they also make GPU's) in high end laptops (I'm also going to skip over things that are less relevant to you, like overclocking). You can also think of the cpu like an engine. At the most basic level, we have a 1 cylinder engine, this is like a single core cpu. The faster you rev the engine, the more power it puts out, for CPU's this is called clock speed. Typically, higher clock speed means better performance, as long as nothing else is holding it back. Another way to get more power is to use a bigger engine with more cylinders, which is like a multicore cpu. Think of video editing like towing something heavy. A big engine with more cylinders will have more towing power even if it has a lower top speed than an engine with less cylinders.

So, if you have the choice between dual or quad core, you should get the quad core. Where it can be confusing is that intel has a technology called "hyper threading". It essentially tells the computer that each core is 2 cores and then it loads the cores as efficiently as possible. For some applications, this doesn't matter at all. For others, video editing and CAD in particular, it can give a 1.7x boost in performance. So, same computer, same speed processor, but one will finish in a little over half the time. That is the one you want to get. You should be looking at quad core intel i7's as they have hyper threading and will give you the best performance.

RAM: Random Access Memory. Not to be confused with storage. If your hard drive is your filing cabinet, ram is all the stuff on your desk that you are currently looking at (or left there because you forgot/are messy). More RAM is like more desk space. It lets you access more files at once, and it makes working with very large files much easier. I used to have a macbook with 8gb of ram. I tried doing some panoramas in photoshop, and it would sometimes crash (it was also 30-40+ images at once, a lot for a laptop). I upgraded to 16gb, and I was able to do the same task in 20 minutes, and then watch youtube or browse the web without decent performance while photoshop was working. You want at least 16gb, 32gb is probably overkill, but if the price is right (or the computer can't be upgraded after ordering), go for it.

HDD: Hard Disk Drive. This is where all of your stuff is stored. They contain a rotating disk. Usually, it rotates at 5400 RPM. Some go at 7200 RPM, and you can access files faster. Some go even faster, but they aren't very common, especially in laptops.

SSD: Solid State Drive. These are slowly replacing hard drives. They are like large memory cards. They are more expensive, but they blow hard drives out of the water in terms of performance. For example, my mothers macbook had a regular hard drive, and she told me the computer was running slow (but wasn't ready for a new one). I had already upgraded her ram, so the nest step was to swap the hard drive with an SSD. Before, her computer took about a minute to boot up and be ready to launch programs, and a few seconds to wake from sleep. Now it boots up in about 10 seconds, and it wakes from sleep nearly instantly. Another advantage is that it has no moving parts (which is why I said it was like a memory card). I am not encouraging you to test it, but SSD's are considered very durable and are unlikely to loose data if you drop your computer. Some HDD's have motion sensors in them which try to stop the drive if they detect a sudden movement, but if you drop a hard drive while it is running, you can lose data or even the drive depending on the severity of the impact. The main downside to SSD's is cost. They are continuing to come down in price, but they still cost tons more than HDD's.


So, you should get a computer with an SSD of 256gb or larger. If it is m2/msata, that i even better, but don't worry about this too much yet. It should also have a 1TB or larger HDD. I put windows, current games, and then current files I am working with on my SSD so I can take advantage of the speed, and I put everything else on my HDD's because they hold 8x as much for about half the cost. You can do all SSD, it just gets really expensive, and you don't need things like your itunes music taking up all that space. I would recommend having an internal drive (instead of external) for editing, or at least enough space to move files from the external to your computer. Otherwise, performance will suffer, especially if it isn't a USB 3.0 or faster drive. ***Maybe someone can help clarify, I know some connections allow for editing off an external disk with good performance, but I'm not super familiar with it*** You will definitely want to have an external for backups.

GPU: Graphics Processing Unit. This is what drives your display, plays video, all that good stuff. Most processors have a weak one built in, but they are getting surprisingly strong. I have a surface pro 2, and it can even handle some games ( and give good performance if the settings aren't too demanding (tried with tomb raider, everything on minimum). The surface also plays back 4k video from my gopro perfectly. Intel has been working very hard to improve the integrated graphics and to aid in video playback specifically.

Then we have dedicated GPU's. These are made (primarily) by Nvidia or AMD. Nvidia is more common in gaming laptops, I believe in desktops as well, but less so (I have an AMD card in my desktop). They do the same job, they just do it a lot better. The downside is that they take up more space and use more power. That makes them bad for tablets and very small laptops. For anything mid sized (or larger) though, they are great. Besides driving the display, one of the biggest advantages to having a dedicated card is that it can assist the processor in rendering. I am having trouble finding anything specific that actually shows how well each card boosts performance for each type of task. The key here though is that it can assist the processor and not the reverse. The processor still will do most of the work, so if you go all out on gpu thinking it will give you the best for gaming and video editing , you will be disappointed (not saying you were going to, just giving an example).


I think that's just about all I've got time for right now. Let me know if you have questions, happy to help if you need more specifics, technical or buying advice.

Thanks so much man, helped a lot.

I really dont care weather its a mac or something else, id probably just keep whatever is on it though (i wouldnt run windows on a mac)

i dont know what i was thinking, i meant to say 3-4 hours (i just want it to last through a plane ride or road trip basically)

as for my workflow right now its basically just get home, backup all the clips to an external hard drive, then throw em into imovie (i know, imovie right?) and right now i just have problems with the speed i can do things at, i find im waiting 3-4 seconds sometimes to move clips around cause the computer is slow. i know thats probably not all the fault of the computer and has more to do with other stuff we have going on in the computer, but i just dont want to have these problems with my own computer. Also, once i get my own laptop il definatly be installing other video editing programs, most likely premier and after effects.

So this may not be a popular suggestion but it is a possibility anyway.

why do you want a laptop that does everything? why not get a cheaper laptop for school and build a desktop for editing? your budget is more than sufficient to do both, and you will get a better computer that will last longer.

trust me when i say that you dont want to carry a massive laptop to class, light and small is key there. especially considering all you need it to do in school (for most degrees) is run an office suite and surf the internet?

you want it to last a few years - laptop technology gets outdated very quickly, and aside from replacing a few small components, you are pretty much stuck with that configuration. plus good laptops have a huge issue with disipating heat. ive melted a few mobos etc. then you need to buy a cooling pad etc, etc. and eventually you use the laptop like a desktop anyway.

with a desktop if a component becomes outdated you can replace it without replacing the whole computer. plus desktops are faster and cheaper than comparable laptops.

laptops you ca run an external monitor to get dual screen, but with a desktop you can run 3, 4, 5 etc. (editing on multiple screens really speeds up my workflow - not sure about what you do)

Bottom Line:
- specialize (buy a laptop and a desktop that do exactly what you need them to do)
- cheaper
- better

DorianFSo this may not be a popular suggestion but it is a possibility anyway.

why do you want a laptop that does everything? why not get a cheaper laptop for school and build a desktop for editing? your budget is more than sufficient to do both, and you will get a better computer that will last longer.

trust me when i say that you dont want to carry a massive laptop to class, light and small is key there. especially considering all you need it to do in school (for most degrees) is run an office suite and surf the internet?

you want it to last a few years - laptop technology gets outdated very quickly, and aside from replacing a few small components, you are pretty much stuck with that configuration. plus good laptops have a huge issue with disipating heat. ive melted a few mobos etc. then you need to buy a cooling pad etc, etc. and eventually you use the laptop like a desktop anyway.

with a desktop if a component becomes outdated you can replace it without replacing the whole computer. plus desktops are faster and cheaper than comparable laptops.

laptops you ca run an external monitor to get dual screen, but with a desktop you can run 3, 4, 5 etc. (editing on multiple screens really speeds up my workflow - not sure about what you do)

Bottom Line:
- specialize (buy a laptop and a desktop that do exactly what you need them to do)
- cheaper
- better

im really not into editing enough to do that. at most il be editing 2-3 videos/edits a month, and i definatly dont need to build a big setup with more than one or two moniters. basically what im looking for is something i can use as an everyday laptop but still powerful enough to run video editing software without slowing down at all. and as for my budget, i said 3000 but id like to save as much as possible. if i can get something that fits my needs for 1500 or even under, that would be way better.

akt416im really not into editing enough to do that. at most il be editing 2-3 videos/edits a month, and i definatly dont need to build a big setup with more than one or two moniters. basically what im looking for is something i can use as an everyday laptop but still powerful enough to run video editing software without slowing down at all. and as for my budget, i said 3000 but id like to save as much as possible. if i can get something that fits my needs for 1500 or even under, that would be way better.

thats the beauty of a desktop, you can have as much or as little as you want. you build it, its up to you, the number of monitors does not dictate the quality of the computer, but if you decide that you want more than 2 it is very difficult on a laptop.

if your budget is 1500 then set aside 500 for a cheap(er) netbook for school, and spend the rest on a desktop

not sure what your taking in school, but my current program requires me to carry multiple text books around per day, and having a small compact computer that doesnt weigh a lot is a lifesaver.

its up to you and its your money, but just the fact that you want it to last 5-6 years points you towards desktop, especially for editing. laptop technology becomes outdated in a few months (a year at most) and there is no way to upgrade the major components. a desktop is modular.

thanks man, really helpful il keep looking around.

I'm probably buying a new laptop in the next year or so and Asus can suck my dick. There customer service was garbage to deal with. The lap top I got is alright other than the screen issues, but I'm never grabbing anything from Asus again just out of principle.

I just hate getting dicked around.


I probably will be spending under 1200 if possible when I get a new setup though. I know that's not a ton but it's hard for me to justify any more than that. under 1100 would be even better

akt416Thanks so much man, helped a lot.

I really dont care weather its a mac or something else, id probably just keep whatever is on it though (i wouldnt run windows on a mac)

i dont know what i was thinking, i meant to say 3-4 hours (i just want it to last through a plane ride or road trip basically)

as for my workflow right now its basically just get home, backup all the clips to an external hard drive, then throw em into imovie (i know, imovie right?) and right now i just have problems with the speed i can do things at, i find im waiting 3-4 seconds sometimes to move clips around cause the computer is slow. i know thats probably not all the fault of the computer and has more to do with other stuff we have going on in the computer, but i just dont want to have these problems with my own computer. Also, once i get my own laptop il definatly be installing other video editing programs, most likely premier and after effects.

Try using mpeg streamclip and putting your videos in a more friendly format. I think prores LT was fairly popular with DSLR users. h.264 is highly compressed and it is a lot of work for your computer to edit it. It can make very powerful computers feel slow/laggy if you edit the footage directly from the camera.

DorianFSo this may not be a popular suggestion but it is a possibility anyway.

why do you want a laptop that does everything? why not get a cheaper laptop for school and build a desktop for editing? your budget is more than sufficient to do both, and you will get a better computer that will last longer.

trust me when i say that you dont want to carry a massive laptop to class, light and small is key there. especially considering all you need it to do in school (for most degrees) is run an office suite and surf the internet?

you want it to last a few years - laptop technology gets outdated very quickly, and aside from replacing a few small components, you are pretty much stuck with that configuration. plus good laptops have a huge issue with disipating heat. ive melted a few mobos etc. then you need to buy a cooling pad etc, etc. and eventually you use the laptop like a desktop anyway.

with a desktop if a component becomes outdated you can replace it without replacing the whole computer. plus desktops are faster and cheaper than comparable laptops.

laptops you ca run an external monitor to get dual screen, but with a desktop you can run 3, 4, 5 etc. (editing on multiple screens really speeds up my workflow - not sure about what you do)

Bottom Line:
- specialize (buy a laptop and a desktop that do exactly what you need them to do)
- cheaper
- better

I used to be in a similar boat to OP. I went with a 15" macbook pro. Between apple and my own upgrades, the thing had just about every option in it. It was awesome because I could bring it around with me on weekend trips and use it to playback and start cataloging/organizing my footage after a day of shooting pictures/videos. I also absolutely needed to have a powerful computer I could bring around.

As I got further on in school, I think junior year, my needs were changing a little. I was doing most of my engineering work in the labs on the school workstations, and I was doing almost all of my editing at my desk. I was still bringing my laptop around, but when I did, it was mostly for chrome/music/viewing pdf's and similar tasks. The macbook pros are fairly reasonable in terms of size/weight, but it was still bigger/heavier than I needed for the task.

I ended up switching to a desktop, but it isn't for everyone. While they are powerful, if your room isn't a good place for doing work (loud/trap house/whatever), I would really recommend against it. Also, I have rarely used a laptop in class, and my campus is about a 10 min walk from end to end. I also do a lot of work in the engineering building, so that takes care of not needing to bring a powerful computer around.

DorianFthats the beauty of a desktop, you can have as much or as little as you want. you build it, its up to you, the number of monitors does not dictate the quality of the computer, but if you decide that you want more than 2 it is very difficult on a laptop.

if your budget is 1500 then set aside 500 for a cheap(er) netbook for school, and spend the rest on a desktop

not sure what your taking in school, but my current program requires me to carry multiple text books around per day, and having a small compact computer that doesnt weigh a lot is a lifesaver.

its up to you and its your money, but just the fact that you want it to last 5-6 years points you towards desktop, especially for editing. laptop technology becomes outdated in a few months (a year at most) and there is no way to upgrade the major components. a desktop is modular.

I essentially do this now, and though I agree with most of your points, I would recommend against it (initially). I have a surface pro 2 that I bring to the library/around. I also have a powerful desktop with a lot of my engineering programs on it. It works for me because I don't try to make them work together. If I want to game or do work, I'm at the desktop. Listen to music/read a pdf/study/maybe type a short paper, then I'll use the surface. If you wan't to do anything more than viewing your photos though, you are going to want a powerful laptop.

3000 for 5-6 years, I would do something like this. Get a nice 15" reasonably thin laptop (macbook pro or windows equivalent) that can handle everything I do know and more. Probably somewhere in the 1500-2000 range. Then, save the rest for a few years. If usage changes and you can deal with a desktop, then build one with the cash you saved and sell the laptop to buy a tablet/ultrabook. On the other hand, if you are still on the go a a lot, you will still have enough cash leftover to buy the new version of the computer you already use. Either one of these would be a better use than trying to stretch one laptop to 5-6 years. You overpay upfront, and it under performs down the road. By splitting it up, you can be at the sweet spot for price to performance for the entire time.

awesome, thanks guys

ASUS n550jv (Or whatever version of it they're on now, google search asus n550 to see what comes up).

Has a killer GPU and CPU (quad core i7, only available on like $2000+ macbooks), Upgradable to 16Gb ram, can throw in a SSD, and blow away any mac that costs the same price. Also can replace any motherboard component if broken, which is huge if you're a dumbass like myself.

Macs are definitely more intuitive, no question about that. But there's soooo much more that can be done with a PC once you get past the learning curve.

Adobe software also runs the same on PC just in case you're scared it won't be "great for media".

blattASUS n550jv (Or whatever version of it they're on now, google search asus n550 to see what comes up).

Has a killer GPU and CPU (quad core i7, only available on like $2000+ macbooks), Upgradable to 16Gb ram, can throw in a SSD, and blow away any mac that costs the same price. Also can replace any motherboard component if broken, which is huge if you're a dumbass like myself.

Macs are definitely more intuitive, no question about that. But there's soooo much more that can be done with a PC once you get past the learning curve.

Adobe software also runs the same on PC just in case you're scared it won't be "great for media".

I'm all cool with custom desktops, but most windows based laptops are absolute garbage and if you want something good, you pay almost as much as you would for a MBP.

Apple still absolutely crushes the laptop game, the new surface books are pretty sweet thought...

Gonna have to profoundly disagree with Mr. pheath on this one...

-n550 costs $1100 brand new. SSD = $350 (absolute game-changer; boot times of >5 seconds), 2x8Gb sticks = $100.
-Total cost = $1550
-Difference from cheapest mbp-retina of similar cost (cost pulled from that BH page) = ~$700 = lots of bar nights = lots of piff = a 3 credit college course = a dickload of ski gear


n550 is a replacement desktop technically, has a huuuge motherboard. biggest criticism is the weight (~2x the weight of the mbpr). For office/academic purposes, OS version of microsoft office is actually absolute garbage (don't get me started on pages).

Also, has a touch screen and 1080p screen.

...Guess I'm really not seeing why PCs are garbage, no disrespect to Macs though. I work on a 2005 G5 actually that's still bombproof, but runs on parallel servers so technically not doing all the work in its own. PC's are simply a money saver and I've found windows 10 to be a pretty robust OS and good looking UI. Just gotta not be a pussy when using a PC though for sure.

blattGonna have to profoundly disagree with Mr. pheath on this one...

-n550 costs $1100 brand new. SSD = $350 (absolute game-changer; boot times of >5 seconds), 2x8Gb sticks = $100.
-Total cost = $1550
-Difference from cheapest mbp-retina of similar cost (cost pulled from that BH page) = ~$700 = lots of bar nights = lots of piff = a 3 credit college course = a dickload of ski gear


n550 is a replacement desktop technically, has a huuuge motherboard. biggest criticism is the weight (~2x the weight of the mbpr). For office/academic purposes, OS version of microsoft office is actually absolute garbage (don't get me started on pages).

Also, has a touch screen and 1080p screen.

...Guess I'm really not seeing why PCs are garbage, no disrespect to Macs though. I work on a 2005 G5 actually that's still bombproof, but runs on parallel servers so technically not doing all the work in its own. PC's are simply a money saver and I've found windows 10 to be a pretty robust OS and good looking UI. Just gotta not be a pussy when using a PC though for sure.

My point was that if you spend 1500 on a windows laptop then sure maybe itll be better than a $400 laptop but at that point id rather spend a little bit more on a mbp. The engineering and durability of mbps is just unmatched by any windows laptop and of course you pay a bit more for it.

It is bullshit that you can only get a dedicated graphics card in the highest end version of the mbp...