The Laptop Guide

"Nibby" (nibby68) 01/05/2015 at 22:08 • Filed to: laptops

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So you need a new laptop... or want to fix or upgrade your current one? Just want a spare machine to tinker around with? This is a guide that will work for ALL budgets! I've been toying and tinkering around with desktops and laptops (mostly laptops these days) as a side hobby for over 12 years. It's pretty fun and easy to get the hang of it.

If you're considering a machine, regardless of new or used; working or non-working, etc. Decide what are you going to use it for, what do you want in a machine, and why you want it. And figure out your budget too.

You should regardless have a decent laptop screwdriver set with a spudger. This one is really good

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-2830-Ev…

MacBooks aren't really covered in this guide much, but I'll delve into them briefly. Apple makes good machines. They're generally easy to use and built well. However, I don't like their small screen resolutions except for the rMBP line (which are quite expensive, even used ones). I don't like the idea of not being able to upgrade anything in their newest products so bear that in mind if you want a new MacBook Air or rMBP. Don't even consider the grossly outdated 13" non-retina MBP. 1280x800 resolution is an absolute disgrace in 2015... and the MBA and rMBP are better thanks to SSDs.

Personally, I tend to stick with business-level notebooks for they are almost always built better, have better hardware, matte screens (personal preference, I hate glossy), and are built to last longer than consumer laptops. If you walk into a Best Buy or most electronic stores... chances are the machines they offer are complete garbage (low-res, terrible build quality, poor specs, poor keyboard/touchpad or any combination of these). Even the higher end machines you'll find are either overpriced or will look great on paper... and have one glaring flaw. I do like Micro-Center, if you can find one near you. They do tend to have some decent machines in stock.

Now what consists of a decent machine?

It should have a decent processor, keyboard, trackpad, build quality, and a nice screen with a resolution that's NOT 1366x768. That's the worst thing ever. Fuck 1366x768. It's like the Prius or Accord CrossTour of screen resolutions.

A bad screen isn't just limited to the resolution but by the color quality and viewing angles (the latter may not be much of an issue to some). One gripe about glossy screens... terrible in certain kinds of lighting and outdoors. And I don't want to be looking at a reflection of myself whenever I'm using my machine.

A bad keyboard will have poor feedback, not respond properly (I've seen some new machines do this), be poorly laid out, and/or have poor ergonomics and lack comfort. I think the older gen ThinkPads (until the *20 lines (T420/W520/X220, etc.)) had the BEST laptop keyboards ever. Now the new ones are decent in their own right but they put some keys in questionable locations (pg up/down, prtscn, etc.).

A bad trackpad/touchpad will be laggy and have poor multi-touch support. If you have to do the gesture twice to get it right, that's an issue. Sometimes that's a driver thing and an update would resolve it... but some touchpads are just shit. Some click too hard, some have too small surface area... Apple's touchpads are decent and they provide a generous amount of surface area. Their gestures are top-notch. That's why they work very well. Though I still prefer my HP EliteBook's 4 buttons (2 above, 2 below). It's nice to configure the top right as a middle button and comes in handy for scrolling and opening links in new tabs.

Hardware

If you want to play the newest games in high quality you're going to need a big wallet. Don't expect to spend less than $1000 for a decent gaming laptop. You want a quad core processor, at least 8GB RAM (always buy RAM and SSD yourself; it's so much cheaper... unless it is one of those machines that don't have upgradable RAM/SSD). A dedicated gfx card with 2GB VRAM is a must for gaming... and don't settle for anything less than 1920x1080 resolution. I don't care for 17" and larger laptops for those remove the portability aspect... I think 15" is plenty fine and offers almost ALL of the features 17" machines do. Good keyboard and at least 4 USB ports for your gaming gear (mouse, microphone, gaming light, external drive/flash, etc.).

So many people buy quad core machines thinking they need the power... but they really don't. You only *need* a quad core if... you run a lot of virtual machines... if you do intense gaming... or if you're into video editing. These areas are where the performance between quad core vs dual core is really noticeable. If you use your machine to watch Netflix, surf, email, and create presentations and/or write papers, even an i3 machine would do. Regardless, you should settle for at least 4GB RAM and if you can afford to, bump it up to 8GB. And if you still want more speed... grab an SSD (the decent brands are Crucial and Samsung) and you'll have a flying machine.

Brands to look at

HP EliteBook (business line, most of them are ultrabook processors now), Lenovo ThinkPad (skip their current gen for they have awful buttonless clickpads and wait for the new *50 line to be released), Lenovo's Y gaming series, MSI's gaming laptops, some of Asus's machines are decent... and some are rubbish. Hit and miss there. Samsung's machines are really overpriced and not that great. Razer and Sager make decent gaming machines (Razer is $$$). Dell and HP's consumer laptops are mostly crap (the HP Envy line is okay), but Dell and HP make fine business laptops (Latitude/Precision/EliteBook/ZBook) (ZBooks are expensive workstations). The brands I didn't mention are probably cause they're crap. Note that Sony's VAIO line has been discontinued.

Old vs new/used vs new?

Performance wise, DDR3 RAM has been around for over 5 years now. A dual core i7 2620M (2011 release date) (what I have in my EliteBook 8460p) will perform similarly to a new dual core i7-4610U (ultrabook processor, Haswell 2013/4). The reason is that the Ivy Bridge and Haswell processors have been focusing on power efficiency. You probably don't want to use a Core 2 Duo or older machine for daily use unless you get an SSD, but even so those are still very capable processors. So, from a performance aspect, it has plateau'd a bit the past few years. If you are obsessive about things like warranty, battery life or need the performance of a quad core laptop... buy new. If not, you're most likely better off buying used ones.

Upgrading/Breathing new life into a machine

If your laptop is from 2007 or newer... it might be worth spending a little money on upgrading it to give it new life. If you have serious cosmetic and/or hardware issues... multiple issues, it's probably not worth it. Your call. If your laptop has an IDE hard drive or a processor older than Core 2 Duo... forget about upgrading it... and don't even think about using it daily. There are still some good uses for older machines, such as a Windows 98 nostalgia box, Linux web server, or a machine to backup files. Make sure you got a Core 2 Duo or newer (i3/i5/i7 is newer than C2D). NO single core machines for daily use! That's just asking for pain. Also make sure your machine uses SATA isntead of IDE. If you're unsure, Google your laptop's model # (eg. Dell Latitude D830).

Firstly, find out what you can upgrade in your machine. I'm going to use that ThinkPad T61p I had in the picture as an example. I upgraded the hard drive from an HD to a Crucial MX100 128GB SSD. This is probably the biggest performance upgrade you can do on any machine right now. I can't stress enough how much an SSD does for your machine... much much faster. The downside is that unless you spend a lot of money, your storage will decrease. But it might be possible to order a 2nd HD caddy or convert your DVD/CD drive into a caddy for your old HD and you can install the OS + programs on the SSD and store your music/games/files/videos on your HD. I do this on my EliteBook. Find out the max RAM your machine supports and max it out or upgrade to at least 4GB. For my T61p, I bumped it up from 2GB to 4GB RAM. If your machine uses DDR2 RAM instead of DDR3, upgrade it to 4GB. 8GB DDR2 is ridiculously expensive and not worth it. If you're really handy with laptops and especially with business line models (Dell Latitude/Precision, Lenovo ThinkPad, HP EliteBook) you might be able to upgrade your display to a higher resolution one. On my old IBM ThinkPad T42 (also pictured) I upgraded the display from 1024x768 to 1400x1050. It's a bit of a chore to tear apart and replace the screen but it was well worth it. I sold both the T42 and T61p online and made profits off both (originally bought both on eBay). If your laptop has a wireless G card, upgrade it to wireless N (this can be done for less than $5). Make sure your laptop will accept a different WiFi card for some machines whitelist non-OEM wireless cards. These are super easy to upgrade. If you need to change your CMOS battery, this is another very cheap fix for less than $5. You can replace your palmrest/touchpad/keyboard too if you'd like. Also, give your machine a nice exterior cleaning. If you have a chiclet keyboard, blowing air via can or air compressor will clean it nicely from crumbs/debris/stuff.

If you are having overheating problems... or need to change your fan, you should look up videos of how to disassemble your laptop, buy some thermal paste (again, $10 or less). Takes some time, depending on machine it will take 20 minutes-2 hours for the whole process. You may also upgrade the processor if your laptop supports it (google your laptop model processor upgrade and figure out which one you want). Remove the fan and clean the heatsink and processor (and northbridge, GPU if applicable). Make sure you remove ALL of the old thermal paste and gunk before applying new. Remove any dust you see and check the fan vents and blades. Clean those too. Remove any dust you can find from the heatsink. Reassemble and you'll have a much cooler laptop. HP laptops from 2006-2010 are NOTORIOUS for overheating due to stupid design. They are also a pain to disassemble... so many screws.

Buying used

This gets tricky. Figure out what you want, what you'll use it for, etc. If you need a good place to start, you can't go wrong with used ThinkPads, Latitudes, or EliteBooks. These are durable machines (and if you buy a 2012 or newer EliteBook, it's still under warranty). RESEARCH the hell out of the model you are interested in... for example, NVIDIA GPUs from 2007-2008 are prone to hardware failure. My T61p had one but I guess I was lucky. Figure out what can be upgraded and what cannot be. If you want a decent machine that will play videos, good for browsing, email, etc. this is probably a lot cheaper than buying new.

The best places to look are craigslist and eBay. They both have their ups and downs but eBay almost ALWAYS has a few NP machines. Avoid machines "FOR PARTS" or "NO AC Adapter included." Inspect the pictures of the machine you are looking at. There WILL be some small scratches most likely but you don't want cracks, etc. If you buy a used machine, bear in mind the battery might need to be replaced or will not perform as well as a new one. Never hesitate to ask the seller if you have any questions. They're almost always glad to answer.

Pricing

There's a LOT of overpriced machines out there... don't spend more than $200 on a C2D system... $350 for a used i3... $500 for a used i5 (unless quad core but I am not sure if quad core i5 laptops exist).

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

The T42 is... from 2004-2005. Single core, 512mb RAM, XGA... it seems to be in good condition. It's probably worth $60 AT BEST. No idea how some moron bought it for $220 (4 available 1 sold).

Here's an example of a GOOD deal.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

For less than $100 you get a complete system that blows away that T42's specs... and if you spent another $80 on it, you can put a 128GB SSD + add a 2GB stick of RAM and call it a day.

I hope this helps and it was fun to write. Feel free to ask me for computer advice (desktops too! I built many) either here on Oppo or shoot me an email: nibby4wd at gmail dawt com. :D

May the stars shine down on you.

Nibby > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:12

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Forgot to mention... the EliteBook 8460p I use. I bought it for $300 a couple months ago, i7 2620M dual core 2.7GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HD, 1GB AMD gfx, 1600x900, webcam, etc. everything works.

Upgraded the RAM to 8GB (had spare RAM), bought a 2nd HD caddy and replaced the DVD drive with the original 500GB drive inthe caddy... and used my 512GB MX100 SSD. A new machine with comparable specs is easily over $1000.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:18

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I've just done the same with a T410 i5 560M. 250GB SSD with a 500GB 7.2k in the cd drive bay, and 8GB ram, total cost £320 including the laptop. Apart from battery consumption and thermal improvements in the latest chips, upgrading is the way forward.

No Prius Needed > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:19

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You should exclude the Lenovo Y40 from your gaming section since it uses a graphics card that is from space. Not even Lenovo's tech support people know much about it.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:20

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HEY my 2012.5 MBP 13" works fine! 1280x800 isn't all that bad! Also because I got it for $575

Core i7 2.9GHZ

8GB ram

256GB Crucial M4

It is sooooo fast!

Nibby > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/05/2015 at 22:22

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Very nice! That thing must fly.

Nibby > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen 01/05/2015 at 22:24

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Nice, but 1280x800 is really unfortunate in this day and age. It was popular... 10 years ago.

Nibby > No Prius Needed 01/05/2015 at 22:24

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xD I meant the Y50

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:25

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It's quick, but I've had faster. My Asus ZenBook that it's replacing was faster even with it's shitty mSATA Adata SSD. It's a shame I was sick on it really, I liked that laptop, but I always fancied a ThinkPad. I never realised how excellent they were until I got this one.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:28

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yeah... I do prefer the 1920x1200 of my desktop screen... 25" Samsung Syncmaster ;)

Got it for free from my uncle when he upgraded to a 34" 2560x1080 monitor

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:31

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I have a W530 right now with an i7-3940XM 3.0GHz, 32GB RAM, 120GB SSD and I converted my disk dive into a 500GB Hybrid. 1920x1080 screen.

I really want to fully load this laptop, is there anything else that I can install on it to make it faster?

Nibby > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 01/05/2015 at 22:36

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Ditch the DVD drive. Put your 500GB in a hard drive caddy. Buy a 128GB or larger SSD and put it in the main bay.

I used to have a W530, similar specs. Sold it and pocketed the money. There is an mSATA slot as well so you can put an mSATA SSD in there if you wish. Be aware the DVD drive's SATA port is SATA II and the main bay is SATA III.

Dusty Ventures > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen 01/05/2015 at 22:42

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Yeah, my MBP is 1280x800, and while the resolution may be outdated I really don't mind. I'm not using it for gaming so it's not that big of a deal. Plus 16 GB ram and a 1000 GB hard drive makes up for the lost resolution quite nicely ;)

Dusty Ventures > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 22:43

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I know they're hideously, obscenely, ridiculously expensive, but what are your thoughts on the Alienware product line. Just curious because you made no mention of them but I always hear about them being the pinnacle of gaming equipment.

Nibby > Dusty Ventures 01/05/2015 at 22:47

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Overpriced. The 13 have ultrabook processors which aren't great for gaming and the 17" is expensive for what it is. $1750 gets you a quad core 16GB RAM... but 500GB HD really?

MSI or Razer are better IMO.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Dusty Ventures 01/05/2015 at 22:53

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An SSD is even better!

Dusty Ventures > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen 01/05/2015 at 22:54

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I agree, but I needed maximum storage capacity, so I had to go with the HD.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Dusty Ventures 01/05/2015 at 22:55

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I see

My old 2007 MBP had a 1tb drive in it, then I wanted speed so I got a 120GB ssd and put the 1tb drive in the cd tray

kinjasignedmeout > Nibby 01/05/2015 at 23:06

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Does having a 3200x1800 screen make me special?

Nibby > kinjasignedmeout 01/05/2015 at 23:09

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Nope, just makes you either squint or make everything large due to physically small screen + large resolution = high dpi

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Nibby 01/06/2015 at 08:44

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Good write up. I just wish I could get a factory 17" notebook with both an SSD and an HD. I like the thought of the SSD for speed but prefer the reliability of the HD for data as this is a work computer. Granted everything is stored on network and the laptop is more or less used as offsite backup for critical data so I could get away with running just the SSD on the laptop.

My 5 year old Vostro 1720 is starting to get a little bit tired out and slowing down lately but I'm having a tough time justifying a new one since it still works good enough. Its running Win7 Pro SP1 and gets the regular updates. Defrag is scheduled to run weekly and we run AVG Internet Security Business Edition for AV and firewall. Any tips for cleaning up drivers, registry, defragging, etc. to breath new life into an old computer?

Nibby > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/06/2015 at 08:52

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After installing latest updates, clean out your WINDOWS/Temp folder, Windows/SoftwareDistribution/Downloads folder, and type in %TEMP% in Explorer. Clean out that directory as well. Then run the Windows Disk Cleanup wizard (win key + r, type cleanmgr.exe /d ). After that, run CCleaner. Be careful with CCleaner and just review what you're doing BEFORE proceeding.

May I also suggest if you are willing to, bump the RAM to 4GB (if it is not already), and add an SSD.

This is a nice driver cleaner... http://ghostbuster.codeplex.com/

Defragging weekly is excessive. Disable Windows Disk Defrag and run https://www.piriform.com/defraggler instead. Run it about once every 2-3 months.

Run these registry tweaks. http://www.askvg.com/collection-of-…

This is a very good guide that I use after a fresh install of Windows + updates =+drivers. http://www.tweakhound.com/windows7/tweak…

spanfucker retire bitch > Nibby 01/06/2015 at 13:06

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I used to have a Dell Precision M4600.

Single best laptop I've ever used in my life. The battery life was great - over 6 hours despite the high-end hardware. Fantastic IPS display. Great keyboard too. Especially the Num-Pad which gets a lot of us since I'm a drafter.

I miss that thing.

area man > Nibby 01/12/2015 at 10:42

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I'm about to buy a new laptop - can I keep trucking along with Windows 7 or do I have to upgrade to 8?

Nibby > area man 01/12/2015 at 11:03

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Most likely what you buy will come with 8, but you can revert to Windows 7 if you have a copy of it. Everything still runs fine on Windows 7 anyways. What're you thinking of buying?

area man > Nibby 01/12/2015 at 11:12

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Idk, I just remembered this guide as I started shopping last night. My budget is $1000. I was hoping to get a machine with 7 instead of downgrading as I don't have an independent copy. I've just never used 8, and with 10 coming out I feel like it will go the way of Vista pretty soon, while 7 is like the new XP. So something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-ENVY-Non-To…

Or this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/S…

But if I had to go to 8, something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…

I have been out of the laptop market for a while so I'm just kind of poking around in the dark. Hoping you can help me out! My needs are pretty standard - streaming video, moderate gaming, and photo editing.

Nibby > area man 01/12/2015 at 11:20

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The Envy is the best one out of those, but get one with 1920x1080, not the one you linked. Also, search eBay cause often you can find new machines for less than Amazon or Newegg.

area man > Nibby 01/12/2015 at 11:48

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I have heard mixed things about HP's reliability tho.

Nibby > area man 01/12/2015 at 12:46

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The newer Envys are much better in cooling than previous HP laptops. They're not bad machines.

area man > Nibby 01/12/2015 at 12:53

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Should I just get over it and go with 8?

Nibby > area man 01/12/2015 at 13:02

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Worst comes to worst, stick with 8 and then get Windows 10 when it comes out in a few months.

area man > Nibby 01/12/2015 at 16:53

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Is this as good as I think it is? Sorry to keep bugging you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Ide…

What about these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-PRECI…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-N550J…

Nibby > area man 01/12/2015 at 19:06

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Get the Lenovo Y50. It's got an SSD and the rest of the specs are very good. It's pretty sturdy too. The Asus one is okay but the fact it doesn't have an SSD and the others do...

The Precision is a fucking tank and it is ginormous and has a gigantic 180W power adapter... so bear that in mind. The K1100M is more of a workstation graphics card and isn't that great for gaming.