Looking for a mini-laptop. Any advice?

[- Theo -]

Ok, so my previous laptop died (it was an old crap anyway), and unfortunately my Pandora cannot do everything I want to do with it (Oh I'd love that to be true though!)


So, I'm looking for a new one, preferably small (max 13 inches, preferably 11 or 12) that can be used for gaming as well as "serious" stuff (coding, a bit of photoshop, HD video playing, etc.). It would be designed to be carried around with me all the time, and would dual-boot Win 7 and some flavor of Linux (probably Ubuntu).


When I say gaming, I don't mean I want to run Crysis in 50fps with high settings necessarily, but some of the games I play are quite demanding (Civilization 5, etc.)


Money is not an issue (well, it always is, but it's partly for work so I can get it free of taxes on my company account).


I'm sure some (most) of you are techno-geeks, so you probably know something about current laptops. Any advices? I just started looking and I don't have anything targeted yet (I've seen the Alienware M11X R2 and it definitely looks like it's a killer, but it maybe appear not completely serious enough ). Feel free to post any idea. Also, what component to look for, what to avoid, which graphic card is great for laptops these days, etc.


Also feel free to rant and hijack the thread for what you want, but please I'd really like some ideas


PS: NO MACS, please!

 

[ODINsRaven]

I've built and sold plenty of desktops and laptops ($200 ones to $5000 ones) and IMHO gaming and laptops don't mix. Please consider the following:


1) Laptops are portable computers. Long battery life should be a priority.


2) Performance parts (GPU, CPU, faster/bigger HDD, fast memory, etc) all draw more power.


3) These parts also generate excessive heat.


4) Heat is the enemy of computer parts.


Rather than going for a high-spec laptop with a short lifespan, buy a reliable one with decent specs (with money saved, begin customizing your ideal desktop for gaming). Coding, watching HD videos, and some minimal photoshop work shouldn't require an excessive amount of system resources.


I'll leave others to give recommendations on specific models. I've had good luck with ASUS and Acer laptops/netbooks. I would avoid HP laptops. As far as specs go, I would recommend a laptop with:


1) 2-4 GB RAM (I would recommend upgrading to aftermarket memory)


2) 320-500GB HDD


3) Intel Dual Core CPU (i3 or i5) 2.4-2.66 Ghz


4) 32-bit OS


For the GPU, integrated will typically give you less performance but higher power efficiency. Although dedicated GPU's will offer a lot more performance, excess power usage and heat will be byproducts. Either route you choose, make sure the GPU you choose supports HD playback!!!


If you end up buying a higher-spec laptop, invest in a quality cooling pad and/or make sure vents on the laptop are clear during use.


Also, if you aren't already in the habit of doing so, do a clean install of the OS once you get your new computer. It's the best way to remove all bloatware that comes preinstalled.


That's my $0.02


ODINsRaven

 

[Jourdy288]

Mini laptop? It sounds like you want a netbook. Toshiba's NB505 is pretty good, my sister got one not too long ago.


If you want some power, you may want to check out Asus, I can't remember the model number, but I saw a really powerful laptop with 6 gigs of RAM. It feels beastly. You touch it and begin absorbing power.

 

[vadsamoht]

I'll leave others to give recommendations on specific models. I've had good luck with ASUS and Acer laptops/netbooks. I would avoid HP laptops.

While I can't really offer any suggestions to the OP*, I should mention that I've had terrible experiences with Acer brand laptops, so I'd stay away from them just in case.


* The only mini-laptops (as defined by the OP as under 13") that I've had are the Asus eee 701 (okay), Acer Aspire One (terrible), and a Jornada 680e (interesting concept, but badly weighted and a little too restricted).

 

[Asiyura]

I'll leave others to give recommendations on specific models. I've had good luck with ASUS and Acer laptops/netbooks. I would avoid HP laptops.

While I can't really offer any suggestions to the OP*, I should mention that I've had terrible experiences with Acer brand laptops, so I'd stay away from them just in case.


* The only mini-laptops (as defined by the OP as under 13") that I've had are the Asus eee 701 (okay), Acer Aspire One (terrible), and a Jornada 680e (interesting concept, but badly weighted and a little too restricted).

Can't say anything about Acer neither Asus, but HP laptops are simply awful.


Got one that was sent to HP 5 or 6 times.


Every time when it came back, it worked fine for one week.


Then started to have problems to boot and/or charge battery.


After the last return from repair, he worked more or less during six month. Then never booted again, so I gave up and used my really old Packard-Bell with Xubuntu for a while.


That's when I decided to buy an Apple

.


About the other brands :


Sony computers are overpriced (just like Apple, you mainly pay for having the brand on the device).


Dell seems to make nice small laptops.


I've heard that Lenovo makes good machines and finally used more modern designs.


That's all the brands I can think about at the moment.

 

[second exodous]

All notebooks are awful, no matter what brand. The only notebooks are Macs but the last wave has heating issues. IBM used to make some nice solid notebooks but I hear Leveno has dropped in quality somewhat.


There is a samsung notebook that looks nice, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ilbNOsk4gSY]here's a youtube video on it[/url, but it only looks nice because it is not made of cheap plastic.


It is sad but the only notebook I've ever liked, ever, was a G4 macbook. I paid a ton for it but it still works like the day I got it where every PC notebook I've bought since has died on me in one way or another. I do have friends that have old IBM notebooks they let their kids use, as old or older than my macbook, and they run great. Apple and IBM are the ONLY companies that know how to make notebooks, I'm sorry but it's true. They're overpriced but you really do get what you pay for. IBM has unfortunately dropped out and we're left with only Apple now.

 

[vadsamoht]

Can't say anything about Acer neither Asus, but HP laptops are simply awful.


Got one that was sent to HP 5 or 6 times.


Every time when it came back, it worked fine for one week.


Then started to have problems to boot and/or charge battery.

More or less my experience with my aspire one, after a month or two it would stop booting, and need to be replaced under the warranty. Problem is, their warranty makes you jump through all kinds of hoops, so it was about six months or so between the machine breaking and it being replaced.


@second.exodus:


I have owned one or two IBM full-laptops (though quite a while ago), and they were excellent in terms or durability & reliability only problems I ever had with them was batteries dying.

 

[second exodous]

Can't say anything about Acer neither Asus, but HP laptops are simply awful.


Got one that was sent to HP 5 or 6 times.


Every time when it came back, it worked fine for one week.


Then started to have problems to boot and/or charge battery.

More or less my experience with my aspire one, after a month or two it would stop booting, and need to be replaced under the warranty. Problem is, their warranty makes you jump through all kinds of hoops, so it was about six months or so between the machine breaking and it being replaced.

The best way to avoid this is. . .wait for it. . .


.


.


.


.


.


Buy and Apple. I have only bought the one apple computer, my G3(realized it was G3 now, not G4) macbook but my Mom and Dad have only gotten iMacs and unfortunately are computer illiterate so I do tech support for them. There is no tech support, I just take it into a mac store and THEY FIX IT FREE OF CHARGE QUICKLY IF IT IS UNDER WARRANTY!!! It is that easy. Go in. Drop off. Walk around the mall. Pick up. No talking to someone over the phone, no shipping things, no lost packages, no opening your computer under the guidance of over the phone tech support to have them say you broke it by doing so at a later date(happened to me), no 3rd companies messing with your machine, none of that. Just take it to a Mac Store and you're done.


I don't like Apple, I really don't, I'd rather build my own PC and steer clear of notebooks. They're over priced and Apple people have this attitude about them I just don't like. However, when I buy a notebook in the future it will be an apple notebook, with a Tux sticker over the apple and the HD wiped and Ubuntu put on it. When it has problems I'll have a back up of OSX on a HD that I cloned before wiping it to take to the Mac Store. They're overpriced but you get what you pay for and in this case you get a machine that is engineered to last and a convenient repair shop, well, a world wide chain of repair shops actually.

 

[ODINsRaven]

Mini laptop? It sounds like you want a netbook. Toshiba's NB505 is pretty good, my sister got one not too long ago.

ASUS Netbook + Gaming Desktop = heaven

While I can't really offer any suggestions to the OP*, I should mention that I've had terrible experiences with Acer brand laptops, so I'd stay away from them just in case.

I must have received a rare good Acer then. The only problem I had was that the laptop power brick died. I believe it was out of warranty, but Acer replaced it free of charge. That being said, I recommend ASUS as a solid choice.

 

[Prometheus]

They're overpriced but you really do get what you pay for. IBM has unfortunately dropped out and we're left with only Apple now.

I think these two are mutually exclusive. If you get what you pay for, it can't be overpriced, surely?


That said, I am inclined to agree, although I will note that the quality on the Lenovo Thinkpads is not too bad - that's what my main box is, and it's actually a bit sturdier than my MacBook.

 

[Fzero]

My mate has that alienware laptop and it's sick, I really want one

 

[Austin25]

IIRC, ED has an EEE. I don't have one, but it sounds like a very well tested machine to run Linux on.

 

[second exodous]

They're overpriced but you really do get what you pay for. IBM has unfortunately dropped out and we're left with only Apple now.

I think these two are mutually exclusive. If you get what you pay for, it can't be overpriced, surely?


That said, I am inclined to agree, although I will note that the quality on the Lenovo Thinkpads is not too bad - that's what my main box is, and it's actually a bit sturdier than my MacBook.

Over priced compared to other brands but you're getting your moneys worth in quality is what I meant.


I heard that Leveno when down a notch but still makes solid machines. I wish IBM didn't sell that part of their company to Leveno, I've seen some old one's that have never had problems.


I don't know how tech support is for Leveno though, the Apple Stores just make repairs so easy is the biggest thing for me. Apple is now replacing all screws with proprietary screws when you take something in to get it fixed but I think DealExtreme will have one of those tools pretty quickly. Besides, it is better than phillips, it is close to Torx.

 

[craigix]

I've had two macbooks and both have been awful quality.


The best laptop I ever had was one from 1999. It cost about £2000 but it still works and is built like a tank.


It's clear standards have fallen with the prices.


Thus I cannot recommend one, they are all built to fall apart after about a year.

 

[Austin25]

I've got an HP touchsmart tx2-1275dx. I got this October of 2009, and I've had several hardware problems with it since, even disregarding the Linux drivers that were under development at the time.

 

[devhace]

My MacBook Pro is awesome. I'd suggest one of those tiny MacBook Airs they got now. It's really just a standard computer, but the battery life and the touch pad are worth it's cost. I like the touchpad better than the mouse actually. I play the Elder Scrolls with it even. It's gigantic and with the multi touch stuff you can get stuff done so much quicker. But yes, overpriced.

 

[gadgetoid]

I've had two macbooks and both have been awful quality.

Which particular MacBooks? The white/plastic ones are a bit shit, I'm forced to agree, and the ones pre-unibody from a handful of years ago weren't terribly great. Apple are right; they can't make a low cost notebook to save their lives.


The 12" PowerBook was absolutely brilliant, and my 13" MacBook Pro is a fantastic workhorse- It's got 8GB ram shoved into it, and runs Windows 7/OSX side by side without breaking a sweat. I've used it 7+ hours a day, 5 days a week for the last year and a half without anything more than one or two Kernel panics caused by me installing far too much beta crap.


The 11" MacBook Air is a sure-buy for me, once the next version comes out, and if it's been upgraded significantly enough (4GB RAM as standard for crying out loud). It's, without a doubt, the king of small form factor notebooks. Shame about the price though. Ouch.


On the flip side, I'm still pretty happy with my Samsung NC10. It runs Ubuntu/Windows 7 as a dual boot, and boots remarkably quickly. It's by no means compact, though, and feels unwieldy and craptacular compared to the 11" MBA.


Nothing I've had has fallen apart within a year, despite the extremely heavy use demanded of it by my intense geekiness and reliance on computers. I couldn't say if it's lasted much longer than 2-3 years, though, because I usually sell them and move on. What I do know, however, is that an early, pre-unibody MacBook Pro we sold was taken into an Apple Store and repaired under AppleCare recently... so it's obviously not perfect, but still going strong.

 

[Dead1nside]

Thus I cannot recommend one, they are all built to fall apart after about a year.

Thinkpads are the way to go, in my opinion. My first laptop was already four years old when I got it. It only died because I gave it to a rather more callous family member.

 

[- Theo -]

OK, many thanks everyone for your advices. I read a lot of reviews, tried some of my friends, and at the end I was becoming crazy with changing my mind every 2 hours for the one I was going to get.


In the end, almost on an impulse I went to the Mac store and got an Air 11 inches. 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. The price was a bit difficult to swallow, but you only live once, right? And I'm glad I did. I picked it originally for the weight and form factor (the always perfect Apple look and feel), the first thing I did was slap Win 7 64b on it (using BootCamp), and then tried on some games. This thing rocks! I even tried on some of the most recent ones, just to benchmark it, and it did surprisingly good with them.


Only bad point so far, the HD space is a bit on the small size, but it's SSD, you can't have the cake and eat it too.


Again, thanks for all your advice.

 

[Austin25]

OK, many thanks everyone for your advices. I read a lot of reviews, tried some of my friends, and at the end I was becoming crazy with changing my mind every 2 hours for the one I was going to get.


In the end, almost on an impulse I went to the Mac store and got an Air 11 inches. 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. The price was a bit difficult to swallow, but you only live once, right? And I'm glad I did. I picked it originally for the weight and form factor (the always perfect Apple look and feel), the first thing I did was slap Win 7 64b on it (using BootCamp), and then tried on some games. This thing rocks! I even tried on some of the most recent ones, just to benchmark it, and it did surprisingly good with them.


Only bad point so far, the HD space is a bit on the small size, but it's SSD, you can't have the cake and eat it too.


Again, thanks for all your advice.

Facepalm.