Laptop died. Looking for recommendations

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OnPoint

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I had my laptop since 2008 and it died. Apparently this model has a problem where the graphics card heats up to the point that it warps the motherboard. I tried everything to make it work, even feeding it pizza and calling the doctor. Anyway, now I'm in the market for a new laptop.

I was hoping you guys could make some educated suggestions. I prefer a smaller laptop, but I want to be able to run 2D indie games off Steam without a hitch. I also don't want to spend a ton. The irony following that comment is I was considering getting a Mac Book. How easy is it to dual-boot with Windows these days?
 
What kinda budget do you have? Might help people to give recommendations.

Also, not sure feeding a laptop pizza helps much, you're better off eating that yourself.
 
OnPoint said:
I had my laptop since 2008 and it died. Apparently this model has a problem where the graphics card heats up to the point that it warps the motherboard. I tried everything to make it work, even feeding it pizza and calling the doctor. Anyway, now I'm in the market for a new laptop.

I was hoping you guys could make some educated suggestions. I prefer a smaller laptop, but I want to be able to run 2D indie games off Steam without a hitch. I also don't want to spend a ton. The irony following that comment is I was considering getting a Mac Book. How easy is it to dual-boot with Windows these days?
Click to expand...
Well there's your problem right there. A good gaffer never calls the doctor.
 
OnPoint said:
I had my laptop since 2008 and it died. Apparently this model has a problem where the graphics card heats up to the point that it warps the motherboard. I tried everything to make it work, even feeding it pizza and calling the doctor. Anyway, now I'm in the market for a new laptop.

I was hoping you guys could make some educated suggestions. I prefer a smaller laptop, but I want to be able to run 2D indie games off Steam without a hitch. I also don't want to spend a ton. The irony following that comment is I was considering getting a Mac Book. How easy is it to dual-boot with Windows these days?
Click to expand...

MBP dual boot very easily with bootcamp. They're great machines, but it terms of gaming performance, they might not be the best for the price.

However, the trackpad, build quality, screens, etc. are all ace.
 
Come on man. Gotta give us moar basics:

-what screen size do you want, max? Is small 13" to you? Or like 11"?
-do you do work on the laptop? If so, what kind?
-do you travel a lot, or will it live tethered to the wall?
-what is your price limit, exactly?
 
As far as manufacturers I always go with: Apple (if you don't need Windows) and Lenovo if you do.

You can use bootcamp sure but the trackpad loses it's luster with Windows drivers and the fans don't work as well.

Thinkpads are the only windows machine I think are as well built, the new X1 Carbon is getting rave reviews for example.
 
Dreams-Visions said:
Come on man. Gotta give us moar basics:
Click to expand...

Point taken lol Sorry.

-what screen size do you want?

My current screen was about 12", so I'd like to keep it smaller. 13 or 14 would probably be my maximum size, since I liked the portability factor

-do you do work on the laptop? If so, what kind?

Word processing, audio production (though nothing too crazy)

-do you travel a lot, or will it live tethered to the wall?

It will probably come with me a good amount of places

-what is your price limit?

I'd like to cap at $1000 but spend less if possible (probably impossible lol)

-are you interested in OSes other than Windows?

It's not something I've explored too much, but I wouldn't be opposed per se
 
I have a dual boot config on my MacBook Pro (2011). Very easy to use. I was able to talk a very uninformed, non-techie girl through the dual boot setup in less than 20 minutes.

I personally never go into Windows except to play some games. I really like Mountain Lion and the six hours of battery life (non-gaming, of course) I get while working on it. Don't listen to the Mac haters on here. The only reason not to get a Mac is because of price. Even Paul Thurott (http://www.winsupersite.com/) says one of the best Windows machines is a Macbook Pro.

http://www.appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/ for cheapest prices on new MacBooks (and all Macs) as long as you don't need too much customization. A pretty good 13" MBP will run you $1100.

edit: The 11" MacBook Air may work for you too. But I find it's too small for me.
 
1 Go to best buy
2 Look at stuff, see what you like, especially in terms of touchpad and keyboard
3 Probably order it online to save dollars
 
entrement said:
MBP dual boot very easily with bootcamp. They're great machines, but it terms of gaming performance, they might not be the best for the price.

However, the trackpad, build quality, screens, etc. are all ace.
Click to expand...

I'm sitting with a rMBP on my lap and it's easily the best laptop I've ever owned.
 
If you are in college Best Buy is the cheapest place to get a MacBook air/pro right now. Get a 100$ off through their student deals website and the store I work at has every MacBook already discounted 50-60$ bucks before the discount takes place. The only thing you need for the student discount is a .edu email.
 
Weird bump, but I didn't want to put in a whole new thread for this.

I ended up with an 11" Macbook Air and love it. But today the spacebar on the keyboard started squeaking. It's been less than two weeks since I've owned it. I'm taking it to the Apple store this evening. Are they going to be able to fix this? I don't have a lot of experience with how Apple handles these types of things.
 
OnPoint said:
Weird bump, but I didn't want to put in a whole new thread for this.

I ended up with an 11" Macbook Air and love it. But today the spacebar on the keyboard started squeaking. It's been less than two weeks since I've owned it. I'm taking it to the Apple store this evening. Are they going to be able to fix this? I don't have a lot of experience with how Apple handles these types of things.
Click to expand...

Not to scare you too much, but I bought a MBA from Best Buy, was defective, returned it, and then got another defective unit, which I'm currently using until I can return it. Decided to go and get a PC laptop, or maybe build a desktop; not sure yet.

All I'm saying is that if it's within the return window, that may be the way to go, but if it's an easy fix, then I say go for it.
 
Lazy vs Crazy said:
1 Go to best buy
2 Look at stuff, see what you like, especially in terms of touchpad and keyboard
3 Probably order it online to save dollars from Amazon.
Click to expand...

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Pretty much this. Go play around with laptops you like. You are playing 2d games so you should need much. Also, mac duel boot is still mac duel boot. You are going to run in to several issues but they can be fixed. I've been running W7 on my 2011 macbook pro with no issues yet.
 
To clarify, I did pay for the Apple Care program. I'm not normally a believer in paying for those types of things, but I literally can do nothing to fix this on my own if it breaks.
 
OnPoint said:
Weird bump, but I didn't want to put in a whole new thread for this.

I ended up with an 11" Macbook Air and love it. But today the spacebar on the keyboard started squeaking. It's been less than two weeks since I've owned it. I'm taking it to the Apple store this evening. Are they going to be able to fix this? I don't have a lot of experience with how Apple handles these types of things.
Click to expand...

Since its only been two weeks, they'd probably just replace it with a new one.
 
Looking for an alternative to the 11" macbook air - lady friend has one but the screen broke. she's just looking to do work and surf the web, and I figure she can get that for a lot cheaper than 1000 bucks. Her priorities, however, are on aesthetics and lightweight. Any ideas? We're going to go to best buy in a week or two to see what they have.
 
GiJoccin said:
Looking for an alternative to the 11" macbook air - lady friend has one but the screen broke. she's just looking to do work and surf the web, and I figure she can get that for a lot cheaper than 1000 bucks. Her priorities, however, are on aesthetics and lightweight. Any ideas? We're going to go to best buy in a week or two to see what they have.
Click to expand...

Have you checked how much it would cost to have it repaired by Apple? Maybe that's possible and if so it would certainly be cheaper than a new notebook.


Edit: Maybe check out store.sony.com, go to laptop, and then select 11" to 13". There are some nice options starting at around 700$. I think they look nice and they come in various colors.
When Windows 8 launches (end of october), there will also be the Acer S7 in 11" and 13". Those look amazing, they are light, and they have touchscreens.

Ultrabooks comparable to the Air aren't much cheaper. Right now there's the Asus Zenbook, and the HP Spectre XT 13, both around 1000$.
 
+1 on Macbook Air. Get both of both worlds with Widows and OSX with great performance and the prices aren't different from equivalent Windows only ultra-books.
 
tirant said:
Get a Lenovo ultrabook. They are not very expensive, and quite powerful (Ivy Bridge).
Click to expand...
I think I'm going to second this. I just got the brand new MBA for $999 and while the hardware is amazing, I feel like Mac OS X has become very cluttered. Starting to wish I got a Windows laptop instead (though worse comes to worse, I'll just dual boot). I will say that the Intel HD 4000 they stuck in these Ivy Bridge laptops isn't that awful. You won't be playing most modern games on high settings, but you can play them.

My main issue with Windows ultrabooks is that they are too expensive. Anything with a decent sized SSD and Ivy Bridge processor was just as much as a Mac without the build quality of a Mac.
 
if you're only doing 2d games, you can probably do it with a macbook air. i made the switch to one last year and won't go back to anything else.

previously i had an asus one, which was kinda cool, but incredibly cheaply made. it barely made it through 3 years. screen hinges broke twice. moboard had to be replaced once. etc, etc.
 
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