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> I'm sitting here using a year-old $1300 HP Envy 14. It's the MBP of PCs Sorry. Had to stop reading after that because it'll be obvious what's coming. The pro

> I'm sitting here using a year-old $1300 HP Envy 14. It's the MBP of PCs Sorry. Had to stop reading after that because it'll be obvious what's coming. The problem here is that you are the prey of "High-End" PC companies with emphasis on the air quotes. You fell for /the works/ and the bells and whistles. This is the problem with PCs. Anyone who can make a decent build for $700 will tell you the same: Pre-built PCs are the built like matchstick homes. As long as you put enough glossy paint on the exterior, you can sell it to any sap. Now I don't go out there and advocating that /everyone/ build their own PCs (though they should at least consider it). I do advocate, however, that one should do enough research to be comfortable with their purchase and to NOT be comfortable with "I just bought a $2000 PC with all these shiny parts. It /has/ to be good."

dangrossman 15y ago
> The problem here is that you are the prey of "High-End" PC companies with emphasis on the air quotes. You fell for /the works/ and the bells and whistles. I didn't fall for something, I chose the only option available. I went to Best Buy, Staples, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, Walmart, Target and Sears. Not a single one of those stores carried a single laptop under 17" with a higher density display than 1366x768. On a laptop this size, at 1366x768 you can see the damned grid etched onto the glass the pixels are so big. It's a huge leap backwards compared to what was offered before everyone went widescreen. Any of those computers would've been worse to work on than the one I was trying to replace. HP offered a 1600x900 14" screen for a brief period and since that's important to me (my laptop is my primary development machine), I paid what it cost to get it. The only other option for a comparable screen in that size is a 15" MBP. A 15" MBP with 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and the display upgrade (the options needed to be comparable) costs $2299 or $1000 more than I paid. > I don't go out there and advocating that /everyone/ build their own PCs (though they should at least consider it) Nobody builds their own laptops.
- deleted 15y ago
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- nkassis 15y ago
  I strongly recommend ordering laptops online (even with how atrocious the HP website is, I mean GOOD GOD IS IT BAD). You get much better deal and customizability. On the MBP side, my Macbook overheats running windows, I can't play any games longer than 10 minutes. (It has been doing this for more than a year EDIT: my Macbook pro is a 2009 model). I've finally broken down and bough a Desktop PC. The MBP will still work for mobile dev but at home it's going to be Linux for Dev and Windows strictly for gaming.
- ebiester 15y ago
  Next time, get the thinkpad T-series. Yes, it's plastic rather than pretty metal, but the build quality is spectacular, even compared to my (Stolen.) MBP 13 inch. It runs both Linux and Windows like a champ. Oh, and it's easy to put in your own memory and hard drive, which decreases the relative cost. (I have an HDD and an SDD in there right now in place of the CD-ROM. But people do build their own laptops, relatively speaking. They get Clevo bare bones and put what they want in it. I happen to think the clevo bodies are clunky, but to each their own.
- pkamb 15y ago
  I buy old 4:3 ThinkPads on craigslist. It's the only way to get a decent-resolution display today.
- zem 15y ago
  yeah, my last laptop was a dell inspiron 14" with a 1400x900 resolution. my current one is a dell inspiron 15" that does 1366x768 :( i could simply not get a 900 vertical resolution without paying an exorbitant price. (for my next laptop i probably will pay the price and get a decent vertical resolution)
jonhendry 15y ago
Building your own laptop, though?
- hobolobo 15y ago
  Now there's an idea. Standardised components so you could build your own laptop, just as you would a PC.
dman 15y ago
I am a big PC fan (love the openness) but even I will concede that buying a laptop has not been easy for quite some time now. fwiw - the asus u series is pretty good, good battery life and very light, the lenovo t series is built like a tank, and the hp elitebooks are very nice. For a desktop I would recommend PC's anyday, but for notebooks I must grudgingly concede that buying a mac laptop is the logical thing to do from a hardware standpoint.
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dangrossman 15y ago

> The problem here is that you are the prey of "High-End" PC companies with emphasis on the air quotes. You fell for /the works/ and the bells and whistles. I didn't fall for something, I chose the only option available. I went to Best Buy, Staples, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, Walmart, Target and Sears. Not a single one of those stores carried a single laptop under 17" with a higher density display than 1366x768. On a laptop this size, at 1366x768 you can see the damned grid etched onto the glass the pixels are so big. It's a huge leap backwards compared to what was offered before everyone went widescreen. Any of those computers would've been worse to work on than the one I was trying to replace. HP offered a 1600x900 14" screen for a brief period and since that's important to me (my laptop is my primary development machine), I paid what it cost to get it. The only other option for a comparable screen in that size is a 15" MBP. A 15" MBP with 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and the display upgrade (the options needed to be comparable) costs $2299 or $1000 more than I paid. > I don't go out there and advocating that /everyone/ build their own PCs (though they should at least consider it) Nobody builds their own laptops.

deleted 15y ago
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nkassis 15y ago
I strongly recommend ordering laptops online (even with how atrocious the HP website is, I mean GOOD GOD IS IT BAD). You get much better deal and customizability. On the MBP side, my Macbook overheats running windows, I can't play any games longer than 10 minutes. (It has been doing this for more than a year EDIT: my Macbook pro is a 2009 model). I've finally broken down and bough a Desktop PC. The MBP will still work for mobile dev but at home it's going to be Linux for Dev and Windows strictly for gaming.
ebiester 15y ago
Next time, get the thinkpad T-series. Yes, it's plastic rather than pretty metal, but the build quality is spectacular, even compared to my (Stolen.) MBP 13 inch. It runs both Linux and Windows like a champ. Oh, and it's easy to put in your own memory and hard drive, which decreases the relative cost. (I have an HDD and an SDD in there right now in place of the CD-ROM. But people do build their own laptops, relatively speaking. They get Clevo bare bones and put what they want in it. I happen to think the clevo bodies are clunky, but to each their own.
pkamb 15y ago
I buy old 4:3 ThinkPads on craigslist. It's the only way to get a decent-resolution display today.
zem 15y ago
yeah, my last laptop was a dell inspiron 14" with a 1400x900 resolution. my current one is a dell inspiron 15" that does 1366x768 :( i could simply not get a 900 vertical resolution without paying an exorbitant price. (for my next laptop i probably will pay the price and get a decent vertical resolution)

jonhendry 15y ago

Building your own laptop, though?

hobolobo 15y ago
Now there's an idea. Standardised components so you could build your own laptop, just as you would a PC.

dman 15y ago

I am a big PC fan (love the openness) but even I will concede that buying a laptop has not been easy for quite some time now. fwiw - the asus u series is pretty good, good battery life and very light, the lenovo t series is built like a tank, and the hp elitebooks are very nice. For a desktop I would recommend PC's anyday, but for notebooks I must grudgingly concede that buying a mac laptop is the logical thing to do from a hardware standpoint.

deleted 15y ago

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