Author Topic: Finally a new laptop! (Read 2600 times)

Takeshi · « **on:** November 09, 2009, 07:53:00 PM »

I don't have it yet, but Thursday to come I'll be writing on it at History class.

I bought the one I'm using now in '06 for school as well. So I would think it should be all right for me to get a new one. I don't have all of the money, but I'll be borrowing some from my mom and grandma. Then I'll pay them back slowly. I'm getting one of these for $804. I can also pay a bit more and get one that can handle gaming a bit better. I'd love to be able to play that Parkour game and Half-Life 2 a bit better. For some reason it never gets boring to play Half-Life 2. I'd rather spent a bit more and get something which will last tech~wise longer, and which I won't be tired of that fast.

And then I might not get beaten by my friends for dying in Left for Dead and for shooting them as well. They can really hit hard, ya' know?

And last, of not most important, ability to play 1080p files and seed big time while being able to watch 720p/1080p files without lagging. Man, there's two things I know I want and need, Dual Core and Shader Model 3.0 (reason why I couldn't play most games on my current laptop). Gonna have to remember to ask about that..

Also, hopefully I'll be able to encode stuff again. And actually doing some serious multi-tasking.

So, reason of this topic? To brag a bit, but also, is the price fair for those prices?

Acer Extensa 5635 ($904)
NVidia GeForce G 105M 512MB
500 GB HDD
Intel® processor T4300
4GB RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium

The other one doesn't have as much tech info so I didn't include it.

I'd probably be able to get a cheaper one, but the shop where I buy it is like 15 seconds away so if there's something wrong, they'll know. And it's much easier than having to send the computer to reparation at some distant, distant city.

Thanks for any replies in advance.

zherok · « **Reply #1 on:** November 09, 2009, 11:12:13 PM »

I can only compare to my own experience, but I got a Sony VAIO off newegg fairly recently priced at just under $900 (California sales tax and recycling fees promptly jumped this up to $990, however.) I have no idea if American prices are really comparable to your own, but there it is.

Having had an old falling apart desktop for years I can't say I've kept up with CPU or video card trends, but I do know the T4300 processor and the G105M video card aren't exactly amazing. I suspect you'll have little trouble doing all you've outlined for it, but according to notebookcheck.net you're not really looking at an amazing video chipset.

I have no idea on the costs of computers in Denmark, but at the least I think investing a little bit more money, if it's your only option, are worth it to get a system that will last you longer till the next upgrade. I have a feeling you could get something better for cheaper outside a brick and mortar store.

fohfoh · « **Reply #2 on:** November 10, 2009, 01:13:56 AM »

I'd recommend getting a laptop cooler if you're going to game. You have no idea how bad lag can get if your laptop is overheating.

Your laptop should be good for the aforementioned games though.

mgz · « **Reply #3 on:** November 10, 2009, 02:35:39 AM »

make sure you dont go cheap on your cooler either you get a plastic piece of shit.

Aluminum with positionable fans = win

Takeshi · « **Reply #4 on:** November 10, 2009, 02:12:31 PM »

Quote from: mgz on November 10, 2009, 02:35:39 AM

make sure you dont go cheap on your cooler either you get a plastic piece of shit.

Aluminum with positionable fans = win

About a fan, I looked at one at the store. It was a Logitech plate with one fan in the top middle where it gets most hot I presume. It costs $60. Good deal or not? I don't want to make a mistake and pay too much since I'm spending more money than planned.

I looked at an Acer Aspire 7540G and 5738.

I used Microsoft's Windows Experience to determine which one was best. Is this something I can trust? Of course, I used the specs, but I found it easy to compare using that method. Anyone had any bad experiences with it? These are the scores:

7540G
CPU 4,9
RAM 7,0
Graphics 4,9
Games 6,2
HDD 5,9

Whereas 5738 was:
CPU 5,4
RAM 5,4
Graphics 4,1
Games 5,9
HDD 5,4

Funny thing is that there's so much difference between the RAM when they were both 4GB DDR3 RAM. I suspect the difference between the CPU is that Intel's a bit better despite them both being Dual Cores.

Specs 7540G:
ATI Radeon 4570 512MB
17,3 screen
500GB
8 cell battery
AMD Athlon II X2 M300 2,0 Ghz

Specs 5738:
ATI Radeon 4570 512MB
15,5 screen
320GB
6 cell battery
Intel Dual Core T4300 2,1 Ghz

All in all, I've got it boiled down to Acer Aspire 7540G. They both cost $1.106. So it's surprising to see such difference between them. Only the CPU score seems to lower than 5738's.

Thoughts? I'd like to have some opinions before I go tomorrow. I'll first have classes at 2PM so I'll have plenty of time to do some responding.

sdedalus83 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 10, 2009, 02:28:26 PM »

The memory score is higher because of the AMD's on die controller. It's pretty much meaningless for your purposes.
Get the AMD. The bigger screen and hdd are a lot more important for a DTR than the 10 - 15% bump in cpu performance.
If you're looking for portability, they're both poor choices, so I'm assuming you want a laptop for convenience rather than the ability to carry it with you.

Takeshi · « **Reply #6 on:** November 10, 2009, 02:57:22 PM »

Well, I'd rather have some power than portability. However, I'm big enough to carry it around when I need to, I'm not weakling. Though I'm not in the best shape of my life at the moment, I was way more fit when I attended my Sports College.

mgz · « **Reply #7 on:** November 10, 2009, 03:10:42 PM »

Quote from: Takeshi on November 10, 2009, 02:57:22 PM

Well, I'd rather have some power than portability. However, I'm big enough to carry it around when I need to, I'm not weakling. Though I'm not in the best shape of my life at the moment, I was way more fit when I attended my Sports College.

Look at the bottom of your computer youll be able to see where your fan to cool off your CPU is the point of a nice laptop cooler with adjustable fans is you can position them exactly where you want them to be most affective.

Assuming because it costs 60$ that its good = bad idea

Takeshi · « **Reply #8 on:** November 10, 2009, 04:35:55 PM »

Quote from: mgz on November 10, 2009, 03:10:42 PM

Quote from: Takeshi on November 10, 2009, 02:57:22 PM
Well, I'd rather have some power than portability. However, I'm big enough to carry it around when I need to, I'm not weakling. Though I'm not in the best shape of my life at the moment, I was way more fit when I attended my Sports College.
Look at the bottom of your computer youll be able to see where your fan to cool off your CPU is the point of a nice laptop cooler with adjustable fans is you can position them exactly where you want them to be most affective.

Assuming because it costs 60$ that its good = bad idea

Please re-work the first paragraph, I really can't tell what you're trying to say. I'm not trying to offend you though. I do have a fan at the bottom of my laptop, though it's in the laptop so..? How effective will it be? It's not like I can mount a moveable fan at the bottom of the laptop.

Well, it can be plugged to the computer through an USB cable so it's definitely easy to use. Although the wind wasn't very strong. I don't know how much is necessary to cool off a CPU. And while $60 seemed expensive, I doubted its value. I mean, this much for that thing?

I'll be using my laptop for encoding for some time so a fan should probably be a good idea. To decrease my laptop's lights, I usually place some clothes on it. Probably not a great idea, but the clothes are nicely warm when I take them on again.

I've been doing that a lot since I mostly get stuff at night since people tend to use their computers mostly in the day.

fohfoh · « **Reply #9 on:** November 10, 2009, 05:12:18 PM »

He means to check underneath to see where there's a vent thing that air can get in. Find a fan that locates close to that area. (blowing on an area with no access to the inside is pointless)

Kuroshima · « **Reply #10 on:** November 10, 2009, 07:15:43 PM »

I play 1080p on my single core athlon @ 2.2 Ghz....
Haha you should get a htpc with a quad core and mount it to the back of a 22"
way more powerful... Just not as convenient :p
that will definitely help your encodes... Oh and make sure it's cuda/ stream enables.

Takeshi · « **Reply #11 on:** November 11, 2009, 06:02:22 PM »

I ended up getting the Acer Aspire 7540G.

This laptop is so fucking awesome. I just played Mirror's Edge with the nicest graphics I've ever been able to. I'm getting L4D2 Demo ~~and I've even thought about getting Batman Arkham Asylum, though I think it's a bit pricey at the moment, might wait for Christmas or something. Also, I've spent enough money for one day, I think.~~

Screw it, got it anyway.

I'm trying to get Bioshock to work since it didn't work on my old laptop and I know a lot of other people have had issues with the game. Also, I hear it was Game of 2007 so it should be good to say the least.

Arrg, I can't for the weekend! It's going to be great!

Goodbye anime, hello gaming! (this is seriously not helping with my 127+ unfinished anime series...

EDIT: On a crap note, laptops these days are filled with crap software from the manufacture. Meh, don't know how much I'll wait to re-format the whole thing. I suspect I can use this laptop's serial number and my "legal" Windows 7 DVD to re-install Home Premium fresh, though I also hate that since a lot of buttons on the laptop becomes useless. Though the function which you can use to turn your computer's settings and programs into what they used to be when you got it is really nice.

Kuroshima · « **Reply #12 on:** November 11, 2009, 06:37:22 PM »

Can't you go get an oem disc? They are all the same. Software for buttons is on manufacturer website.
There is most likely also a recover partition... Though loaded with crapware.

Takeshi · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2009, 10:28:50 PM »

Ah, yes, that I can always do. Also, my HDD is so big, I can actually just do the main partition. Then I can always restart and use the (11GB) recovery partition to get it back to manufacture settings.

Do you mean a legal OEM disc? As I already said, I already have one, but I downloaded it. It's build 7600. So if that disc works, then I'll stick to it.7

But for now this laptop seems to be doing great at whatever I throw at it so don't need to think about it for a long time. Can't wait to get Gotham Knight 1080p to test this laptop's

Quote from: Kuroshima on November 10, 2009, 07:15:43 PM

Oh and make sure it's cuda/ stream enables.

Cuda? That's the thing that'll make your graphic card decode the 720p/1080p files instead of stressing your CPU, yes? How can I tell if I have it or not?

zherok · « **Reply #14 on:** November 11, 2009, 11:02:54 PM »

Fairly sure CUDA is limited to nVidia units.

Kuroshima · « **Reply #15 on:** November 11, 2009, 11:38:41 PM »

Indeed it is. Stream is for ati.
It'll decode h264 video (common in anime mkv containers)
there is always dxva as well. Which is compatible with most graphics card including intel ones.
Because of this, I am able to offload 1080p video to a 9400gt perfectly fine. I have a single core socket 939 at 2.2 Ghz.
If you use Linux you should enable vdpau.

What I meant about making sure it was cuda or stream enabled in my previous post was for that htpc... I was thinking about the ion platform mainly. Having cuda or stream will greatly lower transcoding times to h264 video.
Even with a lowly 9400gt I'm able to convert standard 720p anime episodes to my iPhone in about 8 minutes-- compares to 30 minutes + with the processor alone.

Takeshi · « **Reply #16 on:** November 11, 2009, 11:45:39 PM »

But do you know of a way to see if you have it on your graphic card? This is all me for me, being able to use your graphic card to decode h.264 video. So my knowledge is of course limited.

I have an "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 up to 2304 MB HyperMemory". That's what it says on the specification sticker.

sdedalus83 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 11, 2009, 11:55:57 PM »

Quote from: Takeshi on November 11, 2009, 11:45:39 PM

But do you know of a way to see if you have it on your graphic card? This is all me for me, being able to use your graphic card to decode h.264 video. So my knowledge is of course limited.

I have an "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 up to 2304 MB HyperMemory". That's what it says on the specification sticker.

Every Radeon after the HD2900(including the HD2400/600) is capable of dxva acceleration.

Takeshi · « **Reply #18 on:** November 12, 2009, 09:45:37 AM »

Quote from: sdedalus83 on November 11, 2009, 11:55:57 PM

Quote from: Takeshi on November 11, 2009, 11:45:39 PM
But do you know of a way to see if you have it on your graphic card? This is all me for me, being able to use your graphic card to decode h.264 video. So my knowledge is of course limited.

I have an "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 up to 2304 MB HyperMemory". That's what it says on the specification sticker.

Every Radeon after the HD2900(including the HD2400/600) is capable of dxva acceleration.

Okay, could you point me in the right direction in terms of stream/dxva?

Arveene · « **Reply #19 on:** November 12, 2009, 11:43:12 AM »

See here to setup DXVA with MPC-HC. (I think it's still up-to-date)