Had not seen that before.
I used to ask my customers (in days before the Web). How important is your data and the ability to get going quickly if something goes amiss?
Usually it was most important.
OK, says I. I’m going to turn off your computer and put it under my arm and walk out the door.
I’m also going to take any backup media I can find too.
How long will it take you to get up and running?
That always caused and uncomfortable pause.
Remember, I would tell them, I can replace anything in your computer - Except Your Data!
Most still didn’t backup in a timely manner or keep offsite copies.
All the Best,
Jeff
That might have been the case in the past but as of now the quality and support has been pretty spot on depending on company whom provides it.
That is also false, you can get a solid dedicated GPU combo with a CPU with relatively low cost now, obviously it wont perform as well as a desktop system even at the top end but that’s a given by physical limitations.
Like I stated previously the major vulnerabilities that were recently patched were hardware vulnerabilities and the patches to fix them were baked into the OS running while the bios update was ONLY a partial fix which still required the OS to be patched, general bios updates are required for running “new” hardware released and being installed just clarifying a bios upgrade wont have any battery management optimization its more OS that would be optimizing the battery and like all things batteries will need to be replaced so no matter how “optimized” a system can be. Just like cellphones most if not all laptops now have internal batteries which are only good for so many cycles and need to be replaced depending on charge cycles.
That is generally a misconception as the temps are only at those levels if you A.) running synthetic bench marks B.) running software that the system isn’t designed for specifically. The reason its “less” of an issue with enterprise gear is cause they generally run underpowered x86 processor and cant perform in comparison.
I also agree that mobile performance hasn’t improved by leaps and bounds but the improvements are not in performance BUT in TDP which means same or better performance at a far lower energy consumption which translates to longer battery life. In my books laptops are not meant to be a full on workstation but a stop gap to get work done while away from main computer.
If you want a good video card, you probably should get a gaming laptop.
I haven't researched them in years, but it used to be hard to find ones that don't have overheating problems.
My gaming laptop doesn't overheat, but I hear it's difficult to do upgrades on a laptop compared to a desktop so keep that in mind.
I have an Asus G75VW, which was pretty good back when I bought it, but it could use some upgrades that I don't feel comfortable doing because laptops are fairly fragile.
Ryzen 4000 (both mobile and desktop) definitely grabbed my attention. I think some of the stronger integrated GPUs can almost catch up with entry level dedicated graphics like MX250. It looks like a very good bang for the buck.
I’m a liar.
I didn’t realize that Ryzen 5 and 7 were in laptops for less than a grand.
A 5-4600U with 6/12 Cores/Threads or better a 7-4800U 8/16 Cores/Threads.
The additional thread count will, I believe, be a noticeable improvement over your 4/8 count i7.
This is also some what dependent on how peppy a video card you currently have. And what software you are using.
These are some gaming rigs that hover around the 1K$. There are even some Dells in that range. 15.6” screens for that price.
This is basically right. In order gain ALL if the specs I mentioned in the OP (meet or beat my desktop CPU/Ram/Graphics card) This is the closest thing I found in a 17” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KBBKQ8X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_12?smid=A2HR3WADFB8IU9&psc=1
A great option, but that means going $100 over budget on something I will only utilize part of the time.
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I have decided that since I don’t absolutely have to edit video on this that instead of going over budget I am going to drop the bar just slightly.
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17” was my original thought, but it looks like there are more “deals” on 15-15.6”. If I drop the “need” to edit video to “can survive” editing video, that means I can also save cost on either the CPU or the GPU. Right now I am considering shooting for one of those Ryzen 5 4500U and dropping the video card. Or going for a slightly less powerful CPU and getting the card. According to pass mark that 3rd gen Ryzen is equal to my i7-7700 3.6GHz in single thread performance and beats it in cross platform! https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-4500U-vs-Intel-i7-7700/3702vs2905
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This is one I am considering. I’m not really familiar with newegg though. If order that and take the ram upgrade from the dropdown menu, is that going to come installed or just in a package with it? If I did take one of the 16gb options what is the difference between the two?
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The Ryzen 4000 series is remarkable. If you can live without dedicated graphics, that could be a good option. To know what hardware you need, stating the intended software and tasks would help.
The integrated Vega GPU might perform well enough, considering it beats some low-end recent GPUs, or even mid-tier GPUs from a few generations back.
Since you mentioned 1080p video editing, you probably want to restrict your search to 1080p screens, which that Acer does not have.
NewEgg is effectively like Amazon, but dedicated to Computers. Incredible customer service to boot as I have bought parts from here for years when MicroCenter did not have what I need.
Personally, I would go with the dual-stick options to allow the multi-channel memory to function properly. The higher DDR4 number is simply faster.
Frankly, I’m surprised the Acer lappy I linked to allows memory and SSD/HardDrive upgrades, since many manufacturers are following Apple’s lead to make them as disposable as possible.
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I’m glad you caught that. It never crossed my mind that anything being made in the know universe in 2020 would have anything less than 1080p. I’m not really sure if thats a deal breaker or not though. It would run 1080p content just downscaled right?
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At this point I’m sort of on the fence. Still considering the Acer https://www.newegg.com/acer-aspire-5-a515-44-r4m5/p/N82E16834316900?Item=N82E16834316900
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Or I found this Asus for a hundred bucks less, that has the full HD 1080p screen https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQB7552/ref=twister_B08BXRBDK1?\_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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The processor on the Asus would be a downgrade for sure, but I’m really liking the price….
Yeh. A friend of mine was losing access to her cloud account, her (only) computer was going wonky more and more (probably drive issues), and she was faced with losing all her pix and other important stuff. Talk about being boxed into a corner…
I’ve been ranting forever about not keeping anything on your desktop/laptop/anything that you’re not willing to lose or have fall into enemy hands. Keep it offline on, say, external usb disks, and only copy it locally when you’re using it. And back up the externals, preferably encrypted, and keep off-site if at all possible (hence the encryption on both disks).
I don’t trust “clouds” except for throwaway data, and in her case, the pay-by-the-month service was pulling the plug shortly or going to skyrocket their monthly rates or whatever. And if they go bankrupt without warning (at least without warning you)? Goodbye data.
My in-house network is on a physically separate router, not connected to the net, and I prefer wired-only (ie, wifi turned off). And I keep the NASes physically turned off unless/until I intend to use them. Less wear’n’tear vs idling forever.
But leaving behind a laptop, or having it stolen, or just dropping it, and there goes everything on it. So any data on it other than the OS, better be secure.
Matt, before you settle on a less than 1080p screen.
Open a low res window on your current system with about the same res as the laptop and see how it looks. Run the editing software.
The extra pixels let you have more of the timeline editing stuff open at a size thats easier to use.
All tht Best,
Jeff
I tried that just now. I can live with the change in shape/placement of things. When I did this on my 1080p shop monitor (resized to 1280x768) it made everything look very soft. Softer than whats on my old square monitor in the house. Is that just a side effect of using those dimensions on my 1080p monitor, or is everything going to look marshmallow soft on that laptop screen too?
Were you set on AMD for the processor and the Acer ? if not would you consider this MSI laptop at $699 slightly more than the Acer you were looking at runs a 9th gen i5-9300u and has a GTX 1650 dedicated GPU compared only onboard listed on the Acer.
Okay for now I have made a choice. I decided since I couldn’t find exactly what wanted to just go with the most budget frinedly option, that was half my original price point. https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VivoBook-R5-3500U-Graphics-F512DA-EB51/dp/B07QQB7552/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
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For $509 with tax and shipping I got:
Asus 15” with 1080p scree
8gb DDR4 Ram
256GB SSD
Ryzen 5 3rd gen CPU Quad Core R5-3500U. It has the single thread rating: 2006 and cross-prlatform rating: 10,421 vs the awesomeness of the 4500U at STR: 2462 and CPR: 18,118 but for what I will MOSTLY be doing I can live with that.
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I don’t intend to “store” much of anything on this. I have my shop pc for that, duplicate drives, and off site duplicates that have all been tested and updated within the past 8 months.
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Once it arrives and I try it out I will let everyone know if this was a good choice or if it will be like that crappy $600 dollar Samsung TV I bought at Christmas LOL! Had to go back and spend $1100 ish to get a sony
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. SUPER THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOU INPUT. YOUR HELP HAS BEEN SO VALUABLE TO ME!!!
Congrats, Matt! Looks like a decent choice. BTW, storage can always be easily updated. SSD’s just keep getting cheaper. If I were you, I’d throw in a 750Gb or 1Tb SSD at some point. If you want to keep your music & video collection on it.
Hi, I think this asus is a good choice if you need something under $600. But for me screen is too small. But it’s not problem because you can connect your new laptop with top ASUS screen (for example https://productz.com/en/asus-vg248qe/p/MJ2A )
