My $800 Acer feels fine, not cheap, with a ATI videocard that can actually run Skyrim at 30fps with some tweaking. Acer's aren't bad at all imho.

Edit: That being said almost any laptop you buy from a retail store will be a giant piece of shit. Go straight from manufacturer, or newegg or something.

 

So comparing these two laptops, can i differentiate the better of the two? In specs, the look virtually identical except for screen size and resolution. Also, one of the commented mentioned "bloatware" (the Acer), is this stuff hard to remove? I'm obviously going to install my own anti-viral and the like, and i'm tech savvy enough to remove it if it only requires for me to go to the control panel, but the phrase "the usual bloatware" makes me anxious.

 

I have an Acer. Wasn't too much to go through and remove/change (and most of it was doable from Remove/Change Programs in the Windows 7 Control Panel). They might be exaggerating a bit.

 

That Acer has better hardware, but it's somewhat mitigated by the larger screen.

Bloatware isn't hard to remove, it's just tedious. If you're able to uninstall programs it isn't a problem, just time consuming. I've never actually used it, but I've heard the PC Decrapifier works well for semi-automatic bloatware removal if you're interested.

 

So I ordered the Acer with 17" screen, and since I'm going to be fairly mobile with it I was thinking if getting a laptop bag, are there any good places online to order one? The ones here at the local Office Depot are nice, but I might pay extra for a theme one or something else that is interesting about them.

 

Oh I didn't know there was a spec thread here I'll post my two current rigs, though my desktop will be upgraded soon with SLi video cards soon I hope; I've been saving up my EVGA bucks.

My Laptop (ASUS G73SW):

Processor:Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM
Chipset:Intel® HM65 Express Chipset
RAM: 8G DDR3 1333 MHz (I think) SDRAM
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 460m clock speeds 700/1400/1000 for Folding at Home, 725/1450/1200 for Gaming
Storage: 750GB 7200 rpm Scorpio
Optical Driveioneer DVD Combo

Desktop (The Chill):
CPU: Intel i5 2500k 4.9 GHz Prime 95,Folding at Home, and Daily use 24/7 stable
CPU Cooling: Corsair H60 Push Pull Fan Configuration
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Pro B3 Revision
RAM: G Skill Sniper Series 16GB 4x4GB 1.35v 1600 MHz
Power Supply: XFX Black Edition 750W 80Plus Silver
Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 460 768mb clock speeds 800/1600/2000
Storage: 1 TB Seagate Baracuda 7200 rpm 64 mb cache, 1.5 Western Digital Green Caviar with variable rpm 32 mb cache, 2 TB Hitachi Deskstar 7200 rpm SATA 6gb/ps 64 mb cache
Case: CoolerMaster HAF 932 Custom Paint.
Screen: Sony Bravia KDL-32XBR9 32" LCD HDTV
Sound: Onkyo HT-S3400 5.1 Home Theater Surround Sound


Looks like the question was already answered but I'll just post some of my views in regards to laptops which I hope help others, acers are decent although I've had problems with them being either easy to break or they have hardware faults. I haven't had any problems out of Sony, Toshiba, Dells and HPs are mixed bags of nuts though if you wanted an Alienware (lol) just get a really high end Dell they're the same thing mostly. I haven't ever had to use or work on a Samsung laptop so I can't say anything there.

Personally I LOVE my ASUS several people have knocked me out of my chair and it off the table (while on) several time the case has popped apart and snaps right back together. If it outlasts my BestBuy 2yr warranty unlikely but I can hope? as none of my laptops have been able to keep up with my demands for more than a year and a half to just under two years before giving out. Though if one did it'd be this one.

A general rule of thumb wider + heavier equals tougher sturdier laptop (more powerful most of the time as well of course you'd need to look at the specs first)

 

Heavier, powerful laptops also have much greater heat control problems. I think "desktop replacement" laptops that you use for gaming etc. are always going to die faster than basic laptops that you just use for internet and word processing.

 

What is the difference between a regular PSU and a modular one? I tend to upgrade my pc very slowly, and while I've replaced almost everything but Tue RAM, graphics card, and PSU, I think I may be hitting the cap of my PSU so I was looking at getting a new one. I know the modular ones are more flexible, but also a lot more expensive. Right now I think I have like,600W in my pc, but the PSU is like.... Four years old? I'll repost my system specs once I get home to include the relevant hardware, but if I go for an upgrade in the near future ill probably have $200 to spend between the RAM and PSU.

A quick search of Newegg tells me that I can get 8 gigs of RAM on 2 4-gig sticks for about 60 bucks. The PSU I saw at the right price ($134) was a Kingswin Gold Series LZG 700. It's an upgrade of about 200 watts, and its modular, which is good, right?

The reason I want to upgrade is because my PC has been running really slowly lately. I've tried re-installing all the most up to date drivers, reformattting, getting rid of excess programs, etc. but for some reason my PC is not preforming as well as it did a month ago.

Edit: Fixed Watts, didn't realize it was 600w instead of like 480 or 530w.

Current Specs:
AMD Athlon(tm) II X3 445 Processor
4 gigs of RAM
GeForce GTS 450
ASUS M4A88T-M
600W PSU by Thermaltake
HD has a ton of space left, CBF to find the size/model.

 

If you can find a x4 960t or a x6 1055t, for a reasonable price it would be a nice boost to your system.

 

I don't have an OS disk or the money to buy one for a SSD, and i'm not particularly sure what it does or why I would need one.

I know I need to upgrade the PSU first, because I think some of the rails are bad or malfunctioning. After that though, where would you prioritize an upgrade? I think my graphics card is the oldest piece in there after my PSU, everything else has been upgraded. I may be able to save a little more if necessary to upgrade at a better rate, but i'm very hesitant to spend too much money, because there's always some part or piece that is just $50 or so out of my current budget and would be a big upgrade.

Also, this is my first PC that i'm actively upgrading myself, so if the install is beginner unfriendly, that needs to factor into the equation.

 

your pc feels slow and unresponsive.

ssds make your pc feel fast and responsive.

it sounds like exactly what you need !

 

My research indicates that a "good" SSD will have the software needed to transfer my files from my HDD to the SSD. Is this true, or will I have to look in the product details to see if they include a program which will do that? Given that I don't use much space, if I spent $120 on a new PSU (modular?) That was a raw wattage upgrade for me, and $80 on an SSD, and maybe pick up 8 gigs of RAM (2 sticks of 4 each) if I could find it, that seems to exhaust my budget and a little beyond.

What is a good name company for PSU? Evrerywhere I see people remarking about Silverstone having bad fans, are there any company with a really good reputation? Same thing for RAM but I haven't started looking at that yet.

 

why do you need a new psu exactly?

Anyway, buy a seasonic psu if you're deadset on a new one.

64gb ssd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148447
128gb ssd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448

Other brand ssds aren't as overall good as the Crucial m4 line.

I recommend doing a fresh install of windows onto the ssd because when installing onto an ssd, windows 7 does a bunch of things that are beneficial for an ssd.

RAM just buy whateverDDR3 ram is cheapest from any of the following brands - G.skill, corsair, kingston.

 

I'm pretty sure my old PSU is either going bad, or is already bad. I tried to use the core unlocker on my motherboard, and my tech friend told me there was a power issue, but there shouldn't be. And it's also the oldest piece that I haven't upgraded in a while, it makes weird noises (Squeaks and is loud) and I just have a general gut feeling that it should be done.

I've always listened to my gut.

 

Not all tri-cores are able to be unlocked - they're sometimes disabled because the 4th core just isn't as good as the other 3.

But yeah, whatever makes you happy.

 

I had a nice long post typed out, but I forgot to check "I am aware that this thread is rather old but I still want to make a reply." Now my post is gone.


To recap: I'm thinking of upgrading to 6th gen intel chips. What do you guys think of 6800,6700, 6850 and 6900 ? I think the 6850 hits a good priceower ratio.