Yes, I build my own. No hardware complaints. My only software issues would be bad Windows Updates, bad driver releases, and buggy security software. All else works fine.
Slightly off-topic, but is there any specific requirements to call something as a gaming laptop? Or do we have to believe everything the manufacturer says?
5 thing's I look at in a gaming laptop... 1. Good mobile graphics card 2. Good CPU/Processor (Quad Core or more) 3. Memory size and any other specs of the memory (6GB or more, with room to grow) 4. SSD or HDD (I prefer SSD for faster loading, plus I look at how large it is, since games generally take up a ton of space) 5. Is there room for upgrades (A secondary hard drive slot, High memory capacity) What I would do before purchasing a gaming laptop, is do research on the particular laptop and see what games run on it, to see if any possible bottlenecks exist, basically research on what other people say about it. If you see specs, type out and research each individual component about the computer, to see if it has potential for gaming. Usually if manufacturers say it's a gaming laptop, it more than likely is. If you're going to get a gaming laptop, I generally look at ASUS, MSI or Razer.
Thanks. Aside from a dedicated graphic card and multi-core processors (and being very expensive =V ) I don't get the determining factors for gaming laptops. Like for example, how much the minimum required clock speed? Yes, I know it changes over time, but what about the limit of an era? 4GHz seems to be the current standard? I'm not looking for a gaming laptop actually. I was just curious of how to tell a laptop is dedicated for gaming purposes.
Unhappy with my current thinkpad due to loose hinges and poor quality keyboard. My next laptop will be a mac, bye bye lenovo.... you ruined the brand.
Actually that can be tweaked to be on-topic. Judging by the price tags and system specs of gaming laptops I might be slightly happier if I had one. Currently I only render and encode videos in 480p. But if I had a more powerful machine I might be brave enough to go 720p for my general usages.
I'd be happier if I had the HDs encrypted, but I am unclear what has happened with TrueCrypt... whether or not it is still a viable option. There is just so much controversy surrounding the program. Otherwise, my computers are a source of enjoyment to me. Regularly backing everything up with Macrium Reflect has a lot to do with that feeling of contentment.
No idea how encrypting the hardisk would make you feel happier with your computer, but what about BitLocker? Unless perhaps the OS you are using does not have it included?
Seriously? You have no idea why users encrypt their hard drives? Interesting. I would have guessed you would have at least some idea. Anyway, your question about BitLocker is a good one, and while my version of W7 (Premium) does not support it, I do have an upgrade to Ultimate laying around here someplace that I really ought to put to good use.
I know that people encrypt their drives to protect their data. I just can't see how drive encryption to have any relationship with satisfaction of a user for their computer. I thought this poll is about hardware and software performance?
I checked with the poll creator, and he indicated that he is mainly interested in learning if member's computers are a source of aggravation, or a source of contentment. Speaking for myself, I will feel much better when I have the internal and external drives encrypted, if for no other reason than a burglar would not have access to my data if he walks out with my computers.
I have two laptops I use reguarly, and while both have their problems, they do everything I need them to, so overall am happy with them. I use my Thinkpad T60p daily. It mostly works quite well - despite having a fairly slow processor (it is probably 8 years old). Every now and then it becomes non responsive for no reason and I have to close the lid to put it into sleep mode, and then open it again - it works fine again once it resumes from sleep. Fortunately this does not happen enough to be much of an issue for me. Also, the resolution is too low for my liking (only 1024x768 ). But, it does everything I need it to, and in any case I might replace it with another (more recent) Thinkpad which I was going to sell. I have a Thinkpad T410 which I only use of weekends for DJing. It is awesome, except for the textured touchpad which I absolutely hate. I cannot fault the smooth touchpads on earlier model Thinkpads. But, this one feels somewhat uncomfortable to use, and sometimes is non responsive. This is a big issue for me as I always use the my laptop's touchpads rather than an external mouse. I will never buy another Thinkpad with a textured touchpad, which may mean that the next laptop I buy from eBay (I have no need for brand new computers) may sadly be a brand other than Lenovo.
BTW, I have bought a new machine (the third one this year, first two were flops) and it seems that this one is a winner. The first two I bought were a HP and Asus, this one is the Acer Predator desktop, it's quite, fast, and does not smell bad, highly recommended.
Smell bad?..."hello I would like to buy this PC, but before I buy it I need to know if it smells bad?" Sorry for my smelly joke, but what sort of smell are you talking about that I assume you have smelled at some point before ? I'm just curious, as I have heard stories like this a couple of times but I have never found a smelly one myself...yet
@ SweX The HP desktop had a horrible chemical smell coming from the PSU. That's why I stayed away from buying a new one. The funny thing is that the HP costed 1200 euro, the Asus 1070 euro, and I paid only 800 euro for the Acer. So HP wanted 400 euro more for a PC that gets outperformed by Acer. A small overview: HP Envy 700 desktop: Slow startup even with SSD, shutdown problems, bad PSU smell. Asus M70AD desktop: Shutdown problems, PSU made high pitched noise, video-games not running smoothly. Acer Predator G3 desktop: Fast startup, normal shutdown, no noise or bad smell.
@Rasheed187 Ah that sort of smell, then I understand. The other stories I read about couple years ago was about other smells, like if a cat had mistaken the PC for a toilet because it smelled like urine.....the computer was brand new and they didn't own a cat. Unfortunately I don't remember what it was that caused the smell
So basically, the lowest rated brand was the best? Nice. Im still looking for a new laptop and both Lenovo and Acer are at the top of the list along with Asus. These three brands offer pretty good specs for the price. (Asus and Acer offer good ultra thin ultrabooks at reasonable prices with Acer being the cheapest for a good ultrabook and Asus being the best bang for the buck if i'm willing to spend >$1K) Lenovo looks like a good option for gaming laptops but its also >$1K which im not really sure if it will be a good decision to spend so much in a laptop. My current wish list is: Lenovo Y50 - Asus Zenbook - Acer Aspire S7 - Lenovo U series I wish Vizio still made laptops, i wouldnt hesitate to purchase one. They had some great discounts on older models and by now they should have had discounts on the newer touch screen models . . . So sad that they decided to pull out of the Computer market, their laptops were AWESOME.
@Noob personally I would stay well away from Acer as their consumer grade laptops are of poor quality. In the past I have been huge fan of Asus, but some of their laptopx I've seen of late I have not liked at all. For example, an ultrabook with a terrible keyboard which would often not register keypresses unless you pressed firmly on the keys, and a laptop whith a touchpad which was not very responsive. The latter would not be an issue for those who use external mice, but in my case 99% of the time I use the touchpad. As for Lenovo, I love their Thinkpad laptops and the quality is exceptional, but have never used a non Thinkpad model. I have read that the quality is less than for Thinkpads. If you could afford one, Compal laptops are worth looking at. I've only ever owned one, but the quality of it was simply outstanding, but they may well be outside your price range. My last few laptops have been used Thinkpads I've purchased from eBay (for what I use my laptops for, buying a new laptop is just a waste of money). My T410 has a terrible touchpad due it's textured surface making it not very responsive at times. But you can pull the covering off, and there is a website where you can order a smooth replacement covering which fixes any issues with it.
Does that smell like burnt plastic/rubber? I've encountered a few of them. Not personally mine of course.
I love my DELL XPS with WIN 7 64x. I've had it 4 years and no problems other than the ones that are cause by software, which I've been able to fix with Macrium, and now Raxco IR.
