Andre S. Veteran Posted November 28, 2013 Veteran Share Posted November 28, 2013 Hi, first of all I'm buying in Canada! I'm looking for a laptop between 13" and 15" with the following requirements: - SSD >= 128GB - Resolution >= 1600x900 - CPU at least as fast as an AMD Piledriver quad-core (i.e. A6 APUs for instance) - RAM >= 4GB - SD card reader An ethernet port, and a DVD drive is a plus. Looked at Dell and Lenovo so far, apparently SSDs are a luxury and only available on models above 1000$... Looking for something under that if possible. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Wanderer Chicken Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 This looks pretty good http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8305214&CatId=4935 COKid 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted November 28, 2013 Veteran Share Posted November 28, 2013 surface pro. get the type cover. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-surface-pro-with-128gb-memory/7952262.p?id=1218862422867&skuId=7952262 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/type-cover-for-surface/7411094.p?id=1218843725254&skuId=7411094&st=surface%20pro%20type%20cover&cp=1&lp=1 Usb ethernet port is easy to get, dvd drive easy as well. built in sd card reader. Other than that have you thought about a ultrabook? http://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-3444G7U-Ultrabook-i5-3337U-Processor/dp/B00BFFE7P8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1385608506&sr=8-4&keywords=x1+carbon I don't know how these rate against the amd processor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primexx Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Surface Pro is always a good choice. If you're getting a conventional machine for the love of god don't buy one that comes with an SSD. Buy the cheapest hard drive option they have and buy your own SSD separately then swap it in yourself. Much higher quality drive for lower price than the OEM's. COKid and snaphat (Myles Landwehr) 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Wanderer Chicken Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 This one is $200 over the budget you said, but it doesn't have an SSD drive but it looks like a great laptop http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7362985&CatId=3998 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetor Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Surface Pro is always a good choice. If you're getting a conventional machine for the love of god don't buy one that comes with an SSD. Buy the cheapest hard drive option they have and buy your own SSD separately then swap it in yourself. Much higher quality drive for lower price than the OEM's. yeah, that can be cheaper than getting an laptop with an SSD. also +1 for the Surface Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted November 28, 2013 Member Share Posted November 28, 2013 Don't let the the SSD be the deciding factor here! Just buy it separately instead. I think you'll be able find a laptop within your spec range for a price $800 or lower if you do that EDIT: Sorry, I just noticed other people said the same thing. Do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COKid Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Don't let the the SSD be the deciding factor here! Just buy it separately instead. I think you'll be able find a laptop within your spec range for a price $800 or lower if you do that Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150 US. I don't know the current exchange rate to Canada, however. Everyone has their brand of choice for drives, but here's the one I bought: http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD) Have fun shopping for your new system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted November 28, 2013 Member Share Posted November 28, 2013 Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150. Everyone has their brand of choice, but here's the one I bought: http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD) I keep thinking about purchasing that because my 120GB 530 is filled up on my desktop... and everyone here keeps posting that deal today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted November 28, 2013 Subscriber¹ Share Posted November 28, 2013 apparently SSDs are a luxury and only available on models above 1000$ You are absolutely right. I was in the same shoes. imho, your best bet is to get the best deal on a laptop you want and then upgrade to SSD by yourself by purchasing it separately. A few months ago I did just that. I bought a 17" Dell Inspiron laptop for around $550 and threw away its HDD as soon as I received it :) You'll spend less than $1000 this way and you'll get to choose the SSD you want without paying a huge markup on it :) +LogicalApex and Haggis 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primexx Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150 US. I don't know the current exchange rate to Canada, however. Everyone has their brand of choice for drives, but here's the one I bought: http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD) Have fun shopping for your new system! I'd suggest the Samsung 840 Pro. Intel currently has the premium price but doesn't have the hardware to justify it. Once they put their new in-house controller onto consumer drives I would jump straight back to recommending Intel. Samsung's early drives were pretty shoddy but their 830 and now 840 drives have taken over as the most reliable (and very good performing too) ever since Intel switched to sandforce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3X4S Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 FWIW - A friend just bought an IdeaPad P500 that was from Lenovo's factory for $400. (core i5 Ivy, 6GB, 750GB) - then paid another $100 for SSD 120GB.So for $500 he has a nice laptop.I would think a factory refurb could get you into something nice, well below $1000. Then again, if you are looking @ $1000 range, you probably arent interested in anything but new.A ThinkPad T-430 with SSD will cost you about $1500 - a refurb T420 with SSD will cost you about $500... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary2MBz Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Another vote on getting a machine with a mechanical drive with met/exceeded specs to those you posted above. I got a Samsung 840 EVO fairly recently for my rig and the difference even without the "Magician" software Turbo mode, it feels snappier than the Crucial m4 SSD it replaces. You'll save plenty of $$$ and use some of it for a more powerful solid state than something the machine would ship with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannes Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I actually did the same to my 3-year old laptop. I threw out the normal old HDD and replaced it with an SSD. The memory got an upgrade to and now everything runs smoother then ever before. PS. I see a lot of people recommending a Surface Pro. Is it that good of a laptop replacement for text processing and apps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted November 28, 2013 Veteran Share Posted November 28, 2013 If you get the type cover, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S. Veteran Posted November 28, 2013 Author Veteran Share Posted November 28, 2013 That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted November 28, 2013 Veteran Share Posted November 28, 2013 I haven't seen a ssd 3.5" only 2.5". That being said, laptop drives are 2.5" and they have a sata interface. So a ssd drive will fit into a laptop just fine, there is no difference between laptop and desktop on a ssd drive. Some laptops have a disk drive bay easily accessible others require a bit more disassembly +Mirumir 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted November 28, 2013 Member Share Posted November 28, 2013 That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD? Yup, SSDs are 2.5" form factor and use standard sata so you can plug em into a laptop (or you use a 3.5" mounting bracket for ATX cases). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_dandy_ Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD? A 2.5" SSD drive with a SATA interface is all you need. They're all the same. Unless your laptop is so old it's got an IDE interface. I'm still seeing some floating around. :-) There's no helping those... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primexx Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 But you do need to be careful because some laptops are starting to emulate Apple by removing the hard drive bay cover. Mostly ultrabooks I think Gary2MBz 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arachno 1D Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 You would also need to check the hard drive height fitted to the laptop as some are thinner than others.As to fitting one instead of the standard drive it will extend the battery life of the system due to less current draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary2MBz Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 But you do need to be careful because some laptops are starting to emulate Apple by removing the hard drive bay cover. Mostly ultrabooks I think This x1000000000000 ! Be sure that you have drive access on the machine prior to ordering as a result of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted November 29, 2013 Veteran Share Posted November 29, 2013 Ultra books are not what I would consider laptops. They are not upgradeable. the ones I have do not seem to be user accessible. There are two screws that cannot be removed with normal tools. On normal laptops, they may not have a drive bay that is easily accessible but you can access it by taking out the keyboard and/or mouse pad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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