Database Develop

Computers for college...

I am looking at laptops for College. and it is a really hard decision. I would like to be able to play games on it but it doesn't need to run crysis.....any suggestions with that little bit of info?
Also the other day I was thinking about purchasing a netbook and using that for school work and taking to classes and then using extra money to build a desktop for my dorm. I much prefer doing work on a desktop and this would also give me more power.
My budget is about a thousand dollars. If I did the netbook idea I was looking at the Eee PC 1000HE or 1008HA which would leave me around $600 to put towards the desktop. Wouldn't be much at first but I would be able to easily add to it as I had money.
Any opinions/recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Why not get a redfly for your cell phone? Then use the money to build a comp?

what is that?

Yes, what is RedFly? I've heard of it before but never got around to researching it.
Personally, I'd rather put down the $1000 for a good-quality laptop...I prefer working on desktops too, but just because of the mouse/keyboard (I despise laptop keyboards and the dreaded touch pad...grr). Laptops improve exponentially in quality as the price range goes up, as opposed to desktops, which don't improve much until you get to the $2000 range.
Then, you can buy some portable mice/keyboards and keep everything conveniently in one place.
And besides, if you want to play games, you'll need a laptop much better than the $400 range.

I know that I would need a laptop that costs more than $400 to play games. I was talking about spending that much on a netbook. and then using my other $600 to build a computer for gaming and work while in my dorm. This would also be easy to add to.

cyberpowerpc.com or ibuypower.com
get a cheap gaming pc there

My advice...Get a good laptop, buy a monitor and a mouse/keyboard combo.
I have a Dell XPS m1330 that's pretty small light and portable. It's great for games and can even play Crysis.

Help me replace my laptop with something brand new...

So, right now, I have a desktop PC and a laptop PC that I use on a regular basis. The desktop is my master system and is good for another 2 years definitely. My laptop has been aging and we're on the verge of a revolution in small PCs.
I have a Dell XPS M140 that I upgraded to 2GB RAM. It has 80GB of hard disk space, CD/DVD burner, and Windows 7. It's getting old and I wondered if everyone could chip in some advice for a replacement.
I spent like $600 on it originally, so I'd like to stick with that price or less. I use it to browse the web and watch internet videos on it while I play XBox360 or when I have people over. I use it to feed to my TV when I have a movie to watch (movie file, not a DVD). I also take it with me on any vacations in the hotel room to keep connected to the internet.
For a replacement, I'm looking for the following...
-CD/DVD drive
-video out
-at least 120GB of disk space
-ability to run Windows 7 Ultimate with Aero
-ability to have 2GB of RAM at least
-USB ports
-Wifi (of course)
-A good processor
-HARD keyboard
-multitouch screen
-$600 or less
Preferred but optional
-ethernet port
-webcam
-4 USB ports
There may not be anything out there just yet that meets all the requirements, but if anything's close, let me know.

I have a Dell XPS M140 too. Great system. I loved the battery life -- 7.5 hours when I bought it like 3 or 4 years ago. But now its old and I rarely use it.
I've migrated to a Samsung N120 netbook. The keyboard is great even though its smaller form factor. The portability is excellent. It's so comfortable to use even with the 97% sized keyboard and 10" screen that I am still able to do most of my programming on it. So it can be used every day for hours with no eye strain or me wanting to throw it cause the keyboard is awkward. I love it.
I've run Windows 7 on it and it runs great once I upgraded it to 2GB. I did go thru the Windows Services and set to manual/disable some of those that I don't need (heavy networking ones) that made it a little faster. It can run OSX too as a side benefit. You can pop in a 640GB in here for cheap if you feel comfortable taking it apart.
I know there is going to be complaints about the processor speed...its a slow Atom. For daily browsing use its not that much difference than the M140's 1.73ghz P-Mobile. I do agree that its slow on Youtube videos and having multiple flash animations on the same page. The newer generation of netbooks are faster and will probably do a better job. Also Adobe is releasing a new version of Flash very soon that they have tweaked and stating would allow the Netbook to view Youtube without the jitters.
If you already have a desktop that is powerful enough for the heavy lifting tasks (photoshopping/video editing/filesharing/etc) then if I were you I would look into a netbook for its portability and convenience. It can still photoshopping btw, just going to take a little longer with the filters and handling large image sizes. And of course it is harder on the small screen.
You can get a great netbook in the $300-350 and get an external slim DVD burner for $50. If you do a lot of traveling or working away from home like at a cafe or just like having it on your lap surfing while you are in front of the TV, a 10" netbook is the way to go.

for the touchscreen thing,
i think you should buy additional hardware such as DUO.

Hmm. Very interesting! Thanks for the feedback.
I really appreciate that another M140 user out there has spoken. I haven't found anyone with this "XPS mini"!
When I upgraded to Windows 7, I can't believe how smooth everything ran. It really sold Windows 7 for me. Yeah, my desktop was faster but, wow, it turned by old M140 into a new PC. I haven't done much programming since college and even then, I did more making Counterstrike maps on their CAD-like interface software than anything.
I was really considering netbooks and your advice fits in well. I like the idea of add-on hardware like DUO to make anything touchscreen, but I would like to be ahead of the game with my new purchase. I felt like even my M140 purchase was behind the game. My desktop was nicely fit with a quad-core masterpiece at the time. Now it's commonplace.
I think a netbook fits my needs perfectly, but maybe I'm waiting for the next wave to include multitouch netbooks. The technology is definitely there, and fortunately it shouldn't be that expensive. I was waiting for someone to post the latest Eee multitouch PC, but I know that the processor is child's play.
I guess I see myself owning 3 systems...
Desktop PC - currently fulfilled need
Multitouch PC - for portability and ahead of the game portacomputing
Slate Phone - I know there's phones and then there's slates, but I won't be buying a replacement for my Rhodium until a nice slate phone arrives (with slide out hard keyboard, of course)
These 3 systems will practically make me have a mess in my pants. We're on the verge of #2, but I know I might have to wait 2 years for a good #3.
I'm staying away from virtual keyboards forever. I know how they are and I know what they can do, but I cannot accept 30 wpm slower. Unacceptable.
Great advice guys, and I really do appreciate your input. Tablet PCs are going to erupt soon, to prove that the iPad is garbage. And I just can't wait for the results. I dream of a day when I can just pop out my multitouch netbook in the comfy Hyatt hotel bed and respond to the next great XDA post.

I actually was looking tonight and there really isn't anything out there right now. I really hope this market picks up. The closest thing is the newest Eee PC, with a processor at 1.66 MHz. My M140 is at 1.73, so I can't go lower. Let's hope for a nice push in products...
Dell should hit this up. The only Multitouch tablet they offer is over $2k!!!!

I bought a LOADED HP tx2000z two years ago because I thought that I'd actually use the touchscreen/wacom digitizer. Boy was I wrong. 2000 bucks later, I honestly wish I would have bought a macbook pro over this POS.
Using a mouse or keyboard still is faster. Windows is not designed well for using a touch screen. Plus, that tiny swivel point where the screen connects to the rest of the computer isn't quite as strong as I had once thought, and all the wiring inside of it, over time, starts to get shorts in it. My sound crackles as I swivel the screen. Also, HP doesn't have the best of build quality in general. However, the digitizer does do an excellent job of speeding things up in photoshop.
My advise: Stay away from laptops with touch screens. Unless you spend the majority of your time in photoshop, it won't be worth it.

got the earlier tx1270 little brother of tx2000z
it get too hot to use in tablet mode and it's too fat and it makes too much noise
speedfan say the gpu is 89c in idle
the heat caused the wifi to stop working
but it was good for reading eComics on if I could stand the heat
I'm not put off tablets yet though
what laptop to get is really down to what one use it for
if it's surfing in the sofa netbooks are great and got long batt
but some people like to game on their laptops in which case they end up having to pay
a lot
got 2 dell work laptops both ugly and plastic'ish but better quality then crappy hp
and got a acer very underpowered one but manage with xubuntu
gf got a new macbook pro cost an arm and leg and kidney but the build quality is pretty good
osx remind me of linux really in a closed platform version though
if I were looking to get a laptop now I would look at tablets without combi keyboard option like the hp got
otherwise I would look at asus eebooks or whatever they are called

Hmm, good points. I guess my consideration for getting something with multitouch is basically to make sure that I'm consistent with the market. If that's what people are buying, I want to have my copy, just in case software erupts for it.
But I'm surprised at the story about the shoddy HP hardware.
I could, however, see how I can use a touchscreen with Windows 7. I won't touch Apple products because they don't suit my needs, but I guess that's why I won't spend $2k on a tablet PC. It sounds like it's just not worth that much.

Rudegar said:
got the earlier tx1270 little brother of tx2000z
it get too hot to use in tablet mode and it's too fat and it makes too much noise
speedfan say the gpu is 89c in idle
the heat caused the wifi to stop working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the SAME exact problems with my tx1219. Too loud, too hot, wifi stops working, and also the touchscreen is horrible.
I've only worked with the tx2000 for 10 minutes, so I can't comment on the problems, but the the touchscreen was really good on it.

yeah tx2000 and up have vacom active digtizer and some got capative with dual touch
but I don't trust their quality so even if they look good on papir I don't want to pay that much with such a high risk of being ripped off

Help Me With A New PC

Hi guys,
My old PC has finally bitten the dust after around 6 years and I am now looking to get a new one. However, I'm on quite a tight budget for what I want, it seems.
I am looking for a new desktop PC which is a capable gaming machine. My old computer was capable of playing BF3 (on medium-ish settings) smoothly and could play FFXIV which I am quite looking forward to. There's a whole new console generation on the horizon and I am mainly a console gamer, but would like my PC to be able to play a few upcoming games such as The Division or maybe Watchdogs.
I haven't built a PC in a very very long time, so would prefer to get a pre-built one. My budget is £600. I would prefer it to come with a monitor for that price, but I doubt that I'd be able to get one too. My current monitor is quite old, but will do for now.
I've been looking into both AMD and Intel processors and it seems the i5 is arguably the better of them for the price bracket (I think an i7 is a pipe dream). The problem I am having is that there's so many numbers floating around within the i5 family and I struggle with dyscalculia (number dyslexia, basically) so I am having a hard time trying to figure out the price-to-power sweet spot. Then there's graphics cards on top. Ideally, I'd like to go with NVidia this generation as I plan on buying an NVidia Shield one day, but AMD have been good to me over the years, so I wouldn't turn my nose up at them.
I am going to do more research and reading. But if you could point me in the right direction, I'd very much appreciate it.
Thanks a lot.

You'll have better luck here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28602532
OT DESKTOP THREAD.
and what I mean by better luck, is this thread will eventually get locked.

you could just upgrade it like it says in this post
http://m.dummies.com/how-to/content/pc-performance-upgrades-cpu-motherboard-and-memory.html
or check some alienware ones

[Q] Good Laptop for College?

I'm starting college next year, and I need a laptop! I better one than my current laptop anyways... I currently have an Acer Aspire S7 391 - purchased it used, and it just has too many cons that just don't make it worth the $600 I paid for it.
It gets too hot for Lap use, battery life is about 2-3 hours, the fan gets crazy loud... too loud for my high school classes, and the trackpad is jumpy, slow, and just.. terrible.
So I need a new laptop! Here are some things I would like to mention that may help tell you what I'm looking for.
1. Good Battery Life. A minimum of 6 hours.
2. Atleast a 1080p display. (Prefer touchscreen)
3. 13 inches minimum display size.
4. Slim, and powerful for it's size. I don't need to be editing videos or playing games, but being able to do some tasks that require a little more power would be nice!
5. The fan, if there is one, simply can't be loud. I don't know why this bothers me so much, it's fine if it's my desktop, but for a laptop, ugh..
I'll also be bringing my desktop to school, this Laptop will mostly be for taking notes, and being able to do all of my school "stuff" on a portable device, so I can work... anywhere!
Your suggestion doesn't need to match any of the specifications I mentioned, I'll certainly take a look at anything recommended!
Thank you so much!
(In-case it makes any kind of difference, I'm going into Business at an above average university, 30,000 students total)
I forgot to include a budget! haha! I'm willing to look into used versions of the laptops recommended as well, to possibly save a hundred bucks or so, I would say mu budget is just around $1,000. (Possibly being able to find it used for maybe $800 if any are available used).

Dell Inspiron 13 may be a fit for you.. If not the Surface Pro 3 was OK

I reckon surface pro, but if your looking for a bargain, look at some of the sub $200 Windows 8.1 tablets. Ad some accessories such as a keyboard, mouse and battery pack, and you could have a decent laptop replacement for under $300.
I would even suggest something such as the cube iwork7 dual boot tablet (android and windows 8.1) for ~$125USD from geekbuying
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Cube...GB-32GB-HDMI-IPS-BT---White-Black-341909.html
This is all you really need for school imo, and after adding accessories such as a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, battery pack and usb hub, you could have a moderately powered computer for about $200.
I seriously considered doing this myself, but the school gave us Lenovo ThinkPad yogas (current model), which is also a good option.

Ive been wondering about this also. Im about to start my computer science degree this year.

Look into Asus. By far the best in terms of hardware and build.
I'm particularly fond of the N range, though those might be a bit too powerful for regular use. (still, €1299 for a laptop(N76VB) that can run Dragon Age Inquisition on Ultra at 58FPS is well worth the money to me.)
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk

[Q] Surface Pro 3 or Macbook Pro?

Before you continue reading, I would like to mention I work well with both Windows and Mac OS, one is not better or worse to me, I'm familiar with both operating systems.
I'm starting College next year, and I'll need a Laptop! I'm shortened my list of possible options to now two main competitors in my opinion, the Surface Pro 3, and the Macbook Pro.
The prices of the Model I am deciding between:
Surface Pro 3: $999 - i5 128GB (Additional $130 for Keyboard, $1129 total)
MacBook Pro: $1299 - i5, 128GB (2015 Model JUST announced)
In YOUR opinion, which would you choose if you could pick between either, and why? I understand this is a personal option, and there are many factors to consider, but I'm looking for other's opinions and their reasoning why

Surface. Tablet/pc, touch screen is really handy, all Windows programs, Linux if wanted, Windows 10 and more.
Source: Have some Lenovo ThinkPad yoga laptop for school, with Windows 8.1.

You know, there are many other options you can choose from, which are better for even a better price
Personally, if I HAD to take one of the two, I would take the Surface

The major question is: 'what do you need it for?'
Closely followed by 'Why a Macbook?'
Is it going to be used for mainly browsing and documents or coding? Then the Surface if a good idea. It's versatile.
Graphic design? Whatever anyone says, a uniform Mac is very much NOT a good choice for a designer who's supposed to be unique and creative. Every Mac is identical as customisation is nearly impossible. (As a Windows using designer I hate those hipsters.. Half of Uni was filled with them.) Get a proper laptop. I did Multimedia Design and my Asus ran laps around even the most expensive Macbook. For half the price. And I could game on it, too.
3D/Video/Gamedesign? You need something heavy duty. A Macbook isn't powerful enough.
Do you also intend to use it for home/on the go use for normal everyday things? The Surface will do.
If you're looking for an Android alternative to the Surface, there's also the NotePro.
Quite frankly a Macbook is a severely overpriced product with mediocre specs. I truly do not see the point of a Macbook. (I've worked with them, it's not ignorance.)
You're on XDA, so obviously you know your way around technology, rendering the major selling point (easy to use for the technologically handicapped) redundant.
You're much better off getting a Windows laptop/Ultrabook or the Surface.
Hell, you could get both for the price of a Macbook with good specs.
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk

ShadowLea said:
The major question is: 'what do you need it for?'
Closely followed by 'Why a Macbook?'
Is it going to be used for mainly browsing and documents or coding? Then the Surface if a good idea. It's versatile.
Graphic design? Whatever anyone says, a uniform Mac is very much NOT a good choice for a designer who's supposed to be unique and creative. Every Mac is identical as customisation is nearly impossible. (As a Windows using designer I hate those hipsters.. Half of Uni was filled with them.) Get a proper laptop. I did Multimedia Design and my Asus ran laps around even the most expensive Macbook. For half the price. And I could game on it, too.
3D/Video/Gamedesign? You need something heavy duty. A Macbook isn't powerful enough.
Do you also intend to use it for home/on the go use for normal everyday things? The Surface will do.
If you're looking for an Android alternative to the Surface, there's also the NotePro.
Quite frankly a Macbook is a severely overpriced product with mediocre specs. I truly do not see the point of a Macbook. (I've worked with them, it's not ignorance.)
You're on XDA, so obviously you know your way around technology, rendering the major selling point (easy to use for the technologically handicapped) redundant.
You're much better off getting a Windows laptop/Ultrabook or the Surface.
Hell, you could get both for the price of a Macbook with good specs.
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really appreciate you taking the time to respond!
At this point, I'm no longer considering a Macbook. The reason I even considered a Macbook was simply because of their reliability, design, and influence by the specific University I'm going to, the school is flooded with Apple devices because Steve Wozniak was once a student there (he's donated an insane amount of apple products to the school).
Sure other devices are sleep and reliable, in my opinion, Macs are just the overpriced versions.
At this point, I've eliminated any Apple product.
Now.. I do realize there has to be a million other Laptops better than the Surface, in the same price range, but there are a lot of factors I'm trying to consider
1. The design matters to me. As silly as it may sound to others, I'm willing to sacrifice power for something "sexy". (Not TOO much though!)
2. It needs to be reliable.
3. It needs to be portable.
4. Decent-Good Battery Life
5. 1080p screen resolution minimum.
6. Prefer a touchscreen for the price I'm willing to pay.
Being able to do some form a gaming or video editing, etc, would be nice, but it's not a MUST-HAVE. I wouldn't want a fat, 3-4 lb laptop with fat round edges, just so I can play games d:
The surface is appealing to me because it can do what I need it to do, it's thin, sleek, sexy, and reliable (with reliable support as-well if I need it).
If you can think of something better that may be appealing to me, PLEASE let me know a device name or include a link, because I certainly will look into it!

Lenovo ThinkPad yoga (whatever the latest number is). have one for school, touchscreen, powerful enough to play games like need for speed carbon (haven't tried PhotoShop), and my favourite part, the keyboard folds behind the screen rather than detaching, so you don't have to ditch it anywhere when using tablet style. Thin, and Imo beautiful, as well as powerful.
If for some reason you want to use android on it (no idea why, but shadowlea posted it) try amiduos(.com)

2PMintheAM said:
Really appreciate you taking the time to respond!
At this point, I'm no longer considering a Macbook. The reason I even considered a Macbook was simply because of their reliability, design, and influence by the specific University I'm going to, the school is flooded with Apple devices because Steve Wozniak was once a student there (he's donated an insane amount of apple products to the school).
Sure other devices are sleep and reliable, in my opinion, Macs are just the overpriced versions.
At this point, I've eliminated any Apple product.
Now.. I do realize there has to be a million other Laptops better than the Surface, in the same price range, but there are a lot of factors I'm trying to consider
1. The design matters to me. As silly as it may sound to others, I'm willing to sacrifice power for something "sexy". (Not TOO much though!)
2. It needs to be reliable.
3. It needs to be portable.
4. Decent-Good Battery Life
5. 1080p screen resolution minimum.
6. Prefer a touchscreen for the price I'm willing to pay.
Being able to do some form a gaming or video editing, etc, would be nice, but it's not a MUST-HAVE. I wouldn't want a fat, 3-4 lb laptop with fat round edges, just so I can play games d:
The surface is appealing to me because it can do what I need it to do, it's thin, sleek, sexy, and reliable (with reliable support as-well if I need it).
If you can think of something better that may be appealing to me, PLEASE let me know a device name or include a link, because I certainly will look into it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an avid Asus user so this'll be quite a bit biased, but..
The Asus Zenbook NX500 is a powerhouse with a very beautiful exterior. (It looks a bit like a macbook). 15.6" 1080p Touchscreen, i7 4712HQ, GTX850M 2GB GDDR5, 16 GB RAM. This could handle both regular use and heavyuse.
An equally pretty one to look at is the ASUS ZENBOOK UX301LA. i7 4558U 2.8 GHz ~ 3.3 GHz. 13.3" Touchscreen Corning Gorilla Glass 3 16:9 WQHD (2560x1440)/Full HD. IntelHD 400/5500 (not exactly optimal for graphic use, but then the Macbook uses an IntelHD 4000 too).
Both are Ultrabooks, so they can't be detached.
The only real option in the tablet range is indeed the Surface. Everything else runs on Android or iOS, which whilst great, is a bit limiting.

Please ask in our dedicated **Desktops and Laptops Thread**.