New laptop technologies fall?

I'm looking to buy a laptop in time for school this coming fall and was wondering if I should wait till september to buy one or buy one now. I'm wondering if there are any new laptop technologies that are dated to be released within the next few summer months i.e. better processors, improved graphics, or even larger discounts. But I'm more concerned about the upcoming technologies coming within the next few months.

 

I think the new Core i family processor aren't going to be replaced for at least another year. As for Video cards I haven't heard of a benchmark shattering one coming out soon.

 

There are no plans for any major updates within the next few months. Intel will be releasing faster CPUs but of the same current architecture and for most users, there will be no difference with a faster CPU since they won't be utilizing the CPU power.

 

Nothing until Q1.

 

If you need it now, than buy it now. If you don't need it now, than buy it whenever you need it.

That is my motto...


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The better deals will be in the fall; so if you can wait...do! I haven't heard or read of any new technologies save the increased proliferation of USB 3.0 ( SuperSpeed) ports and aftermarket products.

However, I will mention the increased presence of specialty devices such as SSDs in notebooks as well as larger/faster traditional HD storage.

In addition, graphics cards are servicing double duty alongside CPUs--especially in editing applications--and also undergoing further enhancements such as manual or even automatic switching from internal to discrete operation.

Perhaps we can keep this thread alive through the Fall and add to it as we hear about more innovations that sound promising?

 

Ya USB 3.0 is probably the only major change.

 

I doubt we'll see many more USB 3.0 notebooks since it's still not built in with the chipset. Maybe a few high end models like previously released notebooks with USB 3.0 but that would go against the fact that you're looking for a better deal.

 

As said the wait or not wait is the question? i7 refresh, some excited but as said not earth shattering. If you need buy know if not wait and get a couple hundred MHz for the same cost.

What GPU are you looking at? I mean class? 480's are coming out Asus might have 465 in a gamer at a budget price.

Intel was trying to stay on a schedule of a major upgrade then a minor upgrade the following year. Planned for July. We are in a minor year. Also Intel had trouble keeping the July date so much has shifted. If July becomes August the October where does that leave you?

Now is a fine time to buy if that was the question. I Bought.

 

What he said. Nothing new is coming this year except faster versions of Core i3/5/7. The real meat hits in January 2011 with Sandy Bridge. And of course AMD has Llano arriving at the same time.

And there is this thread that shows charts with upcoming Intel cpu's for the remainder of the year.

 

thanks for the replies everyone. I'm mainly focused on getting a budget laptop that is reliable and won't fail for a good number of years. I still have an inspiron 9300 and nothing has failed compared to a few new inspiron I've heard about where mouse, keyboard, and power adapter problems occured. I'll just keep my eye open for deals and get one as soon as I find one.

 

I got a nice laptop from this guy on ebay for cheap: eBay My World - surplusbydesign
Better if you live in Canada though I think as I think theres probably taxes shipping to the US. I also saw some very nice deals on overstock if you live in the US, though I cant really vouch for them as I do not.

 

Next considerable technology will probably be new intel high capacity SSDs in Q4(?)

Edit
seeing that you're looking for budget laptop, that's probably not an option though

 

Not really a considerable change, since the technology is pretty much the same as current Intel SSDs. They use lower manufacturing process for the NAND so that they can fit more into the same space, but most people aren't going to get the 600GB SSD.

 

Depends on your budget. I can't see anthing earth-shattering on the near horizon for a 'budget laptop' - what are you talking? $5-600? Former high-end stuff like WLED backlit screens and standard 4GB RAM are trickling down into the 'budget' realm I see.

Like one poster mentioned the major innovation on the horizon looks like USB3. Asus have this in quite a few of their consumer models already but I think most of these are closer to $1000+. Also Blu-ray ROM's are starting to show up on sub $1000 machines.

Having said that, waiting some doesn't hurt, and monitoring the coupons/website offers/sales. When I first spec'd my new Dell on their website in Dec 2009 it came in at around $2000. When I finally pulled the trigger in May2010 I got the same spec for $1400!

For USB3, which will be worth having IMO, just future proof by getting a machine with an express card slot.

 

I'm waiting out for laptops in the $1000-1500 range. Mostly for deals to pop up, but also to see if Optimus is used more? Anybody have word of Optimus going on more laptops? I've set my eye on the T410/T410s for now. Sadly, the Vaio Z is out of my price range.

 

Why is everybody so obsessed with USB 3.0 anyway? It's not like it takes a particularly long time to transfer stuff with USB 2.0.

I personally think that whenever you get the itch to buy, just do it. There is no point in waiting for the newest technology to come out, because there will ALWAYS be something new on the horizon.

You could wait until later this year, when you will be able to get better deals on USB 3.0 equipped laptops, and when NVIDIA Optimus becomes more prolific. Oh. But you can't buy one then, can you? You'll have to wait until ATI's 6000 series comes out, and then buy one. But you still can't buy. Better wait until Sandy Bridge comes along, and phases out all our current tech.

If you really HAVE to break it down to when is the best time, I would say that anywhere from now to the next 2 months or so would be excellent. You get some pretty cutting edge tech, and new stuff is still a little ways off.

 

Nvidia's mainstream and performance 400 series cards will start showing up in August and September.

I personally don't view Optimus's automatic graphics switching as a feature worth waiting for though, and you can buy ATI cards with comparable performance (and GPU/IGP switching) in notebooks now.

 

If you are moving several Gigs of data USB 2.0 DOES take too long to do anything. USB 2.0 is theoretically 480Mb/s or 60MB/s but we never see anything near that. I was once tranferring around 50GB of backed up data and that took a long time.

USB 3.0 is in theory 4.8GB (edit 4.8Gb/s) so the difference will be staggering. Faster than eSata and Firewire. The only drawback is adoption which is the case with any new technology. Do you need 3 USB 3.0 ports? Probably not since mice and printers will not benefit from higher data rates but 1 will serve you well.

Is it a good enough reason to hold out? Depends on how much you value moving data externally.

 

Optimus vs ATi is like a Lexus vs Fred Flintstone's car. ATi switchable GFX is not automatic and cannot be accomplished when certain programs are running. It really is not very robust.

The new NVidia 400 GPU, more optimus notebooks, and USB 3.0 may be very good reasons to wait 2 months if you are into some kind of gaming, and/or portable power, and/or large file transfer.

Edit:

A few notebooks that I know of coming out this fall that will have some new technology:

Asus U series (35/45)
Asus N series (N43/63/73)

 

Optimus vs ATI is more like Lexus 2011 version vs Lexus 2010 version.

 

Nvidia Optimus doesn't exactly work flawlessly.

NVIDIA Forums

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/492051-m11x-r2-nvidia-optimus-issues.html

NVIDIA ION 2-Based AO532G Killed Off - Optimus driver problems result in death - Softpedia

 

Well anything that uses a lookup table is going to have some issues with regards to the second link. Updates should take care of those issues.

No technology is perfect, but ATi switchable graphics is far from Optimus, much farther apart than a change of MY in a car. If you have the horsepower you will game with applications open. To have to close stuff, reboot, and/or flip a switch is too 1999.

 

With USB 3.0, what devices would even be able to take advantage of the enhanced transfer rates? Is it only external hard drives and flash drives? I suppose you pay a premium for the USB 3.0 capable drives, but if you have a low capacity HDD or SSD it might be worth the cost.

 

It would really depend on your tech lifestyle. You do not need USB 3.0 kind of data rates to send information to/from your printer, keyboard/mouse, and other type of small data transfer devices.

The best use for it is for the large transfer of data onto an attached storage drive. In theory it will also be faster than 10/100/1000 Network transfer.

Won't hurt to have it, but with little offering right now you may have to compromise if you really want it.

 

Whatever might be said about the drivers and the automatic switching, what makes Optimus a big deal to me is the removal of specialised motherboard hardware, and the ability to just use the drivers provided by Nvidia rather than rely on specialised driver releases from the manufacturer.

These two factors should make switchable graphics much more widespread in future.

 

Optimus kind of switchable GFX

I mean with a name like Optimus how can you go wrong?

 

Spoken like someone with no experience in bargain hunting. Research and being an informed customer is the most important element in on this site. Otherwise, just play spin the bottle for you next purchase and whatever it stops on, buy it!

Now you're being silly. I think most here are reasonable enough to know where to draw the line.

In fact, those times have long been determined: the fall (when everyone goes back to school, and during the holidays. Everything else are distant seconds.

Have you read these posts lately? You can't get past the first sentence without someone mentioning SSD. Who here would support 3.0?

Not all of us may salivate for it, but all things being equal, who of us would say we couldn't use it?

I don't think that's likely to go away anytime soon.

 

No. It's not just playing spin the bottle for the next purchase. Granted, it would be stupid to buy a C2D notebook the day before the Core ix series came out, but if you have conviction that you want to wait for newer tech, then you are going to be waiting a long time.

Care to explain to me how I'm being silly?

 

This is a site whose member's tend to be well informed people that are interested in cutting edge technology. Most come to learn and to share knowledge they've gather from a variety of areas. I think I can safely say that most of us share the understanding that technological advancements don't stand still. Nevertheless, that's no reason not to be well informed about things that might be updated soon.

Waiting for the best time to get the most of their purchase, just makes good sense. The title of the thread explains it best.