The $1399 question

What setup would you go with and why?

The average user that wants long battery or to sell the battery.



The user that wants the benifits of 580m features



The powers user that should really prob just be using a desktop lol.

 

It really depends on what you're looking for. I would personally go with the second one because it offers the highest performance i5, but unlike the quad i7 it allows for switchable graphics which would give you better battery life. The second is the sweet spot between the first (lower performance but better battery life) and the third (quad but less battery-and honestly, most normal users do not need a quad core laptop processor )

 

See I would argue that the average user myself included wont see a difference in the processors unless he jumped all the way up to the I7. I feel like everyone jumps on the higher priced processor just because. I am tempted to buy all three and just return 2 after testing them in real world use.

Very tricky this coupon stuff. Imagine they just said $500 off and there was no price limit. I would be getting an envy for like $499

 

Sigh...

I know it's your right to do it, but I wished people didn't abused their generous return policy. One can argue whether this is considered abused or not...and I agree in some ways it's not technically abusing anything. Just that not many manufacturers still have this.

Of the three, I would pick the middle configuration but change the 640GB hard drive to 500GB and get an extra 8 cell battery. The slim battery is a nice option if you want to resell. But personally, I think the supply will exceed the demand on eBay very soon once everyone gets their order, and the prices will drop significantly.

 

I agree as well. The performance enhancement between the i5's are negligible and not worth $200 in my opinion and if performance was a factor in the decision, the i7 would def be the way to go.

I chose #1 cause i need the battery or if i dont end up needing it, i'll be a $650 coupon instead of a $500 so i can say that's a real good deal.

 

I agree and wont be purchasing all three. Your right about that.

On the configuration it seems like the only thing everyone agrees on is the screen. lol... Good idea with the extra 8cell. Thats something people dont really look at. Its not like the 8cell is hard to pull out or anything.

 

Yea this is how I see it. I've already ordered. Its good to see others point of view though. I dont want to change my mind to late. I actually thought about jumping up to the I7 but the battery drain is pretty bad and I would need a slice just to take this thing anywhere and know its not gonna shut down on me.

 

Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist - Notebookcheck.net Tech

For those of you saying there is barely any difference between processors (which I disagree with) here is some data for anyone interested. You can enter i5 i7, sort with or, and sort with only notebook processors. I have to admit those Sandybridge processors score admirably.

 

Between i5's, when you look at raw numbers, sure seems like there's significant difference. The thing is, those numbers don't really translate as well when you consider most people's every day computing needs. Even with pro users that work with Photoshop, CAD's and similar demanding apps, the performance improvement will surely be there, but it's so marginal that probably won't even notice it. It all depends on what you're processing.

It's a whole different story when you move up from i5's to i7's, of course...

 

the better option for me was to take option #2, leave the HD at 500gb and upgrade to 6gb of ram.

So
i5 580
500gb
6gb ram
radiance
$1425

 

Thats exactly how I did mine. I already have a slice and upping the hdd is stupid cause im going to buy a sdd soon to replace it.

 

a few days ago I did :
i5 580
500gb
4gb ram in one dimm
radiance
one spare 8 cell battery
$1028 with CA taxes (using $500 coupon)

 

Yea its like most SSD. You can run the numbers all you want but when it comes to real world use i've seen no difference no matter what ssd is in there. The big difference was hdd to sdd. I3 to I5 to I7.

 

I got 4gb in one dim also. It was priced right.... but if you went with 6gb you just paid $55 for another 2gb stick. You can get another 4gb stick for less than that so not a good deal..

 

I am selling the hdd and using the ssd i have now. I just put the hdd on there to make it $1399 for the thread lol. Yea your better off with the memory though. Even though your paying $55 for a 2gb stick if you went with the 6gb.