Help choosing a laptop

[nancy_raygun]

For my 9 months of camming, I've been working on a netbook; Specifically an Acer Aspire One. It's an okay little laptop, but I can't do much with it. I feel like it's actually hampering my cam modeling job.

I'm going to start saving up for a new laptop but I don't know what to look for. I've come here for opinions and suggestions on what laptop I could use that would make camming/ making higher quality videos and pictures easier.

As an extra, I also plan on using the future laptop for digital painting and PC gaming, so something that could at least handle that with out freaking out would be awesome.

 

[Littlegringo]

You may want to take a look at some of the deals from Lenovo. They have some pretty good deals on good combinations of fast cpu, good amount of ram, and decent video card for gaming. We were shopping for the same thing for Tia_Fae for camming, Photoshop/Illustrator work, and gaming and what we got from Lenovo for $799 we couldn't find anywhere else for below $1000 (most equivalent spec machines were around $1300).

 

[nancy_raygun]

I will definitely look into Lenovo. Is there a specific model that I should look for or are all Lenovo products awesome?

 

[Littlegringo]

We got the Y470p, which is a model back now. She does lots of photoshop and illustrator work, editing videos, and has been playing the Guildwars2 beta which runs perfectly on it.

I'd say to look at the IdeaPad Y580 Laptop - 209937U

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...=FD2E87DA2C36F27C12CC7CD3494BC0ED&action=init

Special right now is $849 (using their coupon code) for an i7 processor, 8 gb of ram, geforce 660m 2gb video card, 500gb 7200rpm drive, 15.6" screen, and the usual standard stuff. I don't think there is a better deal for the specs out there.

 

[Crumb]

I have to put a word in for ASUS laptops

plus, if it's built for gaming, you can pretty much do anything on it
it might be a little bit more money, but worth it...

 

[Littlegringo]

I have to put a word in for ASUS laptops

plus, if it's built for gaming, you can pretty much do anything on it
it might be a little bit more money, but worth it...

"A little bit more money", I guess is in the eye of the beholder. For basically the same specs on an Asus, you're looking at $1499, a $650 difference...

I like Asus products, but the performance to value ratio isn't there on their laptops.

 

[nancy_raygun]

I have to put a word in for ASUS laptops

plus, if it's built for gaming, you can pretty much do anything on it
it might be a little bit more money, but worth it...

"A little bit more money", I guess is in the eye of the beholder. For basically the same specs on an Asus, you're looking at $1499, a $650 difference...

I like Asus products, but the performance to value ratio isn't there on their laptops.

My boyfriend has an Asus and it's not bad, it just doesn't run Diablo 3 very well. :/

I know the quote, "You get what you pay for" but are there any decent laptops that won't break the bank?

I'm still going to look into that lenovo model. I want to see if it's a little cheaper at (secret place where things are a little cheaper). But just in case, I want to know if there are cheaper options.

 

[Littlegringo]

I have to put a word in for ASUS laptops

plus, if it's built for gaming, you can pretty much do anything on it
it might be a little bit more money, but worth it...

"A little bit more money", I guess is in the eye of the beholder. For basically the same specs on an Asus, you're looking at $1499, a $650 difference...

I like Asus products, but the performance to value ratio isn't there on their laptops.

My boyfriend has an Asus and it's not bad, it just doesn't run Diablo 3 very well. :/

I know the quote, "You get what you pay for" but are there any decent laptops that won't break the bank?

I'm still going to look into that lenovo model. I want to see if it's a little cheaper at (secret place where things are a little cheaper). But just in case, I want to know if there are cheaper options.

I haven't seen anywhere to buy Lenovo, cheaper than direct from them when they have a coupon code up. Most places will usually be +$100 or more for the same model.

Yes, you can get cheaper, just depends on the performance. I usually suggest going as high of performance as budget can allow on a laptop since it's not like a desktop where upgrades are cheap and easy. The main thing being that you make sure the model has a strong enough graphics card to handle the games you'll want to play, and not end up too weak to play next years games etc.

You can get a y570 with a fair step down in processor power, 1/2 the ram, and quite a bit weaker video card, but that saves about $130, and at that point, the $130 more is a bargain to get all the higher performance parts in the machine.

If gaming isn't a concern, you can just get something in the $500 range, but plenty of games won't be all that smooth due to the weak graphics cards those types of laptops have.

 

[nancy_raygun]

Cool. Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. I should have known that a really good laptop was going to cost some money. Honestly, $850 isn't bad at all, so I may just save up for that model and I'll catch a deal on it when I can.

 

[camerella]

I have the lenovo ideapad y550 and it has been great for camming,editing,uploading, but its a bit old now and wearing out (overheats if i have grooveshark on and camming at the same time) and ive been searching for a new one as well... kept seeing ads for the new ultrabook everywhere, looked around and lenovos version is under 800$ on amazon!!

Lenovo IdeaPad U410 is the model, may be worth looking into! Im not a gamer myself, but my ex bought the same model as mine and used it primarily for gamming and never had an issue with it.

 

[Littlegringo]

I have the lenovo ideapad y550 and it has been great for camming,editing,uploading, but its a bit old now and wearing out (overheats if i have grooveshark on and camming at the same time) and ive been searching for a new one as well... kept seeing ads for the new ultrabook everywhere, looked around and lenovos version is under 800$ on amazon!!

Lenovo IdeaPad U410 is the model, may be worth looking into! Im not a gamer myself, but my ex bought the same model as mine and used it primarily for gamming and never had an issue with it.

The difference between the U series and Y series is processors and video cards.

Reasonably priced U series use i3 or i5 processors, the Y uses i7.
Video on the U series is at best ranked just under 400th best video, while the Y series ranks 83rd.

Cooling, I'm not sure about the U series, but the recent Y series (at least the y470p) has high end cooling, lots of copper and strong fan.

It all comes down to the importance of different uses/features vs cost.

 

[Tristyn]

I'm seeking a new laptop too. The last one I picked out (a year ago) has some kind of software/hardware issue going on. I can't figure out what's wrong with it, but it freezes a lot, and rather randomly, to the point where it's unusable for gaming or caming. Ugh!

I'm heavily leaning towards getting a 13 inch Macbook Pro at this stage, but sigh, I'm not 100% sure that I want to spend that much money on a laptop right now either. Whatever I get needs to be able to handle everything that caming entails, some light-moderate gaming (Sims 3, Diablo 3, WoW, etc) and it shouldn't overheat like crazy.

I will keep an eye on this thread for suggestions!

 

[QuietLurker69]

Notebook Review has a subforum where you can asked for suggestions on what laptop to buy. All you have to do is fill out a short list of criteria your looking for and within moments you'll get replies.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/what-no ... uld-i-buy/

It definitely help me with finding a laptop for school.

 

[LolaGirl]

Hello,

I am so happy to have come across this board because I also have a question about laptops. I am to start my webcamming career next week. I am worried though because I cannot spend a lot of money on a laptop right now and I have heard that a bad quality one can effect how much money you make. I have searched the net and the best one I can afford for right now is the "HP 15.6" 2000-2b49WM Laptop PC" It has 2G of Ram which is expandable to 8G, 350 hardware space, and a HD webcam built in. It's $315 right now.

I hope it is a good enough one that it will give a good quality video feed. I don't want to lose customers because it is very important that I save up money as quickly as possible. Anyone know if my selected laptop is a good choice?

 

[Evvie]

Hello,

I am so happy to have come across this board because I also have a question about laptops. I am to start my webcamming career next week. I am worried though because I cannot spend a lot of money on a laptop right now and I have heard that a bad quality one can effect how much money you make. I have searched the net and the best one I can afford for right now is the "HP 15.6" 2000-2b49WM Laptop PC" It has 2G of Ram which is expandable to 8G, 350 hardware space, and a HD webcam built in. It's $315 right now.

I hope it is a good enough one that it will give a good quality video feed. I don't want to lose customers because it is very important that I save up money as quickly as possible. Anyone know if my selected laptop is a good choice?

Lola, I would not recommend that you buy a laptop before you start camming.

Are you going to be camming on MFC? If so, your Internet connection is more important than what laptop or desktop you have. I would be more concerned with your webcam quality than anything else.

What are the specs on the machine you are using right now?

Every model has a different experience, but some women find that they never really take off when they start. While I'm sure you will do just fine, you may find that it can take a lot longer to earn that money back than you were hoping.

Your computer will only be a problem if it cannot handle the live streaming broadcast. If you get serious about camming, you may find that you will want to replace that $315 computer very quickly.

 

[LolaGirl]

Thank you for your reply! Well I have to buy a laptop because right now I only have an iPad. Yes I am going to work for MFC. What do you think I would realistically make during the first few months? I have a really good Internet connection so that's a plus.

I plan on being very serious about this. I have been constantly researching on how to be successful at this and will really throw myself into it. I really want to stick to a set full time schedule and really want the laptop to be reliable for that reason. The one I picked has an HD webcam built in but I don't know if that makes it a good one. There is another more expensive laptop I am now considering but I really should be saving money and not spending so much right now. I could even buy a different webcam. I just hope the 2g of Ram would be enough to keep the video feed going smoothly. It's expendable to 8g of ram but I don't know how much it cost to expand it.

 

[Airwolfe]

Absolutely under no circumstance should you buy this laptop or one like it for camming on MFC.

HP 15.6" 2000-2b49WM Laptop PC with AMD E-300 Accelerated Processor and Windows 8
http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15.6-2000- ... 8/21666192

I know you don't have much money to spend on a laptop but buying this one or one like it for camming on MFC would be the same as taking three brand new $100.00 bills and setting them on fire.

http://wiki.myfreecams.com/wiki/Model_W ... quirements

"Specific processors: Avoid anything with "Intel Atom" or any "AMD" processor that starts with a "C" or "E" (e.g. C-30, E-450)."

Basically MFC is saying to stay away from very cheap computers with low power processors.

I'd like to add more to this reply about how much of a cluster fuck Windows 8 is on devices that are not touch screen enabled and about how bad the integrated webcams are in laptops. I have some other things to do right now so I don't have a lot of free time.

I just wanted to get this posted quickly before you went out and made the mistake of buying that laptop.

 

[LolaGirl]

Thank You so much! I'm definitely not getting that one now. I'm going to look for a better one right now and go by the tips you have left.

 

[LolaGirl]

Ok I think I found one that meets the requirements. I just need for my bf to get off of work on time so we can rush to put money on our card to buy it.

HP Pavilion G6-2235us 15.6" Laptop

-Next Gen AMD A6-4400M 2.7GHz up to 3.2GHz 1MB L2 Accelerated Cache Processor
-4GB DDR3 SDRAM (1 DIMM)
-750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
-15.6" diagonal HD (3) BrightView LED-backlit display (1366 x 768)
Windows 8


The one flaw I've noticed is it has windows 8. But would that effect the camming?

 

[crappuccino]

one question thats often overlooked in the days of apple craziness is "does it really have to be portable?". because a 5 year old second hand desktop may be just a fast as a brand new "high end" laptop. i do understand that, as a cam model, you may have to carry your computer to the bathroom, but if you're just testing the waters... maybe start slow? if you're good at your job, you can still buy some crazy alienware gear and laugh in my face, but if it doesn't work out... sell the desktop for pretty much what you paid?

 

[Just Me]

one question thats often overlooked in the days of apple craziness is "does it really have to be portable?". because a 5 year old second hand desktop may be just a fast as a brand new "high end" laptop. i do understand that, as a cam model, you may have to carry your computer to the bathroom, but if you're just testing the waters... maybe start slow? if you're good at your job, you can still buy some crazy alienware gear and laugh in my face, but if it doesn't work out... sell the desktop for pretty much what you paid?

I always wonder about this too. You can buy a desktop computer with more power and features for less than half the cost of a decent laptop. Mobile is nice, but you really should decide if it is really necessary. You could buy a wireless webcam if your need mobility for camming, and still be at less than half the cost of a good laptop. I see so many people buy laptops and it sits on desk and rarely moves. Use a smartphone or netbook if you are just wanting to browse in bed or on the sofa.

 

[Airwolfe]

That laptop should be powerful enough to do what you need to do with it. It's not a powerhouse of a machine but it's a good one to start off with and the price is nice. If you do well on MFC you can always get a far more powerful laptop later on.

It's $399.99 at Staples. http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-g6-2 ... uct_985050

There is a $50.00 rebate too. https://www.stapleseasyrebates.com/prom ... =-17238443


As far as the question about Windows 8 goes you will have a hard time walking into a retail store and finding a computer that doesn't come with Windows 8 installed. It's the new operating system now and it's what is installed on most all new computers now.

Personally I can't stand the Graphical User Interface of Windows 8 on a laptop or a desktop. Windows 8 is meant to be touched.

I have no idea how Windows 8 will work with the drivers and software for webcams, with the software these models here like to use for camming, or on MFC.



If you can afford it try to get a Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 too.

Amazon has it for $79.99. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Widescre ... B006JH8T3S

The only webcams worth using for camming or anything else for that matter are made by Logitech.

The only Logitech webcams that are worth camming with are the Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, and Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920.

The C920 is their new flagship model. The Webcam Pro 9000 and C910 aren't made anymore but there might still be a few left in stores.

 

[Airwolfe]

Best Buy has the Logitech C920 for $79.99 too. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Logitech+-+ ... Id=4612476

 

[LolaGirl]

Ok that sounds good. I'll definitely just use it as a starter and save up for a Mac pro. Hopefully I am able to purchase it in time. Today is the last day for the rebate so if I'm not able to get it I found this laptop that looks like it qualifies.


Toshiba- Satellite 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive- Satin Black

I definitely want the logitec webcam but might have to wait on it but will try to get it as soon as possible.

I don't think I want to buy an older desktop, I've looked around and didn't see anything I trusted.

 

[Evvie]

one question thats often overlooked in the days of apple craziness is "does it really have to be portable?". because a 5 year old second hand desktop may be just a fast as a brand new "high end" laptop. i do understand that, as a cam model, you may have to carry your computer to the bathroom, but if you're just testing the waters... maybe start slow? if you're good at your job, you can still buy some crazy alienware gear and laugh in my face, but if it doesn't work out... sell the desktop for pretty much what you paid?

I agree that a desktop computer is a good option. My current camming setup is using a 5 year old desktop computer that is more powerful than a new (new when I started camming) laptop that cost the same amount.

Mobility is extremely important to some models and their shows, but if a model just needs a start-up computer powerful enough to do shows, a tower is likely going to be faster and stronger than a laptop of the same price.

I don't miss using a laptop, and plenty of models do just fine staying in one room instead of moving around. I am working on saving up a $5k budget to build a personal computer, and that will be a tower, not a laptop. It just makes more sense for me.

 

[Evvie]

Ok that sounds good. I'll definitely just use it as a starter and save up for a Mac pro. Hopefully I am able to purchase it in time. Today is the last day for the rebate so if I'm not able to get it I found this laptop that looks like it qualifies.


Toshiba- Satellite 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive- Satin Black

I definitely want the logitec webcam but might have to wait on it but will try to get it as soon as possible.

I don't think I want to buy an older desktop, I've looked around and didn't see anything I trusted.

You could set up an amazon wishlist and try to get a member to buy the webcam for you; that is how I got my first 920c (incidentally, they do not survive well when dropped on to hard surfaces from tall heights).

Is the only computer in your household a tablet? If you live with your boyfriend, does he have any laptop or computer? I think your best bet would be to avoid buying a computer if at all possible and save up for one that you can use for the rest of your camming career

 

[VeronicaChaos]

Another thing that I feel should be mentioned, if you don't do well on MFC, are you planning on trying out other camsites? Streamate is a good site, and I think it's one that should definitely be considered if you want to take camming seriously but don't know how well you'll do on MFC, but you need a decent i7 computer to get good placement and run the encoder. It would be a shame to get a computer that runs MFC just fine, but then decide after you start camming to change sites and have your new computer not be good enough and then having to start fresh with saving up for a new one.

I agree that a desktop would probably be a safe bet. If you do well with a desktop, you can always save up to buy a better laptop later. At this point, since you are just starting off and don't know how well you'll be doing, I'd want the most bang for my buck.

 

[LolaGirl]

Yeah the only thing in my house is a tablet right now. Great idea about putting the webcam on my wish list thank you. I was looking through desk tops and I was just to nervous to get an used computer because you never know how worn down it is. I didn't even think of the laptop not being compatible with all the cam sites out there. Well I just placed the order and waiting to see if it has gone through. I hope it works out! :-D

 

[SoTxBob]

If you look at a major site like Tiger Direct or Newegg, you can find good refurbished by the factory desktops for substantial savings. With tech changing so fast in the past, I've never spent "new to market $" to buy new computers and have been issue free with all of the refurbs... The plus to a tower setup is you also have plenty of upgrade room inside if you want to at some point. :twocents-02cents: :thumbleft:
Good luck and happy camming !

 

[AmyLemon]

Hey girlies! Does anyone own one of these three base-model laptops? Trying to decide which one would be best to replace my current cam laptop I'm leaning towards the Lenovo.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/registry/regist ... e=wishlist