Laptop hard drives are insanely unreliable. Nobody should ever store that large an amount of data on them. You have to assume a laptop hard drive is about to crash at every moment. I don't store any data on my laptop hard drive, even though it is 128GB Solid State. The only stuff on there is applications. Absolutely everything I never want to lose is backed up on magnetic discs, USB sticks in a drawer, the cloud, etc.
There is no reason not to have a copy of your music on a laptop :-p
Then I realized I should really just get greatest hits albums.
This is the reason it's not a problem for you. You're not actually a music fan.
I was going to say something like "Have you ever considered the possibility that some people may listen to more music than you do?" earlier, but I was afraid of starting a Rubinfight
Hey Scott, people may have different needs and circumstances to your own.
This is true. However, there is no need or circumstance for which storing large amounts of data on a laptop hard drive is a good idea. Just as there is no circumstance for which a laptop that is larger than 15" is a good idea. Nor is there a circumstance for which a "gaming" laptop is a good idea.
Well, in that thread I completely destroyed Scott's first assertion. I now have a 15" laptop, and wouldn't go larger. But what about the gaming laptop assertion? That there is no circumstance for which it is a good idea? Scott's reasoning:
That's just it. It's not a situation of "making do". A gaming laptop is more expensive, and less powerful, than a portable desktop. You can get a portable gaming desktop and a netbook, for other non-gaming portable computing needs, for less than the cost of a sufficient gaming laptop.
I guess, on my next work trip, when I want to play through Half Life 2, I'll put aside my netbook and get my portable gaming desktop, and monitor, out of my suitcase.
Or maybe not.
Actually, I'll boot up in windows and play it on my laptop. It's not a gaming laptop, but a macbook pro can handle it, I guess. One of the (many) reasons I upgraded was so I could play PC games on the move. It's working out pretty well so far.
Dont' tell me I'm not a music fan. I listen to a ton of musics. I just don't have some kind of disorder where I'll die if I can't listen to a specific track at a specific moment in time. I enjoy almost all music, so I can listen to almost anything at any time.
Actually, I'll boot up in windows and play it on my laptop. It's not a gaming laptop, but a macbook pro can handle it, I guess. One of the (many) reasons I upgraded was so I could play PC games on the move. It's working out pretty well so far.
What's the frame rate on that? Open the console and type net_graph 1. The Macs have really shitty video cards, I can't imagine it's playable, or anywhere near vsync.
Hell, I'm typing on a gaming laptop right now. Why do I have it? My desktop is back in Australia, and I'm in the U.S.
If I were vacationing in a foreign land, why would I spend even a second of my precious vacation on playing PC games I could play at home? If it were an extended stay, I would probably be at someone's house, and not a hotel. Thus, I could use their gaming desktop.
What's the frame rate on that? Open the console and type net_graph 1. The Macs have really shitty video cards, I can't imagine it's playable, or anywhere near vsync.
While playing Portal (which I presume is the same Source engine as Half Life 2) I turned on vsync, and it played perfectly. Never once, in the entire game, did I notice any drop in frame rate. By the way, Half Life 2 came out for OSX too, and if it can't run on this macbook pro, I'll be very, very surprised.
If I were vacationing in a foreign land, why would I spend even a second of my precious vacation on playing PC games I could play at home? If it were an extended stay, I would probably be at someone's house, and not a hotel. Thus, I could use their gaming desktop.
Vacationing? I travel for my job. You know how many days I was home in April? Two days. I bought this new laptop (in part) so I don't have to "play on someone else's gaming pc," an impossibility when there aren't any within two thousand miles (my next trip is to Greenland).
The Source engine is really not very demanding at all by modern standards, and the MacBook have half-decent discrete GPUs. It's no surprise that it would run well.
It would probably do a somewhat poor job with something like Crysis, but it would still be playable on low settings.
Hell, I'm typing on a gaming laptop right now. Why do I have it? My desktop is back in Australia, and I'm in the U.S.
If I were vacationing in a foreign land, why would I spend even a second of my precious vacation on playing PC games I could play at home? If it were an extended stay, I would probably be at someone's house, and not a hotel. Thus, I could use their gaming desktop.
It's an extended stay, but it's with my parents who are renting accommodation here because Dad is on an extended work trip. As you can see, a desktop wasn't really a viable option, though I did consider it.
Luke's situation is another one where gaming capability in a laptop is required.
Here's a third - When I get back to Australia, I'm probably going to use my laptop to play games while I'm at university once in a while. I'm quite far away from campus, so having a desktop nearby is out of the question.
Just because you hadn't thought of any doesn't mean there aren't any reasons to own a gaming laptop, Scott.
Casual music listener, not music fan. Music fans have tastes.
And pretensions.
There's a difference between having "taste" and having a compulsion to carry all of your music with you everywhere at all times in case you "just have to hear this one particular noise metal song right now but you're on a train. There's also a difference between having a large music collection with you for extensive travel (and a lack of synchronization access) and bringing it with you because you have constant specific needs to listen to specific songs at any particular moment.
I'm fairly sure, unevidenced mind you, that people who constantly listen to music are experiencing some of the same brain issues as people who constantly browse around the Internet. Constant, low-level stimulation becomes an addiction.
I don't carry my entire music collection with me for a few reasons:
1. I'm usually engaged with something or someon in such a way as that listening to music would be impossible or isolating. 2. When I listen to music, I listen to it as an activity, not a constant drone in the background while I do other things. 3. If I only listen to specific songs that I feel an immediate desire to hear, I will never grow my tastes or easily find new music. (A limited local playlist will push you to listen to things you might not otherwise have liked, and an infinite access situation can stagnate your experiences).
If all of these are untrue for you, then carrying your music around with you in some gigantic blob may not be the worst idea.
I'm saying you're like people who just watch whatever comes on TV.
This would be a correct analogy if everything on television was rock hard awesome.
Imagine if there were a Pandora for TV. You type in something like "South Park" and then it shows you a South Park episode maybe, but it throws in all sorts of similar shows from throughout history.
Luke's situation is another one where gaming capability in a laptop is required.
It isn't required at all, actually. For me being able to play games on my laptop is a byproduct of wanting a laptop that is awesome for photo, video and music editing. I mean, I have 8gb of RAM in this machine, which is great for media (although not all applications support it, though that will change over the next year) and that is way above what any game needs. It just so happens that for another project I need to install Windows, for compatibility with some hardware, so installing Steam isn't a big deal.
Anyway, it's something I couldn't do on my old laptop, and now can. I could have bought a much, much, much better gaming PC, just for games, plus another fully fledged laptop. But I don't want that. I want one powerful machine. Also, it has all my music on it all the time, as does my iPhone.
The ultra powerful laptop is basically a different class of machine from the general laptop. If you think of it more as a "portable computer" than a "computer to use on the go," then it is easy to see the utility.
When I travel for work, I carry two laptops: an ultra-portable, and a powerful Dell monster. The former is in my carry-on, and I use it in transit. The latter is in my checked baggage, and I install it at the hotel like a desktop for work stuff.
Sure. That other thread was about a travel laptop, and mine is too big to throw into my day bag when I head out into a new city. I used to carry my other laptop with me more often when out and about, to use in a cafe to catch up with internet stuff. This last trip I decided to forgo all of that, and just use my phone. It worked pretty well. A tablet device will fill that niche perfectly.
Another thing: my macbook pro is fucking HOT. And I mean temperature hot. It's fine when sitting on a desk, but if I use it in bed, the lack of air circulation out the back means I have to put something under my left wrist or else it burns.
This last trip I decided to forgo all of that, and just use my phone. It worked pretty well.
Same since I got my Droid, unless I really need to functions of a netbook (ie paneling at connecticon) my laptop stays home, especially when I go on airplanes.
I have to put something under my left wrist or else it burns.
@_@ That would not be my first solution to that problem.
I've popped into windows land, to see if my Macbook Pro could run Crysis. I used Can You Run It, and the bar is way over to the right hand side of the chart, about as close to "Fast" as it can be. I looked at loads of other games, including the newest releases, and I cant find any which have taken that bar even slightly further down. If anyone has any suggestions, tell me, as I want to know how long this machine will be good for gaming.
This is the rundown on my computer vs Crysis.
CPU Recommended: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz/Athlon X2 4400+ or better You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz PASS
CPU Speed Recommended: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz/Athlon X2 4400+ or better You Have: 2.39 GHz PASS
RAM Recommended: 2 GB You Have: 7.9 GB PASS
OS Recommended: Windows XP/Vista/7 You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 64-bit PASS
Video Card Recommended: Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS with 640MB RAM or similar. You Have: GeForce GT 330M PASS Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card Required You Have Video RAM 640 MB 3.7 GB 3D Yes Yes Hardware T&L Yes Yes Pixel Shader version 3.0 4.0 Vertex Shader version 3.0 4.0
DirectX version Recommended: 9.0c (included) You Have: 10.0 PASS
Sound Card Recommended: Yes You Have: NVIDIA High Definition Audio PASS
Free Disk Space Recommended: 12 GB You Have: 84.1 GB PASS
DVD-ROM Recommended: 8X speed DVD-ROM. This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some DVD-ROM, DVD-RW and virtual drives. You Have: MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-898 ATA Device
I suspect Can You Run it is mistaken and doesn't really judge GPU performance properly, if at all. Looking here, you'll get above 30 FPS on medium settings, but high settings are out of the question. If you're looking for something more demanding than Crysis, Metro 2033 is probably the most demanding game of all time at the moment. My previous link suggests you'd get an average of 33 FPS on low settings, which means it could go significantly lower at times.
Metro 2033 is probably the most demanding game of all time at the moment.
Yeah, it hits the minimum, but not up to the recommended.
How many children's organs did you have to sell to buy that thing?
My future childrens' organs aren't here yet. When I get a new girlfriend, get married, and have kids, it would be harder to justify. Now? Fuckit, I'll spend a chunk on a new computer, and make sure it'll last me three or four years. It's the most expensive thing I've ever bough, except for a car, but at the moment I've got more money than I can otherwise spend.
My future childrens' organs aren't here yet. When I get a new girlfriend, get married, and have kids, it would be harder to justify. Now? Fuckit, I'll spend a chunk on a new computer, and make sure it'll last me three or four years. It's the most expensive thing I've ever bough, except for a car, but at the moment I've got more money than I can otherwise spend.
I hope at least you didn't buy the RAM from Apple, and bought it aftermarket and installed it yourself.
My future childrens' organs aren't here yet. When I get a new girlfriend, get married, and have kids, it would be harder to justify. Now? Fuckit, I'll spend a chunk on a new computer, and make sure it'll last me three or four years. It's the most expensive thing I've ever bough, except for a car, but at the moment I've got more money than I can otherwise spend.
I hope at least you didn't buy the RAM from Apple, and bought it aftermarket and installed it yourself.
Comments
Or maybe not.
Actually, I'll boot up in windows and play it on my laptop. It's not a gaming laptop, but a macbook pro can handle it, I guess. One of the (many) reasons I upgraded was so I could play PC games on the move. It's working out pretty well so far.
It would probably do a somewhat poor job with something like Crysis, but it would still be playable on low settings.It's an extended stay, but it's with my parents who are renting accommodation here because Dad is on an extended work trip. As you can see, a desktop wasn't really a viable option, though I did consider it.
Luke's situation is another one where gaming capability in a laptop is required.
Here's a third - When I get back to Australia, I'm probably going to use my laptop to play games while I'm at university once in a while. I'm quite far away from campus, so having a desktop nearby is out of the question.
Just because you hadn't thought of any doesn't mean there aren't any reasons to own a gaming laptop, Scott.
There's a difference between having "taste" and having a compulsion to carry all of your music with you everywhere at all times in case you "just have to hear this one particular noise metal song right now but you're on a train. There's also a difference between having a large music collection with you for extensive travel (and a lack of synchronization access) and bringing it with you because you have constant specific needs to listen to specific songs at any particular moment.
I'm fairly sure, unevidenced mind you, that people who constantly listen to music are experiencing some of the same brain issues as people who constantly browse around the Internet. Constant, low-level stimulation becomes an addiction.
I don't carry my entire music collection with me for a few reasons:
1. I'm usually engaged with something or someon in such a way as that listening to music would be impossible or isolating.
2. When I listen to music, I listen to it as an activity, not a constant drone in the background while I do other things.
3. If I only listen to specific songs that I feel an immediate desire to hear, I will never grow my tastes or easily find new music. (A limited local playlist will push you to listen to things you might not otherwise have liked, and an infinite access situation can stagnate your experiences).
If all of these are untrue for you, then carrying your music around with you in some gigantic blob may not be the worst idea.
Try again.
Imagine if there were a Pandora for TV. You type in something like "South Park" and then it shows you a South Park episode maybe, but it throws in all sorts of similar shows from throughout history.
Anyway, it's something I couldn't do on my old laptop, and now can. I could have bought a much, much, much better gaming PC, just for games, plus another fully fledged laptop. But I don't want that. I want one powerful machine. Also, it has all my music on it all the time, as does my iPhone.
When I travel for work, I carry two laptops: an ultra-portable, and a powerful Dell monster. The former is in my carry-on, and I use it in transit. The latter is in my checked baggage, and I install it at the hotel like a desktop for work stuff.
Another thing: my macbook pro is fucking HOT. And I mean temperature hot. It's fine when sitting on a desk, but if I use it in bed, the lack of air circulation out the back means I have to put something under my left wrist or else it burns.
This is the rundown on my computer vs Crysis.
CPU
Recommended: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz/Athlon X2 4400+ or better
You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz
PASS
CPU Speed
Recommended: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz/Athlon X2 4400+ or better
You Have: 2.39 GHz
PASS
RAM
Recommended: 2 GB
You Have: 7.9 GB
PASS
OS
Recommended: Windows XP/Vista/7
You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 64-bit
PASS
Video Card
Recommended: Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS with 640MB RAM or similar.
You Have: GeForce GT 330M
PASS
Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card
Required You Have
Video RAM 640 MB 3.7 GB
3D Yes Yes
Hardware T&L Yes Yes
Pixel Shader version 3.0 4.0
Vertex Shader version 3.0 4.0
DirectX version
Recommended: 9.0c (included)
You Have: 10.0
PASS
Sound Card
Recommended: Yes
You Have: NVIDIA High Definition Audio
PASS
Free Disk Space
Recommended: 12 GB
You Have: 84.1 GB
PASS
DVD-ROM
Recommended: 8X speed DVD-ROM. This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some DVD-ROM, DVD-RW and virtual drives.
You Have: MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-898 ATA Device
If you're looking for something more demanding than Crysis, Metro 2033 is probably the most demanding game of all time at the moment. My previous link suggests you'd get an average of 33 FPS on low settings, which means it could go significantly lower at times.
Actually, it's not too bad. They usually have a way larger markup than that. I've seen them charge $250 for RAM that can be bought for $50.