Laptop

[mathworker]

what is the best laptop under 1000$ for programming and gaming with i5 processor,500 hdd hardisk(for my friend)

 

[Ackbach]

If you're open to Linux systems, the Pangolin Performance is the computer in your range that I would buy.

 

[dwsmith]

Just buy a laptop that has a good graphics card and processor and nothing impressive in RAM or HHD. You can add 16 GB of Ram from Corsair for 80-100 and a SSD for 200-400 depending on what you need. So you can buy a cheaper laptop, spend 1000, but have machine that would go for more.

 

[caffeinemachine]

what is the best laptop under 1000$ for programming and gaming with i5 processor,500 hdd hardisk(for my friend)

Since you want gaming I believe you'd need windows. Here's Toshiba L 850 Toshiba Satellite L850 Satellite L850-Y5310 Laptop 3rd Gen Ci7/8GB/750GB/2GB graphics/Win 7 HP - Toshiba: Flipkart.com

It might cost slightly more than $1000 but it has i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 750GB hdd.

I myself am using this lapi and its great.

 

[Sudharaka]

If you're open to Linux systems, the Pangolin Performance is the computer in your range that I would buy.

Hi everyone,

@Ackbach: Thanks very much for the link.

I too am thinking of buying a laptop and I was impressed by the System 76 ones (especially the Pangolin). But then after a lot of comparison I have a couple of doubts about the cost of this. For example one could buy a Lenovo laptop (with i7 processor of course) for roughly the same price (refer >>this<<) with Windows 8 installed. What bugs me is that why isn't the Linux installed Pangolin much cheaper?

 

[Ackbach]

Hi everyone,

@Ackbach: Thanks very much for the link.

I too am thinking of buying a laptop and I was impressed by the System 76 ones (especially the Pangolin). But then after a lot of comparison I have a couple of doubts about the cost of this. For example one could buy a Lenovo laptop (with i7 processor of course) for roughly the same price (refer >>this<<) with Windows 8 installed. What bugs me is that why isn't the Linux installed Pangolin much cheaper?

It depends on a lot of things. If you start adding features, I think you'll find the Lenovo to go up in price much faster than the Pangolin. For example, if you configure the following:

i7 processor, 8GB RAM, Win 8 Pro on the ThinkPad (you'd need the Pro version to give you all the features available on the equivalent Ubuntu OS: Windows Home Versions are not worth getting.), no office suite (to be fair, since LibreOffice runs fine on both systems), and 120GB or 128GB SSD, then you're looking at \$952.00 for the Pangolin, and \$1334.00 for the Lenovo. Support would be roughly the same, as well as the other features.

 

[Evgeny.Makarov]

This is more a suggestion about ways to research laptop options than about concrete models, but you could search a very informative site MakeUseOf.com for something like "laptop buying guide".

 

[Sudharaka]

It depends on a lot of things. If you start adding features, I think you'll find the Lenovo to go up in price much faster than the Pangolin. For example, if you configure the following:

i7 processor, 8GB RAM, Win 8 Pro on the ThinkPad (you'd need the Pro version to give you all the features available on the equivalent Ubuntu OS: Windows Home Versions are not worth getting.), no office suite (to be fair, since LibreOffice runs fine on both systems), and 120GB or 128GB SSD, then you're looking at \$952.00 for the Pangolin, and \$1334.00 for the Lenovo. Support would be roughly the same, as well as the other features.

I agree. All in all I like the idea of purchasing a Linux based laptop as I have been using Windows computers all through my life and what to try out something different. The only concern here is that compared to leading laptop manufacturers like Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba etc, System 76 seems to be a bit smaller in size and I haven't met anybody who uses this brand. Do you own(or have used) a System 76?

 

[dwsmith]

I agree. All in all I like the idea of purchasing a Linux based laptop as I have been using Windows computers all through my life and what to try out something different. The only concern here is that compared to leading laptop manufacturers like Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba etc, System 76 seems to be a bit smaller in size and I haven't met anybody who uses this brand. Do you own(or have used) a System 76?

Amazon.com: Dell Inspiron i15N-3910BK 15-Inch Laptop: Computers & Accessories

This is a dell with a 3rd Gen i5 for $519 new.

Amazon.com : Crucial m4 512GB 2.5-Inch (9.5mm) SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive CT512M4SSD2 : Internal Solid State Drives : Computers & Accessories

Crucial 512GB Sata/6GB SSD for $346 from non Amazon sellers and 380 Amazon.

Amazon.com: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10): Electronics

Corsair 16GB RAM for 131 Amazon and $129 other seller; however, I bough this RAM for 80 9months ago so you can probably find a better deal some where.

Total approx cost: 994

Around the 1000 mark as requested, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and 3rd gen i5.

I am not saying go with a Dell I just found that quickly. You should find the brand you want or prefer this was just an example. For an extra 100-200, you can get the i7 3rd gen.

And since most linux OS are free, you can always replace Windows.

 

[Ackbach]

I agree. All in all I like the idea of purchasing a Linux based laptop as I have been using Windows computers all through my life and what to try out something different. The only concern here is that compared to leading laptop manufacturers like Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba etc, System 76 seems to be a bit smaller in size and I haven't met anybody who uses this brand. Do you own(or have used) a System 76?

I don't own, nor have I ever gotten, a System76 machine. The reason I would go with them is that I would be guaranteed to have a fully compatible laptop, with everything already set up correctly. There are, for example, some cutting-edge video cards that have no Linux driver. nVidia and Intel, I think, are pretty safe, usually, but the AMD cards are problematic. Also, the Pangolin Performance has a 10-key pad next to it, which I find very convenient.

Slight disadvantages of a Linux machine: if you're into NetFlix, you'll have to use a cobbled-together package. Also, I've found that the media players in Ubuntu can play most DVD's, but there are a few that they can't play. That's due to the nature of licensing, etc.

What do you gain? Well, I, for one, am finding it much easier (and cheaper) to do, say, physics, on my Xubuntu machine. Why? One word: Sage. Sage runs much better in Linux than in Windows, and it's basically an open-source equivalent to Mathematica, Maple, and MATLAB. $\LaTeX$ is, of course, native in Linux, as well as many other great tools. I find it easier to do my day-to-day work on my Xubuntu laptop than my Windows 7 desktop.

 

[Evgeny.Makarov]

Also, I've found that the media players in Ubuntu can play most DVD's, but there are a few that they can't play. That's due to the nature of licensing, etc.

On the other hand, I had a problem playing DVDs from a different geographical region in Windows Media Player. It said something about having to switch my DVD drive to a different region, which can only be done about 4 times in the lifetime of the drive. Meanwhile, VLC plays those same DVDs fine both in Windows and in Linux. By the way, you cannot play DVDs at all out of the box in Windows 8 (but it can be relatively easily fixed).

What do you gain? Well, I, for one, am finding it much easier (and cheaper) to do, say, physics, on my Xubuntu machine. Why? One word: Sage. Sage runs much better in Linux than in Windows, and it's basically an open-source equivalent to Mathematica, Maple, and MATLAB. $\LaTeX$ is, of course, native in Linux, as well as many other great tools. I find it easier to do my day-to-day work on my Xubuntu laptop than my Windows 7 desktop.

I have a similar experience.

I think the best advantage of Linux like Ubuntu or Fedora is a repository with tens of thousands of free programs for every need that have been checked for compatibility. No more chasing after Windows programs on different sites only to find that 90% of them are shareware at best.

 

[mathworker]

If you're open to Linux systems, the Pangolin Performance is the computer in your range that I would buy.

can't we install windows on linux systems

 

[Evgeny.Makarov]

I would guess that one can usually install either Windows or Linux on a computer certified for the other system. It is possible to have a dual-boot by installing first Windows and then Linux (see, e.g., here). It may be possible to run Windows in a virtual environment under Linux, but I have not explored this option.