Help choosing a laptop

[effie_love]

I am such a noob. I never even heard about lenovo before last night. a really good guy from mfc might help me get a new laptop and he suggested this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310625

I think anything would be better than my little asus notebook is this laptop good for camming?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know much about the different laptops, but I've read some 'Models Only' laptop threads that were informative. I've never even heard of Lenovo until I started reading threads on this forum. Lenovo seems to have a good reputation for being long-lasting. I borrowed a Toshiba laptop for 2 weeks from Rent-A-Center a few years ago, and had a pleasant experience with it. The laptop I purchase soon will probably be an i7 Lenovo or Toshiba.

I do think it sucks that when SM models contact Model Support about tech issues, Support is pretty quick to blame the issues on the models for not having an i7. Yet I've heard some SM models say they've been able to run the HD Encoder fine with an i5, and that a SM rep specifically told them they don't need an i7.

I don't know, but fuck it...I'm getting an i7 anyway...lol.

 

[Airwolfe]

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

Two of the three laptops you are looking at contain AMD E series processors. You don't want either of those.

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)."

 

[Just Me]

I am some what surprised that many do not know about Lenovo. They took over IBM's personal computer side of the business. Essentially you are getting IBM's quality at a cheaper price.

 

[Airwolfe]

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

I see you removed the 2 base model laptops with the low power AMD processors. Good move.

Also I noticed the price seems to be very high on the laptop left out of the three. I don't remember it being that high the first time I looked at the three laptops you had on your wishlist. At first I thought it's because it's in CAD and not USD so it just looks way to expensive for that laptop. Then I remembered that CAD and USD were close to parity.

I checked online and $1.00 USD equals $1.01 CAD.

That laptop at $676.85 CAD is way, way too expensive for what it is.

 

[Anna_Swallows]

When did SM start recommending an I7? I bought my Dell laptop new last year and just found out its an I3. Before I moved to the country, I had fast internet and had no problems camming on SM with the encoder.

I only noticed a difference when I moved and the internet speed wasnt available in my area. But now I am thinking I am get a new computer. (I just upgraded my internet speed though just 2 days ago and its pretty fast now, just waiting to try it out on Streamate. )

 

[Keithy]

Just a heads up. I've been hearing a lot about new graphics cards and more coming out soon. This will mean lower prices on older models usually. So even if you don't want cutting edge technology, a price dip seems likely.

 

[Anonymous]

When did SM start recommending an I7?

I have no idea when they started recommending it. All I know is I was MIA from SM for a while, and when I returned in November that's when I noticed (when you log into your streamatemodels settings area) the messages pushing models to get an i7. Sometimes when a model is having issues with the site and e-mails them, they give a not-so-helpful copy/paste response...often times telling the model "Well if you don't have an i7, you're bound to have issues." And then you're thinking Well damn...are y'all even gonna try looking into the problem at all?

 

[JerryBoBerry]

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.

I see many models that do camming with a desktop. Moving the cam around a bit is nice even if you do stay in the same spot. If a model does want to just start out with a desktop I'd suggest getting a good quality USB extension cord. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TH ... 00_s00_i02

I's $6 on my prime account and gives you ten feet of extra range. add that on to the 5 or 6 feet cord of the cam itself and you can move the cam all over an average bedroom. I ordered two of those and they handle charging my tablet that needs 2 amps of current, and my logitech c310 web cam. So they should be good to go for any model interested.

 

[crappuccino]

the i7 thing is kinda bullshit, as the difference between i3 and i7 is mostly the number of cores/threads, sequential speed is somewhat comparable. realtime video encoding isn't easy to parallelize.

 

[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

I see you removed the 2 base model laptops with the low power AMD processors. Good move.

Also I noticed the price seems to be very high on the laptop left out of the three. I don't remember it being that high the first time I looked at the three laptops you had on your wishlist. At first I thought it's because it's in CAD and not USD so it just looks way to expensive for that laptop. Then I remembered that CAD and USD were close to parity.

I checked online and $1.00 USD equals $1.01 CAD.

That laptop at $676.85 CAD is way, way too expensive for what it is.

That is half the charm on Amazon.ca, there are good deals to be had while they're available but most deals are startlingly time sensitive (which is odd because canucks aren't particularly renowned for their snap decision making haha) Thanks for your input!

 

[LadyLuna]

That is half the charm on Amazon.ca, there are good deals to be had while they're available but most deals are startlingly time sensitive (which is odd because canucks aren't particularly renowned for their snap decision making haha) Thanks for your input!

They're probably hoping you'll buy now and think about it later.

 

[LolaGirl]

I had to cancel on the laptop I originally ordered and ended up getting a Toshiba with an i7 processor. It works great on MFC. I'm about to go for my third night in a few hours. The laptop I got was on clearance at staples for $485 so sometimes it pays to go to the store and see what they have on clearance because it wasn't in any adds and I would have never known. Im very happy with it.

 

[SaffronBurke]

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.

Amazon has the Pro 9000, ranging in price from $30 to $100, depending on who you buy it from. I bought one "Used-Like New" for $47, and it's in perfect condition. I tested it out last night, and it's amazing picture, sound, etc.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I just saw an add for the new Chromebook: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.html. I like that they have anti-virus/malware/spywear built in, but how good would they be for camming? Or would they be best as just a personal use computer?

 

[DudeExtreme]

I normally go with a Dell laptop, but if the new laptops have Windows 8 on them, I'm tempted to go to the iMax. If Microsoft is trying to make me choose between them and Apple on phones, etc., MS will lose.

 

[LadyLuna]

I just saw an add for the new Chromebook: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.html. I like that they have anti-virus/malware/spywear built in, but how good would they be for camming? Or would they be best as just a personal use computer?

I cannot find any info on the processor other than "dual core"... the only one that shows how much ram (4GB is really good) only has a 16GB solid state hard drive... I don't know if you'd be able to install the programs for camming with that little space... (the 100 GB cloud storage is only useful for files, not installing programs)

The Acer C7 Chromebook has 320GB of hard drive built-in, which is definitely enough, but it says nothing about how good the processor is or how much ram is has...

Cannot tell you much off of that.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I just saw an add for the new Chromebook: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.html. I like that they have anti-virus/malware/spywear built in, but how good would they be for camming? Or would they be best as just a personal use computer?

I cannot find any info on the processor other than "dual core"... the only one that shows how much ram (4GB is really good) only has a 16GB solid state hard drive... I don't know if you'd be able to install the programs for camming with that little space... (the 100 GB cloud storage is only useful for files, not installing programs)

The Acer C7 Chromebook has 320GB of hard drive built-in, which is definitely enough, but it says nothing about how good the processor is or how much ram is has...

Cannot tell you much off of that.

Thank you! I was thinking that with the price, they're probably not quite up to snuff for camming, but would be good for laying around the house and goofing off on the internet.

 

[LadyLuna]

well, if you're cool with it being a goof-off one, I'd go with the only one that has more than 16gb built-in. Then, you can look at the specs once you have it, and post again to find out if it's fast enough or not. ^_^

 

[crappuccino]

they're arm processors, comparable to phone/ipad cpus. really slow.

 

[Stahlfaust]

they're arm processors, comparable to phone/ipad cpus. really slow.

Only the new samsung chromebook has an arm cpu. The others are damn slow intel celeron or atom cpus.

Thank you! I was thinking that with the price, they're probably not quite up to snuff for camming, but would be good for laying around the house and goofing off on the internet.

The current samsung chromebook isn't just not up to snuff for camming. It's almost impossible!
They're running Chrome OS, which is a Linux Operating System. Flash on linux with a intel cpu is already a pain in the ass. Really. But on Linux with arm? Laggy, slow and unstable as hell. So if you want to browse the web this maybe okay. But don't even think about camming on mfc with it, I'm pretty sure it won't work.

 

[DudeExtreme]

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.

Thanks! The MFC page is a great start as I am concerning helping my model with picking out the best one. The next step is to go to consumerreports and see what they have to say and compared it with the requirements here. I was concerned that 4GB RAM wasn't going to be enough, but it looks it will be plenty.

 

[Jupiter551]

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

Yeah same, I'd go with the brown lenovo

 

[Jupiter551]

the i7 thing is kinda bullshit, as the difference between i3 and i7 is mostly the number of cores/threads, sequential speed is somewhat comparable. realtime video encoding isn't easy to parallelize.

well as far as camming goes yeah, I'd stack my 3 year old i7 against any i3 though in anything intensive.