Help me buy a laptop!!

posted on June 14th, 2012, 2:59 pm

I would like to thank everyone who commented and helped me with buying my laptop, especial Myles, Adm. Zaxxon, and derentis. Thanks for helping me and the speed at which your answers came, so that I could take advantage of this deal.

After using the coupon which subtracted $550.77 my final total is $1,118.22 for the Hp ENVY 15 with the following specs:

HP ENVY 15 customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
• 1GB Radeon(TM) HD 7750M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 8GB 1600DDR3MHz System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750G 7200 rpm Hybrid Hard Drive
• $20 OFF Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2010
• FREE 2-year Norton Internet Security subscription (a $99 value). Pre-installed.
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 10.25 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• 720p HD video streaming webcam supports Skype
• Intel 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) with Wireless Display Support
• Full-size Radiance backlit keyboard
• Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 10 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 10
• 2 year limited warranty included
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated ship date: June 25, 2012

So once again thanks alot!!! It really means alot. I just wished this thing shipped sooner...

posted on June 14th, 2012, 4:04 pm

One more question. If im using the laptop with it plugged in to the wall, is that having any effect on the battery? Or is the power coming straight from the wall?

it's charging the battery.

the power to run the laptop should be skipping the battery, as you can run the laptop with no battery if it's plugged in.

Not necessarily. Doing this drastically reduces the operational lifespan of the battery. If you've gonna have the laptop plugged into the wall for an extended period, take the battery out.

posted on June 14th, 2012, 4:47 pm

Not necessarily. Doing this drastically reduces the operational lifespan of the battery. If you've gonna have the laptop plugged into the wall for an extended period, take the battery out.

that's not true, laptops cut the battery off when they are full and the cable is still plugged in. the battery is then being "stored" in the butt of your laptop.

batteries naturally get hot when charging, so if the battery is not full then there's no need to remove it.

i concur that leaving it in when full isn't good. the big threat is if the battery is full and hot, lithium batteries hate heat, and leaving them in hot temp while fully charged and not being used will seriously degrade them within 12 months.

ie if you plan on using this as a desktop replacement, only using when cable is in, then yes leave the battery out (*), if you take it around and use it in a mixture of plugged in and using the battery, then there's no need to remove it as it's being discharged/recharged regularly, only remove it if it's already full and you're gonna game for some time and the battery will get hot while full.

(*) to store a lithium battery you want to charge it to approx 40% charge (anywhere between 30% and 50% will be fine), then don't let it get hot. put it in a airtight bag and put it in the fridge is good. the cooler the temp the better it holds up. don't freeze it. don't let it get humid. make sure you let it recover to room temp before usage after storage.

posted on June 14th, 2012, 7:07 pm

@MrXT why the facepalm?

Well, unfortunately, removing the battery isn't just a quite clip out, got to take out a screw and take off the panel....

posted on June 14th, 2012, 9:10 pm

@MrXT why the facepalm?

Why? why would you respond to him?

Well, unfortunately, removing the battery isn't just a quite clip out, got to take out a screw and take off the panel....

Wow, that's pretty bad design. i guess you have to consider how you're gonna use the laptop, if you're just gonna always use it plugged in then you can go the extra mile to unscrew the battery and leave it out until the very rare time you want to use it on the go. otherwise you don't really have much choice about taking it out. beware that the battery will suffer over time if kept hot and fully charged.

posted on June 14th, 2012, 9:19 pm

Heh, at least its not a mac. At least it is possible to remove the battery.

posted on June 14th, 2012, 10:11 pm

Hi everyone,

So I'm recently new to fleet ops and I myself is going to buy a new laptop. I've been looking at one but I just don't understand how to tell if it will be able to run fleet ops without any problems. I looked on the "Hitchhiker's guide to fleet ops to see what the running parameters but it made me more confused x_x I was hoping someone could tell me if it can..

The laptop's specifications:





Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz

Hard Drive Size:
160GB

Memory:
4GB

Operating System:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Screen:
15.4 inch widescreen 1680 x 1050

Graphics:
Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD

Battery:
Lithium-ion Up to 3 Hours

Warranty length:
2 Years (with tier1)

Wireless Enabled
Vodafone SIM Card Slot for Mobile Broadband
Combined DVD/CD Player/Re-writer
Play and write both CD’s and DVD’s

SD Memory Card Reader:
Use your SD Memory card from your camera to transfer photos to your computer

Connections:
Gigabit Ethernet (1000 mbps)
3 x USB 2.0
1 x IEEE 1394a
1 x VGA
1 x Microphone in
1 x Headphone out
1 x Display port
Bluetooth

Software included other than Windows:
Microsoft Windows 7 Recovery Partition to restore computer to factory settings
Open Office (word processor, spread sheets, presentations)
Skype.


Any help would be appreciable
--------------------------
I'd just like to say to the developers, that fleet ops is amazing, its much more better in almost every way than the previous games. I just love it... Thanks for enhancing and expanding my star trek experience I appreciate it .

[Adm. Zaxxon]

posted on June 14th, 2012, 10:15 pm

Last edited by Adm. Zaxxon on June 14th, 2012, 11:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think that will do it, but it might not do max graphics in multiplayer. The graphics card isn't really good, but the processor and ram is fine. You would do better with an intel i3 processor and intel integrated graphics 3000.

p.s. Welcome to the forums!

posted on June 14th, 2012, 10:55 pm

that will run fleetops easily. i ran fleetops at max graphics on weaker hardware, so i'd definitely try it out at max graphics.

to compare, i had a core duo (not core 2 duo) and intel 945gm (from 2006), you have a more modern core 2 duo and 4500mhd from 2008. so yours should run fleetops better.

that tech is pretty old spec by today's standards, you better be getting a really good deal on it. as zax says, a sandy bridge (*) core i3 is probably a better choice, as the integrated graphics really got better.

(*) you can tell an i3 is sandy bridge by the number, it will be 4 digits and begin with 2.

ie my processor is core i3 2120, and is a sandy bridge i3.

posted on June 14th, 2012, 11:13 pm

So it won't work well online ?? O.o btw thanks guys, you've been a big help

posted on June 14th, 2012, 11:35 pm

So it won't work well online ?? O.o btw thanks guys, you've been a big help

No problem. We should start a service.

If you like, you can post the price of the PC as well. I would be happy to give you my opinion on that, compared to the specs of course. If you want it that is.

posted on June 15th, 2012, 12:40 am

that's not true, laptops cut the battery off when they are full and the cable is still plugged in. the battery is then being "stored" in the butt of your laptop.

batteries naturally get hot when charging, so if the battery is not full then there's no need to remove it.

i concur that leaving it in when full isn't good. the big threat is if the battery is full and hot, lithium batteries hate heat, and leaving them in hot temp while fully charged and not being used will seriously degrade them within 12 months.

ie if you plan on using this as a desktop replacement, only using when cable is in, then yes leave the battery out (*), if you take it around and use it in a mixture of plugged in and using the battery, then there's no need to remove it as it's being discharged/recharged regularly, only remove it if it's already full and you're gonna game for some time and the battery will get hot while full.

Wasn't aware of the reasoning; thanks for that. :-) Just wanted to add that I'd strongly advise anyone to take the battery out when it's not running from the battery or charging it. Leaving it in when on mains power is what quickly dropped my laptop's battery life to approx 3 1/2 minutes over the course of a year, when I didn't have access to my desktop. :-(

As for the facepalm, I'd ignore it. He didn't give any input beforehand, so has no right to criticise the outcome decision.

posted on June 15th, 2012, 1:07 am

I assumed it was a facepalm because of the awesomeness.

posted on June 15th, 2012, 1:13 am

I assumed because it was an awesome rig but it wouldn't ship for like two weeks.

posted on June 15th, 2012, 11:19 pm

So it won't work well online ?? O.o btw thanks guys, you've been a big help

No problem. We should start a service.

If you like, you can post the price of the PC as well. I would be happy to give you my opinion on that, compared to the specs of course. If you want it that is.

£299