Computers and Gear

[electrolyte]

If I was hypothetically considering a new laptop in the coming year, what should I be looking for? I've had MacBook Pros for years but might want to venture outside of the Mac world. Maybe. Anyway, tell me about ideal laptop specs for ultimate speed turking. I don't do gaming or anything else hardcore. I will need to be able to plug it into at least 2-3 external monitors and want it to be POWERFUL and FAST to get ALL THE HITs. I'm not interested in building any kind of custom machine and definitely want a laptop, not a desktop. Recommendations?

 

[Yuk]

If I was hypothetically considering a new laptop in the coming year, what should I be looking for? I've had MacBook Pros for years but might want to venture outside of the Mac work. Maybe. Anyway, tell me about ideal laptop specs for ultimate speed turking. I don't do gaming or anything else hardcore. I will need to be able to plug it into at least 2-3 external monitors and want it to be POWERFUL and FAST to get ALL THE HITs. I'm not interested in building any kind of custom machine and definitely want a laptop, not a desktop. Recommendations?

This is my suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-575G-53VG-Laptop-Windows/dp/B01DT4A2R4

It is a very solid and powerful laptop for the price. It can support up to 2 external monitors by 1x VGA port and 1x HDMI port, both on the left side. It has 8GB DDR4 RAM and 2.3 GHz i5 processor which is enough speed to handle applications open on 3 screens (laptop screen + 2 external monitors). It has an Nvidia 940 which would be good for gaming but more importantly in your case will guarantee it can handle display to 3 screens without any problems; whether it's high quality video streaming on 1 monitor with browser windows open on the other 2 screens or whatever.

It has an SSD so booting it up will be super fast. The SSD is a little small at 256GB so if you save a lot of photos or videos it might be useful to get an external HDD or a USB flash drive if you don't have one already. It does have an unused 2.5" SATA port which means you could put a 2nd SSD or an internal HDD in it if you wanted to.

The RAM is upgrade-able up to 32 GB (insane for a laptop). This means the laptop can stay relevant for quite awhile if you choose to upgrade it some at a later time.


If you do decide to get this laptop, be sure to turn off Disk Defragmenter. It arrives enabled by default on a schedule and defragmentation is both useless and bad for an SSD.

 

[electrolyte]

This is my suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-575G-53VG-Laptop-Windows/dp/B01DT4A2R4

It is a very solid and powerful laptop for the price. It can support up to 2 external monitors by 1x VGA port and 1x HDMI port, both on the left side. It has 8GB DDR4 RAM and 2.3 GHz i5 processor which is enough speed to handle applications open on 3 screens (laptop screen + 2 external monitors). It has an Nvidia 940 which would be good for gaming but more importantly in your case will guarantee it can handle display to 3 screens without any problems; whether it's high quality video streaming on 1 monitor with browser windows open on the other 2 screens or whatever.

It has an SSD so booting it up will be super fast. The SSD is a little small at 256GB so if you save a lot of photos or videos it might be useful to get an external HDD or a USB flash drive if you don't have one already. It does have an unused 2.5" SATA port which means you could put a 2nd SSD or an internal HDD in it if you wanted to.

The RAM is upgrade-able up to 32 GB (insane for a laptop). This means the laptop can stay relevant for quite awhile if you choose to upgrade it some at a later time.


If you do decide to get this laptop, be sure to turn off Disk Defragmenter. It arrives enabled by default on a schedule and defragmentation is both useless and bad for an SSD.

Solid advice. Thank you!

 

[kryss]

^_^

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[jml]

^_^

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I'm jealous w/ that keyboard

 

[Drwho10]

^_^

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nice job cropping out the pizza boxes on either side

 

[Peachy]

^_^

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that keyboard is amazing

 

[lsutiger25]

blah

 

[Cmoney]

Hey all this will be kind of long so I apologize ahead of time.
The night before last, one of my monitors died. This put me down to two monitors as #4 passed away a few months back (rip #3 and #4). I casually mentioned this to my father asking if it might be a video card or some other issue that would be causing this monitor massacre and he informed me that my system is "shit" and it's just time for a new one. Also he said that he was planning on making me one as a surprise gift but, since I know now, I get some say in the build.
He directly asked me to ask turkers on what is used and thoughts on the build. His letter spoiled below.

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Two of these monitors have already been purchased by him and will be arriving Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IA9FXAO/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do not count towards the cost of the build.

I do not know a bunch about this kind of stuff and can (probably will) spend the next couple of days doing my own research as he is ready to make all purchases Monday. Also I am told the case has to fit ATX board. Not sure if already purchased or not.

Pretty sure he got Win10 already as well though I told him I prefer 7. Is what it is at this point.

Considering this case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Obviously turking performance is my main concern but I also stream a lot and would like the option to game if I decide to get into it. If I can stay within budget, I really want to pick up a fancy lit up keyboard and G600 mouse.

So, opinions please...

Do I need the i7?
Would you consider those monitors enough or should I go for three/four?
Is 16gb ram enough or is it too much?
250gb ssd enough?
Any other info/comments/suggestions?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any input.
@Kadauchi @Yuk @anyone that can help

 

[YAHU]

Hey all this will be kind of long so I apologize ahead of time.
The night before last, one of my monitors died. This put me down to two monitors as #4 passed away a few months back (rip #3 and #4). I casually mentioned this to my father asking if it might be a video card or some other issue that would be causing this monitor massacre and he informed me that my system is "shit" and it's just time for a new one. Also he said that he was planning on making me one as a surprise gift but, since I know now, I get some say in the build.
He directly asked me to ask turkers on what is used and thoughts on the build. His letter spoiled below.

Spoiler

Log in or register now. to view Spoiler content!

Two of these monitors have already been purchased by him and will be arriving Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IA9FXAO/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do not count towards the cost of the build.

I do not know a bunch about this kind of stuff and can (probably will) spend the next couple of days doing my own research as he is ready to make all purchases Monday. Also I am told the case has to fit ATX board. Not sure if already purchased or not.

Pretty sure he got Win10 already as well though I told him I prefer 7. Is what it is at this point.

Considering this case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Obviously turking performance is my main concern but I also stream a lot and would like the option to game if I decide to get into it. If I can stay within budget, I really want to pick up a fancy lit up keyboard and G600 mouse.

So, opinions please...

Do I need the i7?
Would you consider those monitors enough or should I go for three/four?
Is 16gb ram enough or is it too much?
250gb ssd enough?
Any other info/comments/suggestions?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any input.
@Kadauchi @Yuk @anyone that can help

you don't need the i7.

8 is enough if you have nothing but web browsers open, but if you keep irc/steam/displayfusion/etc. running in the background then go for 16

larger ssds are faster, try to find a 500 on sale

i forget to turn the lights on my keyboard on and go with a g900 or g502 >.>

 

[Pleco]

Hey all this will be kind of long so I apologize ahead of time.
The night before last, one of my monitors died. This put me down to two monitors as #4 passed away a few months back (rip #3 and #4). I casually mentioned this to my father asking if it might be a video card or some other issue that would be causing this monitor massacre and he informed me that my system is "shit" and it's just time for a new one. Also he said that he was planning on making me one as a surprise gift but, since I know now, I get some say in the build.
He directly asked me to ask turkers on what is used and thoughts on the build. His letter spoiled below.

Spoiler

Log in or register now. to view Spoiler content!

Two of these monitors have already been purchased by him and will be arriving Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IA9FXAO/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do not count towards the cost of the build.

I do not know a bunch about this kind of stuff and can (probably will) spend the next couple of days doing my own research as he is ready to make all purchases Monday. Also I am told the case has to fit ATX board. Not sure if already purchased or not.

Pretty sure he got Win10 already as well though I told him I prefer 7. Is what it is at this point.

Considering this case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Obviously turking performance is my main concern but I also stream a lot and would like the option to game if I decide to get into it. If I can stay within budget, I really want to pick up a fancy lit up keyboard and G600 mouse.

So, opinions please...

Do I need the i7?
Would you consider those monitors enough or should I go for three/four?
Is 16gb ram enough or is it too much?
250gb ssd enough?
Any other info/comments/suggestions?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any input.
@Kadauchi @Yuk @anyone that can help

16gb ram is definitely too much unless you're working with video editing or some kind of crazy gamer set up. You're gonna want to save on that too, because this year SSD and ram prices have gone through the roof, there's a shortage of NAND memory right now and retailers are marking up prices like crazy.

I would recommend you bookmark this site and check it every day, you might even find a pre-built system that has most of the things you need but slightly cheaper than if you were to build it yourself and with a copy of Windows, which people tend to forget about when they're budgeting for a build.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/

 

[Cmoney]

Think I am going with this.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hwC4kT

95% on this case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

 

[humbleturker]

About to begin the process of building my first ever computer for turking/streaming.

 

[jklmnop]

I don't care what anyone else says about this. The more RAM, the better. I've been using computers longer than some turkers have been alive. The more RAM, the better. You cannot have too much RAM.

 

[Deleted member 481]

I'm thinking about getting a dual monitor stand that I connect to the desk.
https://www.amazon.com/VIVO-Monitor-Adjustable-Screens-STAND-V002/dp/B009S750LA

Idk, what do ya'll think, worth it? This is the monitor setup I have now (old pic, most is different, except that shelf thingy).

Figured removing that tier shelf would give me more room under the monitors?
I'm so scared that it'll break off a piece of my Galant desk, lol.

 

[YAHU]

if you have a half i dont think it's that necessary

 

[coffeeowl]

Show us those desktops people!

 

[Slick]

 

[A6_Foul_Out]

Hey all this will be kind of long so I apologize ahead of time.
The night before last, one of my monitors died. This put me down to two monitors as #4 passed away a few months back (rip #3 and #4). I casually mentioned this to my father asking if it might be a video card or some other issue that would be causing this monitor massacre and he informed me that my system is "shit" and it's just time for a new one. Also he said that he was planning on making me one as a surprise gift but, since I know now, I get some say in the build.
He directly asked me to ask turkers on what is used and thoughts on the build. His letter spoiled below.

Spoiler

Log in or register now. to view Spoiler content!

Two of these monitors have already been purchased by him and will be arriving Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IA9FXAO/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do not count towards the cost of the build.

I do not know a bunch about this kind of stuff and can (probably will) spend the next couple of days doing my own research as he is ready to make all purchases Monday. Also I am told the case has to fit ATX board. Not sure if already purchased or not.

Pretty sure he got Win10 already as well though I told him I prefer 7. Is what it is at this point.

Considering this case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Obviously turking performance is my main concern but I also stream a lot and would like the option to game if I decide to get into it. If I can stay within budget, I really want to pick up a fancy lit up keyboard and G600 mouse.

So, opinions please...

Do I need the i7?
Would you consider those monitors enough or should I go for three/four?
Is 16gb ram enough or is it too much?
250gb ssd enough?
Any other info/comments/suggestions?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any input.
@Kadauchi @Yuk @anyone that can help

16gb ram is definitely too much unless you're working with video editing or some kind of crazy gamer set up. You're gonna want to save on that too, because this year SSD and ram prices have gone through the roof, there's a shortage of NAND memory right now and retailers are marking up prices like crazy.

I would recommend you bookmark this site and check it every day, you might even find a pre-built system that has most of the things you need but slightly cheaper than if you were to build it yourself and with a copy of Windows, which people tend to forget about when they're budgeting for a build.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/

I don't care what anyone else says about this. The more RAM, the better. I've been using computers longer than some turkers have been alive. The more RAM, the better. You cannot have too much RAM.

If nothing else, it's almost 2018. I disagree. Unless your that price-strapped:

16gb ram and a ssd boot drive at the very minimum unless you can't afford anything else.

People should post here more, this is cool thread idea.

 

[Cmoney]

If nothing else, it's almost 2018.

16gb ram and a ssd boot drive at the very minimum unless you can't afford anything else.

People should post here more, this is cool thread idea.

I did get the 16GB RAM. Need a bigger ssd as I only got a 250 but did the the case I posted and i7 so it runs pretty good for me.
I agree this is a cool thread as well.