Selection Season: Laptop Search

For the last dozen or so years, a laptop has been a constant companion of mine. Whether it was used as my main workstation or my roaming travel companion, it was always there. However, said laptop was always provided by my employer. It was a business laptop and all that entails - or rather, doesn't. It usually had good processing power, mediocre graphics processing ability and was dull, dull, dull.

When I became a free agent earlier this year, I began considering whether I needed a laptop or not without the likelihood for regular travel. Given my knack for all things digital I eventually got around to "yes." I would have gotten there more quickly since my iPad can do a lot. Toward the end of my MBA classes, not only was I reading the text on the iPad, but using it for both handwritten and typed notes with the addition of the small Apple Bluetooth keyboard. However, for heavier applications, spreadsheets and document creation, it still lacks the the kind of flexibility and power of the typical laptop.

With that, the search was underway. I was willing to consider virtually any mainstream names such as Dell and HP. I looked at Lenovo as well as Apple, Asus, Alienware and Toshiba. No, Sony was never an option. While I like their designs and style, I've had issues with reliability and serviceability with them in the past.

To make matters worse, I'm a picky bugger. I didn't want to assemble a field of 64 ala the NCAA, but I did have some pretty specific needs and wants. First up, the screen. It's the thing that I'm staring at all the time, and I want it to be top-notch - very high resolution (1920 x 1080). Size was less important so while I wouldn't have minded a 14" screen, I wasn't able to find any manufacturer that made one with that resolution. Or at least, none that fit my other needs. I had to compromise on a 15.6" screen to get that resolution - but then, not all manufacturers offered that either. 



With a great screen, a discrete graphics adapter was a must. The built in Intel 4000 adapter was all over the place, but didn't deliver enough performance for me. I wanted a system that could stand in for my desktop computer and that runs one of the top of the line adapters powering a 27" screen running at 2560 x 1440. In a pinch, I wanted to be able to run games and watch a Blu-ray movie in full 1080p resolution. That immediately knocked out all the ultrabooks - which was a shame because having everything I wanted in a 3 pound unit would have been incredible.

I didn't want to go much over $1,000. That immediately ruled out several of the higher end makers and left me with Dell and HP to choose from. That's not such a bad thing - they both field some pretty good hardware these days. They are a lot better than the plastic-y junk of the past. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact right option from Dell so I ended up with HP by default. In their ENVY line (which is the heir to the Spectre ENVY line), it had all the build to order options I needed and wanted. The dv6 model family had the high-res screen, hit the weight numbers I was looking for and had the drive.

I considered an SSD drive, but passed based on the cost differential as well as the limited capacity. I can foresee myself upgrading to one of those down the road once I can get into a 500GB ish for a decent price. For now, I chose the 1TB hybrid drive with 32GB of SSD cache. I upgraded the RAM to 8GB from 4GB. I considered going larger, but 8GB is still pretty healthy at this point. If later on the laptop becomes my main machine, I may well upgrade to 12 or 16.

I obviously selected the discrete graphics adapter, in this case the Nvidia 650. I upgraded to add Bluetooth to the included wireless connectivity in the event I began using more VoIP calls. I sprung fro the back-lit keyboard for those dark plane flights and added a second 9 cell battery for a little extra leg room. 

All told, it weighed in around $1,100 - or about 110% of goal. I could have gotten down to $1,000 but that would have meant sacrificing some of those options that were worthwhile quality of live additions. 

In my next post, I'll review my first few weeks with the device to see how well the choice has held up.