A what's the best laptop for me...Thread.

NAIDANAC A · May 3rd, 2008, 04:15 AM

I am going to University in a few months and am entering Computer Science. A laptop is not needed but considering I hate trying to read my hand written notes I was looking to get 1 for classes and everything. I don't want to break the bank...as in around $2000 for the max.

Now I am a pretty big gaming nerd...so a huge must for me is a decent/good gaming laptop. One that can easily run Counter Strike Source with full settings on with a good fps.

Right now all I could think about was the Acer Ferrari 5000 (I heard the old 4000s were pretty good, not to mention they look amazing), a Dell XPS, and well thats about it.

Please help me in this if possible.

johns13193 · May 3rd, 2008, 05:15 AM

It all really depends on what you'd prefer more, weight or performance. If you'd be fine with something that's like 6.5 lbs, i'd get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220307

For less performance/weight (like 4 lbs), this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220312

Both of those pass the minimum/recommended specs for counter strike source ('cept for vista... check compatibility), but idk what i'd be like on max.

Crazyjeeper · May 3rd, 2008, 06:35 AM

Those are the same ones I wanted to post images/smilies/tongue.gif

Shawn · May 3rd, 2008, 06:36 AM

I saw today that RBC is offering a free Eee PC with some type of new accounts. Might wanna look into that, a free laptop can't hurt. images/smilies/wink.gif

FATMOUSE · May 3rd, 2008, 06:59 AM

I'd get an IBM Lenovo T61 with the Nvidia Quadro for a bit over $1000.

CS, huh? Cool. I'm going to be entering my senior year of CS studies in a couple of months.

bafranksbro · May 3rd, 2008, 07:08 AM

My brother's friend got a good fast gaming laptop from Gateway for around $1400, same price I paid for mine but his has an nVidia 8800 in it. I don't really know much else other than him being able to easily play Crysis on it.

EDIT: Damn with all those prices that johns13193 I sound have waited to get my lappy, I could have gotten so much more. images/smilies/cry.gif

jeffy777 · May 3rd, 2008, 07:11 AM

If I were to buy another laptop, it would definitely be an ASUS. Good for gaming (known for their performance reputation among gamers) and not too terribly bulky.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johns13193

It all really depends on what you'd prefer more, weight or performance. If you'd be fine with something that's like 6.5 lbs, i'd get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220307

That one is very sweet, and a nice price too images/smilies/smile.gif

Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5G
4GB DDR2
250GB Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
Fingerprint reader

$1,299.99

Or if you prefer Nvidia:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220308

Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4G
4GB DDR2
250GB Hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS
Fingerprint reader

$1,199.99

Both are great deals....

MadCow809 · May 3rd, 2008, 09:54 AM

Get the one with the HD3650 with 1gb memory ASUS laptop.

It has a great T9300 penryn chip for games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220306

500gb hdd with 4gb ram, and a 1680x1050 screen.

jeffy777 · May 3rd, 2008, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadCow809

Get the one with the HD3650 with 1gb memory ASUS laptop.

It has a great T9300 penryn chip for games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220306

500gb hdd with 4gb ram, and a 1680x1050 screen.

Yeah, if you have the extra dough, that would be the one to get. Otherwise the one Johns posted above has the HD3650 with 1gb memory, but a smaller hard drive and lower res screen.

MadCow809 · May 3rd, 2008, 10:43 AM

The man has $2000 to spend : )

Shouldn't be a problem for him.

swek · May 3rd, 2008, 02:46 PM

Here's my advice:

Don't get a gaming laptop for University purposes. You want sth. small and nimble to carry around. 15" would work like a charm.

Spend the rest on a decent desktop.

- Someone who has carried a 2,8 kg laptop around for 3 years. Not fun, not at all...

ahpadt · May 3rd, 2008, 04:33 PM

^ Exactly. Get something small and light.

chaos386 · May 3rd, 2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swek

Here's my advice:

Don't get a gaming laptop for University purposes. You want sth. small and nimble to carry around. 15" would work like a charm.

Spend the rest on a decent desktop.

- Some who has carried a 2,8 kg laptop around for 3 years. Not fun, not at all...

I thoroughly agree with the above. You don't want a 6.5 pound laptop, you want something 4.5 pounds or less. Luckily, the sorts of graphics you'd find in a 4 pound laptop (8400M GS, 9300M G, etc.) are just fine for Source games (CS, HL2, Portal, TF2).

I'd also strongly recommend getting a 12.1" or 13.3" laptop over a 15.4" one. It'd be nearly the same size as your textbooks, meaning you'd be able to carry it around like one.

anTo · May 3rd, 2008, 09:18 PM

but wut if he wants to play games in class? :O

ahpadt · May 3rd, 2008, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anTo

but wut if he wants to play games in class? :O

Most of these lighter laptops can run games pretty easily.

jeffy777 · May 3rd, 2008, 10:38 PM

I'd go for the ASUS, even if it is heavier, but that's just me. In college, I used a backpack on the back of my wheelchair, and I have arms of steel, so weight is a non-issue images/smilies/biggrin.gif

NAIDANAC A · May 3rd, 2008, 11:33 PM

The thing is, I don't know if I am bringing my PC I currently have with me. That would leave my parent's PCless and don't know if that is going to happen.

Secondly, this thing is pretty outdated with a Pentium 4, if I wanted to upgrade it all I would have to get a new motherboard, graphics card, new CPU, and new memory plus fans and power supply. So from what I can tell it would be better to just replace this thing with a laptop. As I don't really want to spend too much money on everything.

Another great thing is that my dad doesn't really want to talk about any of this at the moment (he tends to try to not spend money on me for electronics and stuff) so I can't figure out if I am going to bring this desktop over. I guess for him he'd rather wait the last second to buy anything so I might have to dig this thread up in a couple months to figure out what exactly is going on. But as of now I am just looking into it.

Shawn · May 3rd, 2008, 11:43 PM

Get a gaming laptop to take to uni with you, and force your parents to switch to RBC, get the free Eee, and use that in class. images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Like others have said you don't want a heavy laptop for school. You could however compromise and go for something that can still handle most games, but isn't quite a desktop replacement either.

I did quite fine lugging around a MacBook Pro, which isn't light, but pretty light compared to the huge gaming laptops.

What university are you going to anyway? Some have huge campuses requiring you to walk a lot between classes, in which case you definitely should go for something light.

NAIDANAC A · May 3rd, 2008, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn

What university are you going to anyway? Some have huge campuses requiring you to walk a lot between classes, in which case you definitely should go for something light.

MacMaster

NAIDANAC A · June 2nd, 2008, 08:37 PM

I've found this site that has (from what I can tell) really good prices for laptops.
http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/notebook.asp
I know they are not name brand but they seem like good deals and I do not want to break the bank.
I was wanting to get a 1680x1050 so I could watch high-def movies from it. Also want it to easily to run CSS like I mentioned before.
My only gripe/concern is how good the sound card is as I want to be able to plug the system into a 5.1 surround sound set that I will have hooked up.

Any computer guys give any more advice?

May 3rd, 2008, 04:15 AM	#1
NAIDANAC A Joined: May 30th, 2006 Last Online: Yesterday Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Age: 18 Posts: 2,360 Car: 94 Caravan (Dad - 07 Saturn Sky) Rep Power: 17	A what's the best laptop for me...Thread. I am going to University in a few months and am entering Computer Science. A laptop is not needed but considering I hate trying to read my hand written notes I was looking to get 1 for classes and everything. I don't want to break the bank...as in around $2000 for the max. Now I am a pretty big gaming nerd...so a huge must for me is a decent/good gaming laptop. One that can easily run Counter Strike Source with full settings on with a good fps. Right now all I could think about was the Acer Ferrari 5000 (I heard the old 4000s were pretty good, not to mention they look amazing), a Dell XPS, and well thats about it. Please help me in this if possible. __________________

May 3rd, 2008, 05:15 AM	#2
johns13193 Joined: Aug 15th, 2007 Last Online: Yesterday Location: Well, it's near Philadelphia, PA Age: 15 Posts: 209 Car: Dad's '06 Civic EX (in about 2 months...) Rep Power: 6	It all really depends on what you'd prefer more, weight or performance. If you'd be fine with something that's like 6.5 lbs, i'd get one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220307 For less performance/weight (like 4 lbs), this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220312 Both of those pass the minimum/recommended specs for counter strike source ('cept for vista... check compatibility), but idk what i'd be like on max. __________________ my rig: e6750 @ 3ghz, GA-P35-DS3R, 3gb DDR2-800, 8600GT (702/1800 mem), 1tb storage (500gb 7200.11, 500gb Hitachi external)

May 3rd, 2008, 06:35 AM	#3
Crazyjeeper Joined: Nov 29th, 2006 Last Online: 01:27 AM Location: Texas Age: 19 Posts: 2,792 Car: 1985 Jeep CJ7, 1997 Ford F150 Rep Power: 54	Those are the same ones I wanted to post __________________ Toy: 1985 Jeep CJ7 Lifted and Locked Daily Driver: 1997 Ford F150 4.6L with a massive 220hp EVGA 780i, E8400 @ 4.0ghz, CM Hyper 212, XFX 8800GT 512mb Extreme SLI, MSI 8400GS, 2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800, PC Power & Cooling 610w EPS12v, 1.6tb of HDD, CM Centurion 690.

May 3rd, 2008, 06:59 AM	#5
FATMOUSE Joined: Jun 30th, 2005 Last Online: Yesterday Location: NYC Posts: 3,088 Rep Power: 35	I'd get an IBM Lenovo T61 with the Nvidia Quadro for a bit over $1000. CS, huh? Cool. I'm going to be entering my senior year of CS studies in a couple of months. __________________ woohoo someone changed my sig

May 3rd, 2008, 09:54 AM	#8
MadCow809 Joined: Feb 23rd, 2006 Last Online: 02:20 AM Location: Durban, South Africa / Los Angeles, California Age: 23 Posts: 3,117 Car: 2007 E87 BMW 130i LFS Status: Rep Power: 32	Get the one with the HD3650 with 1gb memory ASUS laptop. It has a great T9300 penryn chip for games. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220306 500gb hdd with 4gb ram, and a 1680x1050 screen. __________________ Supporting : A.Priaulx, Kimi Räikkönen, J.Button, R.Kubica, P.Solberg, M.Hirvonen, J.Plato & M.Jackson FinalGear's Car/Bike Register 08/09 Currently looking for a car, got any suggestions? 08 Honda Civic Coupe 06 BMW 130i 05 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS 05 Ford Bantam 1.3i 95 Mercedes Benz E320 Sportline Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 @ 3Ghz (333 X 9 @ 1.44v ~ 35°c with ZEROtherm BTF90/92mm Cooler) \| DFI INFINITY P965-S \| Corsair XMS DDR II 800 6 Gb \| GeCube ATi HD3850 512mb @ 800/1000Mhz \| Seagate 500Gb + 500Gb + 750Gb + 1000Gb\| LITE-ON 20X DVDRW \| XION 600W PSU \| Logitech Z-2300 \| Logitech MX1000 \| Logitech G25 \| Dual 22" LCD Display @ 3360 x 1050 + Toshiba 40" HDTV @ 1920 x 1080 \| CoolerMaster Centurion 590 \| Vista 64 Ultimate \|

May 3rd, 2008, 06:36 AM	#4
Shawn Lexus? Oh shi- Joined: May 26th, 2005 Last Online: 02:24 AM Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,775 Car: IS250 RWD Rep Power: 93	I saw today that RBC is offering a free Eee PC with some type of new accounts. Might wanna look into that, a free laptop can't hurt.

May 3rd, 2008, 07:08 AM	#6
bafranksbro Joined: Dec 1st, 2007 Last Online: July 18th, 2008 Location: New Hampshire Age: 24 Posts: 598 Car: 98 VW Jetta Rep Power: 12	My brother's friend got a good fast gaming laptop from Gateway for around $1400, same price I paid for mine but his has an nVidia 8800 in it. I don't really know much else other than him being able to easily play Crysis on it. EDIT: Damn with all those prices that johns13193 I sound have waited to get my lappy, I could have gotten so much more.

May 3rd, 2008, 10:43 AM	#10
MadCow809 Joined: Feb 23rd, 2006 Last Online: 02:20 AM Location: Durban, South Africa / Los Angeles, California Age: 23 Posts: 3,117 Car: 2007 E87 BMW 130i LFS Status: Rep Power: 32	The man has $2000 to spend : ) Shouldn't be a problem for him. __________________ Supporting : A.Priaulx, Kimi Räikkönen, J.Button, R.Kubica, P.Solberg, M.Hirvonen, J.Plato & M.Jackson FinalGear's Car/Bike Register 08/09 Currently looking for a car, got any suggestions? 08 Honda Civic Coupe 06 BMW 130i 05 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS 05 Ford Bantam 1.3i 95 Mercedes Benz E320 Sportline Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 @ 3Ghz (333 X 9 @ 1.44v ~ 35°c with ZEROtherm BTF90/92mm Cooler) \| DFI INFINITY P965-S \| Corsair XMS DDR II 800 6 Gb \| GeCube ATi HD3850 512mb @ 800/1000Mhz \| Seagate 500Gb + 500Gb + 750Gb + 1000Gb\| LITE-ON 20X DVDRW \| XION 600W PSU \| Logitech Z-2300 \| Logitech MX1000 \| Logitech G25 \| Dual 22" LCD Display @ 3360 x 1050 + Toshiba 40" HDTV @ 1920 x 1080 \| CoolerMaster Centurion 590 \| Vista 64 Ultimate \|

May 3rd, 2008, 02:46 PM	#11
swek Global Moderator Joined: May 19th, 2004 Last Online: Yesterday Location: Hamburg, Germany Age: 26 Posts: 4,345 Car: Does a bicycle count? Rep Power: 47	Here's my advice: Don't get a gaming laptop for University purposes. You want sth. small and nimble to carry around. 15" would work like a charm. Spend the rest on a decent desktop. - Someone who has carried a 2,8 kg laptop around for 3 years. Not fun, not at all... Last edited by swek; May 3rd, 2008 at 04:52 PM..

May 3rd, 2008, 04:33 PM	#12
ahpadt Joined: May 7th, 2006 Last Online: Yesterday Location: The Norwaylands Posts: 2,815 Rep Power: 28	^ Exactly. Get something small and light.

May 3rd, 2008, 09:18 PM	#14
anTo Joined: Jan 15th, 2007 Last Online: 02:38 AM Location: Delta, BC Posts: 186 Rep Power: 0	but wut if he wants to play games in class? :O __________________ Audi fanboi

May 3rd, 2008, 10:38 PM	#16
jeffy777 Joined: Feb 8th, 2005 Last Online: Yesterday Location: US Age: 27 Posts: 5,662 Car: '04 Toyota Sienna, crippled people like vans.... Rep Power: 53	I'd go for the ASUS, even if it is heavier, but that's just me. In college, I used a backpack on the back of my wheelchair, and I have arms of steel, so weight is a non-issue __________________ A man named Jeffy once said, "If laziness is craziness, then I've lost my marbles...and I don't feel like trying to find them."

May 3rd, 2008, 11:33 PM	#17
NAIDANAC A Joined: May 30th, 2006 Last Online: Yesterday Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Age: 18 Posts: 2,360 Car: 94 Caravan (Dad - 07 Saturn Sky) Rep Power: 17	The thing is, I don't know if I am bringing my PC I currently have with me. That would leave my parent's PCless and don't know if that is going to happen. Secondly, this thing is pretty outdated with a Pentium 4, if I wanted to upgrade it all I would have to get a new motherboard, graphics card, new CPU, and new memory plus fans and power supply. So from what I can tell it would be better to just replace this thing with a laptop. As I don't really want to spend too much money on everything. Another great thing is that my dad doesn't really want to talk about any of this at the moment (he tends to try to not spend money on me for electronics and stuff) so I can't figure out if I am going to bring this desktop over. I guess for him he'd rather wait the last second to buy anything so I might have to dig this thread up in a couple months to figure out what exactly is going on. But as of now I am just looking into it. __________________

May 3rd, 2008, 11:43 PM	#18
Shawn Lexus? Oh shi- Joined: May 26th, 2005 Last Online: 02:24 AM Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,775 Car: IS250 RWD Rep Power: 93	Get a gaming laptop to take to uni with you, and force your parents to switch to RBC, get the free Eee, and use that in class. Like others have said you don't want a heavy laptop for school. You could however compromise and go for something that can still handle most games, but isn't quite a desktop replacement either. I did quite fine lugging around a MacBook Pro, which isn't light, but pretty light compared to the huge gaming laptops. What university are you going to anyway? Some have huge campuses requiring you to walk a lot between classes, in which case you definitely should go for something light.

June 2nd, 2008, 08:37 PM	#20
NAIDANAC A Joined: May 30th, 2006 Last Online: Yesterday Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Age: 18 Posts: 2,360 Car: 94 Caravan (Dad - 07 Saturn Sky) Rep Power: 17	I've found this site that has (from what I can tell) really good prices for laptops. http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/notebook.asp I know they are not name brand but they seem like good deals and I do not want to break the bank. I was wanting to get a 1680x1050 so I could watch high-def movies from it. Also want it to easily to run CSS like I mentioned before. My only gripe/concern is how good the sound card is as I want to be able to plug the system into a 5.1 surround sound set that I will have hooked up. Any computer guys give any more advice? __________________