Another "find me a laptop" thread

bartboy9891

I'm not Moe
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
9,121
Alright so my dad offered to buy a laptop. I'll be in college next year so i'm going to get a new computer either way, so my dad says i can just get one now.
needs:
price to be $1000 USD, maybe up to $1200
60gb HD space minimum
competent processor, competent graphics card
512mb RAM atleast

wants:
a gaming PC that i can masquerade as a normal one

Size is not an issue at all, i dont really plan on taking the sucker anywhere.
so basically i want a powerful laptop that i can get for under $1200 USD
 
Get something with an Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion Processor and atleast 1GB of RAM. Also, avoid Intel graphics like the plague if you want to game.

Here's a good deal:

Acer Aspire for under $1100:
-Intel? Core? 2 Duo T5500
-2GB of DDR2 memory
-DVD burner
-120GB hard drive
-Built-in 802.11 wireless
Only drawback is the screen size....but that does make it lighter I suppose...
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Spec...163503/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do

EDIT: Upon further investigation, I think that one may have Intel integrated graphics, so that would not be good.....pity, because otherwise it's a great deal.
 
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gah! That sounded like an excellent deal. I should probably also clarify that by "gaming" i dont mean something ultra hardcore. Im not looking for a 512mb graphics card or anything.

Ive been eyeing a few Toshiba Satellites, they are a bit big and bulky but that doesnt really bother me.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Tosh...60477/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
that one seems to fit the ticket quite well, but not sure how decent the graphics card is

been looking at some dells too, but a lot of people tell me I should avoid their laptops. Ive spec-ed a few out and what im getting within my budget is less than what other companies offer.
 
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gah! That sounded like an excellent deal. I should probably also clarify that by "gaming" i dont mean something ultra hardcore. Im not looking for a 512mb graphics card or anything.

Ive been eyeing a few Toshiba Satellites, they are a bit big and bulky but that doesnt really bother me.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Tosh...60477/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
that one seems to fit the ticket quite well, but not sure how decent the graphics card is

been looking at some dells too, but a lot of people tell me I should avoid their laptops. Ive spec-ed a few out and what im getting within my budget is less than what other companies offer.

Most Toshibas have only integrated graphics unfortunately, which is too bad because everything else about them is usually good...

As a person who's owned 2 Dell laptops without any major trouble, I think they're quite alright, and some of the best deals you can get if spec-ed properly.

For under $1000, you can get:

Intel? Core? 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows? XP Media Center Edition 2005
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife?
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 533MHz
80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
128MB ATI MOBILITY? RADEON? X1300 HyperMemory?
Sound Blaster? Audigy? HD Software Edition
Wireless 1390b/g (54Mbps)

It would be really hard to find a better deal than that. And if you pump a couple hundred more into it, you can get even better specs, although he processor and video card are already better than the Toshiba ;)

For $1200 you can get:

Intel? Core? 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows? XP Media Center Edition 2005
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife?
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 533MHZ
120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
128MB ATI MOBILITY? RADEON? X1300 HyperMemory?
Sound Blaster? Audigy? HD Software Edition
Wireless 1390b/g (54Mbps)

I definitely take that over the Toshiba :)

I recommend Acer as well since I know a guy who repairs laptops and he says he's never had to repair an Acer.

Speaking of which, I can't believe how cheap this one is for what you get:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Spec...4/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs
 
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wow that Acer is cheap as hell, those rebates are insane.

Im looking into some Dells now, and its odd because you can get lower end models that start at $600 and add stuff to match the price of the higher end ones which have less.

Which model is that first Dell? Is it an Inspiron 1505? I figure if i go for a model that doesnt have a XGA Truelife display as standard i could save a little money and get some more RAM.
 
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Whatever you do, get a 7200rpm hard drive or more. 5400rpm sucks.
is it bad enough to sacrifice 40gigs? an 80gig 7200rpm costs $33 more than a 120gig 5400rpm on a Dell
 
both of those dells are the inspiron E15O5 pimped out.

about the hard drive: it really depends on your needs. you'll notice the benefits of the 7200 RPM in some intensive games and stuff but most of the time there won't be much difference.
 
both of those dells are the inspiron E15O5 pimped out.

about the hard drive: it really depends on your needs. you'll notice the benefits of the 7200 RPM in some intensive games and stuff but most of the time there won't be much difference.
I'll be using it for normal applications for the most part, then again im not sure if i will even need that extra 40gigs at all. hmmmm, I'll confer with the parents and see what they think about all this.
Im going to have a little trouble convincing my dad to upgrade from a 128mb graphics card to a 256, but we'll see :p
 
Acer is pretty cheap indeed, but they have a nasty habit of disintegrating within 2 years of purchase... Few friends of mine have gone through up to 5 keyboards in a single year (noes, they didn't break because of certain white stuff leaking between the keys)
 
Look up anything made by ASUS.


It will be both the best quality and excellent value.
 
I have the e1405. Excellent notebook, and really cheap.
 
Look up anything made by ASUS.


It will be both the best quality and excellent value.

I have an Asus laptop and it has never, ever failed me. I don't have one regret and it's by far the best laptop I have ever owned.

My Dell laptop gets a D, it wasn't as bad as my old Compaq, but it did suck pretty hard. The only thing I can say about the Dell is, at the time, it had great support, but that day is gone. Dell support is horrible these days, avoid them.

Here is a link to the Asus laptops in their "Graphics Power" category.
http://usa.asus.com/products2.aspx?l1=5&l2=62

There are no prices because Asus does not sell direct, but use http://froogle.google.com/?hl=en to find the prices. Off hand I searched for the A6Km and F3F- notebooks, found them at about $900 and $1000 respectively.

These notebooks will be in your price range, still be more portable than a "desktop replacement" and if they are anything like my S5N, they will serve you very well. Both my Desktops use Asus motherboards and I love the company. They are high quality but lower volume than Dell or HP and their service center is in California instead of Bangladesh or where ever stuff is getting outsourced these days.
 
^I've always loved Asus stuff, but not enough to purchase laptops from them, I would rather stick to Japanese for laptops for some reason. But my motherboards for computers have always been and will always be Asus.

Btw bartboy, if you're going to use it for college, I think I suggest you to go with something less bulky. I don't know about you but I bring my laptop about 2 days in a week, have group projects, stuff to type up while in lectures and stuff... and I'm really happen with my 13.3" fujitsu, I'm so glad I didn't buy this 14.1" NEC that weighed alot heavier, I would have gotten a broken back by now :lol:
 
Look up anything made by ASUS.


It will be both the best quality and excellent value.

Got an asus w5, its got like a 12.1 inch screen mass of 1.35kgs i think, .. about 8 hours battery life. Its about a year old now, probably outa ur price range tho.. it was about AUD$3.5k. But yep asus all the way, they are dead sexy, never had a problem with it, mine runs gta san andreas fine, thats the only game i play.

Um.. what else what else? .. yeah it was bought for portability lightness, battery life, and does all of them also has bluetooth, camera, dvd burner. 100gig harddrive, sd card mmc slot all that crap, s video out, anyway i love it coudlnt live with out it.

Go for asus :)
 
Honestly, there isn't much point spending alot more money to get a 7200rpm drive, for a few reasons:

1. The performance difference doesn't justify the cost difference.
2. If you spend alot of time away from a plug, the 7200rpm drive will suck your battery life faster than a Ford GT guzzles fuel.
3. You'll wish you bought a 120GB 5400rpm drive when you go to download season 9 of Top Gear and you realize there's only 400MB free on your 80GB 7200rpm drive.



Just my 2 cents...
 
^I've always loved Asus stuff, but not enough to purchase laptops from them, I would rather stick to Japanese for laptops for some reason.


Mate, ASUS is better than anything Japanese, and cheaper too. I used to sell them, I could choose to sell pretty much any laptop brand I wanted, and I tended to stick with Toshiba and ASUS. Toshiba was there initially and as ASUS improved i tended to sell them more and more. Towards the end of 2004 I was selling ASUS pretty much exclusively and never had a problem with one of them. I bought ASUS for both my sister and dad and they both absolutely love them.

The other best bit about ASUS is you get a laptop bag and an external mouse in the box :D
 
^I know but I've always loved how simple Fujitsu's were and thats why I bought mine, which was mid 2004 and back then, there was no other competitor in the range I was looking for, bigger than the 10.4" ones but smaller than 14.1"... which basically only came to 2 choice, My fujitsu S6210 and the Vaio V505 (I don't really like sony's mainly because they come with so much unnecessary stuff)... I might consider Asus now since they have built their reputation when I upgrade mid year, but I'm leaning towards a Macbook though... don't worry, I'll make one of those threads closer to the purchase date :D

and OT, but Flyingfridge, what happened to your WRX?
 
Look up anything made by ASUS.


It will be both the best quality and excellent value.

Just how much do Asus's cost? I went to their site and went to "agressively priced" but just how much is that?? Unless i am completely useless, i can't find a single price on their site.
 
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