Hardware Laptop Suggestions

[I am r4ymond]

Well, in 3 months it's going to be my birthday. For some reason, my parents have been nice with me. One example is today's time at Best Buy. We bought an iPod Touch 4G for my little sister's early birthday present and then an iHome (as another source for charging my iTouch rather than to charge via USB-Computer) because we were given a $25 Gift Card for buying an iTouch. He wouldn't really buy me anything technology-related, because the more technology I have at home, the more I get distracted by them, which will affect my education (according to them).

I need your guys' help, because I don't really understand which video card and processor I should get. The last time I had someone else picking my computer for me was HORRIBLE. Crap video card that I still have to deal with today.

I want to buy a laptop that's great for both loading videos and playing mid-high-ranged games (in between mid and high, but a majority of mid) that has to be no more than $1000. I don't know how much money my parents are willing to put for my birthday present.

Although I know that it isn't June yet, I will ask now so that I'd have something to refer to when the time comes.

Thanks.

 

[Bunie]

Possibly this?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+...p;skuId=1686237
6GB of ram, Intel i5 Processor, and a Radeon HD 6370.
850 USD.
Check please. lol

 

[Framework43]

http://dealzon.com/deals/hp-dv7t-laptop#hp...-2nd-generation
This is a really good deal.

Blu-Ray - Intel Core i7 - HDMI - LED Backlit - Windows 7 - 6GB RAM - 17.3" Display - 750GB Hard Drive

$924

 

[doyama]

To be honest you should be first asking yourself do you need a laptop, let alone a gaming laptop.

If you want to have a 'decent' gaming experience you're going to need to be paying more than $1000. Otherwise your games will only be playable on 'low' settings. So you're going to have a pretty sub-optimal experience even if you get a discrete graphics card. You could throw together a desktop system for 1/2 the price but get 5x the performance. Do you REALLY REALLY need this portability? Do you REALLY REALLY need to game on the go? You're going to be paying a gigantic premium on the laptop to be able to game on it, and I can assure you that Crysis 2 will make that laptop explode when you put in the DVD.

If you actually need portability, then I would be more concerned with weight than anything else. Lugging a gigantic 17" desktop replacement laptop all day will quickly make you regret buying the stupid thing.

 

[Rydian]

Wait until then.

A computer that's a good deal now might not be a good deal then.

 

[Originality]

I can assure you that Crysis 2 will make that laptop explode when you put in the DVD.

You'd be surprised how wrong that is. Crysis 2 will be tamer than Crysis 1. Also, the laptop Framework43 linked will probably be able to play it. It has a Mobility HD 5650.

Anyway, waiting is the best answer for now. By June, there will be many more Sandy Bridge laptops available and even a few AMD Fusion laptops. Also, the prices will have changed.

 

[FireGrey]

To be honest you should be first asking yourself do you need a laptop, let alone a gaming laptop.

If you want to have a 'decent' gaming experience you're going to need to be paying more than $1000. Otherwise your games will only be playable on 'low' settings. So you're going to have a pretty sub-optimal experience even if you get a discrete graphics card. You could throw together a desktop system for 1/2 the price but get 5x the performance. Do you REALLY REALLY need this portability? Do you REALLY REALLY need to game on the go? You're going to be paying a gigantic premium on the laptop to be able to game on it, and I can assure you that Crysis 2 will make that laptop explode when you put in the DVD.

If you actually need portability, then I would be more concerned with weight than anything else. Lugging a gigantic 17" desktop replacement laptop all day will quickly make you regret buying the stupid thing.

But the laptops that Bunie and Framework suggested are AWESOME.

 

[Originality]

You'll find Framework's linked laptop is quite superior to Bonie's.

 

[RNorthex]

HP? i reeeeally don't recommend thatt
so far from my experience dell notebooks are the best
what u should look for imo
intel corei7
ati hd card[though geforce is more compatible with intel cpus]
preferably the most ramslots available[with the least ram or at least it should run at 1600mhz and be kingston[not kingmax]]
led blacklit would be good, lcd sucks really hard on notebooks
1tb winchester[though look out for rpm and tm]
if u go legit, a win7, if not, then no os or max freedos
the maximum usb ports u can possibly get

 

[Joe88]

most laptops have a short run, so picking something now will probably mean it will be discontinued by the time you want to buy it

 

[Berthenk]

HP? i reeeeally don't recommend thatt And why is that?
so far from my experience dell notebooks are the best And again, why exactly?
what u should look for imo
intel corei7 Wait for Bulldozer or go for a mobile Sandy Bridge. 'Nuff said.
ati hd card[though geforce is more compatible with intel cpus] Source? Also, why is AMD better than nVidia?
preferably the most ramslots available[with the least ram or at least it should run at 1600mhz and be kingston[not kingmax]]RAM speed doesn't mean jack if anything at all, and you'll need a renown brand like Kingston, Corsair, OCZ, etc.
led blacklit would be good, lcd sucks really hard on notebooks Personal preference.
1tb winchester[though look out for rpm and tm] Winchester? Never heard of that, and that's usually not a good thing. Also, TM? Besides that, 7200 RPM is scarcely found amongst laptop harddrives.
if u go legit, a win7, if not, then no os or max freedos And why is that?
the maximum usb ports u can possibly get Should OP need any.

 

[notmeanymore]

I recommend the Alienware M11x. I have one right now, got it for $650 and it's amazing except for the fact that I got the Core 2 Duo model instead of the i5 model.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m11x/fs
$999 + Shipping for one with an i5. Everything else is great, especially considering how portable it is.

If you want a laptop for portability's sake, get the m11x, otherwise, go with Bunie's. That's a sexy laptop for the price.

I've had bad experiences with HP's acting up, but usually a reformat fixes most of it. If HP gives you a license key, I'd recommend backing up your drivers using something like DriverMax, then reformatting and reinstalling Win7.

 

[Originality]

If you go by "what people say", you should never get a HP, Acer, Dell, MSi, Asus or Apple laptop. That just leaves Samsung and Toshiba from the big names. Anybody saying "don't get products" should be ignored outright and banned from the internet for not knowing what they're talking about.

Laptops with Sandy Bridge CPUs are already starting to leak into the market, although the uptake is a bit slow with the whole B2-stepping cockup with the motherboards. Given that B3-stepping motherboards are now being shipped, we should see many more mid-high end laptops running Sandy Bridge CPUs, at least until Bulldozer is out which will be a while yet. AMD Bobcat is highly anticipated for the power saving market and has received good reviews so far.

For the graphics, there really aren't many laptops that use mid or high end nVidia GPU, just the 330 or 335 for Optimus. That's a good reason to look for AMD graphics instead - seeing HD 5750 or better is quite common in gaming laptops.

For the point on RAM, I call B$. No laptop on the market can make use of 1600Mhz RAM. With laptops, size is more important than speed, and most laptops come with 3-4GB of RAM. There is no point in considering what brand of RAM it has because that jacks the price much higher than necessary.

Finding a laptop with an LED screen is rare. Don't bother looking specifically for one - just take whatever screen it has.

For the HDD, I would stick with whatever it comes with. You can always upgrade it later, but for extra space it's usually better to use externals.

Nearly all laptops on the market come with genuine Windows 7 anyway. No need to say anything there.

USB ports......... why the hell are you giving advice on USB ports? The most I've ever needed is two, or three to charge my phone whilst doing transfers between the other two. Most laptops I see come with 3 or 4. Nobody ever should decide on a laptop simply because it has 1 or 2 more USB ports than another.

 

[Hatchetball]

Avoid HPs. They overheat far too much. Plus they suck in general unless you completely reformat and use customer software.
Acer's are reliable, hard to find a good one with the best specs sometimes, but well worth it.
Dell = Driver hell, freakin' annoying.
Alienware is pointless.

Avoid anything with Vista/XP on it, W7 is where it's at now.
Mac's... blow, nuff said.
Linux/Ubuntu are decent, you won't see those on the market though O.o

Newegg.com will be good to browse around and get a good idea of what you want

 

[Originality]

Alienware IS Dell. Dell laptops should not have any special driver needs, although Dell are famous for cutting corners in every product they make, with the exception of Alienware.
HP heating issues are isolated cases. Only certain models have heating issues, but most of them are pretty reliable. Too much bloatware though.
Acer made good mid-range laptops, and the ones with the best specs are the hardest to source but they do exist.

 

[Liezah]

If you want a laptop that has good battery life.. get an Asus. (I own one and it's still alive after being dropped on the floor by a damn klutz [me] and I've had it for a year now. I LOVE IT!) It's decent for games (runs my DotA pretty fine, and CS almost fluidly). It runs my Counter Strike substantially although I don't know about other games. I have a Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM and running nVidia GEforece G210 M. -End of my 2 cents-

But nonetheless, Originality is right. However, you should research/take note of what specs are good for a laptop vs. the price (if you are concerned about it). Anyways, big named computers are nice and all but they have their flaws. You should read about consumer reviews and whatnot (but don't buy one solely based on it) But otherwise, follow what Originality said.

Everyone has their bias, I think that you should go out and test one (at Best Buy or other places) and see it for yourself. Or go on youtube to see reviews etc. so you can see the specs of the computer you're looking at.

 

[Originality]

Being an Asus laptop has nothing to do with the battery life. What determines if it has good battery life is the CPU/GPU combination. If it's using a CULV CPU (e.g. T2500 or an Atom) it'll have at least 6 hours battery life. If it's using an IGP or very low end graphics, you can add an extra hour or two to that. Of course, that's assuming it has a standard battery capacity.

I've been trying to avoid saying that laptop brands have nothing to do with the type or quality of laptop... that's what Rydian advocates but it's not entirely true. Statistically, Dell and Apple laptops are the most likely to fail (25% failure rate within 3 years of purchase), but EVERY laptop manufacturer has over a 15% failure rate so that doesn't say much. The most important aspects in picking a laptop (as Liezah correctly pointed out) are the specs/components. If you want a gaming laptop, look at the graphics of each laptop (and NOTHING ELSE), because all games depend on the graphics to run. If you want a laptop with good battery life, look at the processor (then the graphics, if it doesn't use an IGP). There's nothing more complicated than that, and neither the processor nor the graphics have anything to do with brand at all (well, ok, Intel, AMD and nVidia are brands too, but that's not what I mean).

 

[Hatchetball]

Alienware IS Dell. Dell laptops should not have any special driver needs, although Dell are famous for cutting corners in every product they make, with the exception of Alienware.
HP heating issues are isolated cases. Only certain models have heating issues, but most of them are pretty reliable. Too much bloatware though.
Acer made good mid-range laptops, and the ones with the best specs are the hardest to source but they do exist.

Indeed. Alienware is Dell. The old Alienware wasn't, which is what I meant. It's far too expensive for the limited things it actually does. Great for gaming though. Wouldn't mind owning one myself.
The Dell drivers are a pain in the ass as they barely make stable drivers that support all parts, god forbid you have a Dell desktop. Dell certainly does not stand for stability.

HP heating issues are basically due to the shells being too small/slim and HP does leave out a cooling component from their hardware. (Prolly on purpose to boost USB coolant fan sales... decent marketing strategy.) Lack of ventilation really. The bloatware is what makes HP so crappy. Buying a new computer from Walmart/where ever is almost a hassle. For it to run up-to-par you damn near have to just reformat it right off the shelf. But then again that's pretty much any computer nowdays.
Acer's are "ok" - not the best out for sure. But they've always proven reliable to me. I'm on a Aspire 5920 now, dinky and rather aged compared to what is out now, but it works just fine and I've never had any major problems out of it. All original hardware working without issues today.

I have nothing against HP, they are rather nice computers once the bloatware is gone. I see alot of them go in and out of my shop because of overheating. Most of the time I just tell people to go get a USB coolant fan, best thing to have with any HP laptop.

Anyone buying a computer, ever: Do not buy from Best Buy. They lie about warrenties and screw you out of money. You overpay for the computer. You overpay for ANY services. I'd recommend not ever buying any electronic from Best Buy. I've seen it thousands of times.

 

[Rydian]

And here's my copy-paste on brands...


Brand doesn't matter as much as people want you to think it does.

People generally blame brand for three things.

[*]How well the computer runs.

Dell and HP and Apple and other companies don't "build" machines, they "assemble" them. They take core parts (like the processor / ram / graphics card / harddrive) from other companies that make them, put it all together (with their own cases and accessories) and sell the completed package to you. If you ever take a computer apart, you'll notice that the company names on the parts vary widely. There's a few companies that make ram, a few that make processors, a few that make harddrives, and so on and so forth.

So, for example, there's nothing that makes an HP processor better than a Dell processor... because there's no such thing. Dell and HP can both be using the same processors in their machines. So you can buy a Dell that kicks an HP's ass, and then turn around and buy an HP better than that Dell.

A big part of how well a computer runs is the software installed on it (specifically the drivers and programs like that). Most computer issues are software, have nothing to do with the brand itself, and can be permanently fixed with a little bit of effort.
General Computer Speedup/Maintenance.
That guide will show you how to properly fix most common computer issues, including slowdown, for free.

So if you want a faster computer, you should make sure to pick one with the right parts, and maintain it properly.
[*]How well the computer is physically built.

You get what you pay for. If you buy a company's lowest-end model and find that the case is made out of cheap plastic, it's because you paid for cheap plastic. If you buy a higher-end model and get a sturdy metal case, that's because some of the extra price went towards a metal case. You'll pay more for a computer that's built with better parts and more care, because it costs more for the better parts, and it costs more to have workers spend more time on it. Every computer manufacturer makes multiple lines of computers, and generally the "it fell apart" complaints are from people that bought the cheapest one.

So if you want a more sturdy computer, don't buy the cheapest models.
[*]Tech support.

As said above, you get what you pay for. The standard tech support is the foreign people because they are cheap. If you buy the better warranty/support package, then you're paying for the better support people. You have a better chance of getting somebody that knows what they're talking about and who can speak english (or your native language), because they cost more to hire.

So if you want better tech support, you should get the upgraded warranty/support.

 

[Liezah]

Anyone buying a computer, ever: Do not buy from Best Buy. They lie about warrenties and screw you out of money. You overpay for the computer. You overpay for ANY services. I'd recommend not ever buying any electronic from Best Buy. I've seen it thousands of times.

You can buy it from Best Buy.. just don't get the warranty? I think the better warranties are the ones from the Manufacturers anyways. It is true that Best Buy doesn't have the best policies and has crap services (that you can probably do yourself). BUT they do have good deals on stuff. So I must disagree with you Hatchetball.

Oh and Pretty nice list there Rydian :3