INFO: Building/Buying a Laptop (PC or Mac)

[Slide]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

You can still pick up a Vostro 1500 with the specs below for $914;

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
250GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
No Webcam Option

Seems a good deal, a good spend to upgrade that to your $1100 budget would be upgrading the warranty.

[Kaio]

I pretty much have that laptop, i almost wish i didn't get a gaming oriented one and got one that was more mobile (weight wise).

[Teger]

I ended up just buying a $700 hp (that I got for $250 gogo staples deals) and will save for a macbook pro

[Javvo]

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with MSI laptops (if they're quality etc). I just bought this off eBay for $1,300.

GX700 Super Edition Specs

* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 2.4 Ghz 3 mb L2 Cache (Penyrn Ready)
* 17" WXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Widescreen Super Glare TFT Display
* Mobile Intel® GM965 Express Chipset Family
* NVIDIA® 8600M-GT 512 DDR 2 + Turbo Cache- Microsoft DirectX 10 support
* Windows Vista Home Premium/ XP compatible
* DVD+-RW/ CD+-RW
* 4 Gigs of DDR 2 memory
* 320 Gb SATA HDD
* Built In 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
* Integrated Wireless A/B/G/Bluetooth/ Gigabyte Ethernet
* Theater Class Dolby Digital 4.1 Certified (4 High-Stereo Speakers and Subwoofer)
* Exclusive MSI VIVID Image Enhancement Technology
* HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) Output


The only thing I'm not stoked about is Vista. Thoughts?

[Kaio]

The stats look very nice, seems like a desknote. If MSI lists xp drivers you can always go to xp if you like. But with the four gigs of ram i'd keep vista if thats the 64 bit edition.

[Slide]

Originally Posted by Javvo

The only thing I'm not stoked about is Vista. Thoughts?

Sounds pretty decent, but not mobile. Good for occasional lugging from place to place - but wouldnt want to carry it around everywhere.

[joz123]

Im lookin to get a gaming laptop for like 1k or lil less and stumbled on Newegg.com - ASUS F3 Series F3KA-X4 NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60(2.00GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 - Laptops / Notebooks. Is this one pretty good? And can anyone reccomend if any others would be good too?

[Phoenix]

The dell vostro 1500 I quoted is a better buy(if you can still get it at that price). Current mobile AMD CPUs are quite a bit under powered compared to intel CPUs.

[joz123]

What site is the Vostro from? doesnt show up on newegg.

NM its from Dell, can still get that for the same price but I found this one below, wanna know which would be a better deal.

Newegg.com - ASUS F8 Series F8Sp-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5750(2.00GHz) 14" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 - Laptops / Notebooks This one seems good to me, costs lil more then the vostro tho.

[Phoenix]

Id definitely jump on that.

[joz123]

The vostro or the Newegg one? Both seem good.

[Phoenix]

edit; Upon further review, Id go with which ever ends up being cheaper out the door. The HD3650 is only slightly faster, which doesnt really warrant a $80 price increase compared to the Vostro.

[Kaio]

Dell charged me tax and more for shipping then newegg.com. I live in ohio so i dunno if they charge tax everywhere or not.

So, that $80 bucks might disappear also I noticed that the asus comes with 1 year accidental damage insurance and 2 years parts/limited warranty. Also based on the specs these new vostros might be thinner then mine... Damnit...

[renaissance]

Anyone have any experience with Toshiba Satellites? My Acer recently melted (yeah...) and I bought the extended warranty thankfully from Future Shop. The cost of the parts will most likely prompt them to give me a credit towards a new notebook.

I don't have a desktop, and use my laptop for pretty much everything from email to gaming. I have always had 15.4' notebooks of no more than 6lbs.

I am looking at this notebook, which they have on sale for $1199.99. Newegg.com - TOSHIBA Satellite X205-S9810 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5750(2.00GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 3GB Memory DDR2 667 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT - Laptops / Notebooks

Would this be too heavy for every day use (taking it to and from school)? Is the 8700m GT going to prove useful for the next while, or should I opt for something a bit more beefy? I want to be able to play my current games at high settings (Crysis etc) and be assured that I will be able to meet at least minimum requirements for titles released in the next 18 months.

Thanks very much.

[Phoenix]

17 Inches is pretty big to be lugging around day to day to school. Not just the weight, but the size of the laptop would be annoying fast.

I wouldnt go with anything over 15.4, as its just more dead weight, considering a 8700M GT isnt going to be able to power many games at 1680x1050. If you pair a 8600/8700 with the 1280x800 screen you will be golden. The only game so far that has giving me problems is Crysis, but even then I still play it all on high with shadows on low and shaders at medium + 4x AF with my 8600GT(any other game out there it plays maxed out).

One thing Id look into is a ASUS EEPC if youre going to be needing a laptop for day to day mobile use such as school. Very cheap(500ish?), light weight, and very small which is perfect for school.

Overall its a great laptop and a great deal(never had a problem with my old satellite), but Id just go with something smaller and lighter for your intended use.

edit; just checked the link and newegg says its $1400, which makes it a bad buy IMO

heres a pretty good deal Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5920-6574 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T8100(2.10GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Laptops / Notebooks