Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Looking for a good laptop

Last response: in Systems
Share

I'm looking for a new laptop for school. I have no idea where to start for laptops as I'm mainly a desktop user. I built a gaming desktop back in 2008 so it's pretty much outdated now, although I can play new games on medium to low settings. The motherboard also died and while I can easily replace it for a mere $100, I figure I'll put that benjamin into a laptop instead.

Basically I'm looking for something with a 17" screen, a graphics card at least equivalent to the Geforce 8800 line (speaking of which, what would that be?), 4GB ram(minimum) and at least 250gb hard drive. I don't feel like any of my specs are unreasonable for what I'm trying to spend, which is around $1000 max.

Like I said I'm buying it because of school, but this will pretty much be the computer I use for at least 4 years. I'm a pretty heavy gamer playing stuff recently like Borderlands 2, Counter-Strike: GO, Tribes: Ascend, League of Legends, and WoW, among many others. I'll eventually get my desktop running again, but I'm not too anxious to get back onto it as it needs a huge overhaul anyway.

I'm not asking anyone to go out and find a laptop that fits that description (unless you want to! : P) but just looking to be pointed in the right direction.

I appreciate the help,

-lc-Lazer

More about : good laptop

Register or log in to remove

Are battery life and weight important to you? what you want is pretty easy for $1000 if they aren't. Also do you care about screen resolution? playing games in 1080p would obviously require much more performance.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ is great for checking up on a specific model or making sure the Mobile graphics card you looking at will meet the games you want to play.

For new cards i would say the gt 640m would be the most equivalent that you will see in allot of laptops. (however it will outperform the 8800.)


Thanks for the reply and website Lanczer.

Of course I would want the best battery life possible but it's not too big of an issue for me, so long as I can get through a school day of note taking (~4ish hours) on minimum power settings I'll be fine. I'd likely be able to charge it briefly during the day between classes anyway. When I'd be gaming I would also more than likely be at home plugged in.

As far as the GPU goes, when I named the 8800, it was just the fact that it was a dependable card that I knew is still considered midgrade by some. Preferable I'd get the most current card possible, and as far as playing games in 1080p, I haven't given it much consideration as I've never been one to freak out over resolution settings. Do you have a recommendation for a higher end gpu that won't completely blow my budget?

Also, any brand recommendations to get me started would also help. From what I hear it is best to stay from Acer (do they even make high-end machines?). Heard a lot of stories about motherboard failure.

I'm now wondering if I should even bother buying a laptop. My friend (more like rival) is trying to tell me that I shouldn't bother buying a laptop at all. According to him, I should buy a tablet or low-grade laptop for school (I already have a Kindle Fire) and build a desktop instead with the remaining money. I already have a decent desktop that just needs a new mobo (my video card is maybe 4 years old, it still plays new games on low/med settings fine) so I feel like building a new one is a waste.

More so than just what he's saying, I'm wondering if it's a bad time to buy a laptop in general... with tablets on the rise and touchcreens becoming the norm, I'm afraid I'll be left in the dust with a normal laptop.

Any input will be appreciated.
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!