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Starting to think I can't find exactly what I am looking to purchase.

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Last response: in Laptops & Notebooks
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1_What is your budget?
1200 - 1300

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6 (might do a 17 if it is the only thing that meets my requirements)

3_What screen resolution do you want?
Greater then or equal to 1600x900

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
A desktop replacement ***see extra info at end #14***

5_How much battery life do you need?
Decent but not expecting the best in the world

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Kind of ***see extra info at end #14***

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Programming

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
500GB is fine

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Dell
hp
newegg

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2-3 years

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM/Writer

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I am open to most brands but have been looking into HP and Dell because I can get a student discount. Hp has a 10% the top for sudents

13_What country do you live in?
USA

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

So, I am looking to purchase a laptop that meets or exceeds my current desktop setup. My current setup is as follows…

• Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0Ghz
• 6 GB DDR2 800
• Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS – has a slight overclock on it (Core: 710Mhz , Shader: 1523Mhz, Memory: 1008MHz)

This leaves me wanting but not limited to…

• I5 540m – I would like to hit the mark of the 540m because it is basically an equivalent of the E6850. A 520m is tad bit lower than the E6850 when it comes to speed. What about the i7 you might ask? Well I am not opposed to it but I do have concerns of heat and the extra drain the processer will have on my battery. On top of that there is the option of switchable graphics that I am considering with the i5.
Am I completely mad not to consider the i7? Is the heat that much more versus the i5? It seems that most issues I see now with laptops have to do with the heat of the i7.
• ATI 5650m – This seem to be just a step above my current 8600 GTS. I honestly don’t care about playing games on my laptop. My concerns come from the programming that I do. I like to program games but by am no means making the next Crysis. I am more not programming games but programming demos for my own learning purposes. I have yet to run into an issue with my desktop GPU but it would be nice to have a mobile version that is just a bit better.
• 6 GB DDR3 – I am looking to exceed my desktop speed and get nothing less than 6 GB.

I also am very concerned about a warranty. I am looking to get at least a 2 year accidental warranty.
So with all this in mind these are a few of the setups I have seen that are in the ballpark….

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-540M
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Backlit Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
• 2 yr Adp warranty

1,314.07 Shipped

This computer meets just about every need I listed except for the screen resolution. I could remedy this by stepping up to a 17inch (1600 x 900) for only 1,354.95. With the 17inch I also have the option of the i7 720 for an additional 50 dollars but at that point I am paying 100 more than I am budgeting.

Dell Studio XPS 16

• I5-540m
• 6GB DDRS
• 15.6” WLED LCD (1600x900)
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 565v
• Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
• Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
• Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
• 3 yr ADP warranty

1,308.87

Now this seems to also be close to everything I need. Even though the 565v is marked as less than the 5650 in some test and more in others I think at the end of the day it seems to be on the same level. I do have the concerns that I keep reading about throttling issues do to overheating. Now I am not in the know if this refers to the i5 models or just the i7. Does anyone know? Does anyone know if they have remedied this issue? With all that in mind the i7-720 version with 4gb of ram, upgrade to 5730, and only 2-yr warranty would cost me 1,314.61.

So those are the two I am looking at.

1) Do you have an insight into those two (4) options?
2) Are my concerns about i7’s heat warranted enough to suggest me an i5?
3) Does anyone have any up to date about the over-heating/throttling issue with the XPS 16? Does that problem encompass the i5 model?
4) If you have any other suggestion the feel free to let me know.

Thanks for all the help

Chad




More about : starting find purchase

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Maziar said:
What exact specs did you customize it with ?


Sager NP8690 (Built on Clevo W860CU) Custom Gaming Laptop Sager NP8690 (Built on Clevo W860CU) Custom Gaming Laptop
- 15.6” HD+ 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1600x900) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i5-540M, 2.53-3.06GHz, (3MB L3 cache)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 6,144MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize 4GB+)~
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless A/B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- 11.1V Smart Li-Polymer battery pack 3800mAh, 42.18Wh
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
- No Xotic PC Gear

1454

This is with out any kind of warranty upgrade and it is already 154 over. Add in shipping which i believe is 23 that is is 177 over. Add in the lowest warranty upgrade makes it 276 over.

Total 1576

Thanks

Chad

Maziar said:
4GB suffices for today's games/apps, but if you want something cheaper,then have a look at MSI GX640,it has slightly lower specs,but the price is good
http://www.xoticpc.com/gx640260us-order-p-2766.html


Hi,

These two laptops actually come out to about the same price when all is said and done

- Student Promotions! Ask us about our FREE Promotional Items & Accessory Bundles for Students - Up to 50% OFF! - Student Verification Required for Promotional Accessory Items
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -Intel® Core™ i5-540M, 2.53-3.06GHz, (3MB L3 cache)
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5850 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- 4,096MB (4GB) DDR3 1066MHzDual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software (If choosing a 2nd HDD in the Optical Drive Bay no Optical Disk Drive will be included)
- - 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default
- No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Removed)
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless A/B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year MSI US Parts & Labor 1 Year Global Warranty w/ Lifetime Tech Support + 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty (Accidental requires registration)
- No Xotic PC Gear

1448.00 - This is before shipping and with 4 gigs of ram.

The search goes on. :) 

Regards

Chad

Maziar said:
I should have posted this earlier,check this ASUS G73
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23...
If the link doesn't work,go to bestbuy and search for "G73JH-RBBX05"


I have looked into that laptop a couple of times and though it seems nice I had a few issues with it. For starters I would prefer to avoid the 17inch route if I can. I do have to carry thins thing around with me to classes. On top of that after tax and a warranty through best buy I am on par with pricing of the Sager and MSI. Like I said I don't need the best in the world. I just want to meet or exceed my current desktop.

The more and more I look the more and more it seems like HP and Dell are the closest to what I am looking for. I am just terrified of how it seems everyone has something negative to say about each company.

Going to be another long day of searching.

Thanks for the help so far.

Chad
Laptop Master

Well aside from those 3 options,its a little hard to find a laptop with HD 5850M/5870M in it, i know you want something that performs like your current card(or better than it), so
HD 5650M is going to give you roughly the same performance,so the HP model would be good(Studio XPS is good too,but it produces a great amount of heat)

Maziar said:
Well aside from those 3 options,its a little hard to find a laptop with HD 5850M/5870M in it, i know you want something that performs like your current card(or better than it), so
HD 5650M is going to give you roughly the same performance,so the HP model would be good(Studio XPS is good too,but it produces a great amount of heat)


Hi,

It really is kind of confusing to me. I mean currently an i5-540m outperforms in 90+% of games then the i7-720m. Yet the with majority of systems you can't get a card better then a 5650 with out going with an i7? Am I missing something or does this make no sense? What is so wrong with an i5-540m matched with a 5850m? Heck for that matter what is so wrong with an i5-540m matched with a 57xx-m? Are there not people out there who don't want to deal with the power consumption and heat of the i7?

Outside the custom built MSI and Sager, the only other system that I have seen that offers the i5 with a card greater then the 5650 is the HP ENVY? And that is a i5-520m not 540m.

The more and more I look the more and more HP seems to be the only company offering me something that I want. But like I said I am worried about the whole HP/Dell frowning upon that goes on across multiple forums.

Looks like I got more researching to do.

Thanks again,

Chad
Laptop Master

i5 540M may outperform an i7 720QM in most games,but first of all the difference isn't much, also in some games which benefit from multi-core CPUs,i7 720QM performs better.

Maziar said:
i5 540M may outperform an i7 720QM in most games,but first of all the difference isn't much, also in some games which benefit from multi-core CPUs,i7 720QM performs better.


Hi,

I fully understand what you are saying. But the reality is even if a game makes use of the i7-720 there are still more games then not that don't. I am in the market that would not want the to deal with the heat and power drain that the i7 produces in order to play a very small percent of games that actually use it. On top of that, the performance that would be seen using an i7(quad-core) optimized game with an i7-720qm will in no way be large enough for me to even care. The less heat and added battery life for whatever that might be is worth it for me to get an i5-540m.

Like I said I am not looking to play the latest and greatest technology. In fact I really don't think I will be playing games on my laptop. But I do need to have access to a decent GPU for programming purposes.

Thanks for everything so far. I really appreciate the input.

On that note the HP ENVY 15 is so close to meeting what I am looking for. The only issue is that it offers a 520m instead of the 540m. But it does offer the ati 5830. What really hurts is that they did offer this setup with the 540m but have since removed it.

I swear...I will find what I am looking for. :D 

Thanks for everything so far. I really appreciate the input.

Chad


Best solution

Laptop Master

Yes you are right,not all games benefit from quad core and also a quad core CPU will produce more heat than a dual core CPU.
Envy 15 definitely looks good,don't worry about 520m vs 540m because the only difference is that 540m is 100Mhz faster which won't make a noticeable difference in games/apps.

Maziar said:
Yes you are right,not all games benefit from quad core and also a quad core CPU will produce more heat than a dual core CPU.
Envy 15 definitely looks good,don't worry about 520m vs 540m because the only difference is that 540m is 100Mhz faster which won't make a noticeable difference in games/apps.


Hi,

Well currently these three HP setups are the closet I am getting to my needs. The dv selection additions have dropped in price because they are now offering a free upgrade to 6gb of ram.

HP Envy 15
520m - 5830 - 500gb 7200rpm - 1366x768 = 1314.68
+ 1920 x 1080 = 1387.07

HP dv6t Select
540m - 5650 - 6gb ram - 1366 x 768 = 1203.73

HP dv7t Select
540m - 5650 - 6gb ram - 1600 x 900 = 1203.73

I am hoping to catch a little bit better deal on the Envy. We will see.

Again thanks for the time and help so far.

I don't feel like my search with end until the day I push except on my checkout cart.

Regards

Chad

Well I just purchased an Envy 15.

* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
* 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics [HDMI] - For i5 and i7-620M Processors
* 15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1920x1080)
* Webcam Only
* Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery (standard)
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

$1,204.81 out the door.

Thanks again for all the help

Regards

Chad
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