Looking for a new Laptop

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kefloxin

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So my old laptop decided to mess up on me, and I'm looking for a new laptop. I hope to be able to play most modern PC games, like Black Ops for example (not sure if budget will allow though).

1. What is your budget?

My budget is 800$. Willing to go over slightly if the laptop is really worth it.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15.6" or 17" (most likely 15.6" since I'd rather have other specs in my budget)

3. What screen resolution do you want?

I'd prefer an 1080p laptop, although if it's not possible, a 720p will be fine as well.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Somewhere in between both.

5. How much battery life do you need?

Doesn't matter too much, I usually have my laptop plugged in when using it, as long as it's over 2 hours, it should be fine.

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)?

Yes, hopefully I can play the games on Medium to High at least.

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

Be able to watch movies, photoshop, sometimes I do video editing too.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

500GB+

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Anywhere is fine as long as it'll ship to Canada and I can get a good deal. I'm looking around in stores like Best Buy and Future Shop as well.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as I can, preferably over 5 years.

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

Bluray is nice but I'm pretty sure a regular DVD Burner should be fine.

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.

No preference really. I try to stay away from Acer though.

13. What country do you live in?

Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

None
 

kefloxin

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I see, that looks like a good laptop, but I'm still looking for others, kind of trying to avoid Acer if possible, my friends have had bad experiences with them. I'm not good at looking at graphics cards so I'm wondering if a "NVIDIA GeForce 310M + Intel HD" is any good? I'm looking at this laptop right now:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220865

There's also:

$749.25 Ideapad Y560 w/Core i5-460M, Radeon HD 5730 1GB

* Intel® Core™ i5-460M Processor ( 2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MB )
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 1GB
* 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
* 15.6 " HD LED Glare 1366x768
* 500GB 5400
* DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
* Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 1000
* Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
* Industry Standard Touchpad
* 6 Cell Lithium-Ion

The original price for the Ideapad is apparently 1100$ but because of boxing day it's 750$... it looks pretty good, but I can't tell if the graphics card is any good, anyone know?

Thanks
 
Ok, so you need to read my thread because you've fallen for one of the myths about laptops:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/60098-35-general-laptop-advice
Are you aware that by saying you want to avoid Acer that you're also saying that you want to avoid Gateway, eMachines and Packard-Bell? Dude, there's no difference between brands. I used to work at a tigerdirect.ca store and I can tell you that they're all the same under the skin, just like people. They're all made in China or Taiwan and the "brand name" is slapped on at the end along with a difference casing that looks different but fits the exact same chassis underneath. For $800CAD, you can get something pretty good but don't expect miracles because for some reason the Americans like to rape us when it comes to selling us things on newegg and tiger direct. Here are some options for you, all priced near $800:
newegg:
$770 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157356CVF
$800 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220865
$838 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115968CVF
Personally, I'd chose the $838 laptop because of the Quad-Core CPU and very potent GPU. It's $38 more but the performance is on a completely different level from the other two. I saw the Y560 for $849 but that might be out of your range.
Remember - If it says it has Intel GMA or HD graphics by itself, do NOT buy it! :sol:
 

What site is that Ideapad being sold on for that price? newegg has it for $849. Infotec says $750 but it's not available.
 

kefloxin

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Yeah, I think I'm probably going to go with that. The only thing that bugs me a little about it is it's resolution, but I suppose it's what I'm going to get. I'll look around and see if I can find something else, if not I'll go with that. Thanks for the advice.
 
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