Looking for new laptop

[howslife54]

Hi all, I'm currently looking to get a new laptop, any guidance would be appreciated.

1. What is your budget?
800-900 before taxes, or less of course.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
probably 15-16 inch

3. What screen resolution do you want?
most of the 15.6" laptops come with the 1366x768, so probably that.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Won't really be taking it many places, maybe to campus and back.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Will be plugged in most of the time so not too concerned, 2.5-3 hours

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)?
Medium seems to be the best I'll be able to do for this price range. Primarily play starcraft II and dragon age 1-2

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Watching movies, and photoshop, not too concerned about this aspect though as all the machines ive looked at in this price range will handle what I need from here.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
300-500 gigs

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I've been looking at

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6891953&CatId=4938

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7162664&sku=T71-156111

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=93790&sku=T71-156116

Open to any other suggestions in that price range though. I like the looks of the asus, and the chiclit keyboard is a nice plus.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
For the next 2-3 years, understandable if the hardware cant keep up with gaming needs at that time though

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
dvd player, possibly bluray player if there is minimal difference in price, not important though.
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.

13. What country do you live in?

Canada, but if ordering on line i can arrange to have it shipped to an american or canadian address.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[howslife54]

Just an update,

Continued to look around and found xoticpc.com. Has anyone used them before? I found a good deal on a Sager, which I don't have much experience with as a brand.

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-p-2999.html?wconfigure=yes

799 for :

i7-2630QM
nVidia GT 540M 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
and 4 gigs of ram.

seems like the best bet so far?

 

[WR2]

Hello howslife54;

That NP5160 is the best 'gaming' option of any you've listed so far.
It doesn't include a copy of Windows so the final price is going to be a bit higher.

 

[HPrometheus]

Well based on what you're going to use it for, (Dragon Age 1-2, and some others) you should seriously consider the HP Envy. Especially as of 4/5/2011 there's a sale going on all over the HP store.

Here's a link for you: http://goo.gl/rUOr0

And if you're a student, you can get a student discount from HP as well: http://goo.gl/TtDee

It should be under 900 with both discounts applied.

Enjoy

 

[howslife54]

Thanks for the replies,

I was also looking at the envy 14, though to get similar specs as the Sager it seems to be a bit more. I'm estimating the Sager will come to just under 800 including all taxes and discounts. The specs on the machine are as follows:

- 15.6” HD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1366x768) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- - 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- Stock Thermal Compound-
- nVidia GT 540M 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Software
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default
- No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay - When Selecting, Optical Drive is NOT Included
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- None Standard--
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- NO Spare Battery
- 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, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support
- No Xotic PC Gear

I'm just wondering if its worth it to upgrade the screen for an extra 65$, i already have a 23" samsung FHD monitor. Also, is it worth upgrading from 4 to 6 or 8 gigs of ram, its +45 for 6 gigs + 70 for 8 gigs. is this a cheaper price than if I wanted to upgrade the ram on my own later?

Thanks.

 

[howslife54]

Another reason for the Sager is I already have windows 7 install discs, which are included in the cost of the HP but not the Sager, helping me to save about a hundred bucks.

 

[WR2]

Doing your own installation means avoiding all the junkware that Dell/HP, etc load on the PCs and laptops when they send them out.

 

[WR2]

4GB Laptop RAM $40 Since you only have 2 RAM slots you could get 6GB with the 1x 4GB stick which is too close to what Xotic charges ($45) to mess with it yourself. Same for the 8GB RAM - a fair price vs DIY upgrade.
I think 4GB should be plenty of RAM.

Screen upgrade = your choice. Dell charges $150 to go from 1366x768 to 1920x1080 on its XPS 15.

Sager/Clevo is a supplier to some of the premier boutique notebook resellers like Alienware, VodooPC. And XoticPC has a good rep for support too.

Stop by the "Owners Lounges" in the forums and see what actual owners are saying.