Budget office/gaming computer 850 max

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sardonicone

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Hello,

I was looking to get something that would last me a while, and be able to play some games. I currently only play RS, however games I do enjoy and would like to play well would be WOW, LoL (with my son), and Kerbal Space Program. I think I will want to play diablo 3 once it hits, as I was a huge fan of Diablo 2. In addition to all that, I do need a computer that will enable me to handle routine office tasks. I'm a staffing coordinator for a local recruiting firm, and generally this means having a few office docs open at once, and several internet tabs open at all times.

Here are the FAQ I need to answer:

1. What is your budget? 850 max, but want to stay under 800 if possible.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Nothing smaller than 15, 14's just feel tiny to me.

3. What screen resolution do you want? Doesn't matter I suppose.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? IF it's not a desktop, it's portable. I have no problem lugging around something 10-12 pounds.

5. How much battery life do you need? It will be plugged in 99% of the time. So doesn't matter.

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. RS (Highest Settings), WoW (Mid to High), LoL (High), Starcraft 2 (Mid to High), Diablo 3 (mid), KSP (it doesn't have graphical settings I don't think)

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Office docs, maybe some print design, lots of web surfing (have over 10 tabs open at any given time)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Not a lot at all. My music collection isn't even 10 gigs.

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

Microcenter.com, Newegg, tigerdirect? I like the idea of going to a brick and mortar store a lot too. Shipping worries me. (I live in Hilliard, Oh)

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? A few years. My last one (Dell Inspiron) died in less than two, but was before Sandy Bridge anyways. I had a Dell desktop that almost lasted a decade before it died.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? I don't own a single Blueray disk. So DVD is fine for now.

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 don't have a brand preference, as long as it will last. I was looking at Lenovo's as they have some great deals on their website, but alas, none of them will ship soon enough.

13. What country do you live in? United States

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. I did above I think.

I hope this can help people find their ideal notebook.

Additionally... you should also consider what support options are available in your area. If say you buy something abroad, will you be able to have it fixed near where you live? Does the warranty apply? How quickly do local accredited technicians fix laptops? I don't live abroad.
 

sardonicone

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My plan was to buy the following:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0379839

or it's little brother

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0380302

And swap the HD for a 160 or 320 gig 7200 rpm from the same place:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0321815

or

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0298929

I think they do a free install there when you buy. That would take are of any bloatware issues.
 

sardonicone

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Ah. I might just keep the 5400 in for now then and save up to get a better hd.

Is there that noticeable a difference between the 5400 to the 7200?

I mean I'm using a inspiron from 2010 atm (wifes computer) to post and it seems kinda fast to me.
 
Look for NVidia OPTIMUS technology. It can disable the 2nd, more powerful graphics card completely when not needed so the laptop isn't loud and hot when not gaming.

I dislike gaming laptops in general, because to get anything half decent you need to spend at least $1000 and they are often loud and hot.

On the other hand, I saw a beautiful laptop from Lenovo for $450 with an AMD E2-3000 APU which is in my opinion the best compromise between performance and heat/noise. This APU runs very, very cool and quiet yet it's more powerful than the lower-end APU's which I felt inadequate at times. The laptop fan could not be heard at all unless within 3" in a quiet room Wow! It also had HDMI output, Windows 7 64-bit, 4GB etc.

There are actually quite a few games out there that run nicely on this chipset. Not Starcraft 2 though.

Quite honestly, people are constantly being disappointed by how poor laptops run these demanding games, not to mention laptop monitor viewing angles make gaming difficult as well...
 

sardonicone

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The honest answer is you obviously didn't read my first post. Please reread it then if you want to offer suggestions feel free to do so. The games I'm playing for the most part aren't anything a laptop can't handle, and from what I can tell by testing the actual chips, would run very well on a laptop.

I don't know why you dektop fanboys have to always pretend you can't play games on a laptop. You can, and I have already.

Nevermind I pointed out this is an office laptop first, a gaming one second.
 

sardonicone

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Been looking at Lenovos, the shipping times are hurting them for me.

I've had a laptop for the last several years, not disspaointed in the slightest, and that was with one that doesn't even have a dedicated gfx card. I'm a very mild gamer, usually only playing RS, some WoW here and there. I played the heck out of Diablo 2 for years on a 2002 dell pentium 4 with no gfx card as well, so it's not like I'm expecting end of the world performance here.

I think what a lot of the people on here aren't considering is the gaming level of the individual buying it. Not everyone is looking for the ultimate gaming experience, and something like a 700-800 computer with dedicated gfx is probably AMAZING compared to what they used to have.
 

sardonicone

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Brett- Apologies if I came off as rude. That was not my intent.

If you read my OP, you'll see it's meant for some gaming, but nothing fancy. Maybe the most graphically intense game would be one of the star-wars ones, but I doubt I'd even go that far, seeing as how I'm a terrible gamer in general outside of mmorpgs. I don't seem to have the reflexes for console like games.
 


Hi :)

I own computer shops and a laptop repair company...so am not biased either way as both make me money....

As I am a literate ancient adult, I DID read the whole of your post....

My answer stands....for 850 you are NOT going to be doing ANY decent quality gaming....think £2000 + if you want to....

All the best Brett :)
 

sardonicone

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How exactly would I spend British Pounds in America.

Your answer is invalid on that premise alone, computers cost more over seas to begin with.

The one in my OP has a very decent gfx card, is running a i7, and hs 8 gigs of ram.

Far more than enough to play something like WoW on.

You sure you're not biased?

 

sardonicone

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To put this in further perspective: I'm currently used to playing RS on highest settings (windowed) and getting 10-14 fps. I tried it out on my sons new desktop and was getting over 30, and it was like a whole new game.

TO me, 30 fps is a dream, I don't even know how to explain it.
 
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