I need a new laptop

posted on November 16th, 2010, 2:04 am

I think i posted on here the other day saying that my laptop died. Anyway black friday is rolling around again so i think i can get a pretty good deal on a new laptop. But now im at a bit of an inpass i have narrowed it down to 3 (well i need to check this weeks paper as they have some on sale now) Also HDD/RAM isnt an issue for me as they are easily upgraded.

HP Dm4-1162us
Pros: i5-450M clocked at 2.4GHz will be considerablely faster than the rest of the laptops, Pretty brushed aluminum case
Cons: Intel HD Graphics

HP Dv6-3127
Pros: This laptop doesnt exist on any specs sheets yet however based on the other dv6-3100 series laptop i am farily safe in assusming that this laptop will have at least a 2.2 ghz i3 processor, and more excitingly at least an ATI Radeon HD 5470
Cons: Around here people start lining up at midnight to get the good Best Buy deals so that would mean waiting 6 hours in the freezing cold. Also there is usually like 10 laptops in every store so there really isnt any guaranty ill get it.

dv6-3122us
Pros: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 Graphics
Cons: AMD Turion II Dual-Core P540 clocked at 2.4GHz would be a decently fast processor it isnt as fast the the Intel I-cores listed above. Also its the ugly champaign color

So what is your guys opinion will the first laptop will its speedy i5 be able to keep up in games with ones that have a dedicated amd chip? Or do you guys think i should stand outside all night waiting for the zoo that is best buy black friday shopping?

posted on November 16th, 2010, 2:06 am

I know someone who owns the DV6.  If you don't mind the mouse pad it is a great computer for casual gaming and/or normal stuff.   Nothing like a nuclear powered laptop, but for average usage it works well.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 2:19 am

I'd say that if you plan on using it for more than a few, relatively low-end games, get one of the ones with a dedicated GPU. The i5 may be able to pick up the tab for some older or less intensive things, but my guess it performance will suffer even on mid-range stuff; and this goes for more than just games; image editing, 3d work, etc. anything graphics intensive will suffer somewhat. Granted though, integrated graphics are much better than they used to be. Are you only looking at HP?

posted on November 16th, 2010, 2:51 am

I think its a little out of your price range.   page glitch.

Attachments

posted on November 16th, 2010, 3:06 am

Mine is like that too it must just be a paceholder page or something. Also im not just considering hp but i refuse to look at dell. Also most of the computers that are going on sale are HP. My former computer was a dv6885se (RIP) so i do like hp (plus dad has worked for them for 10ish years)
Also i have a nice logitech mouse with the nano reciever so the trackpad isnt an issue either. One final thing the Intel HD graphics are designed for HD video decoding not for 3d rendering so their performance suffers in games.

Oh yeah games i like/want to play on it
Fleetops (duh)
COD Black Ops
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
Mass Effect 2
Starcraft 2

posted on November 16th, 2010, 4:35 am

I think its a little out of your price range.   page glitch.

FAIL

Based on your game list I'd say get one which has dedicated graphics, especially if you want to play the new COD. So I would look for either nVidia GTM 2xx/3xx (DX 10) or 4xx (DX 11) or ATI 4xxx (DX 10) or 5xxx (DX 11). Which one to look for will depend on your price range and preference. I personally prefer nVidias but they do tend to be more pricey. ATIs will probably be cheaper for their power but  ATIs in my experience don't work quite as well.

You might want to look into MSI notebooks, they appear to have some pretty good setups for decent prices.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 4:50 am

u should maybe consider getting a desktop rather if mobility isnt such a huge thing for you. you can get alot more bang for your buck with a desktop than a notebook.

if u really need that mobilty then u should maybe look at alienware notebooks. u can customise almost every aspect of the notebook and bring it to exactly your price/performance ratio.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 5:01 am

u should maybe consider getting a desktop rather if mobility isnt such a huge thing for you. you can get alot more bang for your buck with a desktop than a notebook.

if u really need that mobilty then u should maybe look at alienware notebooks. u can customise almost every aspect of the notebook and bring it to exactly your price/performance ratio.

that guy is right

posted on November 16th, 2010, 6:12 am

Mobility is a big thing i spend on average 8 to 10 hrs at home a day most of that is sleeping. And i am not spending more than 500 on a notebook.

[deathincarn]

posted on November 16th, 2010, 8:58 am

Last edited by deathincarn on November 16th, 2010, 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

ok well now u need to decide on a few things:

1) is $500 the absolute highest you willing go. could you go say and extra $300 higher maybe, or save up for a little longer till you have $1500 or so for a better laptop that will last you longer?
2) what kinda screen size do you want. is screen size a big issue for you. can you go a 11" screen or 15" your minimum? Screen size forms a big factor in the price.
3) is the laptop that u desire mainly work or games focused?
4) for the games you want to play, such as:
                                                             COD Black Ops
                                                             Mass Effect 2
                                                             Starcraft 2
then you gona have to invest more than $500 to be able to play those games at a decent frame rate and decent graphics.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 9:13 am

i dono what bad expriences you have had with dell, but i just did a laptop customization for you at alienware.com (coz im such a nice guy, and we have the same bday)
i found this for you:

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i3-350M 2.26GHz (3M cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
VIDEO CARD 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5850
LCD PANEL 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 2GB DDR3)
HARD DRIVE 320GB SATAII 7,200RPM
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
BATTERY OPTIONS Primary - 6-cell (56Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery
WIRELESS CARDS Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
BLUETOOTH Internal Bluetooth 2.1 Mini-Card - 2.1 Enhanced Data Rate
SCREEN 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED

all this for $1,439.00, which i think is pretty good deal considering its a really kick-ass notebook. If i where you i would rather just save up some more, bare with your old laptop and when i have $1500.00 id buy this. thats just my view.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 2:54 pm

I need a laptop for school and if im going to spend that much money ill get either a ROG notebook or an HP ENVY. I find that i cant type on laptops that are smaller than app 15 inches or so. And my old laptop really played those games pretty well so im just looking to replace it. And that laptop is broke as in replace the mobo broke.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 4:56 pm

Yeah, don't bother with anything smaller than 15". I also have an Alienware, more monstrous than what death did up though, 15.4", i7-Q740 1.73 GHz, 6 GB of RAM, 500 GB HDD, nVidia GTX 260M (1 GB). I love it, it powers through anything. I can have all four cores running at 100% and it barely slows down. Only draw backs are 1) that the 260M is only DX 10; nVidia hadn't released the 4xxM series and I didn't want an ATI card; and 2) it's heavy as in 9-12 lbs. heavy, but you do get used to it.

What ever you do though, it's unlikely that you'll be able to find a rig with dedicated graphics and i3 or better for less than 1000. There will be some trade off if you want to stay under 1000, either in the processor or the graphics. A Core 2 duo or quad should give you enough juice if combined with 3rd party graphics, but not many rigs are being marketed with Core 2s anymore it seems; it's either iX or something like a Celeron or Pentium D.

Your best bet it looks like will be to find something which has an i3 and dedicated graphics and that will probably go for around $1000. +- $100-$150.

posted on November 16th, 2010, 6:30 pm

FAIL

Based on your game list I'd say get one which has dedicated graphics, especially if you want to play the new COD. So I would look for either nVidia GTM 2xx/3xx (DX 10) or 4xx (DX 11) or ATI 4xxx (DX 10) or 5xxx (DX 11). Which one to look for will depend on your price range and preference. I personally prefer nVidias but they do tend to be more pricey. ATIs will probably be cheaper for their power but  ATIs in my experience don't work quite as well.

You might want to look into MSI notebooks, they appear to have some pretty good setups for decent prices.

I actually have a MSI notebook and I like it alot.  real cheap and doesn't have intel graphics, though it is serious outdated now with the i# processors and new graphics cards available.



As to a desktop: it is safe to assume that you will get around twice the computer for the same price if you buy a desktop vs a laptop.  However, there is almost no portability with desktops.

In addition, a desktop is much easier to upgrade and keep up to date.

posted on November 17th, 2010, 1:26 am

Found a nice one that i think im going with it has an amd tri-core 2.1ghz with a ati 4250. Only 550 so i think im going to go home and order it.
Amazon.com: HP Pavilion dv6-3013nr 15.6-Inch Laptop - Argento: Computer & Accessories: Reviews, Prices & more