The Laptop Guide - Post here for questions, deals, etc.

**Stiker** · 2010-01-13 16:13

IMO, anti-virus tends to come down to a matter of personal opinion and preference as to what you are looking for. Personally I'm trail running NOD32 one one system and Avira AntiVir Free on another one. I've owned AVG in the past as well.

If you'd like some reviews I suggest these links:

CNET (click on Editor's pick tab): http://download.cnet.com/windows/sec...ftware/?tag=bc

Review of Paid Software: http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

**RakEx** · 2010-01-15 10:26

So I'm in the market for a new laptop. I have $250 in gift certificates to BestBuy. I dont want/need anything too fancy but if it had the capacity to run FFIV that would be a plus as I may just want to give that a shot when it comes out.

My price range would be between $400 and say $1000. Looking to get the best bang for the buck obviously with the option to possibly run FFIV. Thanks for your help.

**Shibo** · 2010-01-15 10:50

Originally Posted by RakEx

So I'm in the market for a new laptop. I have $250 in gift certificates to BestBuy. I dont want/need anything too fancy but if it had the capacity to run FFIV that would be a plus as I may just want to give that a shot when it comes out.

My price range would be between $400 and say $1000. Looking to get the best bang for the buck obviously with the option to possibly run FFIV. Thanks for your help.

The problem is that despite popular belief best buy usually doesn't have the best deals around when compared to other online stores.

For example I found this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+L...&skuId=9556072

It is pretty nice for $900, but that is on the higher end of your spending.
Pros on this one in the specs:
1gb dedicated graphics card
HDD is 7200rpm (most laptops I see in this price range are 5400rpm)

Most everything else is standard in a laptop you are looking for:
Dual core ~2.2ghz, 4gb ram, ~320gb hdd.

I found this too:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+V...&skuId=9634794

However, there are some cons to this one:
- $900 and it is sold out atm
- Dedicated graphics card only has 256mb dedicated vram
- Screen size is only 14"

But there are some minor pros:
- DDR3 RAM instead of DDR2
- HDD is 500gb (but only 5400 rpm)

IMO they are both overpriced, but they are some of the better ones I found on best buys website.

You can look around newegg.com and find something almost equally as good for about $250 cheaper, for example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewPro...#scrollDetails

I would keep browsing around though and look for a sale if you are patient about getting a new one, you can always post your finding and someone will most likely be more then willing to let you know if it is good enough for what you want to do and at a reasonable price.

**RakEx** · 2010-01-15 10:55

Wow thanks for the informative and quick response! <3 tech section!

I will prob hold out for a bit then and see what i can find. Thanks for the info!!!

**Cephius** · 2010-01-15 13:57

If you want to be assured of being able to run FF14, I'd really wait a bit. Technology advances quickly, and a laptop bought closer to the release date will get you more bang for your buck and have a higher likelihood to run FF14 optimally. Just my 2 cents.

Also, if I had the choice I would not buy from Best Buy. Save your gift certs for games or something else. Best Buy normally carries older models and its prices are not terribly competitive. You're better off buying directly from manufacturer websites (I bought an HP laptop and got almost $600 in instant rebates and coupon codes you can google for) to get the most value. Keep an eye on newegg and tigerdirect too - they occasionally have good deals.

**Minions** · 2010-01-15 21:40

Originally Posted by Cephius

If you want to be assured of being able to run FF14, I'd really wait a bit. Technology advances quickly, and a laptop bought closer to the release date will get you more bang for your buck and have a higher likelihood to run FF14 optimally. Just my 2 cents.

Also, if I had the choice I would not buy from Best Buy. Save your gift certs for games or something else. Best Buy normally carries older models and its prices are not terribly competitive. You're better off buying directly from manufacturer websites (I bought an HP laptop and got almost $600 in instant rebates and coupon codes you can google for) to get the most value. Keep an eye on newegg and tigerdirect too - they occasionally have good deals.

Specs can't be all that high, its been in production for like 4-6 years. Honestly though, if you don't need the laptop now just wait, whatever you buy now will decrease by 25% in the next 6-8 months.

**Rellikard** · 2010-01-18 21:45

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+V...&skuId=9705364

Amazing laptop for the price.

i3 CPU (2.1GHz Quad)
4GB DDR3 1066 RAM
500GB HDD
256MB Dedicated nVidia Graphics
HDMI
4hr Battery Life
14" Screen, 5lb.
$750, Colors: White & Indigo Royal (Nice Color Purple)

There's also a $800 version that has Blu-Ray and Bluetooth and comes in Black or Red. I just got the Indigo Royal. Really nice laptop.

Edit: Looks similar to the other SONY that was posted a few posts up but is $100-150 cheaper.

**Tyche** · 2010-01-19 10:13

Is this a good deal? $550.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=M455-16004

**Cephius** · 2010-01-19 11:47

Originally Posted by Tyche

Is this a good deal? $550.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=M455-16004

It's decent.

For the price..

Pros: Lot of memory, dedicated graphics card, lot of hard drive space

Cons: Slow hard drive, crappy desktop resolution, older processor

Really depends on what you're going to use it for. Something that's a memory hog should be fine. Something that needs processor power, you may find it a bit lacking. And with a 5400 rpm hard drive, it's going to seem a bit sluggish accessing data.

**Tyche** · 2010-01-19 11:51

I wanted a laptop for under $500. The most memory/graphically intensive applications that'll be ran with regularity are Photoshop and lightroom. Other than that, just simple browsing. My desktop (and only other home PC) is a 2.1ghz Celeron with 512 mb of ram. Running those programs (and trying to watch youtube videos in HD), is like pulling my hair out. I'm not running any videogames on it.

**Cephius** · 2010-01-19 12:11

That should be fine for you then, though I'm not a photoshop guy and aren't really familiar with it's current system reqs.

**Isiolia** · 2010-01-19 12:18

Photoshop tends more to be a matter of the better machine you have, the better it runs, but it'll still work either way.

If you're routinely using larger files, you may want to consider a desktop, look for a machine with a faster HDD, or look for a laptop with eSATA so you can use a fast external drive. Buuut, that goes on the list of reasons you don't want a laptop for serious Photoshop work (TN screens are crap for color, heat/throttling, etc).

**Tyche** · 2010-01-19 12:41

The reason I wanted a laptop is because I want 2 computers so both my wife and I can do whatever it is that were doing at the same time, but at the same time, I don't want two desktops. I thought about just replacing the desktop altogether, but I figured why not get a laptop and keep a perfectly fine desktop.

For photoshop/lightroom use, color won't be too much of an issue. It'll mostly be used for exposure adjustments, white balance, etc or camera RAW files (~15mb in size). If push comes to shove, I can always transfer them to my desktop. Lightroom/Photoshop just runs sluggish as hell on it, but it does run. Photoshop/Lightroom isn't the reason I'm buying a laptop, it's just one of the more resource heavy applications I'll be using, so I wanted to make sure it could at least handle that. I really just want a 2nd computer that's somewhat capable without having 2 desktops. My desktop an old E-machine with a Celeron processor, 512 mb ram, 128mb video card. Archaic, I know. All we pretty much use it for are web browsing and hosting media to stream on my PS3. It's when I try to do picture editing that I get frustrated with it.

**jmc** · 2010-01-19 13:58

Originally Posted by Rellikard

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+V...&skuId=9705364

Amazing laptop for the price.

i3 CPU (2.1GHz Quad)
4GB DDR3 1066 RAM
500GB HDD
256MB Dedicated nVidia Graphics
HDMI
4hr Battery Life
14" Screen, 5lb.
$750, Colors: White & Indigo Royal (Nice Color Purple)

There's also a $800 version that has Blu-Ray and Bluetooth and comes in Black or Red. I just got the Indigo Royal. Really nice laptop.

Edit: Looks similar to the other SONY that was posted a few posts up but is $100-150 cheaper.

Awesome post, was looking at a new laptop and now gonna check this laptop out at bestbuy later.

**happydude** · 2010-01-19 15:23

can anyone tell me the difference between RGBLED and WLED screens? 150$ price difference thinking of ordernig a SXPS16 from dell

also should i stick with the 500gb 7200 rpm hd or upgrade it to the 128/256 gb ssd?

**Vile23** · 2010-01-20 04:02

Just bought my first laptop tonight. Was torn between these two : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146613 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834101203 Ended up picking up the Gateway for the full size keyboard, and the 260M. Although I'm not keen on the low resolution it seems like a good buy, yay nay ?

**Oreth** · 2010-01-20 06:16

Hmm weird,

Thought i made a post here but seems to have vanished, ahwell attempt no2

Basically im looking to get a small, compact and sleek laptop that offers alot of punch. In the hope that it would allow me to play high end games if i wanted to but it wouldnt be my primary gaming system. I dont want a big one so 15-13 " is the size range im looking for.

Unfortunately this side of the water we dont have Bestbuy or Newegg and the equivalents definately dont offer the prices that either of those two do. The stores we do have dont have anything in the range or spec im after and if they do its very very expensive.

That has me looking at Dell, im interested in the XPS 13 & the Alienware M15X

Below are images of the specs and the prices. Should i look at getting something better in the US for that sort of money and get it shipped? granted i would be liable for custom charges etc or what would you advise i invest my money in.

Thanks for any help.

XPS 13 - $ 1950

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/9893/xps13lap1.jpg

Alienware M15x - $2100

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5462/awlap1.jpg

**Oreth** · 2010-01-21 06:59

Anyone got any advice on whats the best option in the log run?

**The Stig** · 2010-01-21 07:34

If you want to possibly play high end games then the Alienware one is the way to go.

However that's still a bit too... expensive, seeing as you're somewhat in the UK, I seriously recommend you to look at this:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/l...x70ca15.6.html

You get the i7 CPU and the top end GFX card all in a 15.6 sized laptop, good for your needs in my opinion.

I dislike buying from overseas for if something goes wrong it becomes awkward. Least with Novatech you can somewhat get to them if the need arises..

**Electro** · 2010-01-21 10:56

Originally Posted by Oreth

Hmm weird,

Thought i made a post here but seems to have vanished, ahwell attempt no2

Basically im looking to get a small, compact and sleek laptop that offers alot of punch. In the hope that it would allow me to play high end games if i wanted to but it wouldnt be my primary gaming system. I dont want a big one so 15-13 " is the size range im looking for.

Unfortunately this side of the water we dont have Bestbuy or Newegg and the equivalents definately dont offer the prices that either of those two do. The stores we do have dont have anything in the range or spec im after and if they do its very very expensive.

That has me looking at Dell, im interested in the XPS 13 & the Alienware M15X

Below are images of the specs and the prices. Should i look at getting something better in the US for that sort of money and get it shipped? granted i would be liable for custom charges etc or what would you advise i invest my money in.

Thanks for any help.

XPS 13 - $ 1950

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/9893/xps13lap1.jpg

Alienware M15x - $2100

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5462/awlap1.jpg

The only thing that bugs me about that is for the price your paying and no Blu-Ray >.>.

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