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

[Scorp]

It's custom built.

I'll shop around see if I can find anything with better specs for a similar price.

From my own shopping around (and lack of laptop knowledge) This is pretty much the same price and set up from DELL. £678.99. The fact that DELL tie you into vista aside, the dell one does seem to have a comparable graphics card and a better screen resolution.

Edit.. I just checked OC website and get your build to be £545.15 Including VAT. Price drop or am I missing some options?

Base
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache)
Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
Microsoft Application Software
1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return

LCD
15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ WLED (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™
Camera
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
Memory
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
Hard Drive
250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Video Card
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450
Optical Devices
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
Primary Battery
Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery

[Mayareira]

New Macbook, im looking at the 13 inch.
http://www.apple.com/ca/macbook/

yay/nay?


Essentially im looking for a laptop that will last a few years as my 2 year old Acer recently got fried (the power cable somehow got fucked up and burned my computers inside). I've been looking at the new Macbook because of my friend experiences with theirs, and the fact that it has a good battery life, decent processor, and good graphics card. I do have some experience with a Mac, and my friend is has had a mac for a while so I can go to him with any questions.

So should I buy it?

Its a good machine(especially since they finally ditched GMA) but quite expensive. I wish they at least kept prices at 1000~ mark. High end macbook definitely doesn't worth the price tag, buy the cheap one and upgrade your RAM if anything.
Matter of preference. I've been using macbook pro for years now and I am very happy with it. Never required service or whatsoever(I guess I should say the same for my IBM, good old thing is almost 13 years old-_-). People I've met are generally happy with their new Macbooks but its very early to say anything about their durability.

[_chuchu]

Don't know much about Laptops and what not, but is it possible to buy a laptop under 600$ that can play FFXI with at least medium settings? And where would I be able to get it? ^^;

First, a warning or two (thanks Mayareira);

Just want to clarify, any Intel graphics adapter above GMA 900(which is almost 4 years old) runs the game OK. It was Intel Extreme Graphics 1&2 that couldn't run ffxi and they pretty much died long ago.

, so beware of those and the less expensive ones don't have graphics cards that are all that great.

Have a look at some on Xoticpc (you can click on home/office and it shows pretty much all the laptops the have including gaming ones for a good bang for the buck) XOTIC PC Custom Notebooks & Gaming Laptops

Newegg also has a few Gateways, Acers, and a Toshibas for 400-750 range, but make sure its an ATI or Nvidia card by talking with customer service before buying. I saw a decent Toshiba out of stock for under 600 too and I would have bought it lol

Edit: fixed

[Mayareira]

Just want to clarify, any Intel graphics adapter above GMA 900(which is almost 4 years old) runs the game OK. It was Intel Extreme Graphics 1&2 that couldn't run ffxi and they pretty much died long ago.

[_chuchu]

Just want to clarify, any Intel graphics adapter above GMA 900(which is almost 4 years old) runs the game OK. It was Intel Extreme Graphics 1&2 that couldn't run ffxi and they pretty much died long ago.

Ah ok my bad then, cuz my intel card won't run it .

[mootsfox]

FFXI is mostly CPU based anyways. A faster CPU over a faster video card is going to help more.

[Beckwin]

Looking to pick up a laptop within the next month or so, saw this in the ads today:

Toshiba A355D-S6889 Laptop Package with AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware Software ($290 Instant Savings)

It seems like a pretty good deal for sure, just wondering if there's anything that stands out as substandard. I don't really plan to do a ton of high-end gaming, but I do need something I can smoothly run art applications on (photoshop, 3d packages, etc). Any thoughts?

[mootsfox]

That's a decent deal. Is there any way to get it without the antivirus bs?

[Beckwin]

I don't think you have to install it lol. Could just sell the anti-virus software on ebay or w/e.

[Azkarin2]

I was looking to get a new laptop and was wondering what yall thought about the following specs. It is priced around $800 so let me know if you have any tips/ideas. I'm mainly looking for a laptop to surf the internet, DL videos/music, and do some work. FFXI isn't that big of an issue since I think I'm on my way out and any games will probably be played via Xbox.


HP Pavilion dv5-1125nr

Microprocessor 2.10 GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-72 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
Microprocessor Cache 1 MB L2 Cache
Memory 4096 MB
Memory Max 8192MB
Video Graphics ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics RS780M
Video Memory Up to 1918 MB
Hard Drive 250 GB (5400 rpm)
Multimedia Drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display 15.4” diagonal WXGA High-Definition Brightview Infinity Display (1280 x 800)

External Ports

* 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
* 4 Universal Serial Bus USB 2.0
* 4th port shared with eSATA
* 1 VGA (15-pin)
* 1 HDMI
* 1 RJ-11 (modem)
* eSATA + USB 2.0
* 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
* 2 headphone-out
* 1 microphone-in
* 1 notebook expansion port 3
* 1 Consumer IR

[Devolver]

A couple months ago I bought a Compaq Presario F756NR notebook. And I was wondering what on my system specs would cause FF to run like complete garbage.

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 1.9 GHz
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics: GeForce 7000M/nForce 610M

Thats all the relative info to give that i can think of. The problem is just general slow-down and framerate issues.

Im not really computer savvy so a general "lol theres nothing you can do to fix it" or a vague "its your <insert spec here> thats slowing you down" would suffice. Im thinking its just the Nvidia/Vista thing, but i was wanting to make sure. Ty in advance

[mootsfox]

I was looking to get a new laptop and was wondering what yall thought about the following specs. It is priced around $800 so let me know if you have any tips/ideas. I'm mainly looking for a laptop to surf the internet, DL videos/music, and do some work. FFXI isn't that big of an issue since I think I'm on my way out and any games will probably be played via Xbox.


HP Pavilion dv5-1125nr

Microprocessor 2.10 GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-72 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
Microprocessor Cache 1 MB L2 Cache
Memory 4096 MB
Memory Max 8192MB
Video Graphics ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics RS780M
Video Memory Up to 1918 MB
Hard Drive 250 GB (5400 rpm)
Multimedia Drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display 15.4” diagonal WXGA High-Definition Brightview Infinity Display (1280 x 800)

External Ports

* 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
* 4 Universal Serial Bus USB 2.0
* 4th port shared with eSATA
* 1 VGA (15-pin)
* 1 HDMI
* 1 RJ-11 (modem)
* eSATA + USB 2.0
* 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
* 2 headphone-out
* 1 microphone-in
* 1 notebook expansion port 3
* 1 Consumer IR

That's about $300 more than it should be.

[Azkarin2]

That's about $300 more than it should be.

I know its probably a difficult/vague question to answer but could you tell me which of the above specs should change to make it worth the $800? (faster processor, more HD, etc)

EDIT: Also, I've been checking newegg and slickdeals but is there any other sites that are useful for buying good laptops at good prices?

[mootsfox]

I know its probably a difficult/vague question to answer but could you tell me which of the above specs should change to make it worth the $800? (faster processor, more HD, etc)

EDIT: Also, I've been checking newegg and slickdeals but is there any other sites that are useful for buying good laptops at good prices?

CPU, Graphics, the screen resolution is a bit small in my opinion, a 15.4" should really have a 1440x900 or larger panel.

Don't worry about hard drive or RAM when buying a new laptop. They are so damn cheap now it's not worth buying a computer with 4GB over one with 1 or 2GB if the second has a better CPU and/or GPU.

A 4GB kit for a laptop is about $40 on Newegg right now. You can get a 320GB HDD for under $100 as well. CPU's are more expensive, and GPUs can not normally be replaced expect in rare cases.

[Azkarin2]

Scratch my previous post. Live.com is giving 40% cashback tomorrow on all HPs so I decided to custom build one. The price is still about $780-$800 bucks. Any comments let me know.

Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz) edit
Display 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1680 x 1050) edit
Memory FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Graphics card 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT edit
Hard drive FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Personalization [For BrightView Infinity Display] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader edit
Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard edit
Networking Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card edit
Modem Port No Modem edit
Primary DVD/CD drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support edit
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control edit
Primary battery High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


Seems to be more bang for my buck. Also custom built a similar one for the same price but it was a 17" laptop. Not sure if I needed the extra size/weight but I don't think I'd regret getting the bigger one. Help me out techies!

[mootsfox]

That is a beast.

I'd personally go with a 15.4" over a 17". The only thing the 17" offers is more weight, less battery life and more cost.

[Azkarin2]

Yeah, thats the debate I was having. For the same price, the 15 inch offers 4 GM vs 3GB and 2.26 GHz vs 2.20 GHz. My only other laptop was 14 inches and it would be nice to have the full keyboard. But like you said the weight and battery life are going to be a pain. I'll sleep on it and hopefully be okay with getting the smaller one (it makes 10x more sense but I'm stuck on bigger = awesome!)

Thanks for the help and keeping my from purchasing the first one so I could find this second deal. Hurray for BF!

[mootsfox]

Think about lugging around a 17" laptop. It's not fun.

[Eikechi]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to get a laptop for Christmas, and I'm trying to stay within the $600-$700 range. I have a few laptops that look pretty decent for their price, and I need some advice on which one would be a better buy.

1.)HP Pavilion dv5z

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
AMD Turion(TM) X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-70 (2.0GHz)
15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)!!
ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3200 Graphics
160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
HP Color Matching Keyboard
Wireless-G Card
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Price: $749.99, $599.99 after $150.00 instant rebate.

The above laptop was from HP's website; I was looking through sale ads and found some other laptops that seem comparable, but I'm not sure.(Less details from these... ad doesn't provide much.)

2.) HP Pavilion Notebook
AMD Turion X2 RM-70 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
nVIDIA Ge-Force graphics
3GB RAM
250GB Hard Drive
15.6" Screen
Wireless-N Networking
Webcam with microphone
CD/DVD recorder with Disc labeling technology

Price: $674.99, $549.99 after savings.


3.) HP Pavilion Notebook
Windows Vista Premium 64-bit Edition
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor Technology T5800
4GB RAM
250GB Hard Drive
14.1" Screen
Wireless-N Networking
Webcam with microphone

Price: $749.99, $649.99 after savings.


Note: Don't flame, I'm pretty much a PC noob and definitely a Laptop noob. Thanks in advance for any help!
Wireless-N Networking

[Taera]

Heya, just bought a new laptop and just wanted to get some opinions on it. The price was way too much (2000+) but i didnt pay for it so no worries. Just wanted to know if i did a good job putting it together or not.

HP HDX16t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)
16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
$50 OFF Ugrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
HP Color Matching Keyboard
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
No TV Tuner w/remote control
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery