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

[mootsfox]

Since this is probably the single most asked question in this forum "I need a new laptop $800-1100, halp". I figured it was time to make a little buying guide.

I'll update this thread as deals expire/change, etc. For both of these laptops, you just need to spend $1249 or more to get $500 off the laptop. You can change the specs a little bit if you'd like, but you have to keep the laptop above $1249 before adding it to your cart to get the deal. I spec'd them out as if I was going to buy them , but some people might have slightly different needs. (Cephius EDIT 4/21 - The deal on Vostros has since expired, but they are still cheap solid laptops. If you need a medium laptop that can play FFXI, and do random tasks but not play newer games, these are still a top choice)

Under $800
Vostro 1400 And choose the following:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100
  14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™
  8X DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio
  128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
  160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
  Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Internal-card
  Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
  85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
  85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery

Your total should be $777.00

I would also suggest buying a 2GB or 4GB kit from newegg. It is also worth noting the 1GB Corsair stick is $10 after MIR, you could get two and use one rebate to get the same 2GB kit for $30 instead of $40.


$800-1000
Vostro 1500 And choose the following:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300
  Wide Screen SXGA+ LCD Display w/TrueLife™
  8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio
  256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
  160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
  85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Your total should be $978.00.

Dell Inspiron 1720

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T2370 (1.73GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
Glossy, high contrast, widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440 x 900)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
2GB2 Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 250GB3 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card

$949 after instant savings

$2000+

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5793-cus ... -2276.html

17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® T9300 45nm "Penryn" Core™2 Duo 2.5GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ SPECIAL~ 4,096MB DDR2 667 PC2 5300 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB) $75 OFF When Purchased with 8800M GTX
- NP5792/5793 Orange Frame Trim Color
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows XP Pro SP2 w/ Drivers, Utilities CD
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Tech Support
(Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

Good choice if you don't like dells or alienware!

Dell XPS1730
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional - English
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA
AGEIA PhysX™ 100M Processor
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
120GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor
CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
NVIDIA®GeForce®8700M GT graphics
Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965a/g/n Mini Card
High Definition Audio 2.0
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)

I would again also suggest buying a 2GB or 4GB kit from newegg. It is also worth noting the 1GB Corsair stick is $10 after MIR, you could get two and use one rebate to get the same 2GB kit for $30 instead of $40.

[Cephius]

Was gonna make a similiar topic, but let's sticky this, from now on lets keep all laptop-buying related questions in here. Post here for laptop buying related questions, to post deals, or to offer advice on builds. Moot (if you're willing) please add any good deals to the OP and I'll do the same.

Thanks!

[mootsfox]

Was gonna make a similiar topic, but let's sticky this, from now on lets keep all laptop-buying related questions in here. Post here for laptop buying related questions, to post deals, or to offer advice on builds. Moot (if you're willing) please add any good deals to the OP and I'll do the same.

Thanks!

I'll add/link them as I find them. I'm a bit biased towards the Vostro line since they are solid notebooks with great specs at a great price.

Thanks for the sticky

[Cephius]

Right, whatever we can come up with so people have an idea what to look for. I'd like any other good deals up there too just so there's variety. Especially good FFXI laptops (if there is such a thing) because a lot of people want something that's cheap, can play ffxi and do some web browsing/chatting/misc stuff. Those Vostros seem decent for that though.

[Khamsin]

What about $2000-$2500 (can go a little over)? That's what I've been trying to look for, but not all the custom options I want are available on the same laptop... plus its tough to find something that isn't Vista + Intel + nVidia, since I know that causes problems with FFXI. And the XP ones seem to be missing some things. Ideally:

3 GB memory
160GB 7200RPM HD
2.2-2.6 GHz 4-6M L2 Cache (Intel or AMD equivalent)
good graphics card that doesn't fall into the Vista/Intel/nVidia combo
15.4-17" WUXGA+ LCD
802.11agn or the wireless-N thing if that's any good
USB, firewire, DVI or HDMI out if possible
85kWH 9-cell battery

The tough part is finding Vista with ATI, or XP without nVidia. Or an AMD with the specs I want.

If I can find something like that, from a reputable manufacturer, it'll be almost on par with my desktop (except for the graphics and sound, but then desktops have an unfair advantage with bigger screens and actual speaker systems).

Bonus points if it doesn't burn by balls off, or sound like a jet engine.

[mootsfox]

What about $2000-$2500 (can go a little over)? That's what I've been trying to look for, but not all the custom options I want are available on the same laptop... plus its tough to find something that isn't Vista + Intel + nVidia, since I know that causes problems with FFXI. And the XP ones seem to be missing some things. Ideally:

3 GB memory
160GB 7200RPM HD

Memory should be a moot point, since it's cheaper to buy it from Newegg. Hard drives could be considered the same because Newegg sells them so cheap, however you'd need the recovery disks and it would be a bit more work on the end user.

2.2-2.6 GHz 4-6M L2 Cache (Intel or AMD equivalent)

Right now, the top of the line Intel for notebooks is the X9000, which is a dual core, 45nm beast clocked at 2.8GHz. I'm not sure if these are unlocked or not, but some notebook makers, I believe Sager for example are going to be releasing overclockable notebooks. Sometime in Q2, the first mobile quad is coming out, the Q9300.

The best value for CPUs at the moment would be the T8300. It runs on socket P at 800FSB and is compatible with all of the current 800MHz FSB notebooks Dell is selling. The older T7xxx line from Intel runs at 667MHz, and they run hot and slow.

All the current 45nm CPUs from Intel run at about 5-20% fast clock for clock then the 65nm CPUs. That means a T8300 (2.4GHz) will run like a 2.5-2.9GHz 65nm. That would make it feel roughly like a 6GHz P4. Plus you have another core on there that is great for any multitasking.

This is the only place I've seen selling Intel Mobile CPUs for a fair price. http://www.tankguys.com/index.php?cPath ... 2e8fa62a94

good graphics card that doesn't fall into the Vista/Intel/nVidia combo

I'm sorry, but this just is not going to happen. At the moment ATI sucks on the notebook side and their best offering is the HD2600PRO, which is pretty bad compared to nVidia's 8400M GS, 8600M GT, 8700M GT, 8800M GTX and even the 7600go, 7900go and the 7950go.

You can choose XP if you buy from Dell, I'm not sure about other companies. AMD is also lacking in the mobile and desktop CPU markets, with the TL-60 being the fastest at 2.0GHz. Even that is still beat by a 1.6GHz C2D. If you want a powerful laptop right now, you want Intel/Nvidia.

15.4-17" WUXGA+ LCD

From Dell, the only 1920x1200 (WUXGA) screen I know of in 15.4" comes on the Latitude model line. The Vostro 1700 with it's 17" screen can boast an option for WUXGA. WSXGA+ is 1680x1050 btw. WUXGA+ does not exist. The next step up would be 2560x1600 or WQXGA.

802.11agn or the wireless-N thing if that's any good

Any good laptop maker will allow you to upgrade to a better wireless card.

USB, firewire, DVI or HDMI out if possible

My Vostro 1500 (the Inspirion 1520 has the same case) has a firewire 400, four USB2.0 and VGA out. Higher end notebooks will have DVI and/or HDMI output. My roommate's HP 17" monster (1440x900, 8400M GS I laugh at it) has a DVI and HDMI port on it.

85kWH 9-cell battery

The Vostro 1400, 1500 and 1700 have this option.

[mootsfox]

Oh, I should mention if you have $2500 to spend on a laptop, you should be getting RAID 0 250GB's or higher. I'll go do some hunting and see what I can find in that price range.

[Shuemue]

Khamsin, that's practically an Alienware budget. I just had a quick look at their site, you'd have pretty much exactly what you want + an Alienware build for about $2750. I'd seriously consider that personally.

[Khamsin]

Here's a couple setups from Alienware:

Area-51® m9750

Video/Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT - Enables DirectX® 10 Graphics!
Chassis: 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD - Stealth Black
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7400 2.16GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: With Media Center Remote Control and ATSC TV Tuner
System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 240GB (120GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache)
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW) w/ LightScribe Technology - View Demo
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : High-Definition Audio with surround sound

Area-51® m15x

Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - White
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: With Express Card Media Center Remote Control
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
Available on Windows Vista Only!
System Drive: 200GB 7200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW) w/ LightScribe Technology - View Demo
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound

Both cost about the same. They might be something I could go for, if no one sees anything worth pointing out. I wonder if the OS will be the 64-bit version or not...

[Royal]

I bought an Alienware laptop and its a piece of shit I have to say. I didn't buy the best, but its had major problems and has turned to shit faster than my desktop did.


P.S Desktop I've had for 8 years, Laptop I've had for 1.5.



I also plan on buying this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 6470766892

I thought it was pretty decent for the price range? What do you think moots?

edit: How the hell can they take off 500 dollars if you buy one over 1275 or w/e? Seems too good ot be true.

[Khamsin]

Well, if Alienware sucks, then here's some others, all around the same price or less:

From Toshiba:

Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi4

or, from Dell:

Dell XPS M2010
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate
20.1 inch WSXGA+ Wide Screen with TrueLife™ and Integrated Web Cam
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
RAID Performance: 320GB (2x160GB) 7200RPM Free Fall Sensor
Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (DVD +/-RW)
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1800
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Dell XPS M1530
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition
High Resolution glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1680x1050) & 2MP Camera
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
200GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Slot Load Blu -ray Disc (BD/DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)

Dell XPS M1730
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition - English
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA
AGEIA PhysX™ 100M Processor
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
120GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor
CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
NVIDIA®GeForce®8700M GT graphics
Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965a/g/n Mini Card
High Definition Audio 2.0
Built-in Wireless Bluetooth 355 and Wireless USB plus Belkin 4-port hub

Dell XPS1730
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional - English
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA
AGEIA PhysX™ 100M Processor
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
120GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor
CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
NVIDIA®GeForce®8700M GT graphics
Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965a/g/n Mini Card
High Definition Audio 2.0
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)

[Cephius]

I love the XPS line of laptops, though Dell and Vista really don't seem to mix. If you get one strip it down of everything non-essential and install drivers yourself.

I'd go with the 1730, if recollection serves right the 2010 weighs a ton for a laptop. They all have great specs though and should run FFXI no problem barring that pesky nvidia error.

[Royal]

Honestly that 1700 is a fucking amazing deal, I bought one today :D.

[mootsfox]

Honestly that 1700 is a fucking amazing deal, I bought one today :D.

Good choice, the one from Best Buy is a pos in comparison.

Khamsin, I'll go check out Alienware now, some of the specs you quoted look good. Minimum for your budget should be the T9300 (or T8300) and the 8700M GT or higher.

[mootsfox]

Khamsin, I had no idea Alienware was so pricey. I've never actually priced one out, I've only tried to see how much I could make one cost.

Anyways,

15.4" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p)
Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - White
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTX
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Windows Vista® Home Premium
Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
200GB 7200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card

It's almost $3,000 You could drop the T9300 for the T8300 and the 8800M GTX for the 8700M GT and get it down to $2,500.

[Khamsin]

I know which one is obviously better, but will I have any noticible limitations from one to the other, and when will I notice them? I don't really do intensive gaming or anything, but I would like the ability to render models, do photoshop and video stuff, and program.

NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
NVIDIA®GeForce®8700M GT
256MB or 512MB

and...

Intel® Core 2™ Duo Processor T7250 (2.0GHz)
Intel® Core 2™ Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz)
Intel® Core 2™ Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz)

Also:

Is there a way to configure two 120GB HDs for RAID 0, if it doesn't explicitly come that way?
If I get Vista Ultimate, but they don't specify whether it's 32 or 64-bit, which do you think they'll end up giving me?
Is there anything that won't work with a 64-bit OS, but would for 32-bit? e.g. Office 2007 Enterprise (Win32) that I would get free from work with Home Use program.
Are all 8-series nVidia cards incompatible with FFXI, or only certain ones but not others?

[mootsfox]

Also:

Is there a way to configure two 120GB HDs for RAID 0, if it doesn't explicitly come that way?
If I get Vista Ultimate, but they don't specify whether it's 32 or 64-bit, which do you think they'll end up giving me?
Is there anything that won't work with a 64-bit OS, but would for 32-bit? e.g. Office 2007 Enterprise (Win32) that I would get free from work with Home Use program.
Are all 8-series nVidia cards incompatible with FFXI, or only certain ones but not others?

For RAID 0 you need two HDD bays (most laptops have one) and a motherboard that supports RAID. The thing with laptops is that different models get different motherboard/connectors/options.

For example a Dell desktop, it you buy it with the onboard graphics, there is a good chance you won't get a motherboard with a PCI-e graphics slot.

If you order 4GB from them, and Ultimate, they will send you 64bit. If you order 2GB of RAM, you'll probably get 32bit. However, the Ultimate edition comes with both 64bit and 32bit discs, you so could either call Microsoft and request a 64bit disc, or Dell will include it.

So far, the only game that I couldn't get to work is Test Drive Unlimited, and I think that is because of 64bit + Vista + 4GB of RAM + shitty code. Everything else works for me, and faster than 32bit. I know for a fact that Office 2007 works, as I'm using it on my desktop with 64bit Ultimate.

I've heard problems with the 8800GTX and FFXI, and I believe it was driver related, and possibly fixed by now?

I can run the benchmark on my Vostro 1500 with a 8600M GT (5500 Low, 4500 High).

[Royal]

I can run the benchmark on my Vostro 1500 with a 8600M GT (5500 Low, 4500 High).

Wait you actually bought that one? How did it run all the games you play? I'm guessing nicely but what fps really? I'm hoping you have counter strike and or half life 2 so I know what to expect when mine comes in on friday.

[mootsfox]

I can run the benchmark on my Vostro 1500 with a 8600M GT (5500 Low, 4500 High).

Wait you actually bought that one? How did it run all the games you play? I'm guessing nicely but what fps really? I'm hoping you have counter strike and or half life 2 so I know what to expect when mine comes in on friday.

I've had my Vostro since last August. It plays Half life very well at 1280x800. I haven't tried CS:S since I don't have a gaming mouse for it, and it really requires one to be fun.

They have improved the specs somewhat since I got mine, which is:

1.6GHz C2D (conroe, not the new penryn) 800FSB
2GB of RAM
160GB 5400RPM HDD
8600M GT 256MB DDR2
1680x1050 screen
Home Basic :/
DVD-RW DL

I really haven't used it much since I got my Mac 17" or my 24" LCD for my desktop, which by the way is fucking sweet. 24" is much better than 22".

[Royal]

Well I'm glad you said it runs Half Life 2 pretty well because I've been looking around at the card and everyone has said its kinda bad for that. I'm guessing since HL2 does fine so will CSS. I also got the 2.5 so I think that will make a big difference.