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I am a pretty intense gamer, never owned a laptop, and I love new equiptment thats top of the line. Right now, I'm wanting a laptop for basically just for school work. ie, in class notes, papers, programming, etc. I am having a really hard time not leaning towards a gaming system, and since I cant afford a high end system I would like suggestions for an office laptop. Would still like a semi-quick cpu, also good companies/stores to buy from. Thanks
1) You love equipment that's top of the line. Understandable. But if you want a laptop that is top of the line, don't get a gaming laptop. They show their age after a year or two. Laptops that focus just on Windows apps can last 3 to 4 years without replacement.
2) The applications that you say you NEED do not require a gaming laptop. You already have a great gaming desktop. The only reason you want to buy a gaming laptop is for the satisfaction of knowing that you CAN play games on your laptop if you WANT to. Is this worth the price premium, extra weight, lower battery life, and / or shorter replacement cycle?
3) If you want cheap laptop, go with non-gaming. You get a LOT of options with non-gaming in terms of price, size, weight, battery life, screen, etc. If you want cheap gaming, you'd be stuck with pretty much a Compal CL56.
4) If you are going non-gaming, then there is no excuse not to get as thin and light as you can get while maintaining battery life:
Asus S5N
Asus M5N
Dell 700m
Dell X1
Sony Vaio S series
If you are going gaming, and you want the cheapest you can get, look for Compal CL56. If you are going gaming, the best bang-for-your-buck and strongest choice for future-proofing is a Dell Inspirn 9300. Big 17" model, pain to carry to class, 2hr battery life, but has a Geforce Go 6800 for $1500 - $2000.
Resistance is futile, you must comply. ;)Quote:
Originally posted by skoechle
I am having a really hard time not leaning towards a gaming system, ...
I recommend Dell for their reliability, warranty and price structure.
I travelled with PC for years starting with a luggable. Believe me, every ounce of weight you don't have to carry around all day will be worth the price. Get the lightest unit you can afford. Even a 5 pound notebook will seem like a ton by day's end.
Wow...that compal is hecka cheap, about $1500 for a 60GB 7.2k rpm, 1GB, 128MB 9700, and a 2GHz dothan. That'll handle anything you throw at it let me assure you. I have a similar setup, only 1.7 dothan and 64MB 9700, and it even manged to play D3. It's not super pretty or as light/thin as mine but that cost is pretty unbeatable.
If going for mobility, the Asus M5N (recently played with one) is about as light as a frisbee, it's insane! It looks awesome too. I can't say enough good things about that carbon fiber baby! I can build one for about $1500 or less. Lemme know if you're interested.
the sony s-series is the best all around that i have found
- mobility 9700
- widescreen lcd
- centrino chipset
- supercomapct and less than 5 lbs
Like the others have mentioned, don't buy a gaming laptop. You already have a good desktop for games.
if you get a laptop will you continue to bring your desktop to school? I bought mines to replace my desktop because it was too much of a hassle to move cross-country. I also agree with kent that a laptop will show its age quickly. (i can hardly run the splinter cell demo :( )
I plan on keeping my laptop for one more year, and buying a new one after graduation. by then i hope to be able to afford a new one on a 2 or 3 year basis.
I dont know how many of you all are familiar with warranties by stores like best buy. They dont have a huge selection to choose from, but if your laptop does break they will most likely replace it with whatever similar model they have. They keep their models updated so its pretty easy to con your way to a new laptop. my friend just did it the other week to get a new sony vaio.