- Nov 7, 2010
- 2
- 0
- 18,510
Hey guys, my current laptop has started crapping out on me and it's time to start looking for a replacement so I was hoping I could get some advice here. I've copied the following questions from the FAQ sticky. Let me know if I missed anything.
1. What is your budget?
$1000, +-$50 if necessary
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
I don't want anything bigger than 17" or smaller than 14". Weight doesn't matter so long as it doesn't weigh 20 pounds or something.
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Whatever the standard resolution is for a given screen size is probably fine.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
My laptop is probably going to be spending %95 of it's time sitting on my desk (which is why I don't care about weight) so a desktop replacement is what I'm looking for. Portability is not a concern so long as I can fit it in my backpack/luggage when I go on trips. Performance and heat management are the priority.
5. How much battery life do you need?
Battery life is also not a huge concern for the above reason. I'd like an hour under load and maybe two hours of casual use on battery, but I'd compromise even on that.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I play games on my computer now and then (minecraft, Civilization 5, Empire: total war, Team Fortress 2 and others) so I need a laptop that can play games capably. That said I don't need to play on the highest settings and max resolutions, medium settings are fine. The problem with that is that a card that plays medium settings now become out of date relatively quickly and laptops are (usually) not upgradable. And yet buying a top of the line video card just seems like a waste of money and would put me way over budget. This is especially true of laptops, where the choice is often between entry level crap and hyper-expensive hardware. Honestly this is the main problem I need help with guys.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Besides gaming I do some casual multimedia stuff (mainly music production and a little 3d rendering) but nothing intense enough to demand a quad core cpu or anything special.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
As for hard drive space, more is obviously better but it's not something I want to break the bank on. At least 300-500gigs is preferable but I think large HDs are pretty cheap nowadays? If it's a difference of $10-20 I'd spring for the terabyte. I also have an external drive to supplement that.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I don't mind what site I buy the computer from as long as it's reputable.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
I made my current laptop last 3 1/2 years and I want to stick to around a 3 year life cycle for my laptop. I know that $1000 only goes so far though.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
For optical drives, well, I want one. It should be able to read and write dual layer DVDs. Blue ray isn't needed.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I'm not dead set on any particular brands for the laptop or components, but I would prefer the intel i-series processor line over AMD if it doesn't make too much difference. Also the laptop needs to be bought from a recognizable/reputable company. I'm flexible here, but easy customer service and RMA/warrenty problem resolution are important. So no ibuypower.com please
13. What country do you live in?
I live in the USA, wisconsin and minnesota if that's important for sales tax reasons.
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Additionally, I would consider a refurbished model if it would be a considerably better bargain.
In summary: I want the best performing laptop I can get for $1000, portability be damned.
Let me know what you guys think I should do. Thanks!
1. What is your budget?
$1000, +-$50 if necessary
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
I don't want anything bigger than 17" or smaller than 14". Weight doesn't matter so long as it doesn't weigh 20 pounds or something.
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Whatever the standard resolution is for a given screen size is probably fine.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
My laptop is probably going to be spending %95 of it's time sitting on my desk (which is why I don't care about weight) so a desktop replacement is what I'm looking for. Portability is not a concern so long as I can fit it in my backpack/luggage when I go on trips. Performance and heat management are the priority.
5. How much battery life do you need?
Battery life is also not a huge concern for the above reason. I'd like an hour under load and maybe two hours of casual use on battery, but I'd compromise even on that.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I play games on my computer now and then (minecraft, Civilization 5, Empire: total war, Team Fortress 2 and others) so I need a laptop that can play games capably. That said I don't need to play on the highest settings and max resolutions, medium settings are fine. The problem with that is that a card that plays medium settings now become out of date relatively quickly and laptops are (usually) not upgradable. And yet buying a top of the line video card just seems like a waste of money and would put me way over budget. This is especially true of laptops, where the choice is often between entry level crap and hyper-expensive hardware. Honestly this is the main problem I need help with guys.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Besides gaming I do some casual multimedia stuff (mainly music production and a little 3d rendering) but nothing intense enough to demand a quad core cpu or anything special.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
As for hard drive space, more is obviously better but it's not something I want to break the bank on. At least 300-500gigs is preferable but I think large HDs are pretty cheap nowadays? If it's a difference of $10-20 I'd spring for the terabyte. I also have an external drive to supplement that.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I don't mind what site I buy the computer from as long as it's reputable.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
I made my current laptop last 3 1/2 years and I want to stick to around a 3 year life cycle for my laptop. I know that $1000 only goes so far though.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
For optical drives, well, I want one. It should be able to read and write dual layer DVDs. Blue ray isn't needed.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I'm not dead set on any particular brands for the laptop or components, but I would prefer the intel i-series processor line over AMD if it doesn't make too much difference. Also the laptop needs to be bought from a recognizable/reputable company. I'm flexible here, but easy customer service and RMA/warrenty problem resolution are important. So no ibuypower.com please
13. What country do you live in?
I live in the USA, wisconsin and minnesota if that's important for sales tax reasons.
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Additionally, I would consider a refurbished model if it would be a considerably better bargain.
In summary: I want the best performing laptop I can get for $1000, portability be damned.
Let me know what you guys think I should do. Thanks!
/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114903
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