Solved! 13"-14"Gaming Laptop/US$1000/Ships to Brazil

AndrePF

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Feb 28, 2011
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Hi. I'm new to Tom's Hardware and this if my first post. First of all, excuse me for the bad English.
Well, I have a HP DV4-1430US and I would like to buy a new notebook.
I did a lot of research and the best I've found yet is the ASUS N43JF!

ASUS N43JF Specs: (Comments in brackets)
-Intel I5-460M 2.53Ghz with Turbo Boost up to 2.80Ghz (Above my needs!)
-4GB of RAM DDR3 1066Mhz ( Minimum needed, both "speed" and capacity)
-Nvidia GT425M graphics with 1GB DDR3 VRAM (GREAT! I Can accept similar, or a little worse!)
-500GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM) (Great! Above my needs)
-Super-Multi Optical Disk Drive (MUST have an optical drive!)
-14-Inch HD (1366x768) LED Display (1366x768 is MINIMUM resolution, but I can accept 13.3"screen too)

PROS: (Based on reviews by other users)
-Stays cool, does not heat much. (This is a VERY BIG deal for me! My next laptop MUST have a good heat dissipation system, especially in the GPU).
-Battery Capacity is enough (2.5 hours)
-The Specs :p
-Seems to have a great Soundboard (I'm a Progressive Rock guy haha)

CONS: (Based on reviews by other users)
- Average/bad screen, too reflective in ambients with good lightning.

Anyone knows a better one?
I answered the "standard" questions below, for a better understanding of my needs:

1. What is your budget?
US$1000,00... Not including Shipping fees!

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
13.3" - 14". Not less, not more.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Between 1366x768(HD) and 1920x1080(Full HD)... Better MATTE than Glossy, because I have a little eyestrain. A good screen I know is the Samsung R430 screen.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
More of a desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need?
2 - 2.5 hours in high performance with 100% brightness, browsing the web and using Microsoft Office Word is enough!

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)?
-GTA IV in low settings.
-The Sims 3 in low settings.
-Starcraft 2 in low settings. (not necessary, but good BONUS)


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Programming, photo editing, a little 3D modelling (for fun), MAYBE video editing, etc...

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
320GB Minimum! Good if it is 7200RPM, but NOT necessary.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
ANY that ships to Brazil!

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2 years is more than enough.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD Writer is enough!

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.
Preferred: ASUS(Great quality), Samsung(Good Quality)
EXCLUDED:
-HP (Had a notebook{DV 9830} that broke down TWICE for overheating while playing RCT3
-Dell (Almost never has good GPUs, and IMO they have Bad Screens)

-Acer (People say their notebooks are bad and I particularly don't like the brand image)[/b]

13. What country do you live in?
Brazil. The place where I'll buy must ship to Brazil or I should be able to find this notebook in Brazil.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
The most important things are:
-Great GPU
-Enough processor (Not accepting I7 because of the extreme power consumption.)
-Memory Ram at least 4GB 1066Mhz
-Good heat dissipation
-Enough battery
-Good/Great soundboard
-Good/Great Screen
-Enough HDD
-13.3" to 14" screen.

I don't care about looks or uncomfortable keyboard or uncomfortable touchpad or any other small annoyances.


Thank you, so much, in advance.
Will be waiting for the answers,
André.