Solved! Laptop shopping for casual gamers

[Chelseanomnom]

I'm shopping for my new laptop. I casually game (Sims, Minecraft, CoD, etc) but mostly use my 360/PS3 for gaming. I'm an art major so being able to run CS5/Illustrator at their best is a must. Battery life isn't a huge concern, nor is the weight. I have about a grand to spend. Built-in mic and webcam are a must since I communicate with family and long distance friends via Skype often. HDMI port is a huge plus (love it when my boyfriend lets me use his Macbook to plug into my 40" HDTV).

That about sums it up really...I've had a Toshiba Satellite that's been very loyal to me (HS graduation present, 2008) and I'm only just now having issues with...poor old thing. Suggestions?

 

[dalauder]

Look for laptop deals here: http/www.techbargains.com/catsearch.cfm/0_3_0
That and slickdeals.net are the best places I've found for laptop deals.

The exact CPU you want is the i7-2630QM. No more, no less.

Look up laptop graphics here: http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

My wife got a 15.6" HP dv6t Quad for $803 a couple months back. It has an i7-2630QM and Radeon 6770M and runs Just Cause 2 on High pretty well. Now they offer the same thing with Blu-ray for $800 (after coupons on techbargains.com). They also have 17" screens and higher resolutions for a bit more.

Make sure to sign up for Mr. Rebates before purchase. I got $25 back on the laptop that I transferred to my Paypal account.

Look around for a bit, but don't settle for less than an i7-2630QM and GT 540M. If you go on notebook check, you'll see a 6770M is better than that. If you can find an i5 with decent graphics, that's good too.

xoticpc.com also has some good deals.

 

[dalauder]

Xoticpc.com sells Sager's

15.6" i5-2410M w/ GT 555M http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5165-clevo-w150hr-p-3063.html
17" i5-2410M w/ GT 555M http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5175-clevo-w170hr-p-3000.html?wconfigure=yes
15.6" i5-2410M w/ GT 560M http/www.xoticpc.com/force-16f2-msi-16f2-p-3078.html?wconfigure=yes

Make sure you select an option for any laptop you buy to get a 7200rpm HDD.