Laptop HP Pavilion dm4-1380la... is it worth my money?

CefVil

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Jun 16, 2009
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18,510
Hello to everyone

Browsing around PC selling websites I found this little thing priced at $750:

http://www.pcenlinea.com/mp/78123.html

I've been looking for a laptop at a decent price and I think this could be the one that I'm looking for.

The expected uses are:

-Low-to-mid gaming (I'd like to play 2006-to-present games at mid details and mid resolutions at least at 30fps)
-3D modeling (not animation only character design and possibly rigging)
-Maybe some Zbrush (althought I don't think it can take it)
-Web surfing
-Office
-And mostly data capture and control (I know, I could get a cheaper computer for this, but I don't want to be stuck playing Kawaks or Angry Birds only...)

Now, it says it has a Core i7 and some low/mid range Radeon chip, which may be sufficient for me, but since I haven't had a laptop in 8 years I really don't know what to expect from mobility versions of CPU/GPUs.

So what do you guys think? Is this machine a good option? Or should I keep on looking? Or should I wait a while for prices to drop off a little?

Any insights and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

.C.
 
Solution
As far as I know those overheating reports are all on older models.
Reviews of the current version of HP laptops haven't turned up any complaints.

But that Asus and it's Core i-7 quad core CPU, 1920 x 1080 resolution LCD, GT 540M graphics card, faster 7200rpm HDD is a very good choice.
It's a very big step up in performance and Asus is one of the top laptop brands.

Hello CefVil;

That laptop will easily run all you listed (including ZBrush) except for running games with medium graphics settings. The Radeon HD 6370 is a very weak graphics card.

AMD Radeon HD 6370M review

Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards
AMD Radeon HD 6470M or NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M would mostly meet your goals.
AMD Radeon HD 6630M / Radeon HD 5650 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M / GeForce GT 425M, or better are where I think you want to look for gaming.

 

CefVil

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Jun 16, 2009
4
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18,510
Hello WR2, thanks for your anwser!

Yeah it seems that the HD 6370 is quite feeble to be considered for heavy gaming, also I've been researching more on HP laptops and have found nasty reports about common overheating episodes, even a friend of mine warned me against HP's laptops because of their tendence to die in a fireball without previous notice.

I have been peeking around other websites and found this lovely ASUS:

http://www.idirecto.com/n53sv-laptop-asus-n53sv-core-750gb-p-52951.html

It has a higher price, but reviews state that it runs new games reasonably smooth, it doesn't produce a lot of heat, it incorporates a Sandy bridge i7 and a mid-range GT 540M.

I think this is a good option too, but I'm still open for suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

.C.
 
As far as I know those overheating reports are all on older models.
Reviews of the current version of HP laptops haven't turned up any complaints.

But that Asus and it's Core i-7 quad core CPU, 1920 x 1080 resolution LCD, GT 540M graphics card, faster 7200rpm HDD is a very good choice.
It's a very big step up in performance and Asus is one of the top laptop brands.

 
Solution