Critique this laptop build, please!

[rcatmullnv]

Long story short: I was going to build a desktop, but since I'm going to law school in August, I figured a decent laptop would be more practical. Until August, I'm looking to play SWTOR, SC2, etc on medium-high graphics. After looking at several configurations, this is what I've finally come up with for the best price:

HP dv6t Quad Edition:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz
2GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7690M GDDR5 Discrete Graphics(TM) [HDMI, VGA]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
50% OFF One 6 Cell and One 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6" High Definition HP LED Brightview (1366x768)
FREE UPGRADE to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner

The total price comes out to $963.23 with tax/shipping. Do you guys think this is a good deal, and I should pull the trigger? Or would something else be more ideal? Can I end up going with something cheaper without sacrificing too much performance?

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[rcatmullnv]

2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2430M Processor (2.4 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) Turbo Boost to 3.0 GHz
2GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7690M GDDR5 Discrete Graphics(TM) [HDMI, VGA]
FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
50% OFF One 6 Cell and One 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6" Full HD HP Anti-glare LED (1920 x 1080)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

This above machine would cost me $880. In this new setup, I'd lose a blu-ray drive (doesn't matter too much, since I never buy blu-rays), and the processor goes down a bit. Would the processor upgrade in my initial post be worth the $200 in your opinion?


All I want to do is play SWTOR on high settings for the next 8 months, and then have a laptop that'll get me by for word processing/internet browsing/etc.

 

[Chief_MacD]

2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2430M Processor (2.4 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) Turbo Boost to 3.0 GHz
2GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7690M GDDR5 Discrete Graphics(TM) [HDMI, VGA]
FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
50% OFF One 6 Cell and One 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6" Full HD HP Anti-glare LED (1920 x 1080)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

This above machine would cost me $880. In this new setup, I'd lose a blu-ray drive (doesn't matter too much, since I never buy blu-rays), and the processor goes down a bit. Would the processor upgrade in my initial post be worth the $200 in your opinion?


All I want to do is play SWTOR on high settings for the next 8 months, and then have a laptop that'll get me by for word processing/internet browsing/etc.

Sure, the second system will run SWTOR, and should run it well, as well as Many MMORPG's, should you get into those. However (there's ALWAYS a "However"), you are very much limiting your ability to play any current/future games that will most certainly have system requirements greater than even your first build. Any one of the two shoould get you through the next couple of years of playing older, less demanding games, and should serve you well in school. To a point! Builds that are swaying toward high performance capabilities (believe it or not) do not neccessarily serve well as basic "work"/school computers, and the more extreme you go towards high performance, the less capable and dependable they become as day-to-day work/school needs. A system like any of the two that you presented is really just about straddling the ole proverbial fence, so you will most probably get wonderful use out of using it for both gaming (given the genre/age of the games you stated as your preference) and school application needs.
Greatest of luck to you, and if I need representation for anything after the next 4-8 years, I'll give you a "HOLLA"!!! <laughing>

Chief................OUT!!!