Gaming/College laptop, what to do?

[Panthas]

1. What is your budget?

Anything under about $1300(Hopefully with some warranty included)


2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

I would prefer a 17 inch but don't mind a 15 inch


3. What screen resolution do you want?

Don't really know, something that doesn't look too bad but I don't need anything 3D capable or anything


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

Desktop replacement, I don't mind lugging it around.


5. How much battery life do you need?

Doesn't matter, I tend to keep it plugged in.


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)?

Yes, Skyrim(Medium or Low, I don't mind) Unreal Tournament 3, Starcraft 2, and older games mostly, plus minecraft


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Watching movies, playing music on good speakers, and typical college stuff


8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

500GB


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

4 or 5 years would be nice


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

Just typical DVD ROM


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 would rather avoid Dell, bad experiences there. Also I am wary of ASUS cause I have heard over and over that their support is a nightmare.


13. What country do you live in?

US

 

[airanp]

Lenovo Y580, http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?sb=:000001C9:0000393A: , will more than play any of the games you wanted and with a 3 year in home and accidental damage protection warranty is under $1150. It's only 15.6" but it's a fullHD screen

 

[Panthas]

Hmmmm, I was looking at that earlier and it seems pretty nice. I have been thinking of downsizing to a 15, I don't use the extra number pad on my 17 as it is now. My only concern would be their audio, doesn't look like much from the pictures.

 

[airanp]

Hmmmm, I was looking at that earlier and it seems pretty nice. I have been thinking of downsizing to a 15, I don't use the extra number pad on my 17 as it is now. My only concern would be their audio, doesn't look like much from the pictures.

It's certainly not "Beat's Audio" like HP offers, and I am sure you could get a dv6t, dv6t quad edition or a dv7t within your price range if you wanted a decent audio set-up, just not sure they offer the same performance for the price as the Y580.

 

[Panthas]

It's certainly not "Beat's Audio" like HP offers, and I am sure you could get a dv6t, dv6t quad edition or a dv7t within your price range if you wanted a decent audio set-up, just not sure they offer the same performance for the price as the Y580.

It isn't quite the same, while you were sending the link to the lenovo I was custom building a dv7t to see how it came out and it was more expensive for not quite the same power, as long as the speakers work and the audio jack does as well then I am good.

 

[airanp]

It isn't quite the same, while you were sending the link to the lenovo I was custom building a dv7t to see how it came out and it was more expensive for not quite the same power, as long as the speakers work and the audio jack does as well then I am good.

Well there you go. Hope it all helped. If you end up getting the lenovo I am sure you will be happy with the performance.

 

[Panthas]

Have you had experience with them in the past? I hope it is hardy, I have dropped my current computer before several times, one time it even bounces twice and it still works somehow.

I am still hoping for more input here. That one comes in at 1,150 or so, which leaves me with some money left over, I am hoping to find a 17 inch that is up to the same capabilities as this one. Sadly, Lenovo's 17 inch ones seem to suck, they all have integrated graphics cards.


http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246493

Something like this. Though I have to wonder at the trade off. The 15 in is a 500GB 7200RPM Harddrive, the 17 inch is a 1TB 5400RPM, I was never sure about the difference in the HD, especialy with this gap here, twice the size but less speed

 

[airanp]

Have you had experience with them in the past? I hope it is hardy, I have dropped my current computer before several times, one time it even bounces twice and it still works somehow.

I am still hoping for more input here. That one comes in at 1,150 or so, which leaves me with some money left over, I am hoping to find a 17 inch that is up to the same capabilities as this one. Sadly, Lenovo's 17 inch ones seem to suck, they all have integrated graphics cards.


http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246493

Something like this. Though I have to wonder at the trade off. The 15 in is a 500GB 7200RPM Harddrive, the 17 inch is a 1TB 5400RPM, I was never sure about the difference in the HD, especialy with this gap here, twice the size but less speed

If you go with the Y580 with the fullHD screen I dont think you will be disappointed. Ya it will be 2" smaller, but it will be the same resolution if that makes sense. As for the build quality, if I remember right, lenovo was pretty good.

 

[airanp]

here is another quick find. Toshiba is known for being rugged business laptops, but they have their new Qosmio gaming line and I just found a good deal, http/www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?poid=2000037853 , 3rd gen i7 quad, 17" (only 1600x900 though) and 3Gb GTX 670 video card... currently ON SALE for $999.99 and it is some what customizable.

 

[Panthas]

here is another quick find. Toshiba is known for being rugged business laptops, but they have their new Qosmio gaming line and I just found a good deal, http/www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?poid=2000037853 , 3rd gen i7 quad, 17" (only 1600x900 though) and 3Gb GTX 670 video card... currently ON SALE for $999.99 and it is some what customizable.

Is 1600x900 bad though my current one is 1440x900 and I don't mind it at all.

 

[Panthas]

See, this is where the limited customization factor makes me wince. That toshiba is nice, but I don't think really need 3GB of video card memory. I also think I only need 500GB of Hard drive, but I want it to go at 7200RPM, something they don't offer. Overkill like that can be expensive

 

[airanp]

See, this is where the limited customization factor makes me wince. That toshiba is nice, but I don't think really need 3GB of video card memory. I also think I only need 500GB of Hard drive, but I want it to go at 7200RPM, something they don't offer. Overkill like that can be expensive

They do have other deals that would fit your needs and budget, some with 7200 rpm HD options. Just look through their site. Its pretty easy to navigate.

 

[Panthas]

They do have other deals that would fit your needs and budget, some with 7200 rpm HD options. Just look through their site. Its pretty easy to navigate.

Yeah, already looked through their 17inch, their crap sadly, no dedicated graphics. Everything else start with 5400RPM and has to make $130 jump to a 7200RPM.

wait, do you don't need the 17.3"

1600x900 is not "bad", but as it happens, the manufacturers use a higher quality screen when using a 1920x1080 screen (over 1366x768 or 1600x900) in most cases

I don't "need" it as it were, I just rather like my current 17.3 and it is a bigger screen for gaming. I really need to compare, see how much of a reduction going down to a 15in would be.

 

[airanp]

There are a couple that have dedicated graphics and 7200 RPM HD options. But if I were you and you had your heart set on a laptop with a 7200 RPM HD I would look for one that had everything else you wanted and just upgrade the HD yourself. It would be cheaper and it is a whole lot easier to upgrade a HD than add in dedicated graphics ya know. When you are doing it just budget just factor that in. Newegg actually has a deal right now for a seagate 500Gb hybrid spinning at 7200 for half off (79.99 right now). Just some ideas.

 

[Panthas]

There are a couple that have dedicated graphics and 7200 RPM HD options. But if I were you and you had your heart set on a laptop with a 7200 RPM HD I would look for one that had everything else you wanted and just upgrade the HD yourself. It would be cheaper and it is a whole lot easier to upgrade a HD than add in dedicated graphics ya know. When you are doing it just budget just factor that in. Newegg actually has a deal right now for a seagate 500Gb hybrid spinning at 7200 for half off (79.99 right now). Just some ideas.

True but would that not void the 3 year warranty I am planning on buying with it?

 

[airanp]

True but would that not void the 3 year warranty I am planning on buying with it?

You would have to ask, but not all warranties are voided by changing out the ram or HD. But definitely call and ask before making a purchase.

 

[Panthas]

You would have to ask, but not all warranties are voided by changing out the ram or HD. But definitely call and ask before making a purchase.

Yeah, asked their tech rep and they are fine with the ram or HD getting changed out, it doesn't void.

My big question is, do I actually need an i7 for my games, or would an i5 more than suffice if it is 7200RPM?

 

[airanp]

Yeah, asked their tech rep and they are fine with the ram or HD getting changed out, it doesn't void.

My big question is, do I actually need an i7 for my games, or would an i5 more than suffice if it is 7200RPM?

The way I see it, if you have a budget, no matter what it is, you always want to get the most you can for that budget without going over. Yes an i5 will be more than capable of running the current games you are playing, but you never know what might come out in 12-18 months that you may want to play. So when shopping always have that in the back of your head.

 

[Panthas]

The way I see it, if you have a budget, no matter what it is, you always want to get the most you can for that budget without going over. Yes an i5 will be more than capable of running the current games you are playing, but you never know what might come out in 12-18 months that you may want to play. So when shopping always have that in the back of your head.

Yeah, thing is, I am typically 5 years behind when it comes to games, only reason I am considering Skyrim is cause I am planning on getting a new computer, otherwise I would be content without it.

Do you know anything about AMD GPUs, cause if there is one that is i7 level it would probably be cheaper.