Help Choosing a new Laptop

DrunkenNinja

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
4
0
10,510
I am in the market for a New /Used Laptop and 100% want something better than what I already have at a reasonable price, I thought would be easy but may have underestimated how good the laptop is, here are the specs of my old Notebook.

• Model: GATEWAY (FX EDITION)
• Release date: 02/1/09
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 / 2.26 GHz ( Dual-Core ) - Intel Centrino 2
• Memory: 4.0 GB / 4.0 GB (max)
• Hard Drive: 320.0 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 7200.0 rpm
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Edition
• Display Type: 17.0 in TFT active matrix
• Max Resolution: 1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ )
• Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS
• 3x USB 2.0
• HDMI Out (NO BLUETOOTH)
• Optical Drive DVD±RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM - Integrated

This is what I propose to purchase.

• Model: Packard Bell EasyNote
• Release date: Unknown
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2670QM 4x 2.20GHz - mit Intel® Turbo-Boost bis zu 3,1 GHz - 6MB L3 Cache
• Memory: 6144MB DDR3-Ram - max. 8GB
• Hard Drive: 750 GB - Serial ATA
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Edition
• Display Type: 15.6" WideScreen(16:9) CrystalBright HD (1366x768) Display WXGA mit LED-Backlight - Edge LED
• Graphics Processor: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M - 1024MB
• 3x USB (2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0)
• HDMI Out and BLUETOOTH
• Optical Drive DVD±RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM - Integrated

I am not a gamer but it would appear the graphics card in the older machine is actually better than the newer one.

I am an avid viewer of HD movies and the Gateway is now struggling with some of the larger 1080 movies so I am keen to have a decent graphics card for decoding purposes in the new model.

I like the idea of being future proof with the i7 Processor but I really need some advise on if the above laptop is a solid improvement on the Gateway and if it is pretty much up to date with its specs, plus I can get it locally for about 550 Euros which is about what my budget is.

Your advice is greatly appreciated