Recommend a laptop please

[melmcd123]

1. What is your budget?
I would like to spend the least amount of money possible, but I also want something that has all the goodies I want. I think I will end up spending 900+

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Not really sure. I will take it travelling and stuff, so I don't want it to be too big.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
I would like it to be 1900x

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Not sure what this question means

5. How much battery life do you need?
The more the better, but I am not too worried about battery life unless I am on a plane (not that important feature for me).

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)? I would like to play CSGO and maybe some XCOM UFO Defense (2012) - high settings would be sweet? Not sure what is possible on a laptop.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
I just got a new camera and I will be doing some photo editing with it. Also watch movies so I would like a blu-ray player. It would be awesome if I could connect it to a TV or computer monitor like my laptop at work.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
I was thinking about getting an SSD, but I noticed for most laptops with SSDs they charge a buttload of cash. I was thinking I would buy the laptop and then install one myself (if that is possible?). If someone could make a recommendation here that would be great. If that is possible I would probably just get an external HD too.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Probably Amazon.com unless there is a really good deal from another site (I have a amazon rewards CC).

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
5 years or so?

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Blu-ray. I dont need to write though.

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 don't really have any brand preference, but if you have a suggestion that would be awesome.

13. What country do you live in?
Everett, WA, USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I just want a decent comp to play around with when I am not kicking the tires at work. My desktop blew up so I threw it out and I am starting to become more of a casual gamer (used to game a lot), so I would like something that can keep up with new releases.

 

[melmcd123]

What do you guys think of this? I am up way too late looking at laptops... can't sleep...

http/www.amazon.com/ASUS-N56VZ-DS71-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B007Z9EAP0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1350120354&sr=1-1

 

[abbadon_34]

Looks like good choice. For the airlines you used to be able to picks a seat next to a power outlet but that seems to be hit or miss or expensive these days so if fly I'd look for either a second battery or and generic external battery as gaming laptops suck ALOT of juice when gaming. As for the Blu-Ray keep in mind some maybe require you to be online (Damn DRM) you should consider ripping those if one an airplane or away from civilization. You shouldn't have any issue swapping the HDD for an SSD on an ASUS then using the HDD externally (enclosure is $5-10) or some other usage.

Not sure if WA caved yet like CA, but if you can, buy it in Oregon and save the sales tax! A one time ship-to on your amazon account should suffice.

 

[melmcd123]

I was looking at some other threads and saw these guys:

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=:000001C9:0000717E:&PID=5672651&CJURL=http%3A%2F%2Ftracking.searchmarketing.com%2Fclick.asp%3Faid%3D1586272038

and

http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6165-clevo-w150er-p-4344.html?wconfigure=yes

I kind of like the sager because the SSD actually isn't as costly as most other manufacturers (HP). I am still not sure if I am finding the best deals yet tho...

 

[melmcd123]

If I do get one of these laptops what parts would I want to upgrade myself? (SSD, memory???)

 

[abbadon_34]

they both look to be good configurations, but fyi the links game an i7 CPU on one and an i5 on there (and corresponding price difference) . for upgrades they all have 8GB of ram which should be fine, if you want more you probably do it when you buy it . as for the ssd, they are about half the price if you do it yourself, but remember you have to reinstall everything and may not get the same customer suppport if thats important to you.

 

[melmcd123]

Best answer selected by melmcd123.