Laptop £1000-1400

Hello guys,

I am looking to Buy a good lap top and any advice is very welcome!

1.What is your budget?
A:Well, about £1000 to about 1400 max!

2.What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
A: 15 is TOO SMALL for me! 17+ i was looking at 18 inch i really liked it but it doesnt fit in a back pack so its not an option!

3.What screen resolution do you want?
A: 1200x800+ GOOD SCREEN I wont hide it I am hard core gamer! and just to let you know i dont need sli/CrossFire... the games i play are pretty much based around Lineage 2

4.Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
A: well as i said size dont really matter as long as it fits in a big backpack!

5.How much battery life do you need?
A: Main reason for buying laptop is for: UNI and Business! however much of the time i will be on the go would really appreciate bigger capacity! i am even thinking of buying second battery!

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)?
A: as i already mentioned... Lineage mainly! nothing too fancy such as crysis on "High High High"

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.)
A:bear in mind huge HDD would be lovely due to the fact i like multiple Operating Systems... it would also be used for a lot of network simulations and so on!

8.How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
A: 350+

9.If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_A [...] ersion.asp

10.How long do you want to keep your laptop?
A: for ETERNITY! i will marry the bloody thing! (its pretty much arranged marige)

11.If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them.
A: well little details such as: build in Camera, nice finish on the laptop... something business with a little character! like the notebook i already choose... however i am not too sure about it as i will explain after the Q and A

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.
A: Sony i never really liked sony! they stuff their laptops with all that crap software... even when u format them and try to reinstall your own OS you get TONS of errors due to the fact their drivers are very picky!

13.What country do you live in?
A: UK



i hope its not too long and put you off! i am trying to be as descriptive as possible... i do need to order it in next couple days but i will delay it as much as possible since i dont want to jump at first opportunity! the lapy i picked up was: Acer Aspire 8920G Gemstone Blue which has the 18.4inch screen... looks great and specification wise... top notch! however what put me off was the media keys on the side of the keyboard... they simply have no function for me! and when it didnt fit in this huge back i had picked i just thought maybe not what i am looking for...

so guys please let me know what you think and what you like/dislike! any opinions are welcome!

thank you!

First, you don't want a 1280x800 screen at 17" or above. That's nuts. I'm not even sure they make them. Second, 1280x800 is not a "gaming" resolution..it's very low end.

For that game almost any notebook with dedicated graphics will do. The gateway is actually too much firepower for you. In fact, your price range is pretty high for your needs...a Dell XPS 1700 series with an 8600m GT will do just fine for you. Those are usually below $1600, which is even under your 1000 pound minimum.

I think you're a bit misinformed.

First, just because a notebook isn't at "extreme performance" doesn't mean that it lags at everything it does. I've known plenty of $500 notebooks that don't lag at anything they do that is a task they were designed to do. A $3000 notebook won't do powerpoint any faster than the $500 one. However, a $3000 notebook will kick the $500 notebook's ass at playing games like crysis. But, that's because that's what the more expensive notebook was designed to do. It wasn't designed to be light, it was designed to be a gaming machine.

Second, delivery of products is fairly good, I would rest assured that your notebook is safe.

Third, ultra mobile machines are by no means low on performance. They surf the web and type papers just fine- this is what they're meant to do. If you want a high performance notebook, then you have to sacrifice that weight and size to add extra components and ways to cool those components. Also, high performance notebooks come with nice, large, high resolution screens designed for gaming. My Sager NP5793 weights 15 pounds, and I carry it around every day with me on the bus and to class. It's not a big deal. There's nothing wrong with the industry, there's just something amiss in the way you perceive it should be.

Honestly, you're throwing away money and battery power by buying a notebook that has more power than you'll ever use, but if it's what you want, whatever.

The gateway is a fine mid-range machine, if you can buy it. If you can't get a hold of it, I suggest you look into the mid-range Sager notebooks, available at Sager, and xoticpc.

Again, though, I suggest you get the Dell. It's perfect for your needs and doesn't waste a lot of money.
You can't buy a Ferrari and not know how to drive it.