New Laptop

[datsyuk]

I've never had a Laptop before and have NO idea what to get, so I'll tell you my situation:

I'm starting University in about two weeks so I'll need something that has all the necessities for school. (However I don't want a small screen) The other requirement is it for to be able to play WoW and Counter-Strike Source. I know the system specs needed for these and everything, just not sure as to what is a good Laptop brand. I was looking at a HP Pavilion... Is this stupid? What are some other good brands? Dell? Sony? Toshiba? (I dont want a mac)

Thankyou for your help



EDIT: I have failed and should have put this in Tech Help, or maybe off topic. Could someone move this to the appropriate place for me

 

[torzak]

How much are you willing to spend?

 

[The Red Comet]

Yeah a budget is critical. HP's a decent budget brand, though. And most computers these days should be able to handle WoW or CSS, just make absolutely sure you never get an Intel GMA graphics card. Ever. You'll regret it.

 

[GBear]

The new Macbook Pros look VERY sleek. I've always loved their design although I'm a PC fan boy. I wouldn't have recommended a Macbook Pro until recently when I checked their custom configurator on their website. The specs you can get on the Macbook Pro are amazing!

 

[PewPewBangBang]

Yea they are good but its not worth the money. I have the new Macbook Pro but mines only i think 2.4ghz with the nvidia hybrid 9600gt and 9400m

Its a great laptop and all but i dont use it for gaming since i build my own desktops. Its great for everyday use and all and its alrite for gaming, i mean on L4D medium settings i get like 60 FPS around that, for source im guessing it would be fine also.
Its enough to play the games you want but its not worth the money.

The best gaming laptop for the money right now has to be the Asus. My god the thing has a GTX 260 and a 2.5ghz processor all for $1,100. Its at best buy, heres the link
17"(1,300) i guess the price went up since i last checked - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366615&type=product&id=1218092150740

15" (1,050) This one is a bit slower in the processor section but it should be fine though the above laptop is much better for the money, that processor is more in the high end section considering my Macbook Pro has the P8400 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366651&type=product&id=1218092150636

 

[datsyuk]

Those look cool pewpew, thanks.

My price range is around 1000 $ USD to 1300 $ USD

Any other suggestions?

I was looking at this one, whats your opinions? (keep in mind the website is Canadian, and in Canadian dollars)

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10125252&catid=

 

[torzak]

This is a pretty good laptop for the price http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9353399&type=product&id=1218090334197
If you want something smaller this is also good http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9358063&type=product&id=1218090589096

 

[Lenny Brezhnev]

PewPew is right Asus has some pretty nice gaming units, here is another (but Pew's $1050 rig looks a tad better in video spec):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220566
My son has an Asus and he is happy with it. Same situation as you, college gamer.

HP: Unless they have changed in 2yrs, many HP power connectors are weak, they break internally and require mobo removal to fix properly. I had to fix 2 from friends and family. Move it around alot with the cord plugged in=FAIL

IBM\Lenovo: (my work laptop) high in monitor processes for hardware, I think Lenovo means "Please wait" in Chinese. Monitor mount breaks

Toshiba: doesn't make ANYTHING good (sry)

Dell: I have had good luck with Dells, but monitor connections have been problematic in the past.

Sony: Quality product, quality price. But gloss screens have glare problems.

 

[PewPewBangBang]

yea after reading the posts you guys posted. I think my choices were the best in terms of price and performance.

The $1,050 dollar version has the new GTX 260m which you cannot find in basically any laptops in the price range. The only other laptop i would recommend for the price and performance would be the Gateway FX laptops, those things were the first affordable gaming laptops, newegg has the one with a quad core and 9800gts 1gb for like 1,400 or something but im not sure. Thats a really good price considering it has a QUAD CORE lmao.

I would just go with the Asus i chose though, either one is fine, its your choice in size and performance as well as how much money you want to save.

 

[Waddle Dee]

The 9800gsm s also pretty good in laptops i hear

 

[GBear]

Oh wow that Asus is a beast! But yet again, you're right. Desktops are much better for gaming.

 

[datsyuk]

Thanks for the help guys, the Asus looks great

 

[iOprah]

(Look Down) New its about 2700, but used or on craigs-list you can get it for around $1700. As for PCs, Don't get a HP I had two my first one broke the 2nd week I had it and 6 more times after that, good thing I bought the warranty. Basically the first year HP had it more than me. My second HP broke a total of 4 times, the 4th time was my fault though I broke a key but, when I sent it in they found "water damage"(which there was none, even if there was it did nothing) and refused to fix it unless I payed $700(they did not know i had an accidental warranty) they also never contacted me about this, and I guess were just going to keep my laptop until I called them. Dells, usually are reliable and are relatively cheap. Sony is a pretty good brand, and Toshiba's are crap in my opinion there just a compilation of generic parts.....So yeah.


Edit: I recently updated my HD to 500gbs

 

[malalla]

Dont have a suggestion, but dont take hp, just like oprah said, it keeps crashing and this happens for the newest and the oldest

 

[Kibo]

Macs are good if you can get a steady crossover program. check out ibuypower though. they really have nice laptops.

 

[datsyuk]

Hey guys I think I made my decision and I'm just looking for some feedback

(price is in CAN)

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24988(ME).aspx

 

[PewPewBangBang]

hmmm seems alrite, the cpu is real good, dont kno how well the GPU is and wat is compares to though. It certainly lags behind the gtx 260 though.

 

[datsyuk]

yea I found one on the site with a gtx 260... little out of my price range

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24987(ME).aspx


is the gtx 260 the best on the market right now?

 

[Ph?bus]

yea I found one on the site with a gtx 260... little out of my price range

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24987(ME).aspx


is the gtx 260 the best on the market right now?

no, thats the gtx 295. but the gtx 260 is pretty high up there.

 

[PewPewBangBang]

no, thats the gtx 295. but the gtx 260 is pretty high up there.

lol actually ur wrong too....cuz hes talking in terms of laptops, the gtx 280m is the best on the market for laptops, the ATI 4870x2 is the 2nd i think though it may match up to the gtx280m on some games or even beat it. Then i think comes the GTX 260m.

Basically for nvidia, the gtx 260m is the 2nd best, the gtx 280m being the best