$700 Budget Laptop Advice MSI ?

[tj223]

1. What is your budget? $700

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 14" - 15.6"

3. What screen resolution do you want? Framerate is more important, so 768?

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

5. How much battery life do you need? I have a chromebook so not important.

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)? Currently: WoW, BL2, ME3, Dishonored, Skyrim. Future: BioShock: Infinite, BF3

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) I do a little coding, but nothing any $400 laptop can't do.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 500gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Newegg or Amazon

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3 years

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

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. Asus has been my favorite as of late. Mixed experience with Toshiba and Samsung but mostly positive. Acer has been ok for how cheap they are. No gateway, dell, or hp.

13. What country do you live in? US

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. I have 2 decent gaming rigs at home (1 with 6870 CFX and 1 with a 770SC), chromebook, and a couple android tablets. This machine will simply be for work, which requires the most basic windows components, and a way to play a few games with a good framerate. Not looking to impress anyone, just want smooth gameplay.

I was specifically looking at the 730M and 740M. And benchmark wise it seems the performance bump is unimpressive so I was targeting laptops with the 730 and found this laptop that seems to fit my needs. I mainly wanted some other opinions.

MSI C Series CX61 0OL-696US

Are MSI laptops as high of quality as Asus? I have trusted MSI MoBo's and GPU's in the past but I have never owned, repaired, or used a MSI laptop.

Is there a better deal out there? Are there glaring problems/weaknesses with this one?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Maxime506]

How about this one? http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y410p/, use the promo code this site provides u.

Generally the MSI laptop is enough but the lenovo one has far better performance than the MSI one. If u don't mind pushing $100 up u could consider it.

 

[Prostar Computer]

MSI laptops are a great value and we seldom get people requesting returns or contacting us regarding RMA (repair) procedure. The Lenovo in Maxime's link is also quite good.

 

[tj223]

Yeah I was quite firm on the $700, until I looked at the lenovo...


i5 -> i7 is about a 67% increase (Passmark)

730->750 is about a 54% increase (Passmark)

750gb -> 1tb

6gb -> 8gb ram

All for $100...

Throw in another $50 to go from a 1366x768 -> 1600x900

And the form factor is much nicer. I like the backlit keyboard....

Maxime... Are you saving me money or costing me money...


Seems like a no brainer now.


Only real concern is Lenovo. Do they use solid components? Good Customer Support?

 

[tj223]

I pulled the trigger on the lenovo with the 900p screen.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Maxime506]

Lenovo... is the Chinese brand who purchases the IBM PC business in 2005. So it should be a good n' steady brand. (p.s.:When I studied in China, the lenovo laptops were much more expensive compared with those in the US & Canada( even in US currency) , and there is not such good deal in China, too. I don't know why, but us North Americans are enjoying the low price. Yay)

So...u'r a lucky guy