finding the right laptop

[silentpower06]

ok, I've never bought a laptop before so not entirely sure what to look for.
I am a visual/game programming major so I need it to have some graphics power.

price range is about $1200, $1400 if I really want to push it.

I know i need atleast a dedicated video card, and a 15.4" WS preferablly 17" wide-screen b/c I do a lot of arwork and stuff.

if anyone can point me in the right direction or give me a some points on what to look for.

thanks
-mike

 

[FuryThoR]

Okay I may be new here but I got some information to guide you.

So first of all, few questions
1) For what purpose laptop comes ? (gaming, work, entertainment?)
2) What is very last ammount of money you want to invest into laptop
3) Do you want very portable laptop or one that has better features in it ?

You should be able to find more information on www.notebookreview.com but there is not reviews for newest laptops ...

 

[asusman]

You could get a desktop on that budget, not a laptop.

Maybe if you get a smaller screen.

 

[silentpower06]

1) gaming, programming, movies, and some nonintensive 3d modeling

2) preferablly wanna keep it aournf $1000 - $1200

3) we'll I am normally near an outlet so not all that concerned about battery life. but at this point a desktop isn't much of an option b/c I am very rarely home.

 

[asusman]

I'd say a X1600 or 7600 are the cards you want then.

 

[silentpower06]

well, I am not painfully concerned about brand of graphics cards but I am confused about differences in processors, saw what looks like a good laptop with a GO 6150 GFX card and amd x2 processor.

 

[lostandwandering]

By the X2 i am assuming you mean The turion, which isn't a bad procc just not the best.

Go 6150 is hardly better than integrated graphics.

Unfortunately decent dedicated graphics are hard to fin in you price range. Go to Newegg and search laptops for your price range and see what looks good. If you want, link a few of them in this thread to get opinions on them.

Speaking of which this acer seems decent for your price range (over your price slightly)
Acer Aspire AS5630

 

[silentpower06]

ok did that here are a couple

1) http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220103

2) http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834147303

 

[lostandwandering]

Both of those laptops have their ups and downs
Asus: pros;Core 2 processor and it's new cons; less powerful graphics, 1 gb memory

HP: pros; stronger graphics, larger HDD, 2 gbs memory cons; re-certified (previously owned) older Core Duo proc.

Of those two, the HP is probably the better choice even though it's a re-cert.
While neither has great graphics the HP is about as good as you will get for your price range. The 2 gigs of memory will help too.

 

[terror112]

for your price range i would strongly reccomend a acer Aspire AS5630. I have one. The core 2 duo is a very powerful processor that blows my older athlon 64 +3700 desktop system right out of the water. the 2 gigs of ram is plenty for running many applications at once and for vista performance. The display is apsolutely amazing. with the 160GB drive you have plenty of space. the go 7300 is enough to play games like WoW on max settings. The case on this laptop is also amazing, casing is made of real stainless steel and not plastic. Acer provides a Advanced power saving program that can throttle down your components to save more power. battery life is around 3 hours 40 mins.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Have you looked at the HP website? Or Compaq or Gateway?

 

[Suzy]

hi,
i'd go with a 17' screen if i were you. once you start opening up more than one window, its gonna get cramped.
go with core 2 duo processor. look for one that has a fast speed. 2 gig of ram. graphics are big eaters! i work a lot with graphics, too. you have a good price range, but i would beef it up a little and go with hp dv9000t. it was rated pretty good. you could look at toshiba, but the cost is higher. (satellite P100/P105). if you can store your graphics on an external hard drive, that will help in the cost.

look for:
core duo 2 processor - fastest running 2 ghz with 667mhz
2 gig of ram or more
best display you can afford
a graphics card with 256 or more

suzy

 

[lostandwandering]

I agree with most of what you said except that he seems to have a tight budget. In other words, he is not going to be able to buy the top of the line like you suggest. And while the DV9000 is a good laptop, when fully configure it is beaten out by the Inspiron 9400/E1705(The Dell has a better gpu if I'm not mistaken). Anyway, all of that is moot because he is limited by the amount he can spend. And seeing as he hasn't posted here in over a month, I would assume he already bought something.

 

[Suzy]

hi,
oops, didn't catch the date. about budget, don't any of you start with a budget and keep adding to it, til you get all you want? sorry, guess maybe it's a girl thing. i first started with a 600 budget, but then added to it til i came close to a grand(that was cmas time)then found same as cash financing and it went up again. almost all the stores have some kind of financing available if you get their credit card.
i am sorry, i never really looked at dell, as i couldn't afford them, and i am typing on a dell right now, and thank heavens it ain't mine! personal preference, as i dislike it.
suzy