Hard choice on gaming/school laptop:\

deadsheep

Distinguished
Apr 19, 2006
2
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18,510
Hello every one, ive looked around the net trying to find someone giving some good incite on laptop cpus but have come up empty handed so i figured id ask the toms community.

i need a laptop for school but i thought it would be a good idea to spend a little extra and get one that i could play a few games on. the biggest question i have is about the processor. im having trouble finding real life use comparisons of the AMD phenom ii quad n950 and the i3 370m and the i5 460m. im pretty confident about getting an ati 5650 in it but still am comparing it to the nvidia 460m.

the things ill being using the laptop for would be normal school stuff, playing starcraft 2 and call of duty, and maybe some minor music recording and photoshop.

things that would influence my decision are:
heat
battery life
gaming in atleast medium settings
bang for buck (looking for a laptop under 800, the lower the better)

here are a few laptops ive seen on newegg that seem to be close to what i want:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214043
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115864

also any tips on where to shop for the best deal, or what brands to avoid or look for would also be appreciated.

thanks for your time.