Solved! Help Buying/Building a Laptop. Thanks

[JBpuma]

1. What is your budget? $1300

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Compact enough for traveling to coffee shops and friends houses. this shouldn't be a big factor.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
15.6" (but still debating this. i'm looking for any advice on this. i.e what type of processor am i going to need to be able to deal with the resolution i use.)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Looking for hopefully a hybrid. if i had to choose one, desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need?
It will stay plugged in

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)?
WoW on ultra high. D3, SC2 medium to high. i'm a gamer but i've been stuck in console world for so long I'm drawing a blank here. Battlefield 3 is looking very tempting so i'll put that on here.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Movies, Music.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500gb. Also interested in hybrid HDDs.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Xoticpc.com

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 ROM. Blu Ray is not a priority.
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.
any.
13. What country do you live in?
U.S.
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
sager np516
This is what i've been looking at. Any advice on warranties would be appreciated as i know little about the defect rate of laptops. The 17" seems to be priced closely to the 15.6" maybe someone can explain this.

 

[shamanxia]

First off, do you like the computers you've chosen for yourself? Does it look good? Does it fit you?

Most times people buy a notebook computer buy it based on the tech specs and when they get their computer it's a brick and no one in their right mind would be caught dead with it.

Now on to the nitty gritty.

First off, you missed a question, but that's ok. Mainly the question is, are you going to be watching HD1080P movies at full resolution on a a tiny 15inch screen? Will you be playing any games that you might want to have at a higher resolution (IE in an FPS everything get more detailed and the fonts get smaller).

The answer to these questions mean you are going to get the 1920x1080 screen (for 1080P) or the 1366x720 (for 720P). Unfortunately the Higher Res mean more $$$$.

As for the defect rate for laptops. Usually it's pretty low, but I can only attest for those large multi-national corporations (Dell, HP, Asus, etc) Fortunately nearly all manufacturers have to 30 / 60 day satisfaction guarantee which mean if there is anything wrong at all they have to either replace or refund.

As for warranty's, I'm not big on getting extended warranty's but I do see the benefit. The key you need to focus on is "Are my friends / relatives / family members / girlfriend / boyfriend / significant other crazy and will they drop something on my computer just to see if it will survive?" if the answer is yes then get the extended warranty.

That is assuming that you won't take any chances with a $1300 computer.

As for the difference between 15 in and 17 in. The reason the prices are so similar is because of space. A lot more engineering and thought has to be done to keep a performance notebook cool in the case of a 15in notebook. The 17in notebook case is that much larger, therefore you can install more fans, keep the case cooler and because the case is cooler the manufacturer can use cheaper parts (lower tolerance to temperature)

 

[Maziar]

1. What is your budget? $1300

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Compact enough for traveling to coffee shops and friends houses. this shouldn't be a big factor.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
15.6" (but still debating this. i'm looking for any advice on this. i.e what type of processor am i going to need to be able to deal with the resolution i use.)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Looking for hopefully a hybrid. if i had to choose one, desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need?
It will stay plugged in

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)?
WoW on ultra high. D3, SC2 medium to high. i'm a gamer but i've been stuck in console world for so long I'm drawing a blank here. Battlefield 3 is looking very tempting so i'll put that on here.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Movies, Music.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500gb. Also interested in hybrid HDDs.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Xoticpc.com

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 ROM. Blu Ray is not a priority.
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.
any.
13. What country do you live in?
U.S.
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
sager np516
This is what i've been looking at. Any advice on warranties would be appreciated as i know little about the defect rate of laptops. The 17" seems to be priced closely to the 15.6" maybe someone can explain this.

I strongly recommend Sager NP8130
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8130-clevo-p151hm1-p-2973.html
It's been delayed but it's definitely worth waiting for.