I've been rewarded with a bonus at work for my hard work this year and have decided to spend a part of it replacing my 7-year old laptop. My old Dell was pretty solid though I did use the warranty several times to handle heat issues, wireless networking and a bad power adapter. One of the things I liked most about it was that it kept the keys in the right places. Arrow keys weren't shoved into the rest of the keyboard and the Home, PGUP, PGDOWN, and end keys (etc) were in the same 6 button arrangement as on a normal keyboard (I hate having to try and find where they've been hidden on various laptops).
Anyway, I don't necessarily need another dell or even a warranty if the brand is good enough that I don't need one. I can give up my keyboard arrangement if necessary. What I want is at a minimum:
Good processor, dual core most likely, not a cheapo (like a Celeron).
3 GB min memory. 4+ preferred
Hard drive doesn't matter. Any kind, any size. I don't really need 500 GB as I'm only using 80 now and that works for me
GPU - As strong as possible. I want to play games on this computer. I also do graphic and video work.
CD drive, meh. Speakers/sound meh. I'm not an audiophile and I can do my burning at home.
My budget is 800 to 1200 or so, hoping for closer to 1000 though I really like what I see that Toshiba has done here:
http/laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio/X500/X505-Q860
And this Alienware:
http/configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DKCWFW1&s=dhs&ACD=10550055-3724413-ti1663528&AID=3724413
I LOVE backlit keyboards and completely unnecessary lights on the keyboard/laptop. Particularly blue or red or something interesting like that. Thank you all for your awesome expert advice.
P.S. Looking for the best deal possible. Is there a big sale I should wait for? A student discount I can get? Any other ideas for good price without sacrificing quality (Used is an option I suppose, but would I suffer breakage risks that way? I use it a LOT).
Anyway, I don't necessarily need another dell or even a warranty if the brand is good enough that I don't need one. I can give up my keyboard arrangement if necessary. What I want is at a minimum:
Good processor, dual core most likely, not a cheapo (like a Celeron).
3 GB min memory. 4+ preferred
Hard drive doesn't matter. Any kind, any size. I don't really need 500 GB as I'm only using 80 now and that works for me
GPU - As strong as possible. I want to play games on this computer. I also do graphic and video work.
CD drive, meh. Speakers/sound meh. I'm not an audiophile and I can do my burning at home.
My budget is 800 to 1200 or so, hoping for closer to 1000 though I really like what I see that Toshiba has done here:
http/laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio/X500/X505-Q860
And this Alienware:
http/configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DKCWFW1&s=dhs&ACD=10550055-3724413-ti1663528&AID=3724413
I LOVE backlit keyboards and completely unnecessary lights on the keyboard/laptop. Particularly blue or red or something interesting like that. Thank you all for your awesome expert advice.
P.S. Looking for the best deal possible. Is there a big sale I should wait for? A student discount I can get? Any other ideas for good price without sacrificing quality (Used is an option I suppose, but would I suffer breakage risks that way? I use it a LOT).