Is this a good $1100 Laptop ? Value For money ? : Asus N56VZ

adity8522

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Jan 18, 2013
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10,580
Hello community,
I am a student and I am buying a new laptop in replacement of my 4 year old dell vostro 1015 laptop w/ celeron processor and 1gb ram integrated graphics.
This is the laptop which I selected for me :
http://www.amazon.com/N56VZ-RH71-2-40-3-40GHz-i7-3630QM-Blu-Ray-7200RPM/dp/B009AF19GA/ref=sr_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367500781&sr=1-17&keywords=asus+n56#productDetails

Is this a good overall laptop ? At least comparable to the Macbook Pro ?
Any help would be appreciated.
Well, One more question,
Do you think that a laptop is needed by a class 10th student ?
A desktop will be OK ?
Here's one desktop configuration http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

I don't do much gaming but still a graphics card was needed.
Here are the system specs :
Intel core i7 3770
g.skill ripjaws x 1866mhz ddr3 ram 8gb (4gb x 2)
Asrock Z77 Performance Motherboard
Samsung 840 Pro Series SSD
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5
Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Corsair 500Watt 80 Plus Certified Bronze CPU
These were the system specs.
So, Is this a good Desktop PC ?
Monitor Resolution : 1366 x 768
I want this PC to be comparable to a Macbook PRO because my friend owns one. (Latest)

So, what do you think ? Which is the best choice according to my needs ?
 

Crookz

Honorable
May 2, 2013
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F--- laptops, get a desktop get a GTX 480 instead of radeon HD 7850 and get a better psu 500w is poop 700 will do. i7 is good but its prob more than you need unless your going for performance and if your not for gamaing dont get the 480 get a 560ti

Easy on the language. - G
 

g-unit1111

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F--- laptops, get a desktop get a GTX 480 instead of radeon HD 7850 and get a better psu 500w is poop 700 will do. i7 is good but its prob more than you need unless your going for performance and if your not for gamaing dont get the 480 get a 560ti

You do realize those are three and four year old video cards now, right? GTX 670 and 680 have replaced them.

Any desktop PC you build will completely destroy any Macbook Pro, you're foolish to compare the two. If you build a desktop PC it will bury any Macbook Pro.
 

Crookz

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May 2, 2013
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ofc i realise that but the man is on a budget and there good cards still

 

g-unit1111

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The 4XX series is old, slow, and very power hungry. Even on $1100 with no monitor, keyboard, mouse, or OS included you can get a GTX 670 easily. No need to pay good money for outdated hardware.
 

g-unit1111

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If you want something that will blow away a Macbook Pro definitely get a desktop, there's no reason to consider anything else.
 

adity8522

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Jan 18, 2013
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Can Lenovo Ideapad Y500 Beat the MacBook Pro ?
See this : http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?sb=:000001C9:0000C50D:
 

adity8522

Honorable
Jan 18, 2013
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10,580
OK,
Whatsoever,
Tell me How's this PC build at PC Part Picker .com :
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/UV4q
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/UV4q/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/UV4q/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H50 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.60 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.68 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($188.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($53.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.96 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Microsoft JWD-00046 Wired Standard Keyboard ($12.66 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Kingwin KW-05 Wireless Optical Mouse ($8.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1001.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 05:14 EDT-0400)
 

g-unit1111

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Decent. This would be way better for $1K:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.61 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $983.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 15:14 EDT-0400)

- Stronger GPU
- Better PSU
- There was no case in your build. I picked the Corsair 300R.
- Less expensive but still good SSD
- You don't need the liquid cooler for a locked CPU. I dropped that and dropped the CPU to the i5-3570K.
- Then add whatever keyboard and mouse you want.

Can Lenovo Ideapad Y500 Beat the MacBook Pro ?
See this : http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/Len...:

I have one and it's an awesome laptop for the price. But I personally would never pay the premiums for a Macbook Pro.