Solved! Looking for a decent sub-$700 laptop

[cowsarecoolXD]

1. What is your budget?
preferably under 750, somewhere under 600 would be ideal

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
13-16 in screen, thin is ideal

3. What screen resolution do you want?
standard is fine, but higher is always welcome

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
it'll be my main computer but i would rather it not be too bulky, anything around 6 pounds or less would be fine

5. How much battery life do you need?
4+ hours preferably, but longer than that is not too important

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)?
starcraft 2 on medium would be fine
modern mmorpgs on medium settings

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
some photo editting, 1080p videos, school use

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
around 500 gb would probably be more than enough

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
newegg, tigerdirect, but anywhere is fine

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
~2 years, hopefully longer

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
don't need a optical drive

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.
would prefer to avoid hp

13. What country do you live in?
california, usa

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
here's a couple laptops I've been considering

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215110&nm_mc=OTC-C173T&cm_mmc=OTC-C173T-_-Notebooks-_-Acer+America-_-34215110

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214190&cm_sp=Pers_ProductSimilar-_-34-214-190_1_AG-_-34-215-119

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215120

thanks in advance!

 

[WR2]

Are you OK with that 17.3" 7.26lbs Acer Aspire AS7551G you listed in your #3 option?

 

[WR2]

TOSHIBA Satellite L655 15.6" & 5.48 lbs
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3830TG 13.3" & 4.12 lbs

 

[cowsarecoolXD]

whoops, not sure how that third option link got on there, must've pasted it by accident

I was also considering a:
dell xps15 with an i5-2410m, 4gb ram, gt 525m for $650
and
ASUS K52JT-XT1 for $700
http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6891953&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-XFWbhjVJtVdnbqAyMr7mAw

 

[AntiZig]

First thing I'd like to note, watching 1080p videos on resolution that has height lower than 1080 isn't great.

Since you are looking for good gaming performance, if you can find a laptop with 540M or better that would be awesome (but there's usually not many)

out of the ones you linked, first acer is good, you could buy that

toshiba is a little slower performance than first acer, but would work for you as well

second acer is worse than toshiba, so I wouldn't consider this one

Note:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215119 - same hardware as first acer just different color finish

Other than that, I think, you've exhausted the price range options. You might be able to find nice deals for other brand laptops for similar price, but I don't expect the hardware to go above 540M in under $750 range.

How about this one:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214401 - Toshiba L745D - 14", 5lbs, $550

 

[niquev]

IMHO, Acer AS7741-6426 is best laptop in the $600 to $1100 range.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115990

I've browsed Walmart, Newegg, Amazon, and BestBuy online and the rating for this laptop is always 5 star. However, when I bought mine (a month ago), I bought it from B&H from New York because I wanted to make sure I don't get charged for shipping or tax (California) AND they sold it cheaper than any other online store for $650.

Notable features are 17.3" screen, ATI 6550 video card, good looking textured shell, and Wireless N for me. The ATI 6550 makes this laptop capable of playing a lot of 3D games on very high settings. Cons are mouse pad and 5400 rpm HDD, but it's not a deal breaker for $650. I was planning to swap out the HDD anyway with an SSD later.

Good Luck!

 

[WR2]

IMHO, Acer AS7741-6426 is best laptop in the $600 to $1100 range

Quite a few I would rate higher.
ASUS N53SN-XV1 Notebook
with it's Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 1920x1080 LCD & NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M a couple notches higher in the $600-$1100 range. Just one example of many.
Unfortunately, neither meet the OPs requirements.

 

[AntiZig]

How do u guys think about this Acer Core i5 Dual 2.3GHz 14" Laptop w/ Xbox 360 from $560?
http/www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?type=id&q=d275377&ru=28907446
Seems good choice too. It might meet your needs well. Hope u find the best bet.

it's got crappy graphics for a $550 laptop, unless of course you're willing to do your gaming on the box