Looking for a good, reliable laptop

[Ildreth_of_Lorien]

1. What is your budget?
I think it would be well under $1,500 dollars - though my main goal is to try to get the feel of how much a good laptop would cost.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
The size isn't too important

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Over 1400.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I need a portable laptop since I will need to carry it around.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Around 2 hours is good.

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)?
Lord of the Rings Online, preferably on High.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Internet browsing, university work, maybe a bit of photo editing and watching videos/movies.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
300 GB or more

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I'd prefer to buy the laptop from Best Buy, Future Shop or Staples, if possible.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
At least 4 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Dvd is fine.

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.
I don't want a Mac. I'd also prefer a reliable brand so the laptop would last me a longer time (I just hate computers that start breaking after two years of use - and since I'm not familiar with fixing a laptop as I am with a computer, it would be even worse for me if the laptop hardware started failing, as I wouldn't be able to replace or fix the parts myself).

13. What country do you live in?
Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I'm looking for a laptop that I could use both for university as well as for everyday use.

 

[Prostar Computer]

LOTRO isn't too demanding, so I think you'd be good with some of the middle tier gaming units from Clevo/Sager, Lenovo, and MSI (such as the W350ETQ/NP6350, Y500, and the GX60 - respectively). They all offer high def screens (many FHD/1080p) and will run LOTRO without a hitch, and are among the best value for your dollar. If you go top tier/really high end, you probably won't quite be able to squeeze 2 hours out of the battery.

Hmm, all this talk about LOTRO is tempting me to install it again on my home system...

 

[Ildreth_of_Lorien]

Thank you for the advice. I'll be looking around for the laptops you recommended and probably get one once I find a good deal. Thanks again.

 

[Ildreth_of_Lorien]

While I was looking over the laptops they offered in Future Shop and Best Buy, I didn't find any of the models you listed; however, I came across the Lenovo ThinkPad T430 that seemed to have decent specifications (the link to the specifications is: http/www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/lenovo-lenovo-thinkpad-t430s-14-laptop-black-intel-core-i5-3230m-4gb-ram-500gb-hdd-windows-7-2353abu/10250840.aspx?lang=en-CA&pcname=&sku=10250840&path=4b3d2ea4d86a0b937060428b09956794en02&SearchPageIndex=1 ).
Is this laptop worth the price?

I have also found another laptop, an Asus 15.6" Laptop, which is not only cheaper but has a cuad-core processor as opposed to the Lenovo ThinkPad T430 which has a dual-core. ( http/www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-15-6-laptop-mocha-intel-core-i7-3630qm-750gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-english-k55vd-dh71-ca/10235669.aspx )
Aother laptop that sounds realy good is another Asus N56VZ 15.6" Laptop ( http/www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-n56vz-15-6-laptop-black-silver-intel-core-i7-3630qm-750gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-english-n56vz-dh71/10231961.aspx?lang=en-CA&pcname=&sku=10231961&path=71a604264b669927e05bddea7aaf9cdben02&SearchPageIndex=1 ). It is bit more expensive then the above Asus laptop, but is is still cheaper then the Lenovo though the specs seems a little better (to me at least - and I might be wrong of course).

So my question is, what is the difference between the Asus laptops when compared to the Lenovo? Does Lenovo make up with better quality and does it perhaps last longer (is it less likely to break in let's say 2/3 years)?
I'd appreicate any advice.

 

[Prostar Computer]

For the price, you can get a much better deal than the Lenovo; in fact, you can get considerably better specs for a lower price! The Asus is a better deal and has a good CPU in it, although the NVidia card in the Asus is dated and not very capable.

You can actually run the game on the Intel HD graphics (4000), which is built into the i7 3630qm found in both of those Asus laptops you linked. The N56VZ is the best of the three, though, as far as power goes. In terms of value, the two Asus laptops are comparable, but the N56VZ will definitely be more capable.

Lenovo makes very good laptops, and my experience aside, I think many would argue as to which manufacturer is better than the other (in terms of build quality). If you are able and willing to order online, though, I would still advise you shop around. The units I listed previously offer more bang for the buck.

 

[Ildreth_of_Lorien]

I followed your advice and after looking on a number of different online sites, I found the Lenovo Y500 for a very good price (it was on sale on the Lenovo site for around $880).
So now I would just like to thank you very much for helping me find such a good laptop.

P.S. While looking around, I found out that the Lenovo is connected to IBM. I have a pretty good experience with IBM - I have an IBM ThinkPad (which I'd say is around maybe 10 years old) that still works, though obviously it is insanely slow compared to other computers these days. So if only the Lenovo Y500 will work as well as the ThinkPad (in terms of the hardware not breaking) I will be more then completely satisfied with the Lenovo. Anyway, thanks again for the advice you gave me.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Hey Ildreth, that's awesome! The Y500 is an incredible value right now, no doubt. And yeah, Lenovo acquired IBM's PC business back in 2005, but have maintained the level of build quality. Ironically, Lenovo's relationship goes back to the 80s, when they developed and provided circuit boards that could process Chinese characters in IBM systems. Now they own the license to IBM's PCs!

Anyway, good choice on the laptop, and I hope it treats you well!