Looking for a Laptop/Notebook. Need help!

[Ellie-fied]

Hi, I'm looking for a new laptop/notebook. I'm a college student (so something portable from class to class), I do a lot of photography, Photoshopping, and gaming (skyrim would be nice on the PC ). My budget is $700 and I'd like something from 15-16inches. I'm not expecting some jaw-dropping laptop (Though brushed metal look would be awesome) but I would like something with a good CPU and dedicated graphics. I've looked at newegg, bestbuy, and some reviews on PCworld. I've just looked at so many laptops and I can't decide. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
-E

 

[supervai]

i guess one of the best ways is to go to a laptop shop and check out the models that you have in mind and bring a friend along and get some of his opinion too.

 

[Ellie-fied]

I've been looking around amazon and found these.

Acer Aspire V3-571G-6407 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JXK1WQ/ref=gno_cart_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I know this one has the dedicated graphics still looking O_O

ASUS A55A-AH51 15.6-Inch Laptop ( Black )
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OV1910/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I like the look of this one but no dedicated graphics!

 

[Lady_Grace]

Well, the CPU is the same on both models, so it really boils down to this: Do you want a dedicated GPU or not? And how much do you want to pay for it?
The HD4000 integrated in the i5 can handle older games and newer stuff at low settings and resolutions, I guess it would Skyrim, but badly.
Check for other features you like, perhaps a good touchpad (Asus has bad pads usually), Windows 7/8, HDD size... Don't underestimate the power of your touchpad, you'l use it a lot.

 

[Ellie-fied]

Yeah, I read in the reviews about the ASUS that the touch pad was kind of weird. I think I might go with the Acer Aspire. It has the dedicated GPU and it can hand skyrim on low/med settings, it got really great reviews. I'm probably gonna head out to the local bestbuy or somewhere so I can see if they have maybe a base model in stock so I can see how the body of the laptop is.

 

[lgt6238]

I have had an Asus L50VN for a few years and have had no problems with the touch pad. If the laptop has Bluetooth (which I would recommend), then definitely get a Bluetooth mouse as they are great and very accurate, plus it won't tie up one of your USB ports. The other thing that I like about Asus is their warranty and service. In the 4 years that I have had mine, I have had no issues with it other than it got warm and that was quickly solved by getting a cooling pad and if you use it a lot like I do, I would recommend it as it saves the computer from overheating. I am in the market to buy another computer mostly because of its age and I will definitely buy an Asus. Back to their warranty, it is the longest and when you call tech support, they are always helpful and willing to resolve the problem without any attitude and lots of kindness, plus you can always understand them. In fact, I called the other day to see which model was the closest to what I have now and the gentleman spent a lot of time with me and went through all their models and what my needs were to make sure that he was recommending what would be in my best interests.You don't find this at many companies any more. My second brand of choice would be Toshiba as they too are very well built and again their service is excellent. Personally, I have never been impressed with Acer as I have not felt that the quality was that good. I would definitely get dedicated graphics if you intend to play games and/or do a lot of graphic design, etc. If I were you, I would make a list of my must haves and would be nice options and then look for a computer that has all of your must haves and hopefully a few of the other things that would be nice, then do a search for the best price on that model and see if the company that has the lowest price won''t negotiate a little bit down, too. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your new computer.