Need help choosing laptop

[heretoannoy]

I am looking for a nice laptop that I can keep for years without getting too obsolete, and want decent battery life and gaming performance. Ive been looking at the HP DV6t Quad (15.6 inch screen 1366x768, i7 720, 1GB GT 230 M, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HDD) I think it really looks good, and ive seen good prices on it at various places, but Im unsure how long the battery will actualy last for things like websurfing, watching video, or games (HP just gives a time for it sitting there with wifi off) Ive also noticed the Asus N51Vn-X1A (2.53GHz Core 2 Duo P8700, 15.6", 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD 7200rpm HDD, 1GB GT 240M) seems good as well. Wondering which CPU (1.6 GHz i7 or 2.53 GHz C2D) will be better for me, and also trying to figure out which system will last longer for websurfing or watching my DVD rips. Id prefer a system with a GT 250m, but havent really seen any in my price/weight range. So if anybody has any suggestions, I also filled out the little survey too. thanks!


1_What is your budget?
prefer to keep it around 1000 USD, 1200 max

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
less than 7 lbs

3_What screen resolution do you want?
no preference

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
prefer it to be portable, I carry it around campus for most of my day, in addition to textbooks

5_How much battery life
as much as possible, at least 2.5 hrs of web surfing/video playback would be good, (i realize gaming will most likely not last so long, so i dont care too much bout lifetime for that)

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)?
Id like to be able to play most games currently on the market at top quality, and still be able to play games comin out over the next couple years at usable quality as well

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
I will probably do a lot of DVD ripping/playback on this

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
320GB 7200rpm or larger

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
anything is fine

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3 or 4 years, longer if possible

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD burner is fine. dont rely care for bluray.

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.
ive been told (by my father who works IT) to stay away from sager because hes never even heard of em before. also, no apple. Your opinions on sager are welcome, your opinions on apple are irrelevant (i play videogames and am a penny pincher, therefore its not for me)

13_What country do you live in?
us

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.
if anybody knows stuff like "this brand is horrible" or "that brand has a realy good customer service dept" etc, that would be good to kno.

 

[buwish]

Everything becomes obsolete the day you buy it. But in terms of future proofing, you have some options. I always recommend to configure your own so that you can get what you want and in your case, be able to stay within your budget range. A good place to start is Dell, as you can customize your device. I'd take a look at some system set ups that offer the i7 mobile, as that should last you for quite sometime in regard to future proofing for the foreseeable future. Plus, I like Dells in general because in my experience they seem to last for 2-4 years minimum without any issues, especially the laptops.

Best of luck.

 

[heretoannoy]

i havent been able to find any dells with a decent Nvidia graphics card aside from the alienwares, which are way outa my price range. the studio XPS 16 has what I think is a fairly good ATI card (4670) but id prefer to avoid ATI without somebody who knows for sure that i wont have any problems with that system. also trying to figure out whether or not the 1.6 i7 would rely be better than a 2.53 or 2.66 core 2 duo

 

[sandmnd3]

I was also searching for a new laptop and got some advice from this forum. After a lot of research, I found I could get the best deal at HP. So, I ordered it and am expecting it to arrive in 4 days. I have had an HP laptop for about 5 years now, and have had pretty good luck with it. I had a few issues at first but they fixed them promptly.

I found that I could get most bang for my buck with configuring it on HP's site, exactly how I want it. They were also offering an instant rebate of $200. I found an additional $200 discount offer on HP, from doing a web search for discounts or coupons for HP. If you decide HP, try this coupon - NBSW451897 for the $200 off, or look for additional/updated ones online. I also looked at the ASUS with the better graphics card, but since I was not concerned about gaming, I went less expensive and better battery life. I think the lowest price for the ASUS I found was around $1,500.

Here is my configuration and price:
HP Pavilion dv6t Entertainment Quad Edit
• Espresso Black
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive from 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• No Modem
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

The total price was $$1168.99 with free shipping
I am in CA so there was also a $16 recycling fee and high tax of $113.98
I also got an extended 2 year warranty - 2-yr Pick Up+Return HP Pavilion Laptop, for $119.99, to feel secure.

So, grand total with all the above was $1418.96

You can do better without some of the features you don't need or want, like tv tuner, blue ray, and the extended warranty. Hope this helps. Good luck

 

[VistaVendetta]

Well I would personally suggest the DV6T because of the Core i7. Despite the fact that processors become outdated really fast core i7 is brand new so you've got a more future proof system. Plus that core i7 720qm is even faster than a q6600 so it should definitely run everything you need.

Heres some benchmarks for you: http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

 

[heretoannoy]

does it still hold true that a great CPU(like the i7) cant really compensate for a mediocre GPU (like the GT230m)?
I really wanted something with a GTS 250m, but I cant find anything inside my budget, except from companies im not sure if i can trust

 

[VistaVendetta]

Well if you want both a high end GPU and a Core i7 I would suggest ibuypower or cyberpowerpc they should have a wider range of GPUs but there is the small problem that after a few years when you need to replace your laptop's battery finding a replacement wont be easy.

 

[heretoannoy]

yeh, i wanna stay away from them since as far as i kno theyre tiny no name brands, and im concerned i wont get as good quality/customer service/for all i kno they could go under and then ill need parts/service and not be able to get it. if anybody knows to the contrary please enlighten me