Need new Laptop!

[arts]

1. What is your budget?
$700 (not including tax) trying to go for that xbox deal. So will have to be on sites that have that deal..
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6"
3. What screen resolution do you want?
1366x768
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
portable and not really a replacement as I still use my desktop
5. How much battery life do you need?
3-4
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)?
Yes. The games I want to play on this new laptop are SC2, Dragon Nest(coming out), COD Black Ops, and Rumble Fighter. I would like to play them at low to medium. I don't need to play them at high.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Schoolwork, and occasionally some video editing
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500 GB
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Dell, Sony, Asus, Newegg, Best Buy, Frys. (USA)
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4-5 years
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM/Writer
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 prefer to buy from Dell, Sony, and Asus because they are they most reliable. The brands I don't want are Acer, lenovo, and hp. I heard bad things about HP and Acer.
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
The laptop I want has to have a good keyboard and a good touchpad. It also has to include a webcam and mic. The laptop also has to have a DEDICATED card. Please and thank you! And it has to have a second generation i5 processor. (MUST HAVE)

 

[AntiZig]

well, here's what I've been able to find:
Sony E 190x
Dell Inspiron-15R - with AMD 6470M dedicated
Asus, I can't find any model that offers an AMD card it, it's either nvidia with optimus or intel HD, so pick your poison. But any #52 model should have i5 processor in it or at least have an option for it.

as far as touchpads, I'd recommend dell, from my personal experience their and hp touchpads are the best.

 

[trogdor796]

Why do you not want switchable graphics or optimus? It doesn't hurt performance in any way, and you can manually select which programs use the dedicated card and which ones use the integrated if you're worried about the auto-switch feature(Optimus). Here's a good one : http/www.amazon.com/dp/B004XI8P2A/ref=asc_df_B004XI8P2A1592287?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=pg-463-77-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B004XI8P2A
I have pretty much the same model but with an i7 instead of an i5. I've owned for a week and enjoyed it very much. As far as battery life goes, it looks like 5 hours if you lower screen brightness and sound. Performance wise it's very nice. I can run most games on high, and many newer ones on medium, so that should suit your needs. I know it's slightly over your budget, so there may be better deals out there if you look.

 

[WR2]

The laptop also has to have a DEDICATED card and not SWITCHABLE or OPTIMUS. And it has to have a second generation i5 processor. (MUST HAVE)

Any of the current generation of GPU (Geforce 5xx or AMD 6xxx) is going to run Optimus or be switchable. Many of the GF 4xx and 3xx will be Optimus as well. So it seems you must have an AMD 5xxx GPU. And I'm not certain you will find a 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge CPU with that generation of GPU.

What are you objections to the AMD switchable graphics?

 

[WR2]

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Dell, Sony, Asus, Newegg, Best Buy, Frys.

Did you find nothing in your price range when you looked over the stock at NewEgg, BestBuy and Fry's?

 

[arts]

Why do you not want switchable graphics or optimus?

Its just that I've heard of many problems/bugs in optimus that I don't want it to interfere with my gaming experience.

Any of the current generation of GPU (Geforce 5xx or AMD 6xxx) is going to run Optimus or be switchable. Many of the GF 4xx and 3xx will be Optimus as well. So it seems you must have an AMD 5xxx GPU. And I'm not certain you will find a 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge CPU with that generation of GPU.

What are you objections to the AMD switchable graphics?

I assumed it is like Optimus but more suckish. However, I didn't know that many new laptops included the optimus and switchable technology.

Did you find nothing in your price range when you looked over the stock at NewEgg, BestBuy and Fry's?

NewEgg does have some but the reviews on the laptop is scary.. Best Buy mostly has intel hd graphics. Fry's have some bad graphics cards that were mostly in the class level 3 range at notebookcheck.net.


HOWEVER, I am willing to go with Optimus or AMD switchable now as I can not find a decent graphics card that doesn't have those tech installed.

 

[AntiZig]

Even the newest GTX 580M has optimus now D:

 

[arts]

How do u think about this HP dv6 Core i5 Dual 2.3GHz 16" Blu-ray LED Laptop for $674?
http/www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?type=id&q=d263989&ru=28906522
Looks cool stuff. It might meet your needs well. Hope u find the best bet.

Sorry, I just don't want an HP laptop because people keep telling me they have heating problems... So uh yea I'm more of a Dell, Asus, or Sony kind of guy.

 

[americanbrian]

for $700 you are NOT going to get sony with the features you listed.

Asus does some pretty good stuff. Do you absolutely need to buy new?

Ebay has a number of last gen gaming machines, generally manufacturer refurbished returns. I could recommend maybe this:

http/cgi.ebay.com/Asus-G51J-A1-Intel-Core-I7-720qm-4gb-ddr3-Dual-320gb-/120725710350?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item1c1bd0260e

a little over budget but to be honest you are kinda in the wrong ballpark with what you want versus how much you can spend....

This is an i7, which is probably comparable in performance, and the GTX 260m is actually a class 1 card on notebookcheck, where the other ones listed seem to have GTS 330m's which are not as good.

 

[americanbrian]

It actually sounds like you are a perfect candidate for a new llano notebook as soon as they hit the shelf.

 

[trogdor796]

I've seen some llano laptops in my local bestbuy add already. For llano, you are sacrificing roughly 25% cpu power for around 50% more gpu power. This means increased performance for most games, seeing as most are gpu driven. Llano is also cheaper generally. It can't match the raw processing power of many intel chips, but it's integrated gpu solution blows intel's out of the water, so it's something you may want to check out.

 

[arts]

@americanbrian
Yea I would like a new laptop..

And when will the new llano notebooks come out?

 

[trogdor796]

They should be here very soon. Like I said, some stores already have them. The release of them was said to be late june-mid july.

 

[hpfreak]

for $700 you are NOT going to get sony with the features you listed.

Asus does some pretty good stuff. Do you absolutely need to buy new?

Ebay has a number of last gen gaming machines, generally manufacturer refurbished returns. I could recommend maybe this:

http/cgi.ebay.com/Asus-G51J-A1-Intel-Core-I7-720qm-4gb-ddr3-Dual-320gb-/120725710350?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item1c1bd0260e

a little over budget but to be honest you are kinda in the wrong ballpark with what you want versus how much you can spend....

This is an i7, which is probably comparable in performance, and the GTX 260m is actually a class 1 card on notebookcheck, where the other ones listed seem to have GTS 330m's which are not as good.

EEEkk! Incorrect info on that ebay page... Dual-Core i7 720qm? I though it was a quad core processor...
Also, your getting a Full HD screen, great. But your also getting a low profile graphics card, not a good combo with the screen because your getting lower Frames Per Second with a higher resolution monitor.

 

[americanbrian]

Errrm.

Its a laptop... so "low-profile gpu" is nonsense. As for the GPU itself it is as mentioned in the First class category on notebookcheck. but whatever dude.

Also OP don't forget that with llano you can actually GAME for hours away from the wall plug. That is NEW, no other gaming Laptop can last nearly as long when under gpu load. I think it would be money well spent, esp as your price range allows you to aim for the top of the line llano's. (make sure it is paired with fast RAM, has large impact on GPU performance).

 

[Supermuncher85]

well, here's what I've been able to find:
Sony E 190x
Dell Inspiron-15R - with AMD 6470M dedicated
Asus, I can't find any model that offers an AMD card it, it's either nvidia with optimus or intel HD, so pick your poison. But any #52 model should have i5 processor in it or at least have an option for it.

as far as touchpads, I'd recommend dell, from my personal experience their and hp touchpads are the best.

I actually just happened to ordered the sony to replace my aging HP. I took the upgraded model and will do a review when it arrives in a week or so.