So good news and bad news.
Bad news is my old Dell laptop (Inspiron e1705, purchased about four years ago) was stolen.
BUT it (along with everything else that was stolen in my apartment) was covered via renter's insurance. (If you don't have it, get it).
So now I'm in the market for a new laptop.
I have a budget of around $1300-$1500, but would like to spend less.
My problem is outside the realm of Alienware (overpriced), Dell (can't fully customize the way I want), iBuyPower (doesn't have laptop size I want) and HP (not a huge fan), I really don't know what brands/makes are good.
I have used Asus products in the past and have been pleased, however the performance I am looking cannot be found in a system they make.
These are my requirements:
>2.0 ghz, dual core minimum
>4 Gigs RAM, would prefer more.
>nVidia 435M 1G Video card
>320g HD, solid state not required.
DVD-RW, Blu-Ray a plus, but not required
15.6" screen. I really don't want another 17"
That's a lot to cram into a small budget, I realize. However I have found a few "new" (to me new, not around four years ago when I had my head into the 'business') that are offering a product within my specs and price range, but I'm not sure if they're quality. They are the following:
Sager NP 5160 (through xoticpc.com)
Xplorer X6-9500 through Cyberpower.com
Sager NP 8150 through Powernotebooks.com
Falcon TLX through falcon-nw.com
Maingear Clutch 15 through Maingear.com
I no NOTHING about these brands or websites. Have you heard any horror stories? Are they good? Great? What do you think?
I'm not above buying an Alienware or Dell, I just would like a better performing system for the money spent. NOTE: The above specs are for an Alienware notebook, at $1300.
Bad news is my old Dell laptop (Inspiron e1705, purchased about four years ago) was stolen.
BUT it (along with everything else that was stolen in my apartment) was covered via renter's insurance. (If you don't have it, get it).
So now I'm in the market for a new laptop.
I have a budget of around $1300-$1500, but would like to spend less.
My problem is outside the realm of Alienware (overpriced), Dell (can't fully customize the way I want), iBuyPower (doesn't have laptop size I want) and HP (not a huge fan), I really don't know what brands/makes are good.
I have used Asus products in the past and have been pleased, however the performance I am looking cannot be found in a system they make.
These are my requirements:
>2.0 ghz, dual core minimum
>4 Gigs RAM, would prefer more.
>nVidia 435M 1G Video card
>320g HD, solid state not required.
DVD-RW, Blu-Ray a plus, but not required
15.6" screen. I really don't want another 17"
That's a lot to cram into a small budget, I realize. However I have found a few "new" (to me new, not around four years ago when I had my head into the 'business') that are offering a product within my specs and price range, but I'm not sure if they're quality. They are the following:
Sager NP 5160 (through xoticpc.com)
Xplorer X6-9500 through Cyberpower.com
Sager NP 8150 through Powernotebooks.com
Falcon TLX through falcon-nw.com
Maingear Clutch 15 through Maingear.com
I no NOTHING about these brands or websites. Have you heard any horror stories? Are they good? Great? What do you think?
I'm not above buying an Alienware or Dell, I just would like a better performing system for the money spent. NOTE: The above specs are for an Alienware notebook, at $1300.