- Oct 24, 2009
- 4
- 0
- 18,510
Alright, I'm looking for a laptop, and I need some help.
First of all, I know very little about laptops. I've educated and educated myself about desktops, but so much of that has relied on knowing what part brands to look for and knowing how to see about them fitting together and whatever that I'm at a total loss when it comes to laptops. I hardly know where to start.
On top of that, as a gamer and computer enthusiast, my temptation is to immediately throw out lower level things as silly, even though I know that I should not really be focused on dedicated graphics or powerful processing while on a tight budget.
The laptop will be, primarily, for college use - writing papers, lugging it around, searching internet, and some coding and graphical work since I'll be majoring in a Computer Science program. I'd like to be able to create some more powerful applications on the laptop, but I will still have a desktop (and will likely upgrade it the moment I can) that will probably be the focal point of any big projects.
The main things I'm seeking out are:
- At least two cores. I understand that it is a laptop, so it doesn't have to be blindingly fast.
- A good battery life. I've been told I should look for 3 hours (actual time with moderate use, not theoretical), but I'd prefer on the order of 4-6, and higher is always better.
- A 13-15 inch screen size. Leaning toward the higher end, though I don't really want to go over the 15" mark, so I'd take a 14" before I would a 15.6".
- Good material quality. Particularly a sturdy keyboard, look, and feel.
- A 320GB HDD or larger. Preferably at 7200rpm.
- 4GB of memory. I could be convinced of less in a pinch, but I won't like it.
- Other minor preferences include a 1600x900 resolution, around 4-5 years of life (you see part of why I want the build quality yes?), and a preference toward something fairly quiet and cool if possible.
- I don't really care too much about the graphics card (partly since I'm after that battery life and I know it would get drained), webcam, optical drive, wireless strength (it will mostly be used in a large college, so lots of wifi around), or Bluetooth (unless this is super-awesome and I just don't realize it).
As you might be able to tell, my main issue is that I have no firm idea of what to look for for the material quality, and in generally I just don't know which brands should be catching my fancy over others, though I do tend to prefer customization over prefabs. Also, it probably looks like I don't actually need much help, but please take all the above with a grain of salt. I'll readily listen to any suggestion about me not needing this much of that or me needing more of something or me being kind of dumb. I probably am.
Finally, my budget on this is basically $700, and there isn't much worry up to that point. After that, I'll start getting apprehensive, particularly past $800, and will definitely put my foot down at $1K.
Thank you very much, anyone who takes the time to read this, and especially anyone who responds.
First of all, I know very little about laptops. I've educated and educated myself about desktops, but so much of that has relied on knowing what part brands to look for and knowing how to see about them fitting together and whatever that I'm at a total loss when it comes to laptops. I hardly know where to start.
On top of that, as a gamer and computer enthusiast, my temptation is to immediately throw out lower level things as silly, even though I know that I should not really be focused on dedicated graphics or powerful processing while on a tight budget.
The laptop will be, primarily, for college use - writing papers, lugging it around, searching internet, and some coding and graphical work since I'll be majoring in a Computer Science program. I'd like to be able to create some more powerful applications on the laptop, but I will still have a desktop (and will likely upgrade it the moment I can) that will probably be the focal point of any big projects.
The main things I'm seeking out are:
- At least two cores. I understand that it is a laptop, so it doesn't have to be blindingly fast.
- A good battery life. I've been told I should look for 3 hours (actual time with moderate use, not theoretical), but I'd prefer on the order of 4-6, and higher is always better.
- A 13-15 inch screen size. Leaning toward the higher end, though I don't really want to go over the 15" mark, so I'd take a 14" before I would a 15.6".
- Good material quality. Particularly a sturdy keyboard, look, and feel.
- A 320GB HDD or larger. Preferably at 7200rpm.
- 4GB of memory. I could be convinced of less in a pinch, but I won't like it.
- Other minor preferences include a 1600x900 resolution, around 4-5 years of life (you see part of why I want the build quality yes?), and a preference toward something fairly quiet and cool if possible.
- I don't really care too much about the graphics card (partly since I'm after that battery life and I know it would get drained), webcam, optical drive, wireless strength (it will mostly be used in a large college, so lots of wifi around), or Bluetooth (unless this is super-awesome and I just don't realize it).
As you might be able to tell, my main issue is that I have no firm idea of what to look for for the material quality, and in generally I just don't know which brands should be catching my fancy over others, though I do tend to prefer customization over prefabs. Also, it probably looks like I don't actually need much help, but please take all the above with a grain of salt. I'll readily listen to any suggestion about me not needing this much of that or me needing more of something or me being kind of dumb. I probably am.
Finally, my budget on this is basically $700, and there isn't much worry up to that point. After that, I'll start getting apprehensive, particularly past $800, and will definitely put my foot down at $1K.
Thank you very much, anyone who takes the time to read this, and especially anyone who responds.
/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5165-clevo-w150hr-p-3063.html
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