Solved! Suggest me a laptop

iolas

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May 16, 2010
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So I'm thinking about finally getting a laptop soon. I'm starting my computer science major this fall so I'll probably need one.
I need it mainly for doing school work since campus is about an hour drive from my house. I'm looking to spend around 500 or 600 dollars on one. I may be playing some games on it, not too many though since that is what my new PC is for that I just got.
I'd at least like to be able to run EVE online.

Thanks.
 
Solution
While I've not recommending a specific model, I've pointed out somethings to consider.

(1) look for a I3, or I5 model, Much better than a C2D.

(2) About six monthes ago there was a articale on Laptops, the Toshiba was the top for least number of problems.

(3) Most laptops ship with a 6 Cell Battery, a 9 cell (my Toshiba came with a 9 Cell) and Battery life is lower normally than manuf listing. Make sure you can get a 9 cell battery if Battery time is important - generaly 50 -$100 Bucks. A 2nd Battery is always a Plus

(3) You indicated a DVDR would be OK, BUT you may want to upgrade that to a Blu-ray ROM/DVDR later. Make sure the DVD drive is USER replaceable (would verify this anyways). I replaced both my toshiba A205 (PATA DVD...
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I recently purchased a HP TX2-1275DX used but in perfect condition from a best buy reseller named cowboom. After having received the laptop I put windows 7 on it and found all the proper drivers. I have fixed several touchscreen laptops and hated every one of them but this computer is different it has touchsmart which makes a touchscreen actually useable with or without a stylus. The monitor is LED backlit so I don't expect to have to change out the monitor anytime soon. This is a great computer if you want something portable that still has equivalent processing power to a full sized laptop or desktop. Although the battery life is not comparable to netbooks it will run for about four hours on a minimal load (wireless ethernet adapter turned off and not running a cd/dvd or sound) I didn't actually buy it so that i could bring it to the beach or the park but so that I would have a portable touchscreen laptop that can still compile programs and video / photo editing as well as 3d modeling this computer has exceeded my expectations which are pretty high. And as for price I purchased the laptop itself for 450 on ebay free shipping but it was missing a few parts (battery, remote control, and the stylus) which I purchased for about 75 dollars on ebay as well. These laptops still retail for over 800 and with a little work I have one in perfect condition no scratches or marks and all the included components for almost half of its retail price. Was a great buy for me good luck with your search.
 

iolas

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1_What is your budget?
Around 500 to 600 dollars

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
I'd probably be fine with a 15.6"...I don't need anything huge.

3_What screen resolution do you want?
Doesnt matter

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Still going to be using my new gaming desktop that I just built.
A semi portable laptop would be nice as I will be carrying it around campus with me.

5_How much battery life do you need?
I like to have decent battery life, so average to above average life would be nice.

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)?
I'd like to be able to play EVE online around medium to high settings.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Main use will be for school(I'm a computer science major)...secondary will be games.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
Decent, at least 250GB or more.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
At least another 2 to 3 years until I finish college.


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVDRW should be good enough.

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'm not really a brand person. I just want it to perform good.

13_What country do you live in?
USA

 

iolas

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So far I've been on amazon browsing the ASUS laptops with the switchable graphics button for 3d gaming....price ranges around 700 to 800. I'm not sure If I want to go with the 15.6 inche screens or the UL models in the 13.3in area.
 

RetiredChief

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Feb 22, 2007
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While I've not recommending a specific model, I've pointed out somethings to consider.

(1) look for a I3, or I5 model, Much better than a C2D.

(2) About six monthes ago there was a articale on Laptops, the Toshiba was the top for least number of problems.

(3) Most laptops ship with a 6 Cell Battery, a 9 cell (my Toshiba came with a 9 Cell) and Battery life is lower normally than manuf listing. Make sure you can get a 9 cell battery if Battery time is important - generaly 50 -$100 Bucks. A 2nd Battery is always a Plus

(3) You indicated a DVDR would be OK, BUT you may want to upgrade that to a Blu-ray ROM/DVDR later. Make sure the DVD drive is USER replaceable (would verify this anyways). I replaced both my toshiba A205 (PATA DVD drive) and my Tosibia A305 (SATA DVD drive). The SATA drives are way overpriced here in the states when compared to the same drive in PATA interface. Got mine from Tiawan (a Sony md) for $100 - they shipped it airmail and had within a week.

(4) Do not buy one with an SSD Unless you verify SSD model, and they normally charge a premum for a 2nd rate SSD. An SSD is an excellent upgrade at a later date. Just look for "good" peformance with low Power consumption during write time (ie 3 Watts or less) Greatly improves overall perfornance and increases time on battery. With my A305 (128 Gig pateriot Torqx SSD)I can watch a blu-ray movie and have battery time left (5 Hr plane trip).

(5) I'm not a gamer, so I can not talk about if you need a dedicated GPU vs the intergrated Graphics of the I3/I5 Both are dual core/4 threads But the I5 supports turbo boost where the I3 does not. For gaming a laptop with dedicated GPU would be better, MAYBE you could go to BestBuy and "demo" the game you plan on playing to see if you need dedicated GPU - Link is just for comparison:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2955/5
For Future proofing I would recommend a dedicated GPU, or limit gaming to what is supported by a non-dedicated GPU.

When you pick a model, try googling "dissasembly/repair insert make model herre)"



 
Solution

robin1

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Apr 18, 2011
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If you are making up your mind to buy a laptop then wireless laptop computers can be the best option for you. As it is integrated with inbuilt network card that provides you easy access to LAN and WAN connectivity. You can take it anywhere you want without thinking about its connectivity options. Along with this, it also adds up the features of portability, light-weight and convenience. So, without thinking a lot juts go for wireless laptop computers and make your life easy.