Suggestion for buyinng a laptop

[7fornikhil]

Hey guys, I want to but a laptop with which I'll be getting an Xbox free. Can you please suggest some. The answers to the following questions should give you a clear idea about my requirements.


1. What is your budget?
around 500-600$ but i am willing to stretch my pockets it i get a good deal and free xbox

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
14-17" . the bigger the better

3. What screen resolution do you want?
doesnt matter

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
doesnt matter. But I wont be having a desktop, so what do you suggest?


5. How much battery life do you need?
doesnt matter much

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 want to play all the latest fifa games.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
school/ collegel work like making ppts and other such work. I also want to watch movies.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
i have a portable 500gb external HD. so i think 320 gb should be good. more than that will do no harm.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I saw some at newegg.com and at amazon and bestbuy.com . but the only priority is free xbox and a good deal.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
i have not used a laptop yet. so i dont know what exactly u mean but i'd like to keep it as long as i can.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
doesnt matter

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.
no specific brands. only the ones giving me the best deals.

13. What country do you live in?
US

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I would like to buy a refurbished laptop to save money. will i get the xbox free on refurbished laptops also?

 

[7fornikhil]

If I were buying a new laptop on your budget, the HP DV6zwould be what I chose. Personally, I am about to buy a new laptop, but my budget is slightly larger, so I'm going with an ENVY.

http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=ENVY&series_name=ENVY14_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY14_series

Whats your budget?

 

[7fornikhil]

Is the GDDR5 a Whistler Pro or Seymour XT? Can you tell me the name of a graphic card with whose performance it is comparable to?

 

[7fornikhil]

Should I go for a 5400rpm and 7200rpm HD? Why? The difference in price is only 10$.

 

[7fornikhil]

And how does this quad core processor fare when compared to a 2nd generation i5? Is it better than it for my requirements?

 

[joshyboy82]

My budget is $1.5k, which could buy an aggressive gaming laptop, but I previously bought one of those and now I'm more interested in size, look, and battery life without compromising performance. In reality I posted the 'ordinary' version of the ENVY I'm buying. I'm actually buying the beats version because I want the flat black laptop, they both offer the same parts. I didn't need some pretentious thread view to ask me if I value sound <........this much........>. It's my preferences and my money, I want the looks of the black beats edition.

Based on the Llano review I posted, it would be similar to the Whistler PRO DDR3 version, but since it is its own unique creation from AMD, I honestly don't know. I can promise you one thing: as an integrated GPU on a laptop, it's going to be timed to the memory, which is DDR3.

As far as the HDD goes...speed or power? The 5.4k will use a less power on average, but will also spin longer as it takes longer to seek data. The 7.2k will boot up faster, load programs faster, but use your battery faster. This is one of the cases were upgrading in the future is possible. I would go for the slower HDD and wait till I had a couple bucks saved after a while, then go buy a sufficient SSD. It will boost everything significantly.

 

[7fornikhil]

My budget is $1.5k, which could buy an aggressive gaming laptop, but I previously bought one of those and now I'm more interested in size, look, and battery life without compromising performance. In reality I posted the 'ordinary' version of the ENVY I'm buying. I'm actually buying the beats version because I want the flat black laptop, they both offer the same parts. I didn't need some pretentious thread view to ask me if I value sound <........this much........>. It's my preferences and my money, I want the looks of the black beats edition.

Based on the Llano review I posted, it would be similar to the Whistler PRO DDR3 version, but since it is its own unique creation from AMD, I honestly don't know. I can promise you one thing: as an integrated GPU on a laptop, it's going to be timed to the memory, which is DDR3.

As far as the HDD goes...speed or power? The 5.4k will use a less power on average, but will also spin longer as it takes longer to seek data. The 7.2k will boot up faster, load programs faster, but use your battery faster. This is one of the cases were upgrading in the future is possible. I would go for the slower HDD and wait till I had a couple bucks saved after a while, then go buy a sufficient SSD. It will boost everything significantly.

 

[7fornikhil]

My budget is $1.5k, which could buy an aggressive gaming laptop, but I previously bought one of those and now I'm more interested in size, look, and battery life without compromising performance. In reality I posted the 'ordinary' version of the ENVY I'm buying. I'm actually buying the beats version because I want the flat black laptop, they both offer the same parts. I didn't need some pretentious thread view to ask me if I value sound <........this much........>. It's my preferences and my money, I want the looks of the black beats edition.

Based on the Llano review I posted, it would be similar to the Whistler PRO DDR3 version, but since it is its own unique creation from AMD, I honestly don't know. I can promise you one thing: as an integrated GPU on a laptop, it's going to be timed to the memory, which is DDR3.

As far as the HDD goes...speed or power? The 5.4k will use a less power on average, but will also spin longer as it takes longer to seek data. The 7.2k will boot up faster, load programs faster, but use your battery faster. This is one of the cases were upgrading in the future is possible. I would go for the slower HDD and wait till I had a couple bucks saved after a while, then go buy a sufficient SSD. It will boost everything significantly.

Is the quad core A8 3530MX processor that you asked me to upgrade to when compared to an i5?

About the graphich card, what you mean to say is that it is like a 6750 version, isnt it?

 

[joshyboy82]

In the review I sent you Tom's said it was around a 6650 I believe. But that doesn't include the dual-gpu option. That is a game changer. You buy one small gpu and the system automatically load-balances for programs that support crossfire, and those that don't, it automatically uses the most powerful card. Tom's did have trouble getting this to work though, because of the newness of the system, so it should be fixed in the near future, but worth noting now. The AMD processor does not compete with the Intel in certain productivity apps, but compares fairly in anything multi-threaded.

 

[7fornikhil]

In the review I sent you Tom's said it was around a 6650 I believe. But that doesn't include the dual-gpu option. That is a game changer. You buy one small gpu and the system automatically load-balances for programs that support crossfire, and those that don't, it automatically uses the most powerful card. Tom's did have trouble getting this to work though, because of the newness of the system, so it should be fixed in the near future, but worth noting now. The AMD processor does not compete with the Intel in certain productivity apps, but compares fairly in anything multi-threaded.

with the upgrades that you have suggested, the cost of this laptop goes to around 823-830$.

http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do

The price of the dell xps 15 with a second gen i5 is the same. However. i will get xps17 with a first gen i5 at a much lower cost. Is the difference, which is around 100$ or more , worth it? Will the 17" be too bulky and heavy to cary around?

 

[7fornikhil]

In the review I sent you Tom's said it was around a 6650 I believe. But that doesn't include the dual-gpu option. That is a game changer. You buy one small gpu and the system automatically load-balances for programs that support crossfire, and those that don't, it automatically uses the most powerful card. Tom's did have trouble getting this to work though, because of the newness of the system, so it should be fixed in the near future, but worth noting now. The AMD processor does not compete with the Intel in certain productivity apps, but compares fairly in anything multi-threaded.

forget the previous post.. i dont know how i got the price of that laptop to around 699$. Have a look at this link. What do you think about?

http/outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=7042&SC=lowToHigh&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

Its a refurbished alienware. How it is when compared to the HP dv6z which you had earlier suggested me? Also, I have heard that Dell laptops are better than HP ones. Is it true?

 

[joshyboy82]

Link is broken.

HP vs Dell is a matter of preference. Alienware is a gaming laptop brand, so gaming should work great. The FIFA games you want to play aren't the most demanding games, so as long as you get some kind of dedicated card, it should work out fine. You just have to decide what kind of battery performance you expect from your laptop.

 

[7fornikhil]

What sort of battery performance can I expect from the above alienware?

 

[joshyboy82]

Depends on usage obviously. Full throttle, I'd guess maybe an hour on battery, DVD movie playback-1:45, surfin' the web, probably a little over 2 hrs. This would be if the Alienware was refurb'd with a new battery. If it is an old battery, like I've known refurbished laptops to come with, it could be dead, as in; 5 minutes of doing nothing and it will die. I don't know, that's why I don't buy refurbished laptops. Too much can be wrong with them.

 

[7fornikhil]

Depends on usage obviously. Full throttle, I'd guess maybe an hour on battery, DVD movie playback-1:45, surfin' the web, probably a little over 2 hrs. This would be if the Alienware was refurb'd with a new battery. If it is an old battery, like I've known refurbished laptops to come with, it could be dead, as in; 5 minutes of doing nothing and it will die. I don't know, that's why I don't buy refurbished laptops. Too much can be wrong with them.

and what sort or battery performance can I expect from the HP laptop that you are suggesting me?

 

[joshyboy82]

Here's the page on battery life in the review of the HP.
http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a8-3500m-llano-apu,2959-22.html

It basically says that the AMD APU will get double the battery life of it's Intel counterparts. AMD says the new processor can "game" for more than 2 hours and surf the web for over 8 hours. The say it's a once a day charge for a full day's usage.

 

[7fornikhil]

Here's the page on battery life in the review of the HP.
http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a8-3500m-llano-apu,2959-22.html

It basically says that the AMD APU will get double the battery life of it's Intel counterparts. AMD says the new processor can "game" for more than 2 hours and surf the web for over 8 hours. The say it's a once a day charge for a full day's usage.

Is the dv6z totally worth the $829 + taxes = around $900. Is it the right laptop for my needs or is it more than what I am looking for (I mean FIFA11,12,13(when they release) and college work)? Are there other laptops which will be sufficient for my needs at a lower price? If there are other cheaper laptops for me, can you please mention them?

 

[joshyboy82]

Check this out. I know that your budget steadily went up higher and higher, and for that I'm sorry. I got something to reel back in the price and give you everything you want. I'm not promising that any laptop will stay current for 5 yrs, but I've got a old Toshiba I've kept alive and kicking since XP. Anyways, this is what I found.

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000000F3%3A000043D1%3A

Website is slow to load, so wait a bit, but the link works.

 

[7fornikhil]

Check this out. I know that your budget steadily went up higher and higher, and for that I'm sorry. I got something to reel back in the price and give you everything you want. I'm not promising that any laptop will stay current for 5 yrs, but I've got a old Toshiba I've kept alive and kicking since XP. Anyways, this is what I found.

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000000F3%3A000043D1%3A

Website is slow to load, so wait a bit, but the link works.

Hey, I cant open the link. It is asking me to login but i dont have a username and password there

 

[7fornikhil]

Check this out. I know that your budget steadily went up higher and higher, and for that I'm sorry. I got something to reel back in the price and give you everything you want. I'm not promising that any laptop will stay current for 5 yrs, but I've got a old Toshiba I've kept alive and kicking since XP. Anyways, this is what I found.

http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000000F3%3A000043D1%3A

Website is slow to load, so wait a bit, but the link works.

I am not able to create an account there either. It might be because I am in India right now and will. I will be going to US in a few days and buy a laptop then. Can you please copy paste the configuration of that laptop here along with its price?

 

[7fornikhil]

I am not able to create an account there either. It might be because I am in India right now and will. I will be going to US in a few days and buy a laptop then. Can you please copy paste the configuration of that laptop here along with its price?

And how are Gateway laptops? I found this one just now. How is it?

http/shop.amd.com/US/_layouts/shop/ProductDetails.aspx?region=us-en&TabID=1&productID=NV55S05U

And please can you copy paste the the configuration of the lenovo laptop with its price? I am not able to even open the link now.