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?

 

[joshyboy82]

gateway laptops are junk. I'm away from my PC, I will post the lenovo config in a bit when I get back. I never recommend anyone buy a Gateway though.

 

[7fornikhil]

gateway laptops are junk. I'm away from my PC, I will post the lenovo config in a bit when I get back. I never recommend anyone buy a Gateway though.

Hey, I'm waiting ....

 

[joshyboy82]

Lenovo SPECS:

Processor: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor ( 2.30GHz 1333MHz 3MB )
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M 1GB
Total memory: 6 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
Display:14.0" HD Glossy with integrated camera 1366x768
Hard Drive: 750GB 5400
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion

Price $699

At that size and with those components you can get aroun 6 hours of battery life. That video card is enough to power your games at that screen resolution. Price is right and Lenove makes respectable laptops. At this point, pick any number of computers that are mentioned, but don't buy used laptops and don't buy Gateway products. Get a discrete card for gaming and compare it's performance to the screen resolution. No laptop is worth anything after five years, but if it still works great, that's all that matters.

Small note: Many people don't like laptops with glossy screens. HP, Dell, Lenovo all use glossy screens on their consumer level laptops...so, good luck with that.

 

[7fornikhil]

Lenovo SPECS:

Processor: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor ( 2.30GHz 1333MHz 3MB )
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M 1GB
Total memory: 6 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
Display:14.0" HD Glossy with integrated camera 1366x768
Hard Drive: 750GB 5400
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion

Price $699

At that size and with those components you can get aroun 6 hours of battery life. That video card is enough to power your games at that screen resolution. Price is right and Lenove makes respectable laptops. At this point, pick any number of computers that are mentioned, but don't buy used laptops and don't buy Gateway products. Get a discrete card for gaming and compare it's performance to the screen resolution. No laptop is worth anything after five years, but if it still works great, that's all that matters.

Small note: Many people don't like laptops with glossy screens. HP, Dell, Lenovo all use glossy screens on their consumer level laptops...so, good luck with that.

whats the model no or name of the laptop? is it Y560?

 

[7fornikhil]

and does toshiba make laptops that are as good as lenovo?

 

[7fornikhil]

no need for the model no - i got it, its Ideapad V470. I would still like to know about Toshiba laptops though.

 

[7fornikhil]

Can you compare the following 3 laptops and tell me which is the best suited to my needs (I also want to watch HD movies in addition to playing fifa, surfing and college work like making ppts):

1. the one which you mentioned above.
http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=243&Code=439626U

2. IdeaPad Y460p Laptop - 439522U
http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=243&Code=439522U&current-category-id=1FB5DA4464E171032BA6C87D8D0594D0&tab=1
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Processor ( 2.10GHz 1333MHz 3MB )
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6550M 1GB
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
14.0" HD Glare with integrated camera 1366x768
Integrated 1.3MP Camera
Industry Standard Touchpad
500GB 5400
DVD Recordable
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
Intel 1000 BGN Wireless
Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
HDMI (Out)

3. IdeaPad Y470 Laptop
http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=243&Code=085522U&current-category-id=96EBC6A8C8EC47A59E95B3D5E300F333&tab=1
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Processor ( 2.10GHz 1333MHz 3MB )
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
14.0" HD Glare with integrated camera 1366x768
Integrated 2.0MP Camera
Industry Standard Touchpad
500GB 7200
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
Intel 1000 BGN Wireless
Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
HDMI (Out)
It also has USB 3.0

 

[joshyboy82]

The number one you mentioned cost much more than the one I linked. The one I posted was $699.

Number 3 has the best gpu, the one I mentioned (number 1) has the best CPU. 1 and 3 have hybrid technology so you can turn off your GPU to save battery when you aren't gaming. Number one would be better at school work or business work, with the more powerful processor and more RAM, plus a bigger hard drive. Number three sacrifices those three things a small amount, to give you a much better gaming ability. With all prices equal, I'd go with number 3. You can always upgrade your RAM and HDD, but you're stuck with whatever video card you get. Since number three is actually $50 cheaper than number 1, I'd say that's your winner.

Toshiba makes decent laptops. I still use one from 5 years ago. The problem is they all have shitty integrated graphics except the $2k Qosmio. My battery is crap by now. It lasted about 2 years before it wouldn't charge more than half way. It has a few dead pixels on the screen too, but mostly, it's just ugly. Ugliest computer I've ever owned. All crappy plastic and noisy fans.

 

[7fornikhil]

The number one you mentioned cost much more than the one I linked. The one I posted was $699.

Number 3 has the best gpu, the one I mentioned (number 1) has the best CPU. 1 and 3 have hybrid technology so you can turn off your GPU to save battery when you aren't gaming. Number one would be better at school work or business work, with the more powerful processor and more RAM, plus a bigger hard drive. Number three sacrifices those three things a small amount, to give you a much better gaming ability. With all prices equal, I'd go with number 3. You can always upgrade your RAM and HDD, but you're stuck with whatever video card you get. Since number three is actually $50 cheaper than number 1, I'd say that's your winner.

Toshiba makes decent laptops. I still use one from 5 years ago. The problem is they all have shitty integrated graphics except the $2k Qosmio. My battery is crap by now. It lasted about 2 years before it wouldn't charge more than half way. It has a few dead pixels on the screen too, but mostly, it's just ugly. Ugliest computer I've ever owned. All crappy plastic and noisy fans.

How are HP pavilion laptops?
I am getting the following laptop for 718$ and after taxes, it goes upto 784$.

HP Pavilion dv4t customizable Notebook PC
A1C75AV


espresso black
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Dual Core(TM) i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
1GB DDR3 Radeon(TM) HD 6470M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No additional security software
25% OFF! High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 7.50 hours of battery life +++
14.0" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
No Additional Office Software
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
Backlit Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I have found that the graphic card on this is sufficient for my gaming needs? Do you agree with it?
Should I go for this one as it has all other upgrades like the blueray player and the backlight keyboard which will make the laptop appealing to the eye too?

 

[7fornikhil]

I have made many upgrades to the base config.. if you think that some of them are unnecessary, the please tell me.

 

[7fornikhil]

As compare to the above laptop, I am getting the following laptop for $795 after taxes. Isn't it better than the above laptop and so a better option for me?

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC
LT070AV


dark umber
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Dual Core(TM) i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
No additional security software
30% OFF! High Capacity 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.75 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

However, after adding the HD Antiglare screen (1080p), I am getting it for $910 after taxes.
Here is the configuration again.

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC
LT070AV


dark umber
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Dual Core(TM) i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
No additional security software
30% OFF! High Capacity 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.75 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

As I will also watch movies and sitcoms on my laptop, though not that frequently, do you think going for the HD screen (1080p) is worth the extra 115 bucks?

And I am coming back to the all imp question again - are HP Pavilion laptops good? I am asking this because I have come across reviews where customers have criticized it for having a poor cooling system and the switching between VGA cards. It seems that the ATI card wont be of use for some games and applications made on Open GL softwares. Will I be able to play fifa 11 and its succeeding versions on the ATI card and is the cooling system okay on the pavilion laptops?

 

[joshyboy82]

Yeah, I mean, they work great, until you get a broken one. My DV7 is 2+ years old and I've never had a problem with it, but my brother got the HDX18 at the same time has had nothing but problems with *specifically* HP software. The laptop has heating issues even on a hard surface, which causes the touch buttons (built in all consumer level HPs) to start going off (doing whatever their job was, like mute or volume or open/close Media center). There isn't anything he can do about it, he had to uninstall the touchsmart software so it would act normal, but now he has a $2k laptop that doesn't even work right...so, I guess, it depends. Not every computer made from any company is perfect, but I like my HP laptop. My only complaint is that the disk tray vibrates audibly when I play movies or vintage games. Based on this thread you can already understand how I feel about HP. First Computer I recommended to you? HP DV6z. Used computer I actually liked: HP Envy. The laptop I informed you I was buying: a new HP Envy. Seems like I might be a fan of HP.

 

[7fornikhil]

Yeah, I mean, they work great, until you get a broken one. My DV7 is 2+ years old and I've never had a problem with it, but my brother got the HDX18 at the same time has had nothing but problems with *specifically* HP software. The laptop has heating issues even on a hard surface, which causes the touch buttons (built in all consumer level HPs) to start going off (doing whatever their job was, like mute or volume or open/close Media center). There isn't anything he can do about it, he had to uninstall the touchsmart software so it would act normal, but now he has a $2k laptop that doesn't even work right...so, I guess, it depends. Not every computer made from any company is perfect, but I like my HP laptop. My only complaint is that the disk tray vibrates audibly when I play movies or vintage games. Based on this thread you can already understand how I feel about HP. First Computer I recommended to you? HP DV6z. Used computer I actually liked: HP Envy. The laptop I informed you I was buying: a new HP Envy. Seems like I might be a fan of HP.

Haha... I get it. But what about the two laptops that i've mentioned above? And is the 1080 screen worth the extra $110?

 

[7fornikhil]

And what about the switchable graphics?

 

[joshyboy82]

Definitely get the switchable graphics, it will drastically save your battery life when you need to do actual work on the thing. The 1080p screen is nice, but you'll game better framerates with the lower resolution, and if you have an HD tv, plug your laptop into the TV to watch the blu-ray in all it's glory. If not, blu ray might not be worth paying for. Look at it this way:

Have an HDTV and want the blu-ray, don't pay for 1080p.
Don't have an HDTV and want blu-ray, pay for the 1080p.
Don't have an HDTV and don't want to pay for 1080p, don't get the blu-ray upgrade.

It's only worth it if you are watching it in high res. In a screen that small, with a 720p resolution, DVDs will look good. 1080p in a 14.5 inch screen is some thick pixel density. Don't get me wrong, Blu-Rays would still look amazing on a small 1080p, just ask yourself if any of the three options above apply.

 

[7fornikhil]

Definitely get the switchable graphics, it will drastically save your battery life when you need to do actual work on the thing. The 1080p screen is nice, but you'll game better framerates with the lower resolution, and if you have an HD tv, plug your laptop into the TV to watch the blu-ray in all it's glory. If not, blu ray might not be worth paying for. Look at it this way:

Have an HDTV and want the blu-ray, don't pay for 1080p.
Don't have an HDTV and want blu-ray, pay for the 1080p.
Don't have an HDTV and don't want to pay for 1080p, don't get the blu-ray upgrade.

It's only worth it if you are watching it in high res. In a screen that small, with a 720p resolution, DVDs will look good. 1080p in a 14.5 inch screen is some thick pixel density. Don't get me wrong, Blu-Rays would still look amazing on a small 1080p, just ask yourself if any of the three options above apply.

Is bluetooth important?

 

[7fornikhil]

And will the 6470 card be sufficient for my gaming requirements?

 

[7fornikhil]

*6490 card

 

[7fornikhil]

Hey, can you tell me which of the below two laptops will be better for my needs?

The configs are as given below and as you will clearly notice, the major talking point is A8-3510, dual graphics and the 1080 screen vs an i5-2410, 6770 graphic card with a 768 screen. And I am getting both of them for exactly the same price of about 795 with taxes.

HP Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC
LK237AV

dark umber
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Quad-Core A8-3510MX Accelerated Processor (2.5GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2 Cache)
512MB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD Dual Graphics [HDMI,VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
No additional security software
High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
Standard Keyboard


OR


HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC
LT070AV

dark umber
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Dual Core(TM) i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
No additional security software
30% OFF! High Capacity 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.75 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad

Questions: (can you please answer them individually?)

1. Please can you tell me which laptop is better suited to my needs and which one will I be able to use longer as there will be less chances of it getting outdated?

2. Which processor is better (A8-3510 or i5-2410) and how will it affect the system performance?

3. Does the dv6q have wireless display support- I could not find out about it on the website?

4. Which VGA is better? Are both of them sufficient for my needs?

5. Are the dual graphics better or will the inability to switch graphics for for the games and applications that I want to run cause problems?

6. Is the 1080 screen a deal breaker?