Trying to get a decent budget laptop, need help with the experienced

[notsmart]

Basically, I have no firm budget but i want to spend only about 700, but of course it's not set in stone. (+/- 100)

First off, I'm not a hardcore gamer with laptops, I game with my desktop. And I love 14" laptops (carry-size factor), so the resolution 768p should be fine.

At first, i was tempted to insta-buy the Lenovo 88U at 800$
Specs: i7-3610QM, 640M LE, 8GB Ram, 768p. But the glare screen (saw a friend of mine's) was HORRIFIC. If it were 100 dolalrs less, i'd consider buying it, but im still tempted since it has such beast specs compared to HP customizes below.

So then I look at the dv4t, and the envy-4t from HP.

DV4T start with base config:
+i5-3210M
+650M 2GB <--- overkill? or would 630 (1GB) suffice
+500GB @ 7200RPM
+32GB SSD Cache <--- expert advice please? [should i buy one elsewhere and install it? will it fit in the dv4t?]
and, i wish it had some keyboard lighting (anyone know if it has a lamp?)
+20$~ extra somewhere to get the 30% hp coupon to work

Envy-4t start with base config:
+i5-2467 w/ 7670M
+32GB SSD Cache <--- again, advice needed. will a sep SSD fit in this laptop?
+backlit keyboad (woot!)

Again not a hardcore gamer, definetly wont be playing things like crysis or BF. What games exactly? I really don't know what titles to call out. If anyone can throw out a list, please do.

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[jaguarskx]

Very good battery (13 hours surfing with the 9 cell one), GT 540M performance level (= GT 630M) and the point - good 900p screen option, all for 800$ I think!

The ThinkPad does not have a GT 540M. It has the NVS 5400m which is based on the GT 540M, but it runs at a little lower clockspeed. Some companies increases the clock speed to that of the GT 540M if there is enough cooling potential. Additionally, the drivers are not tweaked for gaming, but rather for better overall performance. I would guess that a NVS 5400M at stock speed is about 10% - 15% slower than a stock speed GT 540M.

The good new is that to upgrade to the NVS 5400m in a ThinkPad T430, you only need to pay $50 because it is currently on sale / discount. The normal price for the NVS 5400M is $250 and this is actually the first time I have seen Lenovo offer a discount on the discrete graphic card in the ThinkPad series.

 

[notsmart]

you guys brought up a few good points, i'd like to readdress.

When you say 1366x768 is low, do you mean the resolution or the quality? I know resolution is going to be lower than a 1600x900 let alone 1080p. Do you mean lower in terms of comparing 768p to other 768p screens of other laptops?

And upon further research, 7200RPM isnt much better than the 5400RPM drive. If i get a decent SSD 128Gb+, would the HDD speeds not matter at all anymore?

Off topic; question for the SSD, do i have to reinstall to move my bootup files to the SSD (for a faster bootup time) if i buy it myself?

 

[coldtortilla]

Just spend the extra money and get the hp envy 15 http/www.logicbuy.com/deals/hp-envy-15-core-i7-laptop/14729.aspx
You can get it for $944 and you'll be getting much better quality components.

 

[notsmart]

Best answer selected by notsmart.

 

[PaulR08]

you guys brought up a few good points, i'd like to readdress.

When you say 1366x768 is low, do you mean the resolution or the quality? I know resolution is going to be lower than a 1600x900 let alone 1080p. Do you mean lower in terms of comparing 768p to other 768p screens of other laptops?

And upon further research, 7200RPM isnt much better than the 5400RPM drive. If i get a decent SSD 128Gb+, would the HDD speeds not matter at all anymore?

Off topic; question for the SSD, do i have to reinstall to move my bootup files to the SSD (for a faster bootup time) if i buy it myself?

From what I have heard, an SSD is going to boost the speed of Windows a lot more than a mechanical 7200rpm drive will and is definately worth the extra cost to upgrade. Some laptops are configured with two drives, one SSD for Windows and one 500GB for data, a good option, but more expensive.

 

[notsmart]

From what I have heard, an SSD is going to boost the speed of Windows a lot more than a mechanical 7200rpm drive will and is definately worth the extra cost to upgrade. Some laptops are configured with two drives, one SSD for Windows and one 500GB for data, a good option, but more expensive.

but you CAN combine the 2 right? SSD both for boot and data?