Which Laptop?!?! (battle of the i7's)

[steven91]

I have been looking at laptops for quite a while now, and have narrowed it down to three.

Dell Studio 1749, Sony VAIO F series, and the Toshiba Qosmio x505-Q880

I'm not a big fan of ASUS, I've never had one but something just seems odds about them, (maybe 1hr batteries, etc???) I do like the extended warranty options that come with the Dells and Sonys, and the option of purchasing software at the same time for convenience's sake.

As far as I can tell you can't customize toshibas???


Qosmio X505-Q880 Laptop Specifications

Performance

Processor*
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor
Operating System*
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Graphics Engine*
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 360M
Graphics Memory*
2298MB total: 1GB GDDR5 discrete memory + up to 1274MB shared memory w/NVIDIA® TurboCache™ technology

Memory and Storage

Memory*
6GB DDR3 1066MHz memory
Hard Drive*
564GB: 64GB SSD (Serial ATA) + 500GB (7200rpm, Serial ATA)
Optical Drive*
Blu-ray Disc™ ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash®

Audio and Video

Display Size*
18.4" widescreen
Display Type*
FHD TruBrite® TFT LCD Display
Display Resolution*
Supports 1080p content, 1920x1080, 16:9 aspect ratio
Audio
Built-in microphone, Microphone jack (mono), Headphone jack (stereo), S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), harman/kardon® stereo speakers

Communication

Webcam
Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
Wireless LAN*
Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth® V2.1 + EDR
Modem
No Modem port
LAN
10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN

Power

AC Adapter
180W (19V x 9.5A) Auto-sensing,100-240V AC Adapter
Battery
High Capacity Li-Ion (8000mAh, 12-Cell)

Expansion

PC Express Slot
1-ExpressCard™ Slot
Media
S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), Memory Card Reader
USB Ports*
1-eSATA/USB (2.0) combo port with Sleep and Charge, 3-USB (2.0)
iLINK
i.LINK™ IEEE-1394
HDMI
HDMI-CEC (Regza Link™)




Sony VAIO F Series ( they are a little vague when they list their specs)
* VPCF1290X CTO (customized)

* Large capacity battery
* Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor (1.73GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz
* 16.4" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080) (Reg. price $100.00)
* NVIDIA® GeForce® 330M GPU (1GB VRAM)
* No Fresh Start
* LED Backlit Keyboard
* 6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
* Blu-ray Disc player
* No Engraving
* Adobe Creative Bundle
* Backstage™ VIP Protection™ Suite (Recommended)
* Black
* Microsoft® Office 2010 Home & Student
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 500GB Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)

I have read complaints about the visibility of the screen and poor qualitiy. If I am going to get a blu-ray i want to at least be able to enjoy it fully and for other's in the room to be able to see it without reflections or the tunnel effect.

Dell Studio 1749 (customized)

Software & Services

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 3 Year Advanced Service Plan
MOBILE CONNECTIVITY No Internal Mobile Broadband
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATA HDD (7200rpm) ***(OR would Dual 320G (640G) Sata (7200rpm) be better other than 140g???)
MEMORY 6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
WIRELESS CARDS Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
POWER PROTECTION & ADAPTERS Dell 85 WHr 9-Cell Lithium-Ion Primary Battery
KEYBOARD Back-lit Keyboard
HD DISPLAY 17.3” Full HD (1080p) B+RG LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
SOUND OPTIONS Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
My Accessories
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months
BAGS Swiss Gear Legacy Checkpoint Friendly Slimcas
MICE Logitech M505 Wireless Mouse with Unifying Receiver- Black
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
PROCESSOR Studio 17 Laptop
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Touch Software
VIDEO CARD 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
Adobe Reader Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
ACCIDENT DAMAGE PROTECTION 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection

I don't want the touch screen. I have also heard the keyboard plastic seems king of cheapy.


It is really up in the air between these 3. The cost differences between them really has little impact, i just want the best laptop in this area. A good gamer for while I'm at school, and a fast and efficient machine. I will possibly be running programs like CAD in the future and I want this laptop to last for at least the next 3 years.

Any info, tips, advice, or general knowledge or opinions would be greatly appreciate!!!!

 

[Maziar]

In gaming,the Tohisba wins but its the least portable notebook between them.
How much do you want to spend ? we may be able to find better deals for you.

 

[buwish]

I agree with Maziar. If your looking for a desktop replacement, the Toshiba will suit you just fine. But if you are looking for portability, we could potentially give you some more options to look at.

 

[natesgotgrapes]

I would say take a crack at the dell

 

[steven91]

Portability would be nice, but it is mainly going to stay at the desk. I would consider it more of a desktop replacement.

The Qosmio looks pretty awesome, but the only thing that concerns me is that it only has a 1 year warranty while the sony and dell both have 3 year coverages.

My budget is pretty much around $2500 but if i can get what i want/need for less that is great.

Dell with software/custom ~2300
Sony with software/custom ~2100
Toshiba ~1900 BUT by the time i buy antivirus, office home and student, and IF it had 3 year warranty it would run ~ 2300 or so i estimated. (3 year warranties for the other two are about 300)

 

[steven91]

Also I noticed the Qosmio has a Solidstate drive AND the other??? how does that work? "564GB: 64GB SSD (Serial ATA) + 500GB (7200rpm, Serial ATA)"

 

[Maziar]

Its because it supports 2 HDDs(one can be HDD and the other one can be SSD)