Solved! Which Laptop

[fors33]

Hi guys. My daughters power jack on her laptop broke yesterday and Dell wont fix it even though its under warranty. I will be ordering her a laptop from Toshiba Direct (via Credit) and I want one of their preconfigured ready to ship Laptops so it will be here soon. She plays world of warcraft and thats pretty much the only game she plays. Here are my two choices I have narrowed down. The laptop she is coming from is a Core I3 370m with 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD550v.

* AMD Phenom™ II Quad Core Mobile Processor P940
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* 4GB DDR3 memory
* 500GB HDD (7200rpm)
* 1GB DDR3 ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650


Or

* Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* 4GB DDR3 memory
* 500GB HDD (7200rpm)
* 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M


The first one will be $850 while the 2nd Option will be $999. I know the processor is much better in the 2nd one but the video card is better in the first one. Which one would be better for WoW and normal teenage computer usage? If the first one will run her game just fine I will be ok gettin that and saving $150. Thanks for the help.

 

[WR2]

Hello fors33;
Either one will be an excellent choice for everything you mention, in fact a bit more than you probably need to spend.
I'd think even a good dual core (like i5-460M) and the HD 5650 would be a good choice as well.

How much could you save with a Toshiba with i3 350/370 or i5 460 with the rest the same specs?

 

[fors33]

Well the thing is I need to order one of Toshiba's "rapid ship" prebuilt models instead of customizing one because from what I understand the wait time on the customized laptops right now I wouldnt recieve it until after christmas. The only other laptop they have without integrated graphics and is cheaper right now is $749. It would be great also but the screen is only 13.3" compared to 16" on the first two I posted.

* Intel® Core™ i5-460M processor
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* 4GB DDR3 1066MHz memory
* 500GB HDD (5400rpm)
* 512MB GDDR3 ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650


What really pisses me off is Dell! Her current laptop I bought it from dell outlet (refurbished with 1 year warranty) just a little over a month ago and the power jack breaks yesterday so now cant charge it. I called Dell and they told me that was not covered under warranty and would cost me $430 to get it fixed, I only paid $450 for the laptop....

 

[WR2]

I found an independent review on the Satellite A660D-ST2G02;
http/www.anandtech.com/show/3883/toshiba-satellite-a660d-amd-phenom-ii-p920/1
It kind of validated my thoughts on a fast dual core CPU betting a better option, I think.

How would you feel about ordering from NewEgg? Same day shipping. Good prices too.
$875 Sony Vaio E VPC EB3 Core i5 460M 15.5" LCD Mobility Radeon HD 5650 4GB DDR3 RAM http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127278
$800 TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5114 Core i5 460M 15.6" LCD Mobility Radeon HD 5650 4GB RAM http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214044

 

[WR2]

Let me see what HP has in the way of Rapid Ship models. Any Fry's Electronics close by?
Wouldnt hurt to see what BestBuy has available either. Have you checked there yet?

 

[fors33]

Well the problem is, I should have made it more clear in the first post. I am buying from Toshiba Via Credit through them. I dont have the cash right now to buy anything with it being christmas and all we are pretty much tapped lol, so thats why my options are limited to the toshibadirect site.

 

[WR2]

OK;
You might want to check also BestBuy - you should be able to get store credit as easily as you can at Toshiba direct.
They're carrying a $900 Sony Vaio with Core i5-520M, 14" 1600x900 LCD and GeForce GT 330M graphics.
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+VAIO+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5+Processor+-+Icy+White/9723879.p?id=1218159867219&skuId=9723879

 

[jaguarskx]

A quad core CPU just for WoW? I think that's overkill.

You can save some money if you choose a model with only a dual core CPU. Either video card should be good enough for Wow, but of course the HD 5650 is better.

 

[fors33]

Yeah best buy is a no go, I cant get credit many places because when I was young and dumb I messed my credit up. Im working on it now but some places just wont give me none. Thanks for the article though, after reading it I am thinking if those two are my options then I would be better off getting the more expensive one. It seems they underclock the 5650 card in that laptop and im not quite sure how much that would hurt performance.

 

[WR2]

Toshiba shipping schedule. Gives you more options that just 'Rapid Ship'
http/www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/ebtextpop.to?page=holidayshipping2010

 

[WR2]

$800 Satellite L630-ST2G02 available in Rapid Ship too. Core i5-460M Mobility Radeon HD 5650 and 13.3" LCD
http/www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=490990

 

[fors33]

Yeah I am considering that one. I have to wait on my daughter to get home from school and see if she will be ok with a 13.3" screen. She is coming from a 15.6" screen so thats a pretty big difference.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I'd pick the first one. The GPU is far more important for gaming than the CPU. The GT 330M just doesn't compare to the Mobility Radeon HD 5650.
Honestly though, ASUS makes a laptop that would be better for her than either of those:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220755
Best of luck!