Laptop Recommendations - Work + Play

[LenteSubigo]

Ok, here is the deal. I am working as a consultant and will be using the laptop for business, multimedia (media center), and World of Warcraft. When available I will be using dual screen. I would prefer a 17" laptop as I like the larger screen and hate typing on the smaller keyboards. I would love 1680x1050, but will settle on 1440x900. I will either need Vista Ultimate, or to setup dual boot with XP Pro, and XP MC or Vista HP. It would be a plus to have a HD-DVD drive, and I want to buy the laptop for $1200 or less (unless there is something really worth a jump in price above this.)

Note:
I am not looking for a computer that handles the latest FPS with max settings. I would however like to be able to play WOW at max, and that latest FPS at reasonable aka default settings.

Here is the best deal I have found:
HP dv9260nr - Refurb $1100
17" 1440x900
Intel® Core™2 Duo T7200
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600
2GB DDR2
HD-DVD / DVD±RW
2x120GB HD
TV Tuner/Remote/Microphone/WebCam
Vista Ultimate 64

 

[Heather Taylor]

At that price range, you ought to consider a refurb Dell Inspiron. I have one of their refurbished laptops, and I can play WoW all day long on it. I think I paid...$700 total for it, and I've been very, very impressed with its performance. Only con would be battery life, but that's also because I have it set for high performance.

Normally I'd recommend our products, but we have very little for under $1200 in the laptop department.

 

[Darth Bobo]

Ok, here is the deal. I am working as a consultant and will be using the laptop for business, multimedia (media center), and World of Warcraft. When available I will be using dual screen. I would prefer a 17" laptop as I like the larger screen and hate typing on the smaller keyboards. I would love 1680x1050, but will settle on 1440x900. I will either need Vista Ultimate, or to setup dual boot with XP Pro, and XP MC or Vista HP. It would be a plus to have a HD-DVD drive, and I want to buy the laptop for $1200 or less (unless there is something really worth a jump in price above this.)

Personally I think that you'll be hard pressed to get all that at $1200, if you settle for the lower resolution and around 15" instead it seems more likely. Ofcause I don't know much about US laptop prices but still.

Now IF Apple would squeeze a better graphicscard (currently 8600M@256MB) in their pro line of laptops I'd tell you to lay down $2800 for a 17" Macbook Pro with a 1920x1200 resolution and go bootcamp (or WoW in OSX), that would IMO really be worth the jump but then again just because I love Apple laptops doesn't mean you have to...

Realistically though I guess something like this is about what you can expect. C2D 2.2 GHz, 8600M GS@256MB driving 1680x1050 pixels on an 15,4" screen, only 1GB memory though, you would probably have to upgrade that to 2 or 4 GB...

 

[Usquabach]

At that price range, you ought to consider a refurb Dell Inspiron. I have one of their refurbished laptops, and I can play WoW all day long on it. I think I paid...$700 total for it, and I've been very, very impressed with its performance. Only con would be battery life, but that's also because I have it set for high performance.

Normally I'd recommend our products, but we have very little for under $1200 in the laptop department.

+1 on the Dell. I have a Vostro 1700 and am very happy. Granted I could have a better video card (8400M GS) but 3GB of ram and 4MB L2 cache makes me happy. Total price ~ $1500

I would look at the Inspiron, Vostro or Latitude line up - you can even get a few of them with XP

 

[LenteSubigo]

I really want to know if there is anything wrong with this one and if there is something out there that you think is better in a competative price range.

 

[Usquabach]

the display on that model is WXGA so you would be confined to the following resolutions (click for more info)

it sounds like WXGA+ is the minimum you are looking for

EDIT: at the top it says WXGA but in the details it specifies 1440x900 resolution...typo somewhere...I think so

 

[Darth Bobo]

I really want to know if there is anything wrong with this one and if there is something out there that you think is better in a competative price range.

Well if you don't consider 7.8 lbs of laptop a problem then there's nothing wrong with it per se, but personally I consider it to be quite heavy and all too large. I think the Asus I linked in my former post would serve you better in the long run, I know it's only 15,4" ("only" personally I'm never buying anything bigger than 13,3" again, all too big and heavy) but it has a slightly faster CPU, DX10 capable graphicscard and a better resolution of the screen, then again it's you, not me, that will have to carry it.

Dunno if there a better suppliers of laptops in the US than Newegg ofcause...

 

[LenteSubigo]

Well if you don't consider 7.8 lbs of laptop a problem then there's nothing wrong with it per se, but personally I consider it to be quite heavy and all too large. I think the Asus I linked in my former post would serve you better in the long run, I know it's only 15,4" ("only" personally I'm never buying anything bigger than 13,3" again, all too big and heavy) but it has a slightly faster CPU, DX10 capable graphicscard and a better resolution of the screen, then again it's you, not me, that will have to carry it.

Dunno if there a better suppliers of laptops in the US than Newegg ofcause...

I'm not that concerned with weight/size, I currently use a 4 1/2 pound 15.4 HP laptop for work, and absolutly hate using it's keyboard. I could not stand to use a keyboard that small on a regular basis, and will not be carrying a keyboard with my on the planes and at the hotels. I am 100% set on a 17" laptop.

 

[LenteSubigo]

the display on that model is WXGA so you would be confined to the following resolutions (click for more info)

it sounds like WXGA+ is the minimum you are looking for

EDIT: at the top it says WXGA but in the details it specifies 1440x900 resolution...typo somewhere...I think so

It is actually WXGA+. Other sites list "1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ ) " for the display type.

 

[Zero82z]

The HP looks like a good deal. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with the refurb warranty, but if you don't have a problem with that then go for it.