Need a laptop

N

nikhilvoid

n00b
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
7
Hey,

I have never owned a laptop so all of this is a bit new to me. I have filled out a FAQ thing from another forum. I'd appreciate any advice.

1_What is your budget?
About 600-700 CAD.

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Mid-size. 15-16 preferably. But would not mind 14" screens.

3_What screen resolution do you want?
1366x768 seems the standard. I'd like a longer screen to help with writing stuff. 4:3?

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
A portable. I do have a very nice desktop.

5_How much battery life do you need?
I'm told I can expect 1.5 hours from most. I'd prefer a solid 3.

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)?
No. I do have a desktop. Maybe the occasional plants vs zombies or monkey island or burnout paradise.


7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Some HD content. Won't be editing or muxing or etc.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
500GB or more. 320 also acceptable.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6089882&CatId=2510

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...fp-10140676-hewlettpackardhp156laptopfeatu-en

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=3933074da61668b9a9a6b44845f9fc1den02

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=X3Th4gZi_iQ-NsF7NtgS8hkjmG5F_Aq2AA

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0034UT0TA

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=570_374_672&item_id=030696

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0034UT0TA

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=69,70,71,3724&webid=884386&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=69,70,71,3724&webid=885894&affixedcode=WW


10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

A few years at least.


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

I'd rather get a Bluray drive for the desktop. But I seem to be getting one in the gateway for $500.

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.

I don't care much for the apple brand. Not like i can afford it anyhow.

13_What country do you live in?
Canada

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I'm a student and so would probably get student pricing. But I don't want anything on credit.

Thanks for your time.

Nikhil.
 
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The "tallest" laptop screen you can find is 16:10 afaik, most are moving to 16:9 (1366*768) nowadays.
Also, 1.5 hours is pretty bad nowadays, any decent laptop does at least 3 hours on a full charge if not longer.

Heres some choices Id suggest:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=fc22c52309c2249dd467d9d845cb515aen02
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=f0bfcfbaadf87afc1bc15b8114552d49en02
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=dcd4283a2de2fd34ec127f45f31c5ab7en02
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=22c5a1492b145ad1350e600ea46594c5en02
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6426715&CatId=4938
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=ac6d7c0f315afc17077efea9cb721671en02

The Gateway you mentioned is a great deal for the specs, but the touch-pad buttons are a pain. The newer HP pavilions are mighty nice though, and the build and design are amazing (for an HP).
 
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Thanks for the input :)

I'm considering the Acer you mentioned. The Acer Timeline seems super for its 8 hours of battery life but the performance is less than mediocre and so not future proof.

That is why I'm thinking the MSI with the i5 or the Gateway with the 5650. But I have a great desktop I use for gaming at nearly twice the resolutions.

I'm also considering this Toshiba with similar specs to the one you mentioned

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0034UT0TA

The HPs and Dells are indeed tempting but I can't afford the customization I'd like.

What do you feel about buying a refurb. samsung r580 off ebay from a guy with a high rating?
 
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dell seems to offer the best happy medium between build quality and bang for your buck. if you want really awesome build quality and specs, check out the latitudes. grab an e6510 from the dell outlet for < 700 and you'll have an awesome deal on your hands.
 
Thanks for the input. I have a great $100 off coupon at Dell. :)

But realistically, if I want to futureproof my investment, I think need to pick between these two:

They both have discrete graphics. An ATI HD5650 and a nvidia 130M.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=570_374_672&item_id=030696

The MSI seems to have a better build, a slower cpu, slower gpu, smaller hard drive but also a bigger screen, is a little cheaper, and comes with a razer deathadder mouse and pad. It is also not refurbished.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index....34-295&manufacture=MSI/MicroStar&promoid=1026

Which seems a better pick?

A friend has an older and smaller version of this MSI and he says it works very well. I think the colours are a bit gaudy and can feel out-of-place in a work environment.
 
ShadowStriker said:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=49954&vpn=K52F%2DA1&manufacture=ASUS
If you don't mind paying a little bit more you could get this. Better processor and laptop DDR3 RAM instead of the DDR2.
Click to expand...

I second ShadowStriker's recommendation. Asus has really stepped up their game in recent years. Plus a lot of Asus' laptops come with 1 year damage protection.

Acer is making some nice strides with their Timeline series though.

I would not recommend Gateway and MSI.

HP's consumer laptops have gotten a lot nicer, but their warranty service is horrendous. You can find plenty anecdotes about how HP service damaged people's laptops.
 
Hey, thanks for the input.

But the gateway has an i3 processor, ddr3 ram, and a discrete graphics chip that can do very low level tessellation and supports eyefinity. they are gimmicks at this level i know.

but this asus doesn't seem like value for money at this price point. probably has better battery life, better customer service, and touchpad, and design though. i have seen a lot of products like this from lenovo, sony, and samsung.

this is exactly why i am considering the MSI even though it is last generation. also the 17" (16:10) screen and the freebies.
 
I grabbed a Dell Inspiron 1420 (i think) with nearly identical specs as the refurb in that link from the Dell Outlet months ago for about 100 less. Only difference is its 14in, DDR2 (doesnt make ANY difference), and has Intel GMA 4500HD for the GPU....with a 9-cell battery. I am quite very happy with it. Very portable...and battery life is far, far, far more than 3 hours. With Wi-Fi on and web browsing theres at least around 8 hours on a full charge. I remember reading reviews too before i bought it...with the DVD drive spinning and everything and watching movies i think theres still a good 4-5 hours in a 9-cell battery.

The absolute worst thing about it is the battery sticks out off the bottom raising the back of the laptop up. Which i prefer compared to flat...if typing on a desk.

Only thing i cant comment on is the HD content since i dont have any...though ive read it should be fine.

Also you wont be running Burnout too swell on a 210m.
 
Hey nissanzt90,

It's nice to hear from someone with a similar config. :)

At present on my proper gaming rig, I have 30 tabs open, an HD movie running, some downloader software, and a smallish game running in windowed mode. That is all I expect from my laptop.

Can your system handle this load?

No euphemisms here. haha.
 
Cant help with HD content which is probably the biggest load.

I have 15-20 tabs open, while playing a DVD mkv file streaming over the network (cpu load there), and emulating Super Mario 64 with Project64, and cpu is around 35-45% load (on both cores!) with 1.5gb of mem being used...on Win7 Pro.

After being unplugged from the wall for a few min, batt meter says 6 hours left when just sitting there playin the movie (over network, not DVD drive) and the game running but me not doin anything.

Edit:From what i understand, even 1.4ghz-ish Intel Atom procs can handle 720p decoding just fine...not sure about anything else going on though. The SU7300 is a more advanced tech, and also dual core. I would be quite suprised if the su7300 dissappoints you for what your asking.

Also...ive recently started using this as an HTPC. I am quite very happy with this laptop...it is sleek and stylish IMHO, light and long as hell battery life with plenty of non-gaming every day power. I dont mean to tout Dell cause theres plenty of shitty Dells...but ive never had a poor experience with them.

One more thing...save any decent gaming for desktops. I had a gaming laptop way back...not worth the money mainly because your basically stuck with the hardware you bought...very little upgrading with laptops. Gaming desktop + inexpensive portable media type laptop is workin real damn well for me.
 
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