Question:
advice on 17" dtr
I have a pretty good idea of what I want, but I figured I would put a post here just to see if there's anything I'm missing. I'm looking for a 17" DTR style laptop, something I won't carry around much. I don't game tons but I like having the ability to play games. I need a fast processor though, probably Dual Core or Athlon 64 X2, and I'll probably get 2GB of RAM. I've been thinking a lot about the Sager NP5750, possibly the NP5760. Any advice?
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
Preferably <$2000 but I'm willing to go over.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
DTR, 17"
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
I'm a laboratory scientist, so I do a fair amount of data analysis and I like to have a lot of stuff open at once, like excel, lots of PDFs (sometimes 10+), word, firefox, scientific software such as SwissPDB, and/or the occasional homemade Python script (probably not all of that at once, but some subset of it). I want the computer to be able to handle lots of data in parallel in a timely fashion. I also like to play music on external 4.1 or 5.1 speakers, so I want a sound card that can handle that. I also will be using the computer to play movies and TV shows (downloaded and DVD), potentially to groups of several people.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Mostly leaving it on my desk, except for the occasional powerpoint presentation or trip. Weight is not really an issue.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
I play a fair amount of Civilization 4 (not too demanding, I know, although my old laptop couldn't handle it), and I want to be able to play Spore when that comes out. Besides that, I'd like to be able to handle the occasional new game, especially adventure games, and maybe even an RPG or two or a FPS. I'm not obsessive about framerate or having all the best details though, and as the years go by I seem to game less and less anyway.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Build quality is extremely important to me - I don't want to have to worry about my machine breaking down for at least a few years. In terms of specific brands, I've heard lots of bad things about Dell, but I suppose I could be swayed. My previous laptop was an IBM, and that lasted pretty well for me. I've also heard (and seen) a lot of great things from Sager, so that's where I'm leaning now.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I always plug in.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Not an issue.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
USA.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Generally I think more resolution is better, but I'm not much of an expert on this one, and I'm open to suggestion.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Glossy, I think.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not especially.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
I'm buying it now, and I want it to last three years at the minimum.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
I'm leaning towards a 100GB 7200RPM drive, again because I crunch lots of data and I want to keep things running fast.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Yes, DVD-RWs seem cheap enough these days that I may as well get one, although I probably could do fine with a DVD-CD/RW.
Thanks in advance to all! These forums have been very helpful to me, particularly given the insane number of options out there.
Answer:
Re: advice on 17" dtr
It looks as though Sagers are much better built than Dells. I've only handled Dells, personally, never Sagers --but I trust the judgment of many around here.
C.
Answer:
Re: advice on 17" dtr
asus a7j? maybe
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid...e=expert&pid=2
Answer:
Re: advice on 17" dtr
depending on how good of a gpu you want, the hp nx9420 would be worth a look. it is a business quality laptop, so should be quite durable. it has the x1600 gpu. for something stronger, you could consider the toshiba p100.