Question:
Help me out here.
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
No more than $2000 Canadian.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
I'll take either, but preferably c.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Mostly for university. Taking notes, work between classes (mostly word, excel, internet), video games when time permits.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
See above. Mobilty and battery life is pretty important.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yep. Guild Wars, Half Life 2 based games, UT2004, a few racing games.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Whatever fits the bill.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3+
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Don't care.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Canada.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Wide.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
Any of the above would be fine.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Don't care.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Sure.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
~3 years. I'll probably buy within a month.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
~100gb would be fine.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
One do-it-all drive.
There you have it. I've looked at a few Dell's (6400 and 9400) and an ibuypower one (http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/c...id=190#header). A good GPU is definitely a plus. I'm not familar with notebook GPU's, so I have no idea what would be sufficient. I'm not looking for ultra-awesome gaming performance, I have my desktop for that. I just want to be able to play a few games with reasonably good quality (>1024x768, detail set high, no AA or AF). Also, integrated bluetooth would be pretty cool, but not necessary.
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
Check out the ASUS S96J or Z96J as well as the Compal HEL80 ... should provide good build quality and performance at good prices. They've got ATI x1600 which will handle almost any new game you can throw at them.
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
Any good places to order from? The ibuypower one I listed is indeed a hel 80 and it looks great (the price is also **** good), although I wouldn't mind a higher-resolution screen.
I also had a look at powernotebooks.com... is this a reputable dealer?
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
check out milestone pc, i have heard nothing but horrible things about ibuypower from forums to hardocp to well everyone lol. I second the Asus and Compal models. Also the Travelmate 8204, tho heard some bad things about that one...
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
powernotebooks.com is quite reputable. check them out at resellerratings.com. however, they are an american reseller, so you have trouble getting them to ship to you. milestonepc.com is the only canadian reseller i know of that sells this notebook. the best gpus in 15.4" are the 7600go/x1600...the x1600 wins by a small margin in benchmarks, but in real-time they should be very similar.
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
Milestonepc.com looks like a pretty good site. The Asus Z96J is looking like the best option right now. I managed to price one out to roughly 1700 bucks (100 gig 7200rpm, 1 gig of ram, intel wireless, 1.83 ghz duo, and xp home). It's a bit more than I'd like, but it's still the best deal I've come across so far. I'm really liking the fact that it has the higher res monitor with the glossy surface. Based on what I've seen at stores, I definitely prefer the gloss.
Thanks!
Answer:
Re: Help me out here.
I think you'd be happy with that decision.