Question:
Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
1) What is your budget?$2000
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?Gaming and watching movies
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? Taking it to class
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?FEAR, wow, etc.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? My cousin tends to say that Asus is a cheap company =/. And I hear HORRIBLE things about Alienware.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need? around 2
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? not really.
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? whichever is easier to play games on at native resolution.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
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.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? Either
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Somewhat
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? Sometime within the week, and I'd like it to last for 4 years at least.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB? 80GB
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive? DVD-cd
Also, I'd like to get a merom notebook.
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
Well, word is Dell better build quality since Core Duo was introduced. However, many would say they live a bit to be desired in design. HP will surely win out in the area of design but will be slightly lacking in performance with a max out 7600 or x1600 on the business side of the house. As for Asus, you will surely find folks on this board that disagree with your cousin and will point you toward one. Check out the group buy thread in the BUY/FOR SALE section to get alot of input on those machines or the ASUS board.
The short of it is for a rig that stands up to Fear and WOW now, and will have some reserve left for later games the dell will have the power (1705 or xps) with at least the 7900gs. But they will come with a 17'' screen. The HEL-80 (ibuypower, cyberpower) will get you good looks with the 7600GT and a 15.4 screen. None of thiese rigs will "power" game for 4 years or more. Look for 2 or so with mid to high graphics and maybe another on low settings. The play out of DX10 will dictate the outcome either way.
The final thought is it will be tough to find a high end system (high end GPU's) in a 15.4 package that will last that long. It all depends on you though and what you consider "acceptable gaming."
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
I would wait for the Asus W3j or A8jm to come out with merom. Those are two great notebooks. Another option, and one that is allready out with merom from some dealers is the Z/S96j. It's a larger 15.4" notebook...
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
Check out this HP NC8430 with Core2Duo:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...7-3254487.html
Also, check out this review of the HP NC8430 (though one with only CoreDuo):
http://www.computer-notebook.com/defaul...view=HP+nc8430
Good luck and happy computing!
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
get the asus w3j or a8jm that jason mention with the pcmilestone group buy for an even bigger discount. link to the thread:
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
I really was considering an asus--namley, the s96j and z96j because of the core2 duo processors. But since mom's the one paying for the laptop and my cousin--the one who finds asus to be a cheap brand--has to okay the laptop, i don't know if I can get it. So i looked into the alienware 5550, but all the bad reviews about alienware--even on the AW section of computer-notebook forums--is starting to make me skeptical. An another note, how bad is the graininess of the s96js?
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
asus s96j isn't that bad
asus isn't a cheap company, i think your cousin mixed it up with acer
acer generally give better bang for the buck performance wise but with worse build quality
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
if u would go up to 17inch i would say the E1705
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
I would take a look at the ASUS A8Jm & W3J, and the Compal HGL30 in the 14.1" range.
In 15.4", there's the ASUS S96J/Z96J & F3Jm, Compal HEL80, and HP nc8430.
These are all great systems that will meet your needs. Getting your mom/cousin to sign off on any one of them is the trick.
Answer:
Re: Gaming laptop for college/ 1st laptop
17" is out of the question; I really don't feel like lugging that around all day. Any idea when the core2 duo w3js / a8jms will be available? I need to buy this laptop within a week or so. And yeah getting my cousin to okay the asus would be pretty hard since he can only read korean and I don't know who to refer him to about it. Any advice on the Alienware 5550? Is the Compal HEL80 gpu seriously underclocked?