Question:
Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
$1,670 including tax. I can pay extra for shipping.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
C or D.
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
I will play games until I get old in front of the display. FEAR, Oblivion, HL2 : Episode2… you name it.
Besides that, I will be surfing the internet & doing basic stuff like word processing, creating spreadsheets .
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or
leaving it on your desk?
Mostly, it will be on my desk. Once a week, I will take it to a consulting job for a few hours.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
See question # 3 above. This absolutely will be a gaming laptop. That is the # 1 most important task I will handle with it.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I don’t like Apple.
Other than that, I do not want an Alienware.
The XPS 1710 looks too industrial.
Any other laptop is fine.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I believe how long it lasts depends on what you are doing with it, as well. 2 hours is good, as long as it 3 hours if I am only doing word processing.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Not at all. I can order without seeing.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what
country are you buying this in?
US – United States
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
I prefer standard screen, but almost all good laptops out there are widescreen. It only becomes a problem when I am surfing the internet. Since I am viewing stuff at their non-native resolution, everything looks stretched out. I don't like that.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
I want high resolution.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit
lots of stuff on the screen. sounds good
Widescreen
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.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I would appreciate it if someone could tell me the difference.
I would like to see vivid colors on the screen at all viewing angles, but that is about all I can say.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
No / Minimally.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this
laptop to last?
I am buying it ASAP. I want it to last at least 2 to 3 years without being outdated.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
100+GB (100 min).
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW drive (dual-layer).
-----------------------------------------------
Additional Comments:
I want one of these graphics cards. (GeForce 7800 series, 7900 series (GS or GTX are both fine), 7600 series, ATI X1600, X1800).
I do not want ATI X1400 or GeForce 7400.
I want the 3945 wireless card that gets (a/b/g type wireless networks).
I want bluetooth for sure.
I want a 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor at 2 Ghz.
I want either a 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm hard drive. (Both are fine).
I want a 15" , 15.4" or 17" display. (All of them are fine).
I want 2 GB of RAM at 667 Mhz. (Worst case scenario : 1 GB of RAM at 667 Mhz in only one slot, allowing me to upgrade later on. I don't want 2 x 512 MB for sure)
A built-in webcam would be really nice, but it is not a must.
A wireless network card that can work with "n" type wireless networks would be nice, but it is not a must.
Thanks in advance for all your help!
PS: I looked at a few Dell and Asus models, but all of them got over my budget with T7200 and 2 GB of RAM.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
Asus z96j from gentechpc.com
Configured with:
Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2.0ghz
Artic Silver
$ 1057 --> $1144.20 after CA tax
Newegg.com
Samsung OEM DVD-RW
1gb G.skill ddr-2 667 RAM x 2
Samsung OEM 120gb 5,400 RPM HD
Microsoft Windows XP Home OEM
$511.06 after tax and shipping
Amazon.com
Intel 3945 abg mini PCIe card
$32.99 - No tax. Free shipping. (Comes from TX)
Grand total = $1,688.25 after tax and shipping
Since you said that you wouldn't mind paying shipping separately, that makes the notebook come out to $1676.92
You can save $3 by opting out of the Artic Silver and doing it yourself. You can also save $15 by getting a 100gb 5,400 RPM HD or a 80gb 7,200 RPM HD instead. Plus you can save $90 by using your own OS instead of buying a new one (such as just using Vista beta or Linux until your budget allows for the purchase of a new OS)
RAM is also expensive right now from newegg.com... around the range of $100 a stick. You might just want to settle for one stick right now and wait for the price to drop a little.
-- All prices calculated with CA tax
Even though I paid $10 more for the T2500 Core Duo, my grand total for my notebook came out to $1450 (Core Duo 2.0ghz, 1024mb RAM ddr2 667, 100gb HD, DVD-RW, Intel 3945 wireless). I'm surprised to find that the price of the other components increased since then.
If you really wanted a bargain, you could go eBay diving for some of those parts.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
I forgot to say, I have an XP CD and do not need to pay for the OS
Also, I live in FL and hopefully won't have to pay as much for tax.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
I ordered my Z96J from geared2play.com and did essentially the same thing. All in all it worked out to about 1670 for me (2 gigs 667mhz ram, 100 gb 7200 rpm hd, and T7400 NOT 7200). They do charge for shipping which is 20 bucks extra. I was lazy and I decided to just get a complete system from them so mine comes with everything include DVD Burner and Wireless but I already have Windows so I didn't have to spend money on that. No sales tax for me either.
Anyways my savings would have been between 70-100 bucks if I decided to do everything on my own but I wnated the peace of mind of having the seller install and test everything so I don't have to blame myself for mistakes haha.
I also threw in a 9 cell battery and an extra year of warranty for 159 more plus 20 for shipping (but thast just me, i didnt include this in the above stated price). Anyways I souped up my lappie, if you cut back to 1 gig ram (-100) and get 5400 rpm hard drive (-50) i think its around 150 bucks cheaper, although buying the OS will negate this and bring you back to 1670. I didnt have to pay any sales taxes though.
Anyways I think you could easily get 2gigs of ram and a 7200rpm hd in your price range pretty easily with a C2D on the Z96J.
Good luck.
Asus z96j from gentechpc.com
Configured with:
Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2.0ghz
Artic Silver
$ 1057 --> $1144.20 after CA tax
Newegg.com
Samsung OEM DVD-RW
1gb G.skill ddr-2 667 RAM x 2
Samsung OEM 120gb 5,400 RPM HD
Microsoft Windows XP Home OEM
$511.06 after tax and shipping
Amazon.com
Intel 3945 abg mini PCIe card
$32.99 - No tax. Free shipping. (Comes from TX)
Grand total = $1,688.25 after tax and shipping
Since you said that you wouldn't mind paying shipping separately, that makes the notebook come out to $1676.92
You can save $3 by opting out of the Artic Silver and doing it yourself. You can also save $20 by getting a 100gb 5,400 RPM HD or a 80gb 7,200 RPM HD instead. Plus you can save $90 by using your own OS instead of buying a new one (such as just using Vista beta or Linux until your budget allows for the purchase of a new OS)
RAM is also expensive right now from newegg.com... around the range of $100 a stick. You might just want to settle for one stick right now and wait for the price to drop a little.
-- All prices calculated with CA tax
Even though I paid $10 more for the T2500 Core Duo, my grand total for my notebook came out to $1450 (Core Duo 2.0ghz, 1024mb RAM ddr2 667, 100gb HD, DVD-RW, Intel 3945 wireless). I'm surprised to find that the price of the other components increased since then.
If you really wanted a bargain, you could go eBay diving for some of those parts.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
Since you did say that battery life needed to be around 3 hours, you might want to get the 9cell battery with the money saved from the OS. With a 6 cell, the z96j falls a little short of 3 hours.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
The Dell Intspiron E1705 offers a Core 2 Duo and Nvidia GeForce Go7900GS card in a 17" form factor. Looks and feels generic as all Dells do, but it is extremely powerful.
The HP dv9000t is another less-powerful 17" (in terms of video performance - 256MB Go7600) to look at.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
Thank you all for your help, I greatly appreciate it.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
I just checked and gentechpc.com does not offer a 9 cell battery, so I guess it will have to be geared2play.com that I will buy from.
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
On second thought, I saw this option :
"Battery Pack 9-Cell" for $119.
Does that mean they will give me a 9 cell battery instead of a 6 cell?
$119 is seems like quite a difference for that. (Unless it means I will be getting both a 9 cell and a 6 cell for the $ 119. I only need 1 battery, so I wouldn't need the 6 cell in that case).
Answer:
Re: Gaming Laptop Under A Budget
On second thought, I saw this option :
"Battery Pack 9-Cell" for $119.
Does that mean they will give me a 9 cell battery instead of a 6 cell?
I would contact the dealer on that one, not really sure.