Question:
Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
Hi everybody!
After reading at least 30 reviews... twice, sometimes three times, I got stuck. I'm going to the Grad school this spring and I absolutely need a loptop. I just can't buy something simple, I know I'll be almoust emotionally attached to my notebook:)
I considered Vaio, but it's kind of expensive and there are problems with drivers. Alienwares tend to get hot and have a poor battery life (and also that ugly numeretic pad - who invented that for laptops?!?). I was even thinking to give up and buy HP Pavillion, which is #1 in ratings right now (on computer-notebook.com). Still can't decide, but I'll have to order it as soon as I arrive to Florida, to have it at classes.
Anybody... please help! ^_^ Here's a list:
1) What is your budget?
Upto 1200$, maybe 1300$.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
or
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Study (office 2003)
surfing the web
gaming (I do know that gaming-machine cost is no match for my budget, but I still want something better than Intagrated-accelerator-950-crap. Maybe even twice as better:)
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it to classes.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes. But not the latest games and not on the highest settings. I can tolerate slowness in games (to reasonable limits:)
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Was thinking a lot about Alienware, HP, Vaio. I think I was thinking too much and got stuck. NO Dell. Other brands are ok too.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3 hours would be great. Could live with 2.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I'm buying online.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
USA. Florida.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
No preferance.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Don't know a lot about screens. Should be at least 1200x800 i think. Better is better.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
No preferance
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Yes:)
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
5 years.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
80 GB. Can live with 60.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW
Also wireless for USA (don't really know which one a\b\g?)
and webcam, but can live without it.
ANY advise will help me greatly!
Thank you!
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
I would check out the compal hgl 30
hel 80 but only if you spring for the nice wsxga screen
asus s96j,
btotech has a very competitive price on a complete s96j with 5500 512 mb ram 100 gb hd for 994
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
The Compal HGL30 and HEL80 and Asus S96J that stamar suggested would do very well for you if you can squeeze them into your budget. You may actually need to raise your budget a little to get one of these systems depending on the configuration you may want.
A little cheaper but less powerful would be something like the HP dv6000t or nc6400. It really depends on how much gaming you're going to be doing though, as these systems are substantially less powerful in terms of gaming ability.
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
The HEL80 and S96j are both excellent choices! You will get quite a bit of graphics power from either of these! For both notebooks, I'd recommend checking out PowerNotebooks
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
I'll second the dv6000t, since you're heading to college you qualify for additional discounts through HPs Academic Purchase Plan, PLUS they've got real good deals running on the dv6000t models (Free RAM and HDD upgrades). However, it's a bit heavy; check one out in a store and see if you can live with the weight.
If you don't like the weight and/or prefer a 14 inch machine, do not pass "GO" and go directly to www.powernotebooks.com and check out the Compal HGL30 (PowerPro L 8:14). It has a better video chip than the HP dv2000t, and for some reason HP isn't running terribly sweet deals on the dv2000t (plus it has a video chip that's only barely better than a GMA).
The HGL30 will be more expensive than the dv6000t, but so will the dv2000t, and you'll get more with the HGL30, which CAN be had for $1300, but you may need to skimp on the hard drive a bit and go with the base CPU.
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
Thanks for the answers guys!!!
I've also checked some similar new posts, and so far everything helps a lot! Sadly, all my configurations of laptops on powernotebooks.com come out quite over my budget, but I'm working on my "out-of-the-budget-demands":)
I'm thinking to buy dv6000t more and more, because powernotebooks have some lack of design. Plus I can get that sweet APP discout (thankx nPalladin2000!:)
I guess it all comes down to what can 256MB NVIDIA GeForceGo 7400 really do? Is it much worse that 7600? Will it handle HalfLife2 ok ?(not on the highest settings)
Thanks for your help once again!
From Russia with love.
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
Is it much worse than the 7600? yes. Not not as worse as a 7200 would be. If all you can afford to get is a machine with a 7400, then get the 7400, you know? It should run HalfLife2 so long as you tweak the setting the right way.
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
The go 7400 has about 1/2 the 3D power of the go 7600. The HP dv6000t is a nice system as well.
Answer:
Re: Grad student & gamer needs help! Please ^_^
you could also check out the sony fe. you can configure it on the website with the 7600go.