Thinking About Getting A Laptop.. [resolved]

[nol 0]

currently my computer is shared by all 5 people in my family, (well 2 don't use because they are either moved out or too young, but they have at some point) and its hard to keep organized. So i am thinking about getting a laptop, we do have wireless internet so thats no problem at all, only thing is which to get? Money is a issue, and I don't plan on spending much more then $1,000 or so on it. I want it to have a decent graphic chip/gaming or w/e, so i can play diablo 2 and age of empires 3 on it. I will mostly use it for my designs and coding, so a decent amount of space on it would be good. And finally, I want it to use windows xp(or better).Only thing i don't want is a mac. Sorry to you mac users, but nope, not gonna happen. So can anybody refer me to some good laptops/companys?

[bhavesh 0]

It will be better if you go to the sites of different laptop makers and search for your specifictions and price. Then shortlist some models and go to vendor at your city and enquire whether you can get a good after sales service there. Then finalize your purchase. Isn't it easy.

[Saint_Michael 3]

I can tell you as a laptop user of 7 years that yo uwill be spending more then a $1000 for a gaming computer since the motherboard, processor, 1-2 Gigs of RAM, GFX card and sound card are going to cost some money because they need to be very up to date. like bhavesh mention check out the local computer sites to see what you want some recommendations I can put up for are from the well knowing gaming computers

 

http://alienware.com/main.aspx

Dell XPS

 

Those are the two closes pre-built computers will cost about $1,000 without taxes,however, since your playing some fairly old games you could run off a Pentium 4, D processor or AMD processors that are 2-3 years old. But I don't have one more link to provide you, I been using this site for building my computer so you could find a fairly good computer with the right specs for even less then $1000.

 

Newegg

[nol 0]

really the only thing i need is a computer with a really decent ammount of space. I am able to run those 2 games on my computer already and its pretty good. My dad has a laptop, that he had for work, it is junky, but it worked. I'm looking for a new one, but thx guys ill look at those sites.

 

Really though, something not too new like days new, but nothing more then like 2 years old will be fine for me.

 

alienware link doesnt work

Edited June 10, 2007 by nol (see edit history)

[jlhaslip 4]

I got this Laptop at Xmas last year. Best Buy had a Sale on Compaq's.

512Meg Ram, 80 Gig Hdd, CD R/W, Dvd Read only, XP, and a bunch of Software for under $500 USD. (Vista upgrade available) 1.6 Mhz Intel Core (dual) processor. Costs $100 to add another 1 Gig of Ram. Integrated Graphics card. I don't do the Gamer thing, but the GFX are great for what I do.

Check them out at http://www.bestbuy.com/

[Plenoptic 0]

If you want to get into gaming I would stick with a desktop for gaming. I have both and if you are getting a new laptop that comes with Vista it will slow things down a lot. Desktops run better for cheaper but if you really want a laptop, Dell is pretty good. We have a lot of both types from them. I currently have a laptop from Gateway which is fine for gaming minus Vista. I got it from Best Buy for $700 with Pentium Dual Core, 1G Ram and I forget the graphics card. Just do a bit of research and comparing and you should be able to find a decent one.

[nol 0]

ik, i don't need it for gaming, but it would be nice. The laptop would carry a lot of business information, and a lot of my personal website stuff. So, really the main thing is organization, something fairly priced in my range, and something thats worth it. I don't want some peice of cardboard for $1000 with marker keyboard on it. But ya, i really like the dell one that SM showed me though. I will use my desktop of course, but i want a laptop only cuz i travel about every other weekend, and thats like 10 hours wasted each time i go spent waiting, when i could be working on things for work etc.

[Saint_Michael 3]

If that's the case Nol I would go with a Dell system fairly cheap but still pack as much punch as the more expensive types, I barely use my Dell for gaming, although I might want to get a bigger hard drive in the future maybe (currently using a 60GB HD). Gateways are ok but not for the price I paid about 1800 for a q0 gig hard drive and it was crappy so I got my self a compaq (which I need to fix up) which was a little better then the gateway. But once I got my Dell XPS I was hooked and of course my parents have a Dell inspiron 4600 which is going on for about 5 years now, its has it's problems but it is still kicking though.

[insaneinnovations 0]

Don't go anywhere else but http://www.newegg.com/ . Great prices, great service, great shipping, great community, just an absolutely amazing website.

[nol 0]

what do you guys think about?

http://www.alienware.com/main.aspx

tbh i just love it..all around. Do you guys think it will be good (im not exactly the kind of guy that knows what hes talking about with computers, so im kinda a noob when it comes to comparisons and finding a good one)

since i go on a lot of trips etc, idk it looks good and i like it, i just don't know if it will fit my needs because i don't exactly know what im looking for

Edited June 11, 2007 by nol (see edit history)

[Jimmy 0]

Hmmm alienware are good, but were you looking at the sentia?The graphics chip on that is "Intel? GMA 950 Extreme Graphics" as faras I know it's not a great card/chip...Yt it has got a 7.1 channel audio card... (odd, considering the graphics!)I may be wrong about that GFX card being bad, but alienware gets quite pricey once you customise it to how you like I made a ?5000 dream laptop, from getting carried away!

[nol 0]

i need at least 64mb with support for hardware transformation and lighting video card, and a sound card...and a 1.4GHz processor, if i can. That would be able to play my newest game i have (aoe 3) and diablo2 probably has worse requirements, considering i can play diablo 2 on my desktop but not aoe, so if that is better, its good enough lol. I don't plan on buying many new computer games, its just for what i have.

[Saint_Michael 3]

The computer looks fine but again your going to be paying over $1000 for it because most likely you were going to down size the operating system to XP instead of Vista Basic, which mind you is a bad OS version to begin with and so you would be paying $949 to either go with XP Media Center or vista Home Premium. But I would say shop around a bit more before making a solid purchase, check out gateway computers, compaq computers, HP computers, and sony computers. I would still look at http://www.newegg.com/ because they seem to have hte better deals with a the same hook up.

[Watermonkey 0]

I'd recommend you save up for more of a computer then you're currently apparently budgeted for. Personally, even if I were a "windoz" person I wouldn't discount the Mac product line. They consistently put only the best hardware in their computers which makes them seem more expensive, but after seeing what they include with the software and everything added up, I think you'll see the value. As an added bonus, you can install Wondoz on a partition if you like and you'll have two computers in one! Another thing I'd look at is consumer reports which consistently rates Apple as best for customer support and low rate of failure, etc. Read a recent issue from your local library for their recommendations. Make sure, whatever you decide has an 800 MHZ motherboard. That is your indication it's got Intel's newest chipset. Get the fastest chip you can, currently Core2Duo at 2.4Mhz and put no less then 2 GB of RAM on board with at least a 100GB 5400 or 7200 RPM Hard Drive. I wouldn't go less then 15 inches for the monitor either. Good luck!

[nol 0]

I'd recommend you save up for more of a computer then you're currently apparently budgeted for. Personally, even if I were a "windoz" person I wouldn't discount the Mac product line. They consistently put only the best hardware in their computers which makes them seem more expensive, but after seeing what they include with the software and everything added up, I think you'll see the value. As an added bonus, you can install Wondoz on a partition if you like and you'll have two computers in one! Another thing I'd look at is consumer reports which consistently rates Apple as best for customer support and low rate of failure, etc. Read a recent issue from your local library for their recommendations. Make sure, whatever you decide has an 800 MHZ motherboard. That is your indication it's got Intel's newest chipset. Get the fastest chip you can, currently Core2Duo at 2.4Mhz and put no less then 2 GB of RAM on board with at least a 100GB 5400 or 7200 RPM Hard Drive. I wouldn't go less then 15 inches for the monitor either. Good luck!

I would save but i need a computer because my job requires a lot of at-home work finishing *BLEEP*, and i travel a lot. So I really need a laptop, something basic, but something worth the cash. So ya, but I don't really like macs set-up so i ruled that out with no research on it. Mostly I look for the look of the laptop, and how much it costs. I saw that It has 2gb, which is fairly decent for me, as I don't plan on having huge *bottom* programs running on my computer. The biggest program I will run is adobe photoshop. The rest will be all files and pictures, maybe a game or two.

Really I'm not looking for a hypted up expensive laptop, plus my parents are helping pay for most of it (75%) which is why i have a budget.