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Buying a new laptop, advice?

WagesofSin

By WagesofSin
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WagesofSin Newbie

WagesofSin

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Well, it's time to give my old 6 year old dell laptop a rest. I'd like to buy a new laptop and any advice that one can give me would be great.

I've heard that people from Europe say that it is cheaper to buy a laptop and bring it over than to buy one from your own county. Likily for me, my mom is visiting the states for a bit and would be able to get the laptop I would be interested in and bring it over. Are prices much better over there?

I would like to get the most bang for my buck and, yes, I am a gamer. I would like a gaming laptop but don't want to go too crazy. I was thinking of a price range of about 1000$, maybe up to 1500 even.

Anyone with some experience is welcome to post!

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Ex-D&Der Newbie

Ex-D&Der

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I would seriously consider a netbook with a solid state drive at this point. With a 3-year wireless contract you can get these for a couple of hundred dollars. And with a solid state drive it will perform the hell out of anything with a hard disk. Plus you can play FL anywhere there is cellular service.

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Djriacen Apprentice

Djriacen

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I have a MacBook Pro, and have yet to be disappointed. The recording program is decent, including many different effects for your instruments, not sure if you play music or not. Decent for gaming, no? I rarely do such, so I can't really put good input on that.

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Guest emp_newb

Guest emp_newb

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something I forgot to mention when I was talking to you is COMPLETELY avoid the DV series of HP. The most useless motherboards ever. I get at least 2 a month into my shop with failed out boards. Complete junk

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songofsixpence Newbie

songofsixpence

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I would say avoid Acer. I have one from them and it is absolute crap. After poking around in various forums I've seen many people with similar complaints across a wide range of Acer models.

To sum it up, my 2 year old Acer laptop is outperformed by my wife's 5 year old Dell. And mine has considerably better specs in theory.

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WagesofSin Newbie

WagesofSin

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It seems a lot of laptop manufacturers that gear towards gaming include a 64bit version of Windows. I'm no expert, but dont you need special programs specifically designed for 64bit windows in order to work? (ie. Standard, 32bit programs won't work with 64bit.)

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L-A Newbie

L-A

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Are there any companies to look out for/avoid? Toshiba? Asus? Dell? For some reason' date=' I really want at least 4 GB of RAM, even though it may be overkill, this laptop needs to last me as long as possible.[/quote']

Not that I disagree with this approach but are you running Windows and do you know that it can only use up to 3.2GB RAM? That being said, 2 x 2GB sticks are probably as cheap as a 1GB + 2GB config - just don't flip out when you don't see it in Windows :-)

Lenovo's are good - but pricey. In the end you're almost certainly going to get what you pay for. Be careful buying overseas - sometimes it voids warranty (like on phones). Some of the more reputable companies aren't like this but it will pay to check.

Other ways to keep costs down:

Do you need software? If not, there is a lot of money to be saved by loading it all yourself ASSUMING you want the pain of doing all the drivers etc. If not then buy it pre-built with the OS of your choice (Vista licences are backwards compatible so don't listen to those who say they can't put XP on it) so its factory setup and ready to go.

If you're gaming from it you don't want a 'laptop' you want a 'desktop replacement' Toshiba had nice ones last I checked - unsure how battery hungry they are. A cheaper (and perhaps smarter) way to do this is to buy a good laptop for its processor, upgrade the ram is necessary (RAM is cheap to buy and easy to install) and get a docking station/monitor/keyboard/mouse. Simple and easy to take anywhere and just as simple and easy to put on the station at home. When you get your next laptop you keep the monitor etc.

Finally, get warranty - even extended warranty if you can afford it. Its the single best thing that comes with pre-built systems as if you have an issue its NOT your issues. Its their issue. While you might have to wait ot get it replace at least it will be replaced as little or no cost to yourself. Repairs (esp. to laptop hardware) are costly.

Good luck with the search.

L-A

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Guest emp_newb

Guest emp_newb

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dude, there was a guy that came into my store with an alienware laptop.

19" with dual radeon 512 vid cards on an SLI setup, 4 gb ram, quad core processor. It was a MMMOOONNNNSSSSTTTTEEEEERRRRR

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f0xx Newbie

f0xx

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dude, there was a guy that came into my store with an alienware laptop.

19" with dual radeon 512 vid cards on an SLI setup, 4 gb ram, quad core processor. It was a MMMOOONNNNSSSSTTTTEEEEERRRRR

And you can get the same 3 times cheaper if it's a desktop. Five if it is alianware. And it will be much more comfortable too, since I don't know how you can like playing games on a laptop.

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a-guitarist Newbie

a-guitarist

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Don't get a laptop if you're into online gaming. FPS? RTS? Go ahead, do a laptop, but get a wireless or usb keyboard and mouse. But if you're going online, just do the desktop. Why?

If you're doing online gaming, what you've got under the hood isn't as important as what the location you're gaming at has got broadcasting. Since you're in Europe, I haven't a clue what Internet Cafe's are like that way (do they have jacks to plug in with ethernet?), but here in the states it's a lot of wireless signals at Panera Bread and hotspots. And most are currently running wireless g in my area.

If you're going to game at home, and want a laptop for ramming around and playing FL out and about get a netbook. I have an Asus 1000H and I absolutely love the thing. It's small, it weighs nothing, it does everything I need it to do. And if you hate linux, buy it with XP (Targets in my area are stocked to the brim with these things, and they're from 250-350 depending on model, go for the 350, it's a sturdier machine construction wise).

If I want to play a game? I have a pretty sweet setup at home, which you can get for a lot cheaper than a gaming laptop. Three monitors, 3gigs of ram, I think a gig of graphics, and some spiffy processor from years ago. Also, one hell of a comfortable chair, a bathroom within walking distance, a fridge down stairs, music of my liking that I can play at my prefered listening volumn, and no jackass sitting over my should asking what I'm doing and informing me what the next WoW killer might be.

Things to think about with a 'gaming' laptop: I don't care how impressive the cooling system is touted as, it will burn a whole through you if you don't have it on a table. (even if you've got a cooling pad, it's still a toaster). Also, 19" doesn't sound like much, but if you want to do something on a bus or train or in a car, it's a cumbersome bitch to tool around with. 5 pounds adds up. Again, it sounds like nothing, and is nothing when you're moving it a dozen times a day. But if you're taking it everywhere, 5 pounds feels like 20 at the end of the day- even more so if you use your arms at work.

Perks of the model EEE PC I've got: No moving parts on the inside. Solid State Hard Drives (or whatever the proper term is these days). Long battery life (Runs for about six hours before it dies, longer if I'm not playing a game or listening to music the whole time). Blue Tooth (I still have only a slim idea what the hell this is, but I hear the whipper snappers talking about it while they drink their Pepsi-Colas and listen to their Music TVs.) and then the typical stuff everyone brags about that doesn't impress many people (unless they don't have it) - USB, SD reader, Monitor attachment, internal wireless, etc.

I've seen far too many people buy a gaming laptop, or drafting laptop, or what-have-you, and in a month it ends up on their desk, propped up at a slight angle with some old history or dnd book with a keyboard and mouse infront of it.

All being all, WC just got a Sony that is pretty kicking for a decent price, and it's just as zoomy as this thing. But I highly doubt the ability of it performing as well as a desktop after a year of heavy use. For the record: This computer I'm on, the desktop, is under it's second owner. WC ran it through heavy raiding in WoW: TBC for a while, some other serious gaming, and then I got ahold of it when he moved to Korea-land. Since then, it's been getting moderate to heavy use. This is a span of 2 to 2.5 years? Minor upgrade of another video card to sli them, and a new PSU and it's been a gem.

A laptop will not last that long under the same usage. if it does, it's a miracle and the gods have smiled upon thee.

Either way, buy what works and what you're used to. If you like Macs, get one. If you like Windows, buy a PC. If you like linux- then you already know the process and, like me, will probably be shunned from society and forced to watch normal people interact as you wantingly grasp for whatever wisps of coherency you can muster as you stay in the shadows.

The shadows, you've come to find out, aren't all that bad. People forget things- and when they do they find their way here. Someone dropped a perfectly good peanut the other day. A peanut! That shell is it's protector, the nutty goodness still waiting tenderly inside. And someday you know you'll be able to pull it out when that Buxom Lass walks by, straying far enough from her heard of yes-men and yes-women, and quips, "I could go for a nice peanut." Yes... when that day comes, I'll be there... with this shelled, slightly-less-salted vindication of my time spent waiting. All the salt would be there still, but at times I wish to taste what I can only assume are the tears of society... so I gently lick the peanut. Gently. Lightly. Tenderly. And then... then I am exulted from purgatory and briefly allowed to enjoy the light you all take for granted.

a-g

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