• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Best laptop for ~$1000-1500?

M

ManBearPig

Diamond Member
I dont really want to get it online since i need something now and can get good financing from local stores. Is best buy okay? Anyone wanna recommend anything?

My main computer died so i need something new, never bought a laptop before 🙁
 
Well, if you're into gaming at all, then I would definitely get the Gateway FX Edition P-7805u Laptop. It's got a 9800M GTS in it, and it's giong for $1150 at Best Buy right now. Was on sale for $1050, but it's current price is still the best value in a gaming notebook. If you're not into gaming at all, then I would go for something with a faster processor (2.4GHz+ Dual Core will probably work for your price range).
 
If you don't game much, then I think the HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx would suit you well. It's got 6GB of RAM, a 2.4GHz dual core CPU, a 500GB HD, and a 9600M GT just in case 😉
 
some questions: i saw some pretty decent ones. Lets say i could get them from places other than best buy as well, what would you suggest?

I think i would get a 17" if it had blu-ray, but if it had no blu-ray i would get a 15". Is it best to customize one? I really dont know what im getting into here. Ideally i would like one that had blu-ray, decent gaming capabilities, and wireless N. i saw one at sams club for $899.00 that is call the HP 17" Onyx (dv7-1020u). its 2 ghz c2d processor, 4gb memory, blu ray, and im not sure if its wireless n or not. i think it had a 9600m gpu or something.

these last gpu i had in my desktop was a 6800gt, how do these compare?

if at all possible i would like to buy one at a place with financing options but i understand if thats not possible.

Also, what are some good brands? Is asus good?
 
I'll answer a couple of those for you... the other's I'll have to check into.

If you want to "customize" one, you're probably going to need to order it online, which you said was not an option, so that's a no go.

The 9600M will handily lay the smack down on your old 6800GT. You'll be happy with it. It's one of the faster mobile GPUs.

Of course, if you really are into gaming, and can wait, there's an MSI (GT725) that's on Amazon on pre-order for $1350 that has a Mobility Radeon HD4850 which will lay the smack down on any (single) mobile GPU that exists.

I would say that Best Buy is going to be your Best Bet (pun intended) when it comes to retail stores for laptops. Most other computer retailers are going out of business, mostly because they have crappy prices compared to Best Buy. However, if you can find a going out of business sale, you might want to check into that.

Good brands for laptops:
Acer, Asus, Gateway, HP, MSI

(Sony, Toshiba, etc. are decent, but generally overpriced)
 
ideally id like to do both but i would rather just have the option to watch, i think. lets say i can order online...would you advise any different laptops?

so i want blu ray, 17", good gaming performance, and wireless n.
 
those seem alright. is the battery life on larger laptops much less?

also, will i be able to install windows 7 on these when it comes out? and are laptops able to have more ram added in later?

anyone else have any opinions?

thanks
 
Size doesn't affect battery life a whole lot. GPU especially, and also CPU affect battery life the most. And yes, since this is a decent gaming machine with a reasonably fast GPU, it's battery life will suffer a bit.

From what I've heard, the requirements for Windows 7 should be in the same range as Windows Vista, perhaps even a bit less, so you should certainly be able to install Windows 7 on that laptop.

The Sony is maxed out at 4GB of RAM. I think the Acer probably is too.

I didn't have time to mention it in my last post, but those are both only Blu-Ray players, not burners. A Blu-Ray burner in a laptop is pretty much out of the specified budget.

I can look into some laptops with upgradeable RAM if you'd like. I know there are some that are upgradeable to 8GB.
 
ty, i asked about windows 7 because i heard you could not downgrade to windows xp, i guess its not the same when upgrading. should i go for a laptop that is able to have more than 4gb of ram? would it help?

also, when not playing games often, would the battery life still be low, or would it be longer?
 
Originally posted by: Kazaam
ty, i asked about windows 7 because i heard you could not downgrade to windows xp, i guess its not the same when upgrading. should i go for a laptop that is able to have more than 4gb of ram? would it help?

also, when not playing games often, would the battery life still be low, or would it be longer?
Click to expand...

At this point it is kind of moot to argue whether or not a laptop needs more than 4GB of RAM capacity. You don't really need more than 4GB of RAM right now or for the foreseeable future. Plus, I'm not sure where you could find a laptop with 8gb capacity.

Even when you aren't playing games, the powerful GPU will still be on (unless you have hybrid SLi or Crossfire or switchable graphics) and sucking battery life.
 
Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
Originally posted by: Kazaam
ty, i asked about windows 7 because i heard you could not downgrade to windows xp, i guess its not the same when upgrading. should i go for a laptop that is able to have more than 4gb of ram? would it help?

also, when not playing games often, would the battery life still be low, or would it be longer?
Click to expand...

At this point it is kind of moot to argue whether or not a laptop needs more than 4GB of RAM capacity. You don't really need more than 4GB of RAM right now or for the foreseeable future. Plus, I'm not sure where you could find a laptop with 8gb capacity.

Even when you aren't playing games, the powerful GPU will still be on (unless you have hybrid SLi or Crossfire or switchable graphics) and sucking battery life.
Click to expand...

jease, there are so many tradeoffs with laptops, this sucks lol. i am not quite sure what to do. if i get blu ray, i do need a laptop with a decent GPU, right?
 
i think its between these two:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218041149114

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218043606827

heres a comparison if itll work: comparison.

ill tell you what i dont like about both: no blu-ray. Things that could make me go either way: the HP is much lighter than the FX, but the FX has a better display than the HP. The HP has more memory, but the GPU is weaker than the FX (but i dont play games that often). The HP has a 5400RPM drive that is larger, and the FX has a 7200RPM drive. I dont really need that large amount of space but i guess its better to have more.

Other than that i think theyre about equal, but the HP has a better processor. I assume the battery life is about equal. The designs on both are kind of lame. Can anyone let me know if i can install windows 7 on these? Also, wtf is the deal with having the touchpads on the new laptops off center? Honestly?

If i go with the HP, do you think it is worth it to add 2gb more ram just because i can (its expandable) and prices are cheap? Can i connect any of these to my LCD TV via HDMI?

its kind of weird that i cannot find any reviews of these anywhere. wish i could customize them somewhere for a decent price but dont know of anywhere.
 
The touchpads are off center because the keys are off center. The touchpad is centered on the letter keys.

Either should be fine for installing Windows 7.

Right now, 6GB is plenty, especially for a laptop. I think that it would be worth it to upgrade only in a couple of years, when you actually may use the extra 2GB and it will be cheaper, OR if you really do run many many apps at the same time, or plan on using this for intensive apps like photoshop while running other apps (AFAIK, Photoshop can only access up to 4GB at a time anyway).

Yes, they can both output to an HDTV via HDMI.
 
You will notice that load times are little bit quicker with a 7200rpm hard drive, but the RAM won't make much of a difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top