Best notebook available on the 800~1000 USD range.

[DarthRevan]

Hey there guys, what's the best notebook avaiable on this price range? I saw there are some with GT640m kepler video card, and 15.6" screen. What do you think?

 

[Dman8777]

What do you need it for?

 

[DarthRevan]

I'd like to do some gaming on it, but I need a powerful machine that runs Maya, 3DS Max, Photoshop and that is confortable to use, because I'll develop on it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I'd think a think pad.

They're rugged and very nice.

Look for an i7 with 4-8gbs of ram

If it comes with 4, you can always buy more ram

 

[oneblackened]

I might suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230412

Asus makes very high-quality laptops; this one has an i7, 4GB of RAM, and a GT 650m.

You could also go to one of the bigger companies' websites (HP, Dell) and spec out a system you like. I did an HP DV6t-7000 Quad edition for about $1000. 8GB of RAM, Core i7, GT650m, 750GB drive (7200rpm - if you don't need this they offer a standard 1TB 5400 rpm drive, but since I'm doing audio recording I needed the faster drive), and a 9 cell battery (again, if you don't need this, it cuts the price down a bit to leave it out).

 

[DarthRevan]

Thanks for your help guys!
What about this Acer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=acer%20640m ?
It has 6GB of DDR3 already, but a 640m instead of 650m
I've searched but I couldn't find a comparison between 640m and 650m, do they differ a lot?

This Samsung seems nice too (a little bit more expensive, but has a 7200RPM HDD): http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Serie...ie=UTF8&qid=1340821314&sr=1-2&keywords=gt640m

 

[rsutoratosu]

thinkpads are not rugged, its better built but not something you can throw around..

i just got back a x220 with nail polish all over the keyboard & lcd, water spots everywhere and wet around a few keys, best of all, rice around the monitor hinge and under a few keys..

they are good but not rugged, i think you can get some x220 for around 8-900 with coupons..

EDIT: it does not boot and lenovo wants up to 950 to overhaul to make it work, thats pretty much price of new unit

 

[paperwastage]

^if you want that rugged, panasonic toughbook

otherwise, lenovo's thinkpad line is still better (abuse-wise) than a lot of its other competitors

 

[rsutoratosu]

it is true but dont expect it to act like a real toughbook

 

[DarthRevan]

What about this one guys: http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/hom...nt-Notebook-PC

It seems really nice, and it's quite customizable, I've build one with a GT650m with 2GB, a 1920x1080 screen and a backlit keyboard. But does this gt650m differ a lot from gt640m?

 

[paperwastage]

according to

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-640M.71579.0.html

maybe 20% different?

 

[DarthRevan]

And guys, another thing, on this HP site, I can choose a 7200RPM HDD, but it doesn't let me add the 32GB mSATA SSD for Smart Response Technology, which do you think it's better, a 7200RPM or a 5400RPM + 32GB SSD?

 

[paperwastage]

save the money, and spend it on an SSD that you install yourself from newegg

 

[DarthRevan]

I'm not going to open the notebook lol, and 50USD seems a good price for a SSD.
Besides, it's all set up with intel's technologies, don't think it's that easy to set up with another ssd!

 

[dragon888]

I recommend the lenovo y580, you can see the reviews here, it features Intel i7-3610QM + Nvidia GTX 660m, the price is around $900.

 

[DarthRevan]

Thanks mate! It seems a really nice notebook!
But here's the thing, it comes with a GTX 660m, which I know is not a kepler, but a fermi chip, that is hotter and bigger than the new chips. That's why it seems bulkier than the other, and heavier. Take a look at this one: http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-of...nt-Notebook-PC
Seems really nice, and it isn't as bulky as this Lenovo...