Deciding upon a laptop for school, general use, and gaming.

[subtraction]

I am in the market for a new laptop to replace my 4 year old macbook.

It will be used for school, general computer task browsing web music etc, and quite a bit of gaming. CoD, WoW, and later this year Elder Scrolls are the titles I will mostly be playing besides super old titles I do not mind playing on less than the best setting but do want it to run smoothly at medium-ish or so.

Prefer to buy at my local Microcenter because they have treated me right in the past but wouldn't be opposed to ordering online. My budget is $800-$1000.

Here are the two I am currently looking at
HP Envy
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0366387
Dell XPS 15
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0365329

I realize the XPS has better overall hardware than the Envy but I have a feeling the Envy is of a better build quality? Seeing as how it will get lugged around everywhere I want something that wont fall apart after a year. So my question is which should I get that will last a few years and if their is a better alternative to these two with similar specs what is it?

Thank you

 

[CurseTheSky]

For what it's worth, I have an Envy 14 (one generation older). It's a great laptop, but a bit heavy for its size due to the metal construction. Build quality overall is very good, though you will find some nit-picky things compared to Macbook Pros, for example (seams not quiet perfectly flush, etc.). Overall, it's extremely rugged and has a great look and feel compared to many laptops. I still wouldn't toss it around (the metal will dent), but I would consider it much more rugged than other laptops I have used.

Mine has the HD 5650M, which is decent for mid-range gaming, but don't expect to play Crysis 2 with details turned up. It can handle things like source games with no problem though. I can't comment on the 6630, but I would expect it to be similar or slightly more powerful, if anything.

 

[subtraction]

For what it's worth, I have an Envy 14 (one generation older). It's a great laptop, but a bit heavy for its size due to the metal construction. Build quality overall is very good, though you will find some nit-picky things compared to Macbook Pros, for example (seams not quiet perfectly flush, etc.). Overall, it's extremely rugged and has a great look and feel compared to many laptops. I still wouldn't toss it around (the metal will dent), but I would consider it much more rugged than other laptops I have used.

Mine has the HD 5650M, which is decent for mid-range gaming, but don't expect to play Crysis 2 with details turned up. It can handle things like source games with no problem though. I can't comment on the 6630, but I would expect it to be similar or slightly more powerful, if anything.

Thanks for the reply I think I may end up just going with the Envy it looks much nicer in my opinion as well. The weight does not bother me too much either and I kind of like the metal construction over plastic gives it a higher end feel/look to me.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Are cheap netbooks slow for general internet use? Such as http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Aspir...arter/15739065 $228

I'm thinking of one for school, I do languages, and for example I'd look at Wiktionary which has super convenient listings of verbs and stuff in many languages. Example http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sein#German

but it wouldn't make sense if a cheap netbook/laptop would chug slowly just from displaying text websites. And what about youtube? Would that be slow?

 

[subtraction]

Are cheap netbooks slow for general internet use? Such as http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Aspir...arter/15739065 $228

I'm thinking of one for school, I do languages, and for example I'd look at Wiktionary which has super convenient listings of verbs and stuff in many languages. Example http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sein#German

but it wouldn't make sense if a cheap netbook/laptop would chug slowly just from displaying text websites. And what about youtube? Would that be slow?

Those net books work fine for web browsing, music, word documents, and youtube. Much beyond that I find they are not up for the task.