Is this the best price for a gaming laptop ??

[CTrain]

After listening to people, a 17" laptop is mamoth.
I wasn't going to carry it around while I'm abroad but I do need to use it once I'm back in the US and I personally saw how big a 17" laptop was.

So I looke for a 15.4" or 14" laptop.
The highest video card you can find with that is a Go 7600 or a X1700.
Seems like all the best deal were at Newegg for around $1200-$1300.
I had decided on the Asus 14" with the X1700 for $1265 shipped until I stumbled on Toshiba website.

Long story short, I got a Satellite A135 w/ Go 7600 for $1012 shipped.
Man that was a deal
I can actually carry it around and play games on it.



















- PROCESSOR Intel® Core? Duo T2250 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB) edit
- OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista? Home Basic edit
- LCD PANEL 17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ TFT Display with TrueLife?(glossy) edit
- MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz edit
- HARD DRIVE 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
- OPTICAL DRIVE 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
- VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce? Go 7900 GS edit
- WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps) edit
- SOUND OPTION Integrated Audio edit
- MEDIA DIRECT Media Direct 3.0 edit
Accessories
- BATTERIES 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
Software
- PRODUCTIVITY No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE -- MS WORD edit
- SECURITY McAfee Security Center 30-day trial edit
Service
- WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support edit
- DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS 6 Months of America Online Membership Included


- I didn't pick the 1920x1200 screen option wich is +$139(I did pick glossy for +$10)
- I upgraded the HD from 160gb 5400rpm to 100GB 7200rpm for +$25.
Can you notice going from 5400 to 7200rpm ?? Size is not a factor as 100GB is more than plenty

No coupon was neccessary as Dell discounted it already.
This system is the same as the 1705, this is in the small business division.

This by far the cheapest system I've found with a high-end graphic card.
I'll be going abroad for a little while and I like a laptop with a high-end graphic card.
Can you recommend a better laptop ??

 

[RU482]

what's the difference between a core duo and a core 2 duo?

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: redly1
what's the difference between a core duo and a core 2 duo?

Yeah, I didn't notice that but its the older proccessor.
The next upgrade would be a Core 2 Duo but thats +$200 and I don't need it as the 7900gs graphic card is more than plenty.

 

[Scouzer]

64 vs 32 bit
5-10% performance

 

[SSSnail]

Dude, that's a steal. DO ET!

 

[tfinch2]

That 6-cell battery is pretty weak for a system like that.

 

[apac]

Don't buy a laptop for gaming, you'll regret it.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: apac
Don't buy a laptop for gaming, you'll regret it.

Why? I don't.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
That 6-cell battery is pretty weak for a system like that.

I know that.
I'll be oversea for a little while and the laptop will be plugged in most of the time.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: apac
Don't buy a laptop for gaming, you'll regret it.

Read my reason, I'll be oversea and I can't bring my desktop computer with me.

 

[CTrain]

Forget what I'm buying the laptop for.
Let me know if its a deal or not.
I'd like to pull the trigger within a couple of days.

I'll be going end of May.

 

[quikah]

Ugg, 17" laptops are great until you need to move them. Get the 6400.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: quikah
Ugg, 17" laptops are great until you need to move them. Get the 6400.

It's a good deal, OP. I loved my 9300, I hate the Asus I moved to.

quikah: The 6400 blows for gaming.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Good deal.

Supposedly if you call in the order instead of placing it online you can upgrade to Vista Home Premium for +$29 if you want the extrras like Aero Glass user interface.

 

[SKORPI0]

Get the 9-cell battery pack for longer usage. Not sure why you don't want a 1920x1200 screen resolution (WUXGA), I enjoy watching HD captures on my M170. Not sure If I can recommend a better laptop for that price.

 

[ElFenix]

get the higher res screen. xga+ is going to suck. no desktop area at all.

160 GB 5400 may be nearly as fast a 100 GB 7200 due to the areal density increase.

 

[TheGizmo]

its a pretty good price. i mean if you scoured the hot deals forums for the next month you might find a better deal but if you're in a rush definately grab it, as you won't be saving more than a one or two hundred dollars anyway

edit: and yes, the 7200 rpm upgrade is noticable, but your battery life is going to suffer because of it.

also another note, if I were you i'd get the bigger battery, and i'd definately be getting the 1920 screen for $140.. that screen is uber-awesome.

 

[preslove]

Good deal, wrong forum.

 

[Azndude51]

Originally posted by: preslove
Good deal, wrong forum.

Yeah, you'd probably get a better response from General Hardware than OT.

EDIT:
Actually, there is a SFF/Notebook forum

 

[bunker]

My laptop is fairly close to that, Dell Precision M90
t5600 proc (core 2 duo)
NVidia quadro fx 2500M (workstation card, it is my work machine after all)
2gb ram
WUXGA+ screen

I love it and can game on it just fine.
The only reason I mentioned my specs is so you can tell what the battery life will be. I get about 3.5 hours on the 9 cell battery doing work constantly. About 2 hours if I'm gaming.

 

[uhohs]

needs core2duo and higher res screen

 

[jpeyton]

Why not enjoy your time abroad instead of spending it hunched over a laptop screen playing games?

Traveling is a lot easier with a sub-notebook versus your 17" behemoth.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Why not enjoy your time abroad instead of spending it hunched over a laptop screen playing games?

Traveling is a lot easier with a sub-notebook versus your 17" behemoth.

or with a Dell 700m

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo

edit: and yes, the 7200 rpm upgrade is noticable, but your battery life is going to suffer because of it.

not really and not really

 

[CTrain]

Thank you for all the inputs.

The same deal is now $50 cheaper but I think they modified the 160gb into a 120gb.

Its hard to explain cause I don't want to but I'll be stationary most of the time even though I'm abroad.
Yeah, I will go here and there but I will be stationary most of the time so I don't need a portable laptop.
Sure, if I can get a 15.4 LCD laptop with a 7900gs, I would but the smaller laptops come at best with a Radeon x1400.
The 7900gs is like 3x the x1400
Theres no comparison so I'd like to have a 7900gs and I will only find it in a 17lcd laptop.

- Battery is not a concern as I was saying I'll be stationary most of the time.
- CPU is not a factor as the 7900gs is more than capable.
- I guess the HD is not a factor as people are saying the 5400rpm is fine.

The dilema here is 1440x900 vs 1920x1200.
I have the old 600m with a 14"lcd and it has 1400x1050 resolution and its pretty damm tiny. With this resolution, there is plenty of work space.
So with a 17"lcd and 1440x900, I'll have the same amount of work space just bigger.
Also, I have a 24" Dell LCD with 1920x1200 and I think its great with all the space but you shrink that into a 17"lcd and its back to the same 14"lcd with 1400x1050 resolution again.

So if I just leave everything alone, I get $1209 + tax.
Good deal for me to pull the trigger ??
Is there any stackable coupon I can buy on ebay, etc... ??