Need help getting a laptop!!

[ShadeJedi]

General Questions
1) What is your budget?
Absolutely no more than 1200, but would prefer less so I can add a SSD.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
14-16"

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Nope...I WANT a Radeon graphics card Although I wouldn't be opposed to an AMD APU + Dedicated card

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
If it were a good deal.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Media (music and movies), some gaming (mainly SW TOR and Skyrim, with some BF3 if it'll run)

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
No

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
SW TOR, Skyrim, BF3

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
About 3, but more is better

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
No issues

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows 7

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.
1600x900 or 1920x1080

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?
Either or, not picky

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
A little bit, but not a ton

15) When are you buying this laptop?
Today or tomorrow

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
1-2 years (depends on price)

Notebook Components:
17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
640-1tb, yes, but I can add that myself

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Would prefer blu-ray, but if not, I will live.

I need this to be available from either Best Buy (ugh, I know) or Amazon. I need to have the no interest promotions to be able to get a new lappy.

Thanks in advance!

 

[XLNC]

Samsung Series 7 Laptop - NP700Z5B-W01UB
15.6" 1600x900 Display
Mostly Aluminum Chassis
Core i7-2675QM
AMD Radeon HD 6490M
6GB RAM
750GB 7200RPM HD
$899 +tax


A friend of mine bought this yesterday from Best Buy and I'm setting it up for her. Build quality is amazing, and the screen is a rare 1600x900 resolution. I have no idea about the reliability of Samsung laptops, but it looks slick. Graphics might be a bit lacking for you though.

 

[ther00kie16]

6490m is too weak, get something with at least 6700m series if you want to play BF3. There's the refurb dv6 with A8, 6750m & bluray for $500 from tigerdirect. You could even swap the lcd out for a 1080p one from ebay.
If you don't mind spending almost $1000, you can get a new dv6 with either AMD A8 (comes with 6750m) or Intel i7 (comes with 6770m) from HP with 1080p with the $500 off $1399 codes that come around every week or two. fatwallet & ebates also have 5% cashback for hp. ebates has a bonus for signing up.
http://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php#forumchoice[]=9&q=6770m&titleonly=1 shows the previous deals.
http://www.xpbargains.com/st_deals.php/HP_coupons.htm shows current codes.

 

[thedarkwolf]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...on=refurbished

If going through amazon will work Circuit City also has the dv6-6135dx for $500. Swapping out the screen is around $150 I believe though.

 

[ther00kie16]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...on=refurbished

If going through amazon will work Circuit City also has the dv6-6135dx for $500. Swapping out the screen is around $150 I believe though.

already mentioned it TD/CC/CUSA are all same. search dv6 full hd on ebay - it's $135.

For <$250 more after cashback, you could get it new with Intel i7, slightly faster graphics, 8gb vs 6gb ram, 1tb vs 640gb hd, guaranteed matte display (ebay seller say they ship glossy/matte depending on their stock although it's possible there is no 1080p glossy) and 2yr warranty.

 

[ShadeJedi]

Wow, I didn't even know it was possible to get an upgraded screen and install it myself! How hard is that to do?

 

[ther00kie16]

Wow, I didn't even know it was possible to get an upgraded screen and install it myself! How hard is that to do?

Not hard. I've taken apart 3 laptops and it's relatively easy. Just need patience and a service manual helps.

The dv6t (Intel) and dv6z (AMD) use same chasis so procedure should be same. One of the posters in the following thread was actually doing it for his dv6z I found out.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/610177-hp-dv6t-display-replacement.html
Actually, I'm not sure the ebay auctions include the cable kit mentioned in the thread. But the thread provides links to get panel ($85 shipped) and cable kit ($58 shipped) so it's only a few $ more.

 

[kyonu]

Not hard. I've taken apart 3 laptops and it's relatively easy. Just need patience and a service manual helps.

I would also not recommend it to anyone not at least Computer hardware savvy or with experience doing so. Those things are not covered under warranty and are pretty fragile if you're not careful.

 

[ShadeJedi]

Well, I can build and operate on and in a desktop. I've been building my own for years, but fooling around inside a laptop seems rather....daunting.

Thanks for the referrals on the HPs with the APU, I was seriously considering picking up a refurbed one back over Black Friday. I was just really not liking the screen resolution on the prebuilt ones.