need laptop advice please...

[mbaldi]

ive always built my own computers, although its been about 2 years since my last one. so im not a complete idiot when it comes to computers.

ive been looking at a laptop, but really have no clue what to get. id like to use it primarly for gameing, dark age of camelot. but i will use it occasionaly for work, civil 3d 2007.

what really confuses me is all the wireless and blue tooth stuff. do i need both? id like to have internet access as often as possible, i figure having both options would increase this. what about other ways to access internet? i still want to be able to connect to a wired lan as well.

id like a 17 inch screen with a good resolution.

my budget is about 3k. i've been looking at the dell xps m1710 line (i think thats it) and i think i can get everything i want for slightly more then 3k before tax/shipping. but i'd like to get some more advice before i pull the trigger on a 3k+ item.

thanks in advance.

 

[TheStu]

Bluetooth... bluetooth is an interesting one because so much yet so little uses it.

Its like this, most items that require bluetooth (keyboards, mice) will come with their own adapters. Things like Phones won't but using your phone for internet access is not only slow, but fairly expensive since you have to have a data-plan on most carriers.

 

[mbaldi]

is getting something like a blue tooth card relatively easy in the future?

what about the wireless card? what should i be looking for in terms of specs?

with computers ive built its always been so easy to just add/change something at a lter date. is this an issue with warranties and is it in fact as easy as a pc to just add/remove cards, ram, etc?

 

[alimoalem]

wireless card you can add later...bluetooth i doubt it. wireless you would want range if you're a student or have a large house. if you have a smaller place, then a faster one would be better but generally the ones with longer range are the faster ones at shorter range as well.

about your budget, what on God's earth are you putting into the laptop that comes out to $3000? there is no way you need a laptop that's $3000. list all the tasks you will do with this and we can give you pretty good recommendations on what you need what you don't. the way i see it, more than $2000 is too much.

also, if you need a laptop, isn't portability important? if you're using it as a DTR (DeskTop Replacement), 17" is fine but if you'll be taking it to work every day, i suggest you limit your search to 15.4" or smaller...maybe even 14.1" and smaller.

bluetooth won't help you with internet connectivity; it'll let you connect to bluetooth devices (mouse, keyboard, phone, etc.) as the TheStu said, it'll probably cost you for the phone.

also, are there any special things you're looking for (e.g. webcam, fingerprint reader, microphone, added security, etc.)

 

[Brainonska511]

What do you want to do with your laptop? The following laptops are top quality and much cheaper than $3k. The only downside is the GPUs in the laptops will not be as good as the 7900GTX found in the M1710, but you'll definitely get more battery life than the M1710.

If you want a 15.4" and have money to spend, look at the Asus G1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220098

17" G2P (the only downside is the 7700Go in the G1 is better than the MR X1700 in the G2P):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220099

 

[mbaldi]

i wont be takeing it to work everyday. in fact it will be very rare for me to take it to work. it will mostly sit on my desk at home as a 3rd computer. but 2 or 3 times a year ill use it on trips i go on. occasionaly on weekends if i need to work i might bring it in.

2 gb of ram is kind of a must for civil 3d 2007. and ill probably dual log in daoc so will need it for that as well.

i use a 24" at home so 15" seems so small, even the 17 does to tell you the truth.

im not too worried about battery life as i dont see myself useing it in places i wont have an outlet.

id like the 7900 gtx as this will be used for gameing more then work.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: mbaldi
id like the 7900 gtx as this will be used for gameing more then work.

If gaming is your main thing, then definitely go for the XPS M1710. Nothing else can really compare when it comes to a gaming laptop.

You could always look into Dell's subsidiary, Alienware.

They have the Area-51 m5790 which can be customized with a Mobility X1900 and you could probably get it for a similar price to the XPS M1710, though preliminary searching indicates that the Mobility X1900 is still not as good as the 7900GTX Go.

 

[Wolfpup]

I'm in a similar situation, and pretty much deciding between Dell's e1705 and m1710, as I really don't see anything else that good for comparable prices.

I *AM* planning on taking this to work daily (and using it as my main system there), but I can't see a 17" notebook being a challenge for me to take with me

That Asus model listed seems like a rip off to me, as the e1705 is around that price, and has a presumably much more powerful Geforce 7900GS.

I think Toshiba USED to have some reasonably priced notebooks with a 7900GTX, but they must have been a small production run.

EDIT: Also, regarding wireless, it's pretty much impossible to buy a notebook without 802.11G wireless (the m1710 comes standard with A/B/G wireless).

I've heard of issues (probably driver issues) with the bluetooth card Dell sells, which is probably why they don't configure it standard anymore. I'm sure you can buy a separate bluetooth device (maybe USB or something) but I haven't really looked into it.

Personally I don't have a use for Bluetooth. My Palm supports it, some cell phones, but I just sync over USB, and probably would even if I had Bluetooth on a computer.

 

[alimoalem]

what about this Asus? it's $500 cheaper than the other one posted in the thread. reasons: 40GB smaller HDD (120GB vs 160GB) and has 1gb instead of 2gb.

there's a 14" asus also that has the same specs as the asus i linked above except it comes with a 7700 Go instead of a MR X1700. it costs $300 more though ($1600)