New laptop... hung up on choices

[kadec]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop for school [just entered 2nd semester 1st year at uni] and I'm hung up between choices from HP and Gateway. I priced a Toshiba system as well, but it ended up falling short of the HP's specs and for the same price tag essentially, so that's out. The laptop I have now is 17" and, despite the weight and bulk, I've fallen in love with it, especially having a numpad on the keyboard, so that's basically a necessity on any system I look at.

However, I've priced 2 systems, one from HP and one from Gateway, that are fairly comparable but I'm having trouble making the final decision. Specs are listed below; if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. 2 grand is right around my price range, and I'm looking for something that will handle current games with ease - I play World of Warcraft fairly often, as well as games on the HL2 engine and newer.

HP system: [$2371.99 - $150 instant savings]

Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz/4MB L2Cache)
17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050)
512MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
2048MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
200GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (100GB x 2)

Gateway system: [$2020.98]

Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
Intel® Core? 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00 GHz, 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
17" Ultrabright WSXGA+ TFT Active Matrix (1680 x 1050 max. resolution)
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS Graphics w/ 256MB DDR Video Memory
2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
100GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive

Thoughts? Comments?

It basically comes down to video between those two... 512mb 7600 or a 256mb 7900GS. If I went with the HP, I'd probably be overclocking the 7600 slightly, but how much of a hit does it take compared to the 7900GS even when OC'ed?

 

[alimoalem]

*thought i posted here but my response went to another thread...sorry for the late edit!*

this is a laptop, not a rig. don't expect any overclocks, especially out of the video card.

i personally prefer HP over gateway as i know no one with a gateway and don't hear much about their laptops.

the gateway is better spec'd, however, for your needs. i'm not sure on the numbers but i would guess the 7900GS is at least 30% faster than the 7600. if you're going to be spending this much i would go with a dell XPS M1710 or go with a dell inspiron e1705 for a couple hundred cheaper. neither come with a number pad but this is a laptop, not a desktop.

for that reason, i would also recommend going with a 14.1 or 15.4" asus laptop. high quality, much lighter, and better gaming than the HP (comes with a X1700 or 7700Go).

check this link out to see some of the asus laptops. asus is real good with their gaming laptops so i'm sure these would suit you fine. if you need a number pad, you can get a usb one. it may be a "hassle" for you but you'll be saving a few hundred dollars and you'll know you're getting a good product

 

[Imyourzero]

I agree. The 7900GS would be much more adept at handling current and future games, but I don't think I'd go with the Gateway. I like HP laptops, but sadly they aren't available with very high-end video cards in them so I would second the recommendation for Dell or Asus. The best video card you can get in a 15" Dell is the X1400 (vs the X1700 & GeForce Go 7700 from Asus) so if I were going with that size laptop I'd probably lean toward Asus. If you're set on a 17" model though, you should be able to configure a Dell E1705 with a 7900GS that will fit in that budget, especially if you look around for Dell coupons.

Furthermore, there is a huge thread on Notebook Forums where people were flashing the 7900GS with a GTX BIOS and overclocking them like crazy. Good stuff...