EDIT: Just seen this thread http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2274447 right below mine - sorry. Will check that out first.
Howdy folks,
I'm in the market for a new laptop and am looking for laptop chooser website, reviews and adverts. However I have come across a slight problem.
First I would like to detail my scenario. I have just moved to a new country and looked to bring my desktop with me. Unfortunately shipping and customs charges make this uneconomical compared with buying a new laptop now I am here. So, 1st of all I am looking to replace a desktop machine which is a few years old (core2duo E8400 with AMD 4870 GFX, 256GB agility3). I would like comparable performance and the ability to play games like tropico4, civ5, falloutNV (nothing hugely stressful or new).
Secondly the laptop will go into work and spend a large portion of its time hooked to a projector, so I would like a VGA port. I also brought with me a 500GB external drive, so would like esata too. There are also other extras I know I would like, but won't list here.
Third, at work it will live plugged into the mains, at home it will replace a desktop plugged into the mains. Weight and battery life aren't a huge consideration for me.
Fourth and finally, I don't care about brand, looks, price (within reason) etc as long as it generally meets the above points.
The problem I have found (and hope I am not alone in encountering) is that review sites and the laptop manufactures themselves seem to love putting their laptops into arbitrary categories e.g. gaming laptop, work laptop, entertainment laptop. I want it to do all of these to a certain extent. Laptop review websites etc seem to provide searches that start by narrowing down brand, then screen size, matt/gloss etc. I don't want to start by cutting out brands that might do the job with the first tickbox.
So, how do you knowledgeable folks here go about choosing laptops? Do you know any 'meta-review' sites that will let you put in the features you want, then search all laptops to give a list I could research further? Can anybody suggest a laptop that fits the ideas above?
Basically I am lost and confused, so any help is gratefully received.
Nathan
Howdy folks,
I'm in the market for a new laptop and am looking for laptop chooser website, reviews and adverts. However I have come across a slight problem.
First I would like to detail my scenario. I have just moved to a new country and looked to bring my desktop with me. Unfortunately shipping and customs charges make this uneconomical compared with buying a new laptop now I am here. So, 1st of all I am looking to replace a desktop machine which is a few years old (core2duo E8400 with AMD 4870 GFX, 256GB agility3). I would like comparable performance and the ability to play games like tropico4, civ5, falloutNV (nothing hugely stressful or new).
Secondly the laptop will go into work and spend a large portion of its time hooked to a projector, so I would like a VGA port. I also brought with me a 500GB external drive, so would like esata too. There are also other extras I know I would like, but won't list here.
Third, at work it will live plugged into the mains, at home it will replace a desktop plugged into the mains. Weight and battery life aren't a huge consideration for me.
Fourth and finally, I don't care about brand, looks, price (within reason) etc as long as it generally meets the above points.
The problem I have found (and hope I am not alone in encountering) is that review sites and the laptop manufactures themselves seem to love putting their laptops into arbitrary categories e.g. gaming laptop, work laptop, entertainment laptop. I want it to do all of these to a certain extent. Laptop review websites etc seem to provide searches that start by narrowing down brand, then screen size, matt/gloss etc. I don't want to start by cutting out brands that might do the job with the first tickbox.
So, how do you knowledgeable folks here go about choosing laptops? Do you know any 'meta-review' sites that will let you put in the features you want, then search all laptops to give a list I could research further? Can anybody suggest a laptop that fits the ideas above?
Basically I am lost and confused, so any help is gratefully received.
Nathan
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