someone recommend a laptop for me!

[nageov3t]

so, I think my laptop is finally kicking the bucket... it's crashed 3 times tonight already and I've got no interest in spending any money on rebuilding it (it's about 6 years old and barely even met my needs when I bought it in the first place).

my needs:

-gaming... fps's and world of warcraft... this'll probably push me into the portal desktop market, but I'd like something that can handle games comparably to my desktop when I'm on the road (that's my main beef with my current/dying laptop... I can kinda sorta play WoW, but it's slow as hell even with every setting set down to the minimum and I can't even tough more graphic-heavy games.

-ideally sub-$3K, though I won't die if I go a little over

-preferably from a seller where I can pay it off with no interest over a couple months (I need the laptop asap for work/travel, but money's tight now, since I've got a 2.5K bill coming any day now that will need to be paid in full as soon as it gets to me, but should only be tight for a couple months)... my laptop makes my work a lot easier, but not so easy that work is going to foot the bill

size/weight aren't huge concerns. I'm a strong guy and the idea of carrying around a 10+ pound laptop doesn't really phase me.

 

[Commodus]

Sounds like you might want a Dell XPS M1530 or something in that ballpark -- I'd be leery of getting a full-on 17-inch desktop replacement, since those often have very short battery life (1.5 hours or less, usually) regardless of how much you can carry.

Gateway did just launch its P-170XL FX Edition notebook if you want a beefy system, however. It has a GeForce 8800M GTS even on the base model and should be about as fast as a decent gaming desktop is today.

 

[Rottie]

you can look for any brand name notebook but always look for best graphic such as 8800 series from nVida

 

[heymrdj]

The HP HDX series

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: heymrdj
The HP HDX series

gotta look more into that; I think I get a corporate discount with HP... we've got several thousand of their servers running in our data centers. lol.

is there a significant difference between the 8700 and 8800 to justify the price bump? I was just taking a quick look around last night, and the sager's caught my eye (though I haven't seen a place where I can finance it, so that option may be out) and it seemed like there was a 400~ price difference between the two. (of course, it was also 4 am, so who knows maybe I was looking at something completely different)

and what's the comparable ATI mobile card?

edit: looks like I get ~$150 off the HDX notebook with my corporate discount, I just don't know if the ati card in there sucks or not

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Here's a good indicator of mobile GPU performance.

Personally If I had that much money to spend, I'd get something better than a 2600XT if gaming was important to me. Check out the Dell XPS line, specifically the M1710 and 1730 series. Commodus' recomendation of the P-170 FX series looks sick as well, if your willing to wait for it's release. I've heard good things about Sager too, so you have many options for a nice gaming laptop with your budget.

 

[tallman45]

Asus F3Sv-X4 now a deal at the egg

 

[nageov3t]

looks like the HDX is going to start shipping with an 8800GT at some point this month for the same price that the 2600XT is shipping with now, so I might try and hold off for a couple weeks.

it was announced at CES, but no release date was mentioned other than "later in the month."

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: loki8481
I've got no interest in spending any money on rebuilding it (it's about 6 years old and barely even met my needs when I bought it in the first place...

My advice...

Don't make the same mistake twice! That's what chumps do - look for the biggest bargain...

Buy yourself a GOOD lappy this time!

The sweet spot seems to be $700-$1400 - take your pick...

And, don't buy anything over a month or two old - lappys are progressing like wildfire!

Everything else in computerdom has stagnated, relative to notebooks - it's the second coming!

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: loki8481
(I)t was announced at CES, but no release date was mentioned other than "later in the month."

There you go - you got the idea!

That's where you wanna be - gazing into the future...

Very good!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Commodus
Gateway did just launch its P-170XL FX Edition notebook if you want a beefy system, however. It has a GeForce 8800M GTS even on the base model and should be about as fast as a decent gaming desktop is today.

In stock at BestBuy

Core 2 Duo
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVDRW
17" widescreen
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800 GTS 512MB

$1,349.99

Originally posted by: loki8481
is there a significant difference between the 8700 and 8800 to justify the price bump?

Yes, IIRC the 8700 is an 8600 class GPU with enhancements. The 8800 is a totally higher end GPU.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Zap
In stock at BestBuy

Core 2 Duo
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVDRW
17" widescreen
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800 GTS 512MB

$1,349.99

Bah! Bottom fishing again!

Nothing personal, but...

If it doesn't have an Intel Penryn processor and Blu-ray, start looking elsewhere...

Best Buy is soooo yesteryear!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
If it doesn't have an Intel Penryn processor and Blu-ray, start looking elsewhere...

Where can you get a notebook with those specs for $1350? I haven't seen 45nm notebook CPUs for sale yet, but Blu-ray is available... for a price, and that price isn't a $1350 notebook with 8800 series GPU. HOWEVER, Blu-ray is available in that notebook according to Gateway, but for a higher price of course.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Zap
Where can you get a notebook with those specs for $1350? I haven't seen 45nm notebook CPUs for sale yet...

Exactly!

Look, this guy is gonna get a $399 lappy with Vista Home Basic and 512 MB RAM - you know it and so do I.

Let him dream a little, okay?

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: Zap
Where can you get a notebook with those specs for $1350? I haven't seen 45nm notebook CPUs for sale yet...

Exactly!

Look, this guy is gonna get a $399 lappy with Vista Home Basic and 512 MB RAM - you know it and so do I.

Let him dream a little, okay?

after reading the entire 11 page thread on notebookreviews.com about that, I think I'm going to go to BestBuy tomorrow and take a look at the gateway (though I might drive out and buy it near my parents house, since it's a 6% sales tax difference and I'm going out there next week anyways).

I really sold myself on the idea of a 20" notebook, but 17's not so bad

 

[VinDSL]

I don't know if you care about stuff like this, but Acer bought Gateway and Packard Bell a while back.

They also tried to buy eMachines, but their offer was rejected, soooo...

Put another way, Gateway isn't the company it used to be!

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

I don't know if you care about stuff like this, but Acer bought Gateway and Packard Bell a while back.

They also tried to buy eMachines, but their offer was rejected, soooo...

Put another way, Gateway isn't the company it used to be!

that's a good thing, right? :laugh:

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Commodus
Gateway did just launch its P-170XL FX Edition notebook if you want a beefy system, however. It has a GeForce 8800M GTS even on the base model and should be about as fast as a decent gaming desktop is today.

In stock at BestBuy

Core 2 Duo
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVDRW
17" widescreen
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800 GTS 512MB

$1,349.99

my only gripe with it is that the 17" screen comes in 1280x800, which is low for a 17" laptop. if that is fine with loki8481, then perfect. otherwise, see what comes up at the end of the month.

according to Rockinacoustic's link, the 8800M GTS/GTX are much faster than the 8600/8700 gpus. if you'll be keeping your laptop anywhere near as long as your dieing one and plan to game with it for the duration of its life, definitely get a laptop with an 880M GTS or GTX in it.

 

[heymrdj]

My vote is still the HDX for what you want if you can stand the weight. Way better than the XPS2010. I love the thing. I don't own one personally, but a friend does (rich ass ) and it's one hell of a machine compared to the Dell XPS. Heck the XPS is limited to the C2D T7500, which is what my HP9550t here uses, if i'm going up 3in' in size, i want the power to match. Not 15" guts in a 21" chassis.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Put another way, Gateway isn't the company it used to be!

Originally posted by: loki8481
that's a good thing, right? :laugh:

Bwahahaha! Good point!!!

 

[VinDSL]

LoL!

Some things never change...


SOURCE

Originally posted by: nutxo
Be warned. I bough a gateway laptop last sunday that had an issue. Tech support is almost non existent. Fortunately I was able to fix the issue myself.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
my only gripe with it is that the 17" screen comes in 1280x800, which is low for a 17" laptop. if that is fine with loki8481, then perfect. otherwise, see what comes up at the end of the month...

Um...

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic

Originally posted by: Kaido
17" WXGA+ TFT-LCD widescreen display with Ultrabright technology and 1280 x 800 resolution :Q

It's a typo on BB's behalf, it's really 1440x900. For anyone else interested there's a thread of this product in Notebooks: See Here

REAL LINKAGE

The most interesting model in the series is Gateway's entry-level notebook, the Gateway P-6831FX. It is priced at $1350 and comes with a 17-inch LCD display to support 1440x900 WXGA+ resolution, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.66GHz, 2MB shared L2 cache), 3GB of RAM, a 250GB 5,400 RPM hard drive and a multi-format dual-layer DVD-R/RW/DVD-RAM drive.

Although its technical specifications are not that impressive, the $1350 price tag qualifies it as "best buy", given the fact that it is a 3 GB, 17-inched notebook, still. It is true that the notebook prices are continually dropping as the technology is becoming mainstream, but the Gateway price policy seems to be backed up by {COUGH} mother-company Acer to protect its North American market {/COUGH}.

Bottom fishing at it's best?!?!?!? You be the judge...

 

[heymrdj]

I could never buy a notebook that weak. I guess there's the email browsing surfers out there that like 17" of goodness? But honestly if you need the platter space of a 17" screen, i think you're needing power to match for hefty applications to run on that screen. Now honestly I've tried every C2D up to the T7800. I would never go below the T7200 2Ghz proc, and I love my T7500 2.2Ghz proc. Therefore as nice of a deal as it is with it's card and 3GB of RAM, I'll stick with a book that has at least 2GHz of proc power, 3GB of RAM (4 preferred), and dual HD bays.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: heymrdj
I could never buy a notebook that weak. I guess there's the email browsing surfers out there that like 17" of goodness? But honestly if you need the platter space of a 17" screen, i think you're needing power to match for hefty applications to run on that screen. Now honestly I've tried every C2D up to the T7800. I would never go below the T7200 2Ghz proc, and I love my T7500 2.2Ghz proc. Therefore as nice of a deal as it is with it's card and 3GB of RAM, I'll stick with a book that has at least 2GHz of proc power, 3GB of RAM (4 preferred), and dual HD bays.

the CPU is the one thing that still has me on the fence, but apparently it's easily upgradeable once the penryn's start shipping.

 

[heymrdj]

Even my HP9550 here is *supposed* to be penryn upgradable since it uses the same P965Express and ICH8 chipsets.