What are your recommendations?

[EKinNYC]

Hey everyone. Im new here, and looking for advice. I have an Inspiron 8200 that i bought back in Feb 2003. This thing is pretty powerful (after a couple of upgrades, of course) - it has a 2.4GhZ P4, 1GB ram, 60GB 7200 RPM HD, so on so forth. My issue is the video card. It is a 64MB Nvidia GF4 440MX - pretty weak by today's standards. With this dinosaur in my laptop, i cant play any of the latest games. So i thought about selling it, and getting a new laptop with a powerful vid card. So i am here asking for advice. I use my laptop as a desktop replacement, so i dont want a weak one. I do want something that is light enough to carry, but that is not my number 1 priority. I want a laptop to at least match what i have now, or better yet to exceed it. I want something in the area of $1700-$2000. The main features are memory upgradeability, hard drive upgradeability (as i plan to keep the 7200 rpm drive), and also a very good vid card. What are your recommendations? Thank you much, in advance.

 

[Belteshazzar]

I believe the best way is to do some research, pick the ones you like and come back here and ask those who own the notebooks to give their input.

 

[EKinNYC]

Well, I dont think i have come across a higher level of customization than Dell (except alienware, but its very pricey), however the dell laptop is very very bulky and thick because of the cooling power needed to cool it (9100/XPS series). also, price is an issue, because i dont want to spend alot on it. i am planning to sell my current 8200 dell, but i dont know how much i can expect to get for it on ebay. basically, i want the proceeds from that sale to cover the new laptop and ill cover the difference if any. help me out guys...

 

[Belteshazzar]

Well the emachine notebooks are pretty nice

 

[brokejumper]

If you are considering emachines you should be aware of a possible hinge crack problem that has been reported by many people. Check out the thread on emachines in this forum. On notebookreview.com someone has posted several pics of the cracks which look pretty nasty. They may, or may not, be just cosmetic, but pretty bad imo for a $1500 machine.