I'm thinking about buying a laptop

[mmm240]

I don't really need one, but they're just nice to have. It doesn't have to game well - I'm still old school and rock C&C games. I would prefer a smaller - 14.1 inch model because it's a LAPTOP, sits on my lap, I don't need a big heavy a** puter. One advantage to a bigger one that I see is that some of them have the number pad - I likes the number pad, but don't use it enough to justify buying a laptop just for it.

I was looking at this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...46705

I know it has on board graphics and it's a 15.4 - and no number pad! lol But it's on sale and I like to save. No one has posted reviews though and I don't know anything about it.I'd like 4gigs of ram and a 250gig hard drive, but meh, it's not needed.

What do you think? Any others come to mind?
Modified by mmm240 at 1:26 PM 2/2/2010

[r34 gtr]

Looks great but you are gonna need a lot more HDD space. Get that and spend an extra $64 and get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...48446 because you were just going to wipe the computer to get rid of all the pre-installed s*** anyway. Then you'll be cookin' with gas.

....this couldn't hurt either http://www.newegg.com/Product/...31210

[ProudNissanFreak]

My old HP was 14.1". Nice little computer, had 3 gigs and 250 also I think. Pretty reliable, never had any problems with it.

[PoorManQ45]

You just missed it man.

Best buy had a Gateway i5 15.6" laptop for $500!

http://slickdeals.net/forums/s...32293

[PoorManQ45]

Get one of these:

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store...d=431

Select the 975 processor and 12GB of ram.

[mmm240]

Looks great but you are gonna need a lot more HDD space. Get that and spend an extra $64 and get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...48446 because you were just going to wipe the computer to get rid of all the pre-installed s*** anyway. Then you'll be cookin' with gas.

....this couldn't hurt either http://www.newegg.com/Product/...31210

I don't know if it comes with an operating disc or not, some of these cheaper cpus don't.That's more than I want to spend for an extra gig of ram, I think I'll pass.

Get one of these:

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store...d=431

Select the 975 processor and 12GB of ram.

lol

[PoorManQ45]

I don't know if it comes with an operating disc or not, some of these cheaper cpus don't.

It doesn't matter if they come with a disc. Just go download the retail copy on isohunt or some other torrent site.

Your computer will come with a product key sticker. Use this to activate windows.

[r34 gtr]

^ truth.

And not an extra gig of ram, an extra FIVE gigs. I wouldn't trifle with a mere 4 with a 64 bit OS.

[dusred]

Sony.

[Jesda]

I hate number pads on laptops. It forces the touchpad and keyboard off to the left.

[Red coupe]

Sony.

What one?

And why?

[Jesda]

Theres a lot of variation among Sonys. The Z-series is made in Japan and has everything you could ever need including GPS. The displays are amazing.The standard Vaios made in China are still nice and have much lower failure rates than HP.

If you want something really dependable, get a Lenovo Thinkpad (except for the Thinkpad SL series which is just a cheap Ideapad with Thinkpad styling) or an Asus.

[dusred]

Well, i've had nothing but failure with all 4 of the Dell's I've owned (yeah, why the fu8k did you keep buying them? I know) and HP is in the same boat IMO. One of my friends has owned several Sony's and has been very pleased with the performance and durability.

I'll be getting a Sony next.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've had nothing but good luck with 5+ dells I have/my parents have owned throughout my life.

I once thought "What the hey, I'll give Lenovo a shot". Big mistake. It was a massive POS and I sold it for a loss. Not only that, but the customer service was garbage on it.

[Jesda]

It really has to be seen in person. It has two video cards on board, one for gaming and one for low-power 2D. You can flip a switch to choose either one. The keyboard is arguably as good to type on as Thinkpad keyboards and spaced like Macbooks to keep crumbs from getting underneath. The palm rest is elevated above the keyboard for comfort.

So much win.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Oh yeah! I forgot how awful the keyboard was on the lenovo. They decided they wanted to put the fn key where the ctrl key should be.

I actually like the keyboard on my current dell more than any other laptop I've had. The "delete" key is on the top right corner, which is very easy to find. Everything else is right where it should be.

[Jesda]

Oh yeah! I forgot how awful the keyboard was on the lenovo. They decided they wanted to put the fn key where the ctrl key should be.

I hate that so much. I recently sold an EMachines laptop from 2002 that was configured the same way. I pulled out the Fn key to keep from hitting it by mistake. I taped it to the back of the lid in case I needed it, but otherwise the key could still be pressed with a pen.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Don't worry about the number pad. Just pick up one of these:http://www.logitech.com/index....us,en

[PoorManQ45]

It really has to be seen in person. It has two video cards on board, one for gaming and one for low-power 2D. You can flip a switch to choose either one.

This isnt a sony feature.

That is an intel feature

[MinisterofDOOM]

Unfortunately, the usefulness of that feature is essentially undermined by the utter horribleness of the Intel GPU. Really a horrible little graphics chip. Even mundane computing tasks will expose its rough edges.

Once (IF) Intel gets their crap together and designs a replacement for it that doesn't suck, it'll be a cool feature. But right now it's like the transmission mode switch on my Maxima: a neat button until you realize there's no reason to ever switch it out of performance mode.

[Jesda]

Yeah, and it might as well not be a feature because the low-power GPU is s*** on a stick. It would be more useful if the low-power Intel GPU didn't have so many issues. But even for basic computing it has lots of problems.

Really? What kinds of issues?

[MinisterofDOOM]

EDIT:Nevermind, for some reason I was thinking the Sony Z series were netbooks with GMA 900 series integrated graphics. They're not, so the graphics aren't the problem I thought they were. I confused the Z series with another new Sony product I recently read about...the cases are similar.

Blame my tiredness.

[PoorManQ45]

Unfortunately, the usefulness of that feature is essentially undermined by the utter horribleness of the Intel GPU. Really a horrible little graphics chip. Even mundane computing tasks will expose its rough edges.

If they used the 4500HD with 128MB dedicated video memory then the system would be perfect Combine that with a Nvidia GTX280 and you would have the best of both worlds

People are too quick to dismiss the 4500HD. I have tested it with older games like CSS and TF2 and it works great on medium settings .

[MinisterofDOOM]

If you're talking 4500hd it's not as bad. I was thinking 950. Looking at the specs for the Sony Z series, they do have the 4500, so it's not as bad as I thought. It's the 950 and its ilk that are horrible.

Still, the performance of the X4500hd doesn't compare with even the lowest-end offerings from nVidia or ATI, and those aren't exactly power hogs.

I just don't see the appeal of having one good and one crappy graphics solution. Why ever use the crappy one? Even if it does support all your OS's features (aero) like the 4500HD does...you have a better one you can use instead. It's not like we're talking super-power-savings here on an Atom machine.

[PoorManQ45]

Still, the performance of the X4500hd doesn't compare with even the lowest-end offerings from nVidia or ATI, and those aren't exactly power hogs.

True.

But there are multiple variants of the 4500HD. The one I am referring to has 128MB of dedicated video GDDR. No sharing with system memory. This alleviates alot of the bandwidth issues that plague shared memory systems.

What is really needed for basic use? A 900 series chip will work fine, but there are the issues you brought up. Hopefully the x4500HD with memory will get rid of these issues as, IIRC, it is AERO compatible

I am willing to bet that any manufacturer that uses the dual graphics system chooses to use the x4500 with no dedicated memory though. This will more then likely have the issues with aero and offloading to the processor.

Another point though, with the way processors are heading will it even matter? I mean, Bestbuy just had that Gateway with an i5 for $500. That processor could easily handle the extra load.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Intel's new Arrandale CPUs are excellent laptop chips. Really good. Very scalable, and can be really efficient.

[PoorManQ45]

Check out the iBuyPower laptop that I linked earlier.

I am wondering, with those systems as an option why would anyone ever purchase something like the Dell Precision m6500. The m6500 tops out around $8k and doesn't even offer the i7-975 as an option.

The "workstation" systems come with graphic rendering cards, but the regular video cards have been proven to render perfectly when using proper drivers and configured correctly.

It just doesn't make sense to me anymore

[mmm240]

^ truth.

And not an extra gig of ram, an extra FIVE gigs. I wouldn't trifle with a mere 4 with a 64 bit OS.

It says it's only upgradeable to 4.

Don't worry about the number pad. Just pick up one of these:http://www.logitech.com/index....us,en

That's cool, but it takes away from it being a laptop. I surely won't be setting a number pad on my couch next to me or taking it to the garage while I look up how tos.

You just missed it man.

Best buy had a Gateway i5 15.6" laptop for $500!

http://slickdeals.net/forums/s...32293

That did look like a really good deal. Let me know next time you see a deal like that!

[RCA]

Get one of these:

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store...d=431

Select the 975 processor and 12GB of ram.

First off...Amazing deal on that Gateway item, and second...

I would never expect to see a laptop with that many features. Holly sh*t! That amazed me.

[r34 gtr]

MSI anyone? Customer service is second to none I believe. Plus they rape, and are cheap. Get one off Newegg.

I have a Sony and it does the job. I have had no problems with it, although the touchpad doesn't work (not the computers fault). It is lacking in power, the battery life sucks, and the motherboard has a memory limit at 2.5gig, which is completely inadequate for ANYTHING because it came with Vista. All that aside, it has been very reliable, and that's all I really want in a laptop.

Never buy a Compaq. Ever.