Laptop Recommendations

[Ventriac]

I'm not very familiar in this field so I am seeking advice. I'm going to be needing a Laptop for school, however; I would also like it to run anything I throw at it, not crysis, because I hate that game, but age of conan or warhammer online is not out of the question. I want it to be fast and not take a decade to load windows, or Microsoft Office, Limit is ~$1200, that's approx. willing to spend more or less depending on the performance increase. Thanks

Here are some nice laptops i've found, tell me if they're worth it and which is the better one for the money

O1- Newegg.com - ASUS M50 Series M50Vm-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8400(2.26GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 4GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS - Laptops / Notebooks
O2- Newegg.com - ASUS M50 Series M50Vm-B1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9400(2.53GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA+ 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS - Laptops / Notebooks
O3- Newegg.com - ASUS M70 Series M70Vm-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9400(2.53GHz) 17.0" Wide UXGA 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS - Laptops / Notebooks

Was kind of swinging for O2, because the only difference between the 2 is the screen size it appears, and it's about 200 bucks cheaper. too bad they're 32-bit OS's

 

[arcticap]

I just went through this with my son who's a freshman. To make a long story short, I finally convinced him that a more powerful and dependable desktop is way more preferable than a more expensive and fragile laptop that only offers less performance and greater headaches.
He ended up buying a great HP desktop with a Q6700, tons of memory, a video card and TV tuner for under $1000. He supplemented it with the cheapest Compaq laptop for well under $500 on clearance to add some convenience over the next 4 years should he need it.
Now that he's all set up at school, he's really happy with the desktop's performance and he also has a back up system in case he really needs one.
My older son who's a senior has had the same desktop going into his 4th year and has never had a laptop or wanted one, since they really aren't all that powerful for the money and don't provide the same degree of long term dependability.
When I was at the school bookstore last week, I talked to a student that bought a $1500 Toshiba that had a keyboard key break off after only a week of owning it and he was asking about having it repaired. The technician suggested to send it back for a full refund and then buy another laptop from the school store so he would be eligible for a backup laptop in case he needed a repair on it in the future.
My son's cheap Compaq appears to be even more durable than a Toshiba unit costing over 3 times more, and even if it wasn't, he has a beautiful performing desktop with a larger LCD monitor to rely on for years to come.
So the desktop unit is primary and the laptop unit is only supplemental.
Good luck with whatever you do decide to purchase.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

This gateway has a 8800gts 521mb which pretty much the most powerful gpu you can get in a laptop.

Gateway - Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - P-6860FX

 

[Ventriac]

Heh arctic i'm a gamer I will have a desktop w/ microsoft office n stuff, but I also work security which means I have A LOT of sit down and do nothing time and the sites I work on has internet available, so.. I was going to use it in that situation as well
So puddle you recommend getting an 8800 GPU in a laptop, i noticed that the laptop is only a 1.83 dual core, Kinda slow for gaming isn't it?

 

[KSoD]

1.83 Dual Core isnt that bad. A quad would be better. But my Inspiron 1501 has a dual core AMD in there and it goes as fast if not faster than my P4 in my desktop with 3GB of RAM with certain tasks.

 

[Ventriac]

Do they make quadcore laptops in that price range? **~1500 Or less**

 

[KSoD]

I think so but the rest of the specs may not be that great. Might only get a GB of RAM or 2GB. I dont think you would get 4GB of RAM with a quad for less than $1500.

After looking on NewEgg it doesnt seem like they have any quads. I thought that there was some quad laptops out there.

 

[arcticap]

Heh arctic i'm a gamer I will have a desktop w/ microsoft office n stuff, but I also work security which means I have A LOT of sit down and do nothing time and the sites I work on has internet available, so.. I was going to use it in that situation as well

I'm really sorry. I thought that you were a student.
Then too bad you couldn't carry an ultra small & slim desktop & monitor along with you in a briefcase and set it up at your desk while on the job. :laughing:

 

[Ventriac]

Oh I am a student which is another use I will get out of it which kinda makes it worth it to be able to use it not only at work, but at school as well, school ain't cheap gotta work full time to pay for it. Luckily I only have to pay for Freshman/Junior year, than daddy pays for sophomore/Senior

 

[Puddle Jumper]

This gateway is cheaper than the one I posted before and has a 2.26ghz dual core.

Gateway - Laptop with Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology - P-7811FX