$800-$900

[apsoul]

A co-worker of mine asked me what kind of laptop she should buy. Her budget is under $1000. She said that the last 2 or 3 she bought were $500-$600 and she is getting fed up with "cheap" laptops. Said the only thing she uses it for are games. (I don't thinks she is playing any high-end games at all, but she said its sole purpose is games) She said that she thinks her current screen is 17" and wouldn't want to go any smaller because then she would have to wear her glasses.

I looked around a little bit and came up with this. What do you think? Any other suggestions?

ASUS K70 Series K72JR-X1 Intel Core i5 430M(2.26GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 NoteBook - Retail

 

[acerinpa]

Looks good to me- no rating on this site for the 5xxx series ATI mobile Video cards yet. But I would think they are pretty good. I am also looking for a laptop like this so will let the more knowledgeable people who are on this website comment further and I will tag along.

 

[acerinpa]

Found info on the 5470 - at Notebookcheck.com = they say it is a lower Mid level card- depending on the type of Memory ( DDR5 or DDR3)- some vendors using the DDR3. So, if she is looking to play new demanding games it will only play at lower levels and frame rates. Bummer- figured the 5xxx series would be better.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

What games does she play?
The 5470 isn't going to play high end or enthusiast games at amazing resolutions... And 17" laptops aren't known for having low resolutions...

 

[apsoul]

well she mentioned some online games... flash based and the like, but she didn't mention anything "demanding" so my thoughts were to go with a dx11 gpu just for future compatability. I highly doubt that she is interested in COD L4D or anything like that. She knows absolutely nothing about computers (i think the only problem her current laptop has is malware) but she is convinced that she needs a new one. I just love helping people out who don't want to listen to anything you tell them.

I may look for something different than that being as the gpu uses ddr3(i looked it up after reading your posts), my assumption was that it would use ddr5. thanks for the info.

is there a mobile gpu i should be looking for? should i be concerned with a dx11 card for her or no?

My thoughts on general specs are:
2 core processor (clock speeds probably more important for her application than extra cores)
not concerned about HDD space, if she fills it up, i'll tell her to get a dock and i'll get the HDD out of her current laptop to put into it.
decent GPU just because she is going to want it but i don't think she needs it.
4 gb ram

thoughts and suggestions welcome

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Newegg.com - Gateway NV7901u NoteBook Intel Core i5 430M(2.26GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Laptops / Notebooks

That fits the bill.

 

[acerinpa]

NO problem- glad to actually help someone instead of asking for help. The site I mentioned rates the GPU's beyond my understanding - so technical details can be found there. Seems like the mobile GPU's are a lot harder to figure out than the desktops. Too bad because once you buy they cant really be changed out like the desktop GPU's can be.

 

[apsoul]

the specs match, but i would hate to recommend to someone that they buy a gateway

 

[Druid]

I've found bestbuy to have the best deals when it comes to gaming laptops.

For $900: Asus - Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor - Blue/Black - G60VX-RBBX05

For $1000: Asus - Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor - Black - G72GX-RBBX05

If she is willing to spend up to $1000, I would say go for the 2nd laptop because its cpu is a bit better and has an extra 2 gigs of ram. It will also have that 17" screen she wants. However, I wouldn't personally be looking at a laptop with a screen that big. Isn't the purpose portability? They both have the same gpu, but the first one has a lower resolution screen, so it should perform better in the really high end games. However, if she isn't going to be playing these, the higher resolution screen of the other could be nice.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

the specs match, but i would hate to recommend to someone that they buy a gateway

It has a 1 year warranty, a core i5, a 5650, and a 17" screen.
It'll run whatever she wants to play, with ease.

If she's computer illiterate, she probably thinks Gateway's a good brand anyway.

(Their laptops are mid-tier as far as I know, so it's not like it's complete trash or anything.)

I think it's better than recommending something to her that might not perform up to what she's looking for, especially for that kind of money.