My brother is really wanting a new laptop for Christmas. He saw the commercial for the HP envy and really wants the envy 14 ($1000). Looking at the specs and everything i feel like there could probably be a better laptop out there for the money. He basically wants a laptop that he can edit music on (plugs a drum machine etc into it) and plays really low graphics games (online pool, etc). So some of the key points he wants is a least 320gb hd (500 or up prefered), excellent sound quality, and webcam with mic (hd webcam would be nice). So anything comprable/better than the envy 14 for less money would be great. Thanks everyone for your input.
looking to buy a new laptop
- Thread starter bbetenia1
- Start date
- Status
MindoverMaster
Golden Master
- Messages
- 12,213
- Location
- /home
I think the Envy would be your best bet. Think Puddle would agree.
Puddle Jumper
Mod Emeritus
- Messages
- 4,292
Yup. I'm hardly a HP fanboy but they hit a home run with the Envy series.
When looking at the price of the Envy 14 you need to keep in mind that it is all aluminum and has a much better screen than most other laptops. The only real alternative I can think of is the new Dell XPS 14 but it isn't much cheaper.
Dell XPS 14 Laptop Details | Dell
Since a good sound system is required the envy beats editions would probably be the best bet. However if your brother really wants good sound output, wouldn't it be better to invest in a separate audio system ? I think you will always get a higher quality output. This would also open up your laptop choice as you are not dependent on the sound quality as much.
that was my thinking too when i was talking to him about it. a really nice headset would be better than anything the laptop could put out. but honestly he is a bit of an idiot and very stubborn when it comes to things like this. so my thinking was to find a better performing laptop that he can simply use a nice headset with (i gave him a really expensive $300 bose headset).
tbh I am a little confused by your requirements. You mention low graphic games, music editing, webcam/mic, and storage space. If you take out the sound system from the equation, you can easily find a laptop that would accomplish these tasks for a fraction of the price of the hp envy. Actually if online pool is the type of game your brother wants to play, I would even go as far as to recommend a NETbook. I recently stumbled upon the eee pc 1215n netbook that has good enough specs to play world of warcraft as well as starcraft 2. It gives you good battery life and its quite a lot cheaper [].
If you actually do want something that matches the envy's performance (which is quite high for such a light machine), I would say look into the macbook pro 15 (it comes with student discount) sony vaio z ( amazing machine but crappy sound system ) alienware m11x (a gamers portable rig ). All of these variants are more expensive than the envy but they come with a better brand name. Envy has a good price tag for what it offers.
If you actually do want something that matches the envy's performance (which is quite high for such a light machine), I would say look into the macbook pro 15 (it comes with student discount) sony vaio z ( amazing machine but crappy sound system ) alienware m11x (a gamers portable rig ). All of these variants are more expensive than the envy but they come with a better brand name. Envy has a good price tag for what it offers.
these are the things he told me he wanted and the sound system was probably the key part of it
MindoverMaster
Golden Master
- Messages
- 12,213
- Location
- /home
You won't get superb sound from any laptop. Very few have their dedicated sound cards. Those that do are well out of your range.
chamaecyparis
Baseband Member
- Messages
- 35
- Location
- Inland Pacific NW
Don't want to be a wet towel, but look at tomshardware review. A year old, but have things changed 180 degrees?
- Status
