Help with a laptop decision?

[rokor]

A few months ago my HP DV6000 failed on me, and now I'm finally in the market for a new laptop. The problem is, I'm having a little bit of trouble finding someting in my price range. I'll be using it mostly for school and gaming. I'm hoping to be able to play BFBC2 on atleast medium, and BF3 on whatever can give me an acceptable frame rate. I was also hoping to keep my budget around 600, but so far I'm having a lot of trouble doing this. Can anyone help me out?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Under 600, you will not find anything that will play BF3 well.

This, IMO, is about the best you can get.

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5750G-6824 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" Wide XGA 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD-RAM/±R/±RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M

 

[rokor]

Thanks. What if I were to up the budget to around 700-750? Would that give me any better options?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Newegg.com - lenovo IdeaPad Y570 (08622LU) Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M

That NVIDIA GeForce 555M is about the best you can get at that budget. 6GB RAM to boot! Lenovo is really reasonable brand.

 

[rokor]

I've come accross an Asus G51vx being sold locally for 350. Should I go for it? I'm just worried that the 260m wont be able to keep up...

 

[MindoverMaster]

The 260m is a few points, in benchmarks, from the 555m. You should be OK with that.

 

[rokor]

I picked it up today, I couldn't resist . I talked him down to 320 which I think is a **** of a deal. Is there anything I can do to it upgrade wise other than an SSD?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Yea, an SSD is about all you can do. 4GB is enough for current games.