Laptop shopping
 

Alright, so my Vaio will no longer let the power cord stay attached so I'm likely in the market for another laptop rather than continuing to use a bent paperclip and two rubber bands to hold it in place.

I use the laptop mainly for Word, internet, and some entertainment. However, I'm gearing up for Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO game next year. So, would something like this, direct from Toshiba, have the power I need and to last a couple years?

Satellite L550-ST2744
w/ these customizations: 17.3" widescreen, 8 gb ram, Intel core i5-520m processor 2.40 GHz (2.93 GHz w/ turboboost, 3mb L3 cache, 1066 MHz DDR3), 500 gb hard drive, and blu-ray disc RE, Intel integrated graphics (unfortunately I can't customize this)

Price comes to about $1200, which I don't think is too bad.

I've looked at Best Buy, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony. Is there anywhere else I should look at building a laptop? Thanks in advance.

I would not spend 1200 dollars on a laptop that doesn't even have dedicated graphics.

Also, 8 GB of RAM is way overkill. Settle for 6 or even 4 GB if possible.

I'd grab something that's at least got a Class 3 (midrange) video card off of this list, especially if you want to play a game that isn't even out yet.

Notebookcheck: Comparison of Graphic Cards

Edit: Notice that the mobile cards end with 'M'

Better deal (around 1200 with a processor upgrade). xoticpc is a totally legit place to order from.

ASUS K72JR-A1

16" + Core i7 Quad + ATI 5730 < 1100

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-n61jqa1-...wconfigure=yes

The deals you can get nowadays are very good. Of course, I splurged on a Sony Vaio Z...but I got what I paid for.

Laptop Reviews - Notebook Reviews and Netbook Computer News & Reviews

I have used this site when buying my last two laptops. Very, very helpful site...the forums especially so.

17.3 is barely portable IMO. I love the HP I have, but if I had it to do over again I would get a 15.

Dola
Anyone know anyplace that sells quality laptop carts? Everything I see is a cheap pile of shit around here. I'm not putting my 1000 laptop on a 30 dollar piece of junk. Ideally something with and adjustable arm for height, wheels, etc. Last thing I want to have happen is that I go out to the store and the cats like knock it off my table.

For the record, I owned, briefly, a HP Envy 15. It's a solid device...i7 + 1080p for an affordable price (with coupons that rotate quite a bit. Unfortunately, the -$450 coupon just ended). It has an innovative battery slice that covers the whole bottom of the laptop (also acting as a heat insulator away from your body). Unfortunately, it turns a 1" thick, 5-lb laptop until something heavier (the slice is about 2-3 lbs). If it weren't for the 13" Vaio Z, I would still have it.

Also, you may run into some issues with Intel supply at the moment. There is a massive shortage of the i7 620M chip (Sony stopped offering it a couple of days ago as a CTO option). Rumor has it the i5 chips are starting to suffer the same fate. I don't know the validity of those rumors...only that they're out there.

Thanks for the advice thus far, definitely looking at scaling back on the processor a bit and focusing a bit more on graphics. Thanks a ton!

Guys, thanks for all your advice, SovereignStar in particular as I went on a graphics card hunt (looks like this is a "Class 2" so I should be good there). I think I ended up doing okay, thanks to a friend I've got that works there. Here's what I ended up with:

Toshiba Satellite A500-ST6647
Intel Core i7-720QM w/ 1.6 GHz (2.8 GHz w/ Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 1333MHz DDR3)
Windows 7 64-bit
6 GB DDR 1066MHz SDRAM
320GB HDD (7200rpm)
NVidia GeForce GT 330M w/ 1 GB GDDR3 discrete graphics
Blu-Ray Disc ROM
and some other crap they threw in like a backlit keyboard.

I ended up paying $1168.

I recently got a Toshiba, although a much lower end one because I wasn't concerned about gaming, and I've been very happy with it. Recently the Toshiba has really gotten good reviews - hope you're happy with that one!

Thanks Wade! I'm cautiously optimistic.

pics plz k thx

Yeah, my wife has made fun of me for several days now but it looks slightly better than when I used electrical and duct tape.

In case anyone is looking for an almost new laptop, I'm selling my days old Lenovo Thinkpad T410. PM me if interested.

I am selling the brand new Lenovo Thinkpad T410 (model 2518C2U) that I just received as a graduation gift from my cousin because I already own a Macbook and I don't need both.

The Thinkpad is brand new. I turned it on and poked around for a bit but that's all. This Thinkpad is less than a week old and comes with a three year warranty from Lenovo.


Here are the specs:

Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz processor
2 GB RAM
250 GB HD (221 GB available after OS install)
Integrated Intel graphics card
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit Installed
Webcam
Fingerprint scanner for biometric login
Under warranty until April 22, 2013