Thoughtful
Nom Nom Nommin' on Heaven's door
Background:
I'm a PC gamer, in the market for a good yet thrifty laptop, We're talking roughly $1000-$1200 range. The name of the game, in my mind, is staying power. I want to play games on the thing 2-3 years from now (newer games on lower settings obviously). I also want to use the laptop as my College Computer. I haven't looked at laptops seriously for a few years now, so I figured I'd turn to you guys, I know we've got to have a few laptop aficionados here.
Current setup:
Currently I'm looking at an Alienware M11x, bought straight from Dell. I'm a bit wary, I like my Dell, but I've heard some grumbling about them in the recent past.
Specs:
I've heard some good things about Asus recently, but most of their models seem to be just above what I'm willing to spend, though I confess my search was a bit tougher, so I may have overlooked something.
I'm not a big fan of gateways, I've seen a lot of them quit just after the warranty wore out.
HP has been pretty good to my family members.The Envy 14 seems a good all around computer, a comparable price, more screen space, a CD drive (pro?), and a comparable weight. It's not as likely to turn heads as the Alienware, but that can be a good thing too. Processor is not as powerful; though I think HP offers better ones at a higher price.
Amazon Stats
So yeah, that's what I've looked at so far. Thoughts? recommendations?
I'm a PC gamer, in the market for a good yet thrifty laptop, We're talking roughly $1000-$1200 range. The name of the game, in my mind, is staying power. I want to play games on the thing 2-3 years from now (newer games on lower settings obviously). I also want to use the laptop as my College Computer. I haven't looked at laptops seriously for a few years now, so I figured I'd turn to you guys, I know we've got to have a few laptop aficionados here.
Current setup:
I currently have a Dell Inspiron e1505 laptop (core duo processor) that's about 4 years old. These days I play most of my games on the desktop my uncle owns, I'm not sure of it's specs, cons and pros are for the laptop:
Cons: It was good for awhile, but it's integrated graphics card is really worthless these days, and I've got so many attachments running to it that's practically a desktop. External hardrive, external speakers, Cooling pad, external mouse, you get the picture.
Also, once you get it unplugged from everything, it's a bulky brick of a computer.
Pros: The damn thing is still running after all these years, even though I've spilled drinks on it twice, and dropped it from table height a time or two. I'm rough on my lappy. it's also made me a big fan of Dells.
Cons: It was good for awhile, but it's integrated graphics card is really worthless these days, and I've got so many attachments running to it that's practically a desktop. External hardrive, external speakers, Cooling pad, external mouse, you get the picture.
Also, once you get it unplugged from everything, it's a bulky brick of a computer.
Pros: The damn thing is still running after all these years, even though I've spilled drinks on it twice, and dropped it from table height a time or two. I'm rough on my lappy. it's also made me a big fan of Dells.
Specs:
Processor:
Intel® Core™ i5 520UM (3M Cache, 1.066 GHZ with 1.866 GHz Max Turbo Frequency) - Overclockable
Operating System:
Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Video Card:
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M 1GBNIV
LCD:
11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
Memory:
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 800MHz 4GB
Hard Drive:
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM 500GB72
$1,000.00
I've looked at their service plans, and their 2 year "Advanced" Plan sounds tempting (coverage on accidental hardware damage, spills, drops, LCD, etc). On the other hand, I'm very skeptical of any plan that reserves "North American Telephone techs" for their "Premium" service. As the 2 year plan adds $200, I doubt I'll go for it, but I figured I'd include the thought.
I'm also aware of the lack of a CD drive, and I'm not worried about it. Steam has been good to me.
I could also upgrade to an Intel Core-I7 for an additional $165, but I'm not sure if it's worth the price.
Intel® Core™ i5 520UM (3M Cache, 1.066 GHZ with 1.866 GHz Max Turbo Frequency) - Overclockable
Operating System:
Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Video Card:
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M 1GBNIV
LCD:
11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
Memory:
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 800MHz 4GB
Hard Drive:
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM 500GB72
$1,000.00
I've looked at their service plans, and their 2 year "Advanced" Plan sounds tempting (coverage on accidental hardware damage, spills, drops, LCD, etc). On the other hand, I'm very skeptical of any plan that reserves "North American Telephone techs" for their "Premium" service. As the 2 year plan adds $200, I doubt I'll go for it, but I figured I'd include the thought.
I'm also aware of the lack of a CD drive, and I'm not worried about it. Steam has been good to me.
I could also upgrade to an Intel Core-I7 for an additional $165, but I'm not sure if it's worth the price.
I've heard some good things about Asus recently, but most of their models seem to be just above what I'm willing to spend, though I confess my search was a bit tougher, so I may have overlooked something.
I'm not a big fan of gateways, I've seen a lot of them quit just after the warranty wore out.
HP has been pretty good to my family members.The Envy 14 seems a good all around computer, a comparable price, more screen space, a CD drive (pro?), and a comparable weight. It's not as likely to turn heads as the Alienware, but that can be a good thing too. Processor is not as powerful; though I think HP offers better ones at a higher price.
Amazon Stats
So yeah, that's what I've looked at so far. Thoughts? recommendations?
