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Looking to buy a new laptop- 1000 max budget
TheMan
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, I'm a total noob when it comes to buying laptops (never regularly used one until my 9 year old main comp started breaking down a couple of months ago) so I'm coming to you guys for advice. The laptop will be used mainly for internet browsing and writing reports. However, my wife does want to do some video editing, and I'm into games so the laptop will need to be fairly beefed up.
Any models/brands that I should strongly consider buying or avoiding?
Assuming I treat it well, how long can I reasonably expect a laptop to last?
What kind of warranty should I get?
Remember, my budget is only 1000 dollars. Is that too little for a decent gaming laptop?
As an aside, Windows 7 is coming out next month, so I'd like to wait until then before I buy the laptop.
Thanks for the help!
Any models/brands that I should strongly consider buying or avoiding?
Assuming I treat it well, how long can I reasonably expect a laptop to last?
What kind of warranty should I get?
Remember, my budget is only 1000 dollars. Is that too little for a decent gaming laptop?
As an aside, Windows 7 is coming out next month, so I'd like to wait until then before I buy the laptop.
Thanks for the help!
TheMan on
0
Posts
You probably want to post this in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern. You'd be more likely to find the help you need there. There's even a computer building thread, which seems to be right up your alley.
That said, I know fuck-all about laptops, so I'm no help at all past that.
I will say one thing though. Unless portability is a must for the computer, you'd be much better off going with a desktop like you had, as it will get you more bang for your buck, and allow for more upgrading capabilities in the future if that's your thing.
But yeah, check out that computer building thread in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern. They'll have the answers you're looking for. Also, maybe specify how "beefed up" you are needing this computer. Give game/application examples, so they have something to work with.
If you don't want to follow this sage advice you'll need this list of mobile GPUs to makes sense of all your options.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Are you being sarcastic here? I'm honestly curious and not trying to start anything.
The only reason I think the OP would be better served with a Netbook and a desktop is because they mentioned surfing the web and writing papers as the primary uses for the laptop. Although it took me a couple of weeks, I quickly adjusted to using a Netbook and have been using it for everything from 15 page term papers to my master's thesis. I also found my eeepc on sale for $250, which was a great deal.
The hardware on desktops is only going to get cheaper as time goes on, and video editing and gaming will be fine on a PC in the 500-700 range.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
No my post was serious.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Ah, cool. I'm so used to seeing "sage advice" as sarcasm.
You make it sound like gaming will not be the primary focus here in which case I would recommend something that's lightweight and has good battery life. A laptop built for gaming will most likely have neither of those. A good gaming (pre-built) laptop will generally run you more than $1000.
????
profit
Seriously, I love my laptop. It's a beast as far as weight, but I was able to upgrade the CPU with easy, could change out the RAM if I wanted to, and am about to throw in an intel x-25m SSD as a second hard drive (there's an empty bay just waiting to be filled). It's the closest thing I've had a desktop since... a desktop :winky:. The only thing you're really stuck with down the line is the 8800 gts, which is still a good card by today's standards.
Do this if you are like me and don't want to have to switch between two systems for different tasks - but otherwise a netbook/desktop purchase combo would probably be the best route. Good luck.
EDIT: this laptop is definitely NOT small at 17" and 300 lbs. But battery life is good - about 3 hours of internet surfing after nearly 2 years of use.
This so hard. For the grand you can get decent versions of each, and transferring files can be as simple as getting a USB drive or setting up a home network. I'm kinda running a system like this now on my years old ancient beasts, but will be upgrading to a desktop/netbook and external huge-drive in the next year.