New Laptop

spacerobot

EDIT: Ok, I have found a new laptop and purchased one today. I ended up spending more money that I expected but I am happy with the purchase... so my problem is solved. Hlubocky is now needing help with a laptop, so this thread is still needed.
Thanks for the help everyone!



I have been thinking about getting a new laptop. I have had my same desktop dell computer for the last six years, and it has served me great. With a couple upgrades it runs just as fast, if not faster, than the day I bought it. However it has gotten old to the point where I would have to upgrade my motherboard and several other things to make it a better computer, and I dont want to have to do all that. Also, I want to have mobility and not be tied down to my desk.

Last week I won a $50 gift card to Best Buy, and I was thinking that I should use that towards a new Laptop. I know that Best Buy isnt the best place to buy a computer, but it's like an automatic 50 bucks off, and I'm poor.

This is the computer I have been looking at: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8654057&productCategoryId=abcat0502001&type=product&tab=2&id=1196469485969#productdetail
It is my understanding that Acer is not the best brand, but it's not the worst brand either. Also the specs on that computer look pretty good for its price tag. I can't afford to spend more than $650 on a computer, like I said, I'm poor.

The laptop would be mostly used for the one term I have left in College, and for typical computer things. I'm interested in games, but I don't have to have the best graphics card out there. I don't play nearly as many games as I did six years ago when I bought my current computer, but I wouldn't mind being able to play a new game such as bioshock or something. Would this laptop be able to play the newer games, even on low settings? The only game I want it to work with for sure is Team Fortress 2.

I figure that my current computer is so old, that any upgrade will seem infinitely better. My current computer has 512mb of RAM, 2.0GHZ cpu, and 64MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 4 video card. It can run tf2 but at the lowest settings, and i'm positive that it can no longer handle any newer games. Would the laptop I'm looking at give me (an even slightly) better gaming experience?

If not, can anyone reccomend any laptops at or lower than the $650 price range, or lower than $600 at places other than Best Buy?

Thanks!

edit: I was also looking at this Compaq: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8648118&productCategoryId=abcat0502001&type=product&tab=2&id=1195598868093#productdetail
It's $100 less than the Acer, but the specs are pretty similar. Am I getting less for that 100 dollars?

Fofamit

It seems that the Acer laptop will give you the best gaming experience in my opinion (Out of the two), but it doesn't seem to list how many cells the battery has. Judging by the price it is only a 6 cell battery, which means you'll get around 3-5 hours of batter life out of it normally.

You can upgrade these by ad-ons or by buying a bigger battery, but apparently there is a new type of battery technology that will increase the battery life by 10X ... unfortunately it isn't available in the mass markets yet ...

saltiness

If you want any kind of gaming experience for only $650, you're better off putting together a new desktop.

histronic

Actually, the sales Best Buy has on laptops are some of (if not THE) best out there. I've been looking for a laptop recently, as well, and they have the cheapest ones I've seen out of all my weeks of research. You might also want to check Craigslist, though its pretty hit or miss.

spacerobot

saltiness wrote: »

If you want any kind of gaming experience for only $650, you're better off putting together a new desktop.

I'm not looking for a new computer specifically for a gaming experience. I would like a laptop for the mobility it offers, I think the level of gaming experience a laptop offers will be the determining factor in which laptop I choose in the end (for around the price of those laptops).

Actually, the sales Best Buy has on laptops are some of (if not THE) best out there. I've been looking for a laptop recently, as well, and they have the cheapest ones I've seen out of all my weeks of research. You might also want to check Craigslist, though its pretty hit or miss.

I was pleasantly surprised by the prices of Best Buys laptops for what they offer. I'm probably going to go through Best Buy in the end though, because I have gift certificate for there that will save me some money.

Fofamit wrote:

It seems that the Acer laptop will give you the best gaming experience in my opinion (Out of the two)

Would it be that much of a difference over the Compaq? Like $100 difference, or is that $100 pretty much going into its webcam (the webcam and video card are the only difference between the two it looks like, and I couldn't care less about the webcam.)

Eat_Fire

I worked at CompUSA for 2 years. I saw alot of ACERS comeback in. ALOT. Then again most of the people who bought them were usually very trashy looking and didnt take care of them very well. However I saw plenty that were immaculate and still broke down often.

If you cant afford more than $650 right now can you put it on a credit card for a better quality laptop and pay it off? If you have decent credit most department store cards give you no interest for a year on big purchases. So you could pay what you can now and then put in money before interest accumulates on the card.

spacerobot

Eat_Fire wrote: »

I worked at CompUSA for 2 years. I saw alot of ACERS comeback in. ALOT. Then again most of the people who bought them were usually very trashy looking and didnt take care of them very well. However I saw plenty that were immaculate and still broke down often.

If you cant afford more than $650 right now can you put it on a credit card for a better quality laptop and pay it off? If you have decent credit most department store cards give you no interest for a year on big purchases. So you could pay what you can now and then put in money before interest accumulates on the card.

That's good to know about the Acers. I'm also looking at other brands around the same price at Best Buy. I'm still confused about the video cards though, it seems they are all "rank 5" or whatever, but I dont know if one is better than the other, even when it comes to like a Toshiba computer.

I'm going to be using a credit card anyway for this laptop. I just don't want to go over really. I'm graduating this June, and will be handed $60k debt in student loans, and I dont want to add any more to it than I have to. Plus I'm planning on going into the peace corps, and if I'm scheduling it all correctly I will hopefully leave in a year maybe, so I want to have as much debt paid off as I can possibly do.

saltiness

spacerobot wrote: »

saltiness wrote: »

If you want any kind of gaming experience for only $650, you're better off putting together a new desktop.

I'm not looking for a new computer specifically for a gaming experience. I would like a laptop for the mobility it offers, I think the level of gaming experience a laptop offers will be the determining factor in which laptop I choose in the end (for around the price of those laptops).

I understand. I just don't think you'll be able to play even TF2 very well on the laptops you're describing. I could be wrong though.

Hlubocky

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it seems appropriate. I am looking to buy a new laptop in the next few months with the goal of having a machine not tied down to work on some programming projects (including XNA). This means I want to get the best video card I can while still having a machine that resembles a notebook. My starting point was the MacBook Pro, because from what I can tell, it is one of the fastest things on the market with a good form factor (thin and not too heavy) and good graphics(GeForce 8600M, which I think is pretty good for notebooks). The downside of course is the thing costs an arm and a leg, so I was trying to hunt around for something comparable from a different manufacturer. I checked the Lenovo laptops and the best graphics they have is a Quadro 140something, which I think is not as good as the GeForce found in the MBP. There is a Dell that can be configured with the same graphics for less, though the laptop is bigger and heavier. I am definitely NOT looking for a desktop replacement. Does anyone have any suggestions I missed? Thanks!

edit: I had an old Inspiron a could of years ago and couldn't stand the cheap plastic feel. I could press on it and it would make this terrible creaking noise. Does anyone with an XPS laptop have a comment on how it is built and of what material?

NovaRev

Hlubocky wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it seems appropriate. I am looking to buy a new laptop in the next few months with the goal of having a machine not tied down to work on some programming projects (including XNA). This means I want to get the best video card I can while still having a machine that resembles a notebook. My starting point was the MacBook Pro, because from what I can tell, it is one of the fastest things on the market with a good form factor (thin and not too heavy) and good graphics(GeForce 8600M, which I think is pretty good for notebooks). The downside of course is the thing costs an arm and a leg, so I was trying to hunt around for something comparable from a different manufacturer. I checked the Lenovo laptops and the best graphics they have is a Quadro 140something, which I think is not as good as the GeForce found in the MBP. There is a Dell that can be configured with the same graphics for less, though the laptop is bigger and heavier. I am definitely NOT looking for a desktop replacement. Does anyone have any suggestions I missed? Thanks!

edit: I had an old Inspiron a could of years ago and couldn't stand the cheap plastic feel. I could press on it and it would make this terrible creaking noise. Does anyone with an XPS laptop have a comment on how it is built and of what material?

I have an XPS m1330 and the build quality is overall pretty good with some problems, mostly cosmetic. The base is magnesium alloy, which gives the machine a very solid feel. I was actually surprised at how solid the machine felt when I first picked it up. Picking it up from a corner does not produce any awful creaking noises, and nor does pressing on it. The palm rest is brushed aluminum and also feels solid. The biggest build quality issues with mine have to do with the screen bezel: the bottom left portion of it bulges out slightly from the screen, and the top edge of it does not sit perfectly flush with the edge of the lid (it's about 1mm off) so you can see some "teeth" where it should be a smooth line. Otherwise, it's a solid machine that does not feel like it is going to fall apart in your hands.

The m1330 would not fit your criteria since the best GPU you can get in it is the 8400m; the m1530 is more of a Macbook Pro competitor and can be configured with the 8600m, and it's styled the same and made of the same materials as the m1330.