Laptop time!

Ziac45

So I am heading off to college at the end of this month and need to get a laptop. I started looking around today and this one really caught my eye.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644588896&parentCategoryId=16154

I would like to be able to play a few RTS's and such on it. But nothing too in depth, I have my Pc for gaming. I just wanted a few opinions and if anyone has one a review before I buy it.

Edit: Also feel free to suggest other laptops, I just started my search so any help is great.

Erandus

It seems like about twice as much laptop as you need for what you're saying you intend to accomplish with it.

Ziac45

That is probably true, my budget is around 1500 dollars and I saw it fit in.

saltiness

19" screen and 9lbs. That's not a laptop. It's a desktop and you already have one.

Improvolone

If you already have a desktop, then get a netbook. The Asus 1005HA has phenomenal battery life.

Ziac45

Improvolone wrote: »

If you already have a desktop, then get a netbook. The Asus 1005HA has phenomenal battery life.

My mom had one and i used it for a bit, I didn't really like it and am looking for something a bit more. My friend likes to lan computers up and play MMO's or some RTS's and lugging the desktop really sucks which is why I want my Lapto to be able to handle them.

urahonky

Any specific RTS game you had in mind?

Dman

I wouldn't drop so much on a laptop if I already had a desktop that could run the games I wanted to play. Buy a netbook now and in 2 or 3 years replace both your netbook and your desktop with that 1500.

Think how many hours of work 1500 spending money is (25% of your after tax income is spending money tops?)

now think roughly how many times you'll actually be dragging you desktop to a lan party.

Unless all your gaming is going to be at these lan parties (in which case just leave your desktop there?) I doubt it's worth it.

Ziac45

I used to drag my desktop to this guys house 3 times a week. Dawn of war 2 I think is the benchmark for what I want my laptop to be able to handle, most of the computer games I play are Either Dawn of war games, Total War games, or MMO's.

VisionOfClarity

I bought a laptop for college and it was a great decision. I could use it for notes in class, I used it for working during brief breaks (avoiding the crowded, noisy computer labs) and it kept me entertained by surfing the web or watching the World Series during dull classes. I went with an iBook but it really wasn't worth the money for casual gaming (super casual, like Diablo, Sims, and Civ) and now have a Dell Inspiron I'm happy with. Got it on sale at Black Friday so I got about $500 off of it too. The boyfriend has an HP he loves, not sure what one though.

Ziac45

I looked at Hp's, anything comparable to the Sony I was looking at was a lot more expensive and seemed to have less. I know I am not going anywhere near a mac I have used them and just hate it, the inspiron I plan on looking into however.

VisionOfClarity

Check to see if your school has a discount program worked out with any of the companies. Also, if you can wait Labor Day will probably yield sales.

Sir Headless VII

If you buy a laptop that big you won't take it anywhere anyways, if you travel allot it might be fine as something to take when you go away for a couple of weeks and you can't take your desktop but really it will just sit at home otherwise. If you are just buying a laptop to play a couple games and take places you can spend about half of that and be happy. There is no reason to spend that much on a laptop unless you are buying a desktop replacement or a mac.

Improvolone

Ziac45 wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

If you already have a desktop, then get a netbook. The Asus 1005HA has phenomenal battery life.

My mom had one and i used it for a bit, I didn't really like it and am looking for something a bit more. My friend likes to lan computers up and play MMO's or some RTS's and lugging the desktop really sucks which is why I want my Lapto to be able to handle them.

If you don't like it thats cool (just to double check, she has an Eee 1000?), but what about it didn't you like?

Ziac45

It doesn't have the power I want, I don't like the size the whole thing I just didn't enjoy using.

underdonk

Ugh, that thing is a brick. Trust me, from someone who travels a lot with (a) laptop(s), get something light. This is even easier for you since it isn't going to be your only system. My recommendation is to get something light even if it doesn't meet the specs you want. You will hate carrying that beast around after about a week.

Ziac45

I have been looking elsewhere I tried to build a dell I wanted but it only has ATI cards and I have had nothing but problems with them in the past.

Edit whats the opinion on this one? http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndwsa4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop_studio_17 With a bunch of the stuff upgraded it came to 1300

Ziac45

So I went through and made a new one, taking the advice that my original was too much for me I came up with this. In the spoiler is the price and the specs.

Total Price:$1092.48

Original Price
-$57.50Program Savings
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
(Reg. price $100.00)
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
Black
4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
(Reg. price $20.00)
320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]
(Reg. price $30.00)
CD/DVD playback/burning
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM-great for games and movies
16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD™ LCD technology (1920x1080)
Quickbooks Simple Start 2009
No Fresh Start
Norton Internet Security (30 Day Trial)
No Engraving
Microsoft® Office 2007 Home/Student
(Reg. price $144.99)
No additional Photo Editing Software
No additional Video Editing Software
WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Standard Capacity Battery

Do you all think this will be able to do what I want to do with it?

Its built off the FW model http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644570896&parentCategoryId=16154

Dman

I don't have a problem with ati in general but an ATi Radeon HD 3650 is a $50 graphics card...

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=554&card2=586

If I was spending 1300 on a laptop I'd want a ATi Radeon HD 4830, nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS, or something similar in it. YMMV.

Edit: n/m you came up with a new build while I was putzing around comparing graphics cards.

That looks like it can do everything you need.

Some universities offer free/cheap windows OS's and even MS-office to students, might be worth looking into.

Wezoin

Dman wrote: »

I don't have a problem with ati in general but an ATi Radeon HD 3650 is a $50 graphics card...

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=554&card2=586

If I was spending 1300 on a laptop I'd want a ATi Radeon HD 4830, nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS, or something similar in it. YMMV.

Edit: n/m you came up with a new build while I was putzing around comparing graphics cards.

That looks like it can do everything you need.

Some universities offer free/cheap windows OS's and even MS-office to students, might be worth looking into.

And those that don't can often get you "academic pricing" on laptops (usually $100 - $150 off), call your campus computer store if your school has one.

Ziac45

Shows how much I know about laptop Graphics cards.

What about this one? Built off of a toshiba

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz, 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 32-Bit
Fusion Finish™ Sonic Pattern in Black Onyx
Glossy Black Keyboard
Microsoft® Office Ready with Microsoft Office Professional 2007 60-day Trial Edition
4GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz SDRAM (2048MBx2)
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 with 1GB DDR3 discrete graphics
plus 254MB-1278MB shared memory using ATI HyperMemory™ technology
320GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
No Secondary Hard Drive Installed
No Bluetooth (No Antenna)
Lithium Ion battery (6-Cell, 4000mAh)
1 Year Standard Limited Warranty

emp123

What size is that laptop? I strongly recommend against anything larger than a 15. I had a 17inch Dell and I hated taking it to class as it took up to much space on the desk. Personally I think 13 is a perfect size, but Im about to buy a 15inch Macbook Pro myself.

Wezoin

On the HPs, mine was 2 years old, the fan is so so so loud and makes tons of noise, the case has actually started to crack, the webcam wire came loose inside the screen so it keeps popping up "found new hardware" and then losing it randomly, the drivers the laptop came with dont seem to even work for it anymore, etc. I realize there are people out there who have HPs that have aged better, but really its what finally pushed me over to Mac.