Help me with a new laptop?

Aydr · April 2011

So given several recent problems with my old Macbook, I've decided it's time to junk it and pick up a new computer ASAP. Unfortunately, I'm not the most computer-savvy consumer. I'm good at using them, but basically I don't know shit about hardware. Can anyone give me any good recommendations?

I want to be able to do some gaming with it- I don't need anything too top of the line but I'd like it if it could run, say, Dragon Age II or something like it. I'm willing to pay a little more since I've found that I'm doing much more PC gaming than I used to lately, and I pretty much live on my laptop so I may as well invest well.

I also need a decently long battery life so that I can take it to campus and take notes in class with it for a couple hours if I can't get an outlet, but I don't need it to last all day or anything. I don't take long trips often so it's not like I'm looking for something that I can watch movies on a plane with or anything, just something that will get me through the day.

Any recommendations?

Bastable · April 2011

Pretty much the Macbook pro 15inch top one has a 1 gig video card. Running windows and the gfx card shorten the battery time, but for university work and unlike my shitty HP the macs will allow you to do work in class and in the libary without it dieing on you.

If you have to use win 7 only and hate macOS http://www.pugetsystems.com/certified_sys.php?sys_id=96
these guys build bullet proof systems and do a lot of testing to insure their componates last a while and won't flip out on you. Go with a video card when you order it for the gaming though, but remember that will impact batty time.

Aydr · April 2011

I love mac OS, but I'm planning on switching back to windows for this one.

So I saw that the m11x alienware just had a price drop. What do people think of it? Is this a good choice? It's certainly an attractive machine. If people think it's worth it, what kind of specs should I go with? Should I get more ram than the default minimum, or is it easy and cheap enough that I should just upgrade it on my own?

doctorcoctopus · April 2011

I have the m11xr2. Its great for portability and can run most current games on at least medium settings. They have a couple issues (hinges and motherboard stuff) but, surprisingly, Dell have been very, very helpful. Basically, I like it and it does my bidding well.

doctorcoctopus · April 2011

Aydr wrote: »

I love mac OS, but I'm planning on switching back to windows for this one.

So I saw that the m11x alienware just had a price drop. What do people think of it? Is this a good choice? It's certainly an attractive machine. If people think it's worth it, what kind of specs should I go with? Should I get more ram than the default minimum, or is it easy and cheap enough that I should just upgrade it on my own?

To actually answer your question. I got the highest end processor, lowest end HDD and 4GB ram. The *plan* is to eventually upgrade to a SSD and 8GB of ram.

Aydr · April 2011

Thanks for the feedback! Do you think I'd be missing out too badly by getting the lower-end processor? I am a poor college student, and that extra $450 is painful to look at, but like I said I'm willing to invest a little more heavily in something I plan on getting so much use out of so if it's that big a difference I might be willing to stretch it. (not to mention they can ship the m11xR2 overnight)

thatassemblyguy · April 2011

Aydr wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! Do you think I'd be missing out too badly by getting the lower-end processor? I am a poor college student, and that extra $450 is painful to look at, but like I said I'm willing to invest a little more heavily in something I plan on getting so much use out of so if it's that big a difference I might be willing to stretch it. (not to mention they can ship the m11xR2 overnight)

I'd recommend going with around an i5 - the Alienware line isn't what it used to be in my opinion, and you end up paying more for the name and awkward cases. If you're all abouts the dell, I'd recommend going with the XPS line (decent for gaming, and really nice screens on them now).

Aydr · April 2011

thatassemblyguy wrote: »

Aydr wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! Do you think I'd be missing out too badly by getting the lower-end processor? I am a poor college student, and that extra $450 is painful to look at, but like I said I'm willing to invest a little more heavily in something I plan on getting so much use out of so if it's that big a difference I might be willing to stretch it. (not to mention they can ship the m11xR2 overnight)

I'd recommend going with around an i5 - the Alienware line isn't what it used to be in my opinion, and you end up paying more for the name and awkward cases. If you're all abouts the dell, I'd recommend going with the XPS line (decent for gaming, and really nice screens on them now).

Well, the main draw for me is the fact that the core 2 duo m11x just dropped to $600, more than anything else. But if the general opinion is that that's not a great idea, well, like I said I'm no expert. I just want to have a good computer again

thatassemblyguy · April 2011

Aydr wrote: »

thatassemblyguy wrote: »

Aydr wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! Do you think I'd be missing out too badly by getting the lower-end processor? I am a poor college student, and that extra $450 is painful to look at, but like I said I'm willing to invest a little more heavily in something I plan on getting so much use out of so if it's that big a difference I might be willing to stretch it. (not to mention they can ship the m11xR2 overnight)

I'd recommend going with around an i5 - the Alienware line isn't what it used to be in my opinion, and you end up paying more for the name and awkward cases. If you're all abouts the dell, I'd recommend going with the XPS line (decent for gaming, and really nice screens on them now).

Well, the main draw for me is the fact that the core 2 duo m11x just dropped to $600, more than anything else. But if the general opinion is that that's not a great idea, well, like I said I'm no expert. I just want to have a good computer again

Are you looking for a small 11" screen laptop, what was the measurement of your old Macbook?

Aydr · April 2011

thatassemblyguy wrote: »

Aydr wrote: »

thatassemblyguy wrote: »

Aydr wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! Do you think I'd be missing out too badly by getting the lower-end processor? I am a poor college student, and that extra $450 is painful to look at, but like I said I'm willing to invest a little more heavily in something I plan on getting so much use out of so if it's that big a difference I might be willing to stretch it. (not to mention they can ship the m11xR2 overnight)

I'd recommend going with around an i5 - the Alienware line isn't what it used to be in my opinion, and you end up paying more for the name and awkward cases. If you're all abouts the dell, I'd recommend going with the XPS line (decent for gaming, and really nice screens on them now).

Well, the main draw for me is the fact that the core 2 duo m11x just dropped to $600, more than anything else. But if the general opinion is that that's not a great idea, well, like I said I'm no expert. I just want to have a good computer again

Are you looking for a small 11" screen laptop, what was the measurement of your old Macbook?

13 inch. I'm fine with anything from the 11 to 15 inch range, anything more is too big.

thatassemblyguy · April 2011

I'd say to go for an XPS 15, the low-end one is $799.99, and if you leave it at its base configuration you'll probably be alright. I'd suggest taking a look at it and deciding if it's what you'd like though.

Penny Arcade

Quick Links

Help me with a new laptop?

Posts