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Looking for a laptop
posted in Hardware
1
#1
0 Frags +

Edit: I'm looking at a different laptop, see in my latest post.

So next school year I'm going to be able to use a laptop daily at school. My school gives the option of renting a laptop or bringing one in. It's $225 to rent (not including insurance) so my parents are considering just buying me a laptop as I'm going to need one for college anyway.

I'd like a laptop that I can use as a backup PC. I'd like to at least be able to play TF2 on it at the least 50 fps, preferably 60 or higher. I'd also like to be able to play games like BF3, although it's not really a dealbreaker if I can't.

Currently I'm considering this laptop:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung---15.6%22-Geek-Squad-Certified-Refurbished-Laptop---8GB-Memory---1TB-Hard-Drive/8342067.p?id=1218873334715&skuId=8342067

From what I've looked at, it seems to be the best deal for the money. All of Best Buy's i5 laptops are more than this one.

I'm probably going to wait until Haswell comes out to see prices on those (probably will be more expensive) and if Ivy Bridge laptops go down in price. Also, I probably wouldn't mind an AMD CPU, as long as the battery life is good.

Anyone have suggestions?

Edit: I'm looking at a different laptop, see in my latest post.

So next school year I'm going to be able to use a laptop daily at school. My school gives the option of renting a laptop or bringing one in. It's $225 to rent (not including insurance) so my parents are considering just buying me a laptop as I'm going to need one for college anyway.

I'd like a laptop that I can use as a backup PC. I'd like to at least be able to play TF2 on it at the least 50 fps, preferably 60 or higher. I'd also like to be able to play games like BF3, although it's not really a dealbreaker if I can't.

[s]Currently I'm considering this laptop:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung---15.6%22-Geek-Squad-Certified-Refurbished-Laptop---8GB-Memory---1TB-Hard-Drive/8342067.p?id=1218873334715&skuId=8342067

From what I've looked at, it seems to be the best deal for the money. All of Best Buy's i5 laptops are more than this one.

I'm probably going to wait until Haswell comes out to see prices on those (probably will be more expensive) and if Ivy Bridge laptops go down in price. Also, I probably wouldn't mind an AMD CPU, as long as the battery life is good.

Anyone have suggestions?[/s]
2
#2
11 Frags +

a refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well

a refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well
3
#3
-1 Frags +

http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550

http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550
4
#4
0 Frags +
JaguarFiendhttp://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550

That's almost the same laptop, but $100 more. In fact, it's slightly worse.

defya refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well

I'm not really finding anything comparable for anything near or lower than the price of the Best Buy one.

[quote=JaguarFiend]http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550[/quote]
That's almost the same laptop, but $100 more. In fact, it's slightly worse.

[quote=defy]a refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well[/quote]

I'm not really finding anything comparable for anything near or lower than the price of the Best Buy one.
5
#5
0 Frags +
hookyI'm probably going to wait until Haswell comes out to see prices on those (probably will be more expensive) and if Ivy Bridge laptops go down in price. Also, I probably wouldn't mind an AMD CPU, as long as the battery life is good.

Anyone have suggestions?

If I were getting a notebook, I would certainly go for one with Haswell. Haswell is incredibly more power efficient than Ivy or Sandy. From what I've read, Haswell will bring close to a 50% increase in battery life in laptops and ultrabooks.

[quote=hooky]
I'm probably going to wait until Haswell comes out to see prices on those (probably will be more expensive) and if Ivy Bridge laptops go down in price. Also, I probably wouldn't mind an AMD CPU, as long as the battery life is good.

Anyone have suggestions?[/quote]

If I were getting a notebook, I would certainly go for one with Haswell. Haswell is incredibly more power efficient than Ivy or Sandy. From what I've read, Haswell will bring close to a 50% increase in battery life in laptops and ultrabooks.
6
#6
1 Frags +
hookyJaguarFiendhttp://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550That's almost the same laptop, but $100 more. In fact, it's slightly worse.
defya refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well

I'm not really finding anything comparable for anything near or lower than the price of the Best Buy one.

well the specs are good on the one you're interested in buying no question, for me personally it being refurbished is very off putting.

you're ultimately putting yourself at risk for having problems early on compared to getting one brand new out of the box. and the specs you listed are pretty much half the price of a new one. anything along the lines of that is gonna be at least $1,000 and up

i would just save the extra amount for a brand new one, but if you don't mind it being refurbished then go for it

[quote=hooky][quote=JaguarFiend]http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7529/1#post-118550[/quote]
That's almost the same laptop, but $100 more. In fact, it's slightly worse.

[quote=defy]a refurbished laptop from best buy for $700? i wouldn't bother with that

your best bet is to go on newegg, you can definitely find an asus for a lot cheaper than that. also search amazon as well[/quote]

I'm not really finding anything comparable for anything near or lower than the price of the Best Buy one.[/quote]


well the specs are good on the one you're interested in buying no question, for me personally it being refurbished is very off putting.

you're ultimately putting yourself at risk for having problems early on compared to getting one brand new out of the box. and the specs you listed are pretty much half the price of a new one. anything along the lines of that is gonna be at least $1,000 and up

i would just save the extra amount for a brand new one, but if you don't mind it being refurbished then go for it
7
#7
-1 Frags +
defystuff

In that case I might consider that one Jaguar posted as it's similar, and new.

I'll be waiting until Haswell has been out for a few weeks to see how the new laptops perform.

[quote=defy]stuff[/quote]
In that case I might consider that one Jaguar posted as it's similar, and new.

I'll be waiting until Haswell has been out for a few weeks to see how the new laptops perform.
8
#8
0 Frags +

check slickdeals.net a couple times a day to see if a laptop shows up, you can usually find a good deal if you don't need it right away.

check slickdeals.net a couple times a day to see if a laptop shows up, you can usually find a good deal if you don't need it right away.
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#9
0 Frags +

Bumping this.

My parents have decided that they will pay for up to $600 of the laptop I decide to get. Anything over that I have to pay. They will also pay for an OS upgrade to Pro if needed.

I have tried Windows 8 both with a touchscreen and with a trackpad. It's horrible with a trackpad; I assume a mouse isn't much better, and I wouldn't use a mouse on a laptop most of the time anyway. So if I get a Windows 8 laptop, it has to have a touchscreen.

I'd get a Windows 7 laptop, but those are often rare and more expensive than their Windows 8 counterparts.

Also, my dad and I prefer getting the laptop from Best Buy as we could take the laptop in and quickly get it fixed, whereas with Newegg or another online store we'd have to ship the laptop in to get it fixed, meaning I'd have to rent a laptop from the school. My dad could probably fix it himself, but if there's something he can't fix, the warranty would be void.

Currently I'm looking at 2 laptops.

Lenovo IdeaPad P500 Touch - This has a 2.6 GHz i5 and 6 GB DDR3 RAM, upgradable to 8 GB. It also has a 1 TB HDD that runs at 5400 rpm. It runs Windows 8. It has a 4-cell lithium ion battery, while most laptop batteries seem to be 6-cell. I should be near power outlets all day, however. At $600, it's fully covered by my parents.

Asus K55A-XH51 - This is a Windows 7 Professional laptop, so I don't have to worry about upgrading. It has a 2.5 GHz i5 and 4 GB DDR3 RAM, upgradable to 8 GB. It has a 500 GB HDD that runs at 7200 rpm. The battery is 6-cell. However, the graphics chip is listed as "Intel GMA HD." I'm not sure if that means an HD 4000, or a separate (and therefore pointless) chip. I also don't know if I can turn it off if it's separate. It's $654, so it's more than the Lenovo one. However, my parents may pay more than $600 for this one as it already has Windows 7 Professional installed.

Any ideas on which one of these I should get, or have another suggestion?

Bumping this.

My parents have decided that they will pay for up to $600 of the laptop I decide to get. Anything over that I have to pay. They will also pay for an OS upgrade to Pro if needed.

I have tried Windows 8 both with a touchscreen and with a trackpad. It's horrible with a trackpad; I assume a mouse isn't much better, and I wouldn't use a mouse on a laptop most of the time anyway. So if I get a Windows 8 laptop, it has to have a touchscreen.

I'd get a Windows 7 laptop, but those are often rare and more expensive than their Windows 8 counterparts.

Also, my dad and I prefer getting the laptop from Best Buy as we could take the laptop in and quickly get it fixed, whereas with Newegg or another online store we'd have to ship the laptop in to get it fixed, meaning I'd have to rent a laptop from the school. My dad could probably fix it himself, but if there's something he can't fix, the warranty would be void.

Currently I'm looking at 2 laptops.

[url=www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+IdeaPad+P500+Touch+15.6%26%2334%3B+Touch-Screen+Laptop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive+-+Gray/9130056.p?id=1218992516657&skuId=9130056]Lenovo IdeaPad P500 Touch[/url] - This has a 2.6 GHz i5 and 6 GB DDR3 RAM, upgradable to 8 GB. It also has a 1 TB HDD that runs at 5400 rpm. It runs Windows 8. It has a 4-cell lithium ion battery, while most laptop batteries seem to be 6-cell. I should be near power outlets all day, however. At $600, it's fully covered by my parents.

[url=www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+K-Series+15.6%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/6904618.p?id=1218814071056&skuId=6904618]Asus K55A-XH51[/url] - This is a Windows 7 Professional laptop, so I don't have to worry about upgrading. It has a 2.5 GHz i5 and 4 GB DDR3 RAM, upgradable to 8 GB. It has a 500 GB HDD that runs at 7200 rpm. The battery is 6-cell. However, the graphics chip is listed as "Intel GMA HD." I'm not sure if that means an HD 4000, or a separate (and therefore pointless) chip. I also don't know if I can turn it off if it's separate. It's $654, so it's more than the Lenovo one. However, my parents may pay more than $600 for this one as it already has Windows 7 Professional installed.

Any ideas on which one of these I should get, or have another suggestion?
10
#10
0 Frags +

How much over $600 are you willing to pay?

How much over $600 are you willing to pay?
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#11
0 Frags +

I'd say no more than $100. Preferably less.

I'd say no more than $100. Preferably less.
12
#12
0 Frags +

just throwing this out there, you can just download http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php
or something similar on a windows 8 machine and its pretty much windows 7

just throwing this out there, you can just download http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php
or something similar on a windows 8 machine and its pretty much windows 7
13
#13
0 Frags +

With maxframes you can play fine with even integrated graphics. That being said, for $699 this one looks pretty good. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215974. I'd personally just get an ultrabook or chromebook or whatever and then buy a desktop. +1 at bestbuy being shit

With maxframes you can play fine with even integrated graphics. That being said, for $699 this one looks pretty good. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215974. I'd personally just get an ultrabook or chromebook or whatever and then buy a desktop. +1 at bestbuy being shit
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#14
0 Frags +

I have a desktop, I just want to be able to use this laptop to play TF2 at the least 60 fps (preferably at least 120 or 144) in case my desktop decides to type kill in console.

I have a desktop, I just want to be able to use this laptop to play TF2 at the least 60 fps (preferably at least 120 or 144) in case my desktop decides to type kill in console.
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