Laptop Consideration (for gaming and school)

Discussion in 'Laptops & Notebooks' started by animestan, Aug 4, 2011.

  1. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    Laptop Consideration for School (University)

    Thread Repurposed

    First off, I'd like to thank all of you that posted in this thread. But after a long night of consideration, I'm thinking of scrapping the idea of a "light gaming" laptop since I already have a desktop that handles everything fairly well (w/ a GTS 250).

    If anyone has suggestions for my new preference, your input will be greatly appreciated.

    1) What is your budget?
    $500 CAD/USA

    2) What size notebook would you prefer?
    d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen (Smaller is okay)

    3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
    I can buy it online or in store, as long as it ships to Canada

    4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

    a. Like: ASUS (Mainly for their 1 year accidental warranty)

    5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
    No

    6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
    general

    7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
    Both

    8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
    Yes, lower end

    9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
    4+

    15) When are you buying this laptop?
    Before September

    16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
    2+ Years

    17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
    No SSD, prefer 300GB and up

    18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
    DVD only

    Thanks for your input.
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2011
  2. Axkingz

    Axkingz Member Guru

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    Out of those three i would choose number 1. Rather have 2GB more ram than an i7 in that case.

    Personally i find 15.6" too big to carry around for school. I got a 13.3" which i find to be the perfect size.
     
  3. abula

    abula Master Guru

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    I would go with i7 over the i5, but either config is very close.
     
  4. Gazebo

    Gazebo Master Guru

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    First one
     

  5. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    I guess its really split between i5 + 2GB of Ram or i7.

    So I'm guessing that people would rather have an i5 with more ram over an i7?

    Another member posed a concern over the resolution (1366x768) being low for a 15.6" laptop, especially if I want to have multiple windows open and that I should opt for something with 1920x1080 (but staying within my budget).

    Anyone else care to comment on this type of resolution and processors?
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2011
  6. animestan

    animestan Guest

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  7. anticupidon

    anticupidon Ancient Guru

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    the more and more i repair laptops this size it just feels right
    the more i hate/admire 13.3 Macs
     
  8. Scorch666

    Scorch666 Ancient Guru

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    You could save a bob or two and go for a MSI FX600 Blu ray, if its in the old coloney of course.
     
  9. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    Ya, but I can't find it being sold anywhere and the specs are a little low for what I'm looking for.
     
  10. Scorch666

    Scorch666 Ancient Guru

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    OK thats cool.
    Then i suggest 1.) Newegg.ca - ASUS A53 Series A53SV-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
    ASUS A53 Series A53SV-XN1
    Price: $750.00
    CPU: Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz)
    RAM: 6GB Memory DDR3 1333
    GPU: Nvidia GT 540M
    HDD: 750 GB (7200 RPM)
    Screen: 15.6"
    Res: 1366x768.

    Good luck.
     

  11. Decane

    Decane Ancient Guru

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    I would go with number 3. I can't understand why anyone would want to go with 2GB more RAM (from 4GB, which is already quite respectable considering that you're not going for an ultra-high end gaming notebook here), over a quad-core Sandy Bridge i7. I have an XPS 17 with an i7-2630QM, 4GB DDR3, and a GT 555M and this thing flies in most games which aren't ultra GPU-intensive, e.g. HL2: Episode 2, etc.

    Something to keep in mind if you want a high-resolution screen (e.g. 1920x1080) is that the GPU power needed to drive those pixels is also proportionately higher. Thus, I would not go with such a screen unless I were sure that I would be able to afford a suitably powerful GPU as well.
     
  12. Scorch666

    Scorch666 Ancient Guru

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    As the OP has stated thats its needed for school, and research the 6gig will come in handy + an i5 is no slouch by any strech. Bigger and faster HDD is good too.

    And i think 1366x768 is the sweet spot for mobile gaming.
     
  13. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    First off, I'd like to thank all of you that posted in this thread. But after a long night of consideration, I'm thinking of scrapping the idea of a "light gaming" laptop since I already have a desktop that handles everything fairly well (w/ a GTS 250).

    So a quick question, do you think I should still go for a laptop that has the GPU GTS 540M even though my desktop is equipped with a GTS 250? Because if I did get something with the 540M, would that defeat the purpose of my desktop?
    (So I'm thinking gaming on desktop, and school-work on laptop)

    If anyone has suggestions for my new preference, your input will be greatly appreciated.
     
  14. stone-eye

    stone-eye Guest

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    With any laptop its always best to get the most you can afford as you basically cant upgrade laptops in the future. So yes id go for a discrete video card as then you have a backup in case your desktop ever went down and a mobile gaming laptop for if you feel like doing anything while out and about.
     
  15. zipper

    zipper Maha Guru

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    Nope, your GTS 250 beats your laptop by a clear margin; 3DMark Vantage P GPU result about 6500 vs. 3500.
     

  16. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    Ya, money is an issue as university is going to cost a lot.

    Alrighty, so it seems like the laptops won't beat out my desktop so I guess I'll just go with a lower spec laptop then.

    Again, suggestions are welcome.
     
  17. stone-eye

    stone-eye Guest

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    Well if you're not getting a powerhouse laptop why not go for a netbook for portability? For large amounts of work the screen might get annoying but you have your desktop for that, for the odd bit here and there and size/weight a netbook would probably be preferable and alot cheaper.

    If you went with something like the HP DM1-z or Asus 1215b/1215n you'd have some oomph for low level gaming and HD videos too. I use my DM1 all the time and its a nice little machine and good battery life.
     
  18. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    Ya, the size is an issue as I want a large enough screen and I also need a keyboard with a numberpad because I think I'm going to do a fair amount of accounting.
     
  19. animestan

    animestan Guest

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    Any more suggestions?
     
  20. MAD-OGRE

    MAD-OGRE Ancient Guru

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    I picked up the MSI FX620DX for $700.00 not to long ago, it has enough power for all my needs, and plays my games @ the native rez with most settings med/high.

    The only down side I see is I wish they had used DDR5 over DDR3 on the GPU memory.
     

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