Best for Laptop. Yeah, need some help here.

[SNKNostalgia]

I've been out of the loop and also having a hard time looking for a Laptop. My current HP Pavilion DV6700 is having the common frying out NVIDIA graphics card problem (POS).

I really don't need a super computer or anything. roughly looking to spend $600-$700 at most.

Specs that I am thinking of going with to give an idea.

i5 or i7 Intel
4GB DDR3-5 type ram
500GB HDD
and definitely with a decent non intel integrated GPU
Windows 7 is fine

Any help with where to buy and what to buy would be very much appreciated.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

This is what I have my eye on right now. Seems pretty damn legit for the price giving the brand and specs.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-S855-S5170-15-6-Inch-Aluminum/dp/B00B3PLPVO/ref=zg_bs_565108_20

 

[hyper]

http://microcenter.com

dont get a satellite, the cpu fans go too fast

get a lenovo

 

[68k]

+1 on Lenovo, but make sure it's a Thinkpad. There are shitty Lenovos.

Thinkpads are awesome. I can't say enough good things about them.

The HP Elitebooks are incredible as well.

 

[Neo Ash]

Thinkpad FTMFW!
Elitebooks are also very nice.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

These Thinkpads are rather generic with specs. I am not all looking for touchscreen with 12.5" displays. What about Ideapads, are they good??? Also... these are IBMs pretty much right???

The Satellite from Amazon that I posted has 15.4" 768p which is fine for the screen and resolution. It uses 2 GB ATI card as I seem to have the worse luck with Intel Integrated GPUs (They abandon the driver updates and always have wonky compatibility problems even with Youtube selecting the resolution from what I have seen with my dads new HP Laptop with a Intel HD 4000 series card). Also, these thinkpads are running i3s or slower i5s from what I found.

I guess I am mostly going for CPU and GPU at a decent 15.4" display at least. Don't get me wrong... I don't want a POS that breaks down either.

Ughhh, this all confusing from what computers I have tried out and what I find, and what people suggest. LOL. I guess this is going to be harder than I though, but oh well.

 

[cafu1982]

+1 thinkpad.

T-series all the way.

 

[Teddy KGB]

+1 thinkpad.

T-series all the way.

^ This. My co. normally issues Dells and I was going through 1 every year or so with the amount of travel I do. I asked IT for a better built one a couple years back and was issued a Thinkpad T420. Although it's not exactly "new" any more, it still performs as it did when I first got it and the build quality is better than most as well. Can't go wrong with the T series.

 

[Renmauzo]

When IBM licensed themselves out to Lenovo, it was for the Thinkpad series and one stipulation is that there had to be actual IBM employees overseeing production and quality control at the manufacturing level in China. Thinkpads still have those production values, however, all other Lenovo series are by their own design with only the minimums met for standards. Not to say that the other lines are crap; there are some great models in their other series' if you don't need a business grade laptop. My buddy just bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPa...qid=1372467423&sr=1-2&keywords=lenovo+ideapad

Those 650s in SLI make for one hell of a machine. I watched him play Planetside on ultra at 60FPS. Pretty good for little more than a grand.

 

[ki_atsushi]

When IBM licensed themselves out to Lenovo, it was for the Thinkpad series and one stipulation is that there had to be actual IBM employees overseeing production and quality control at the manufacturing level in China. Thinkpads still have those production values, however, all other Lenovo series are by their own design with only the minimums met for standards. Not to say that the other lines are crap; there are some great models in their other series' if you don't need a business grade laptop. My buddy just bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPa...qid=1372467423&sr=1-2&keywords=lenovo+ideapad

Those 650s in SLI make for one hell of a machine. I watched him play Planetside on ultra at 60FPS. Pretty good for little more than a grand.

Just saw that laptop in this months Maximum PC magazine. Looks awesome. They loved it too.

 

[jsiucho]

How about this deal,, http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=60230040&postcount=4

I recently got an touchscreen Asus, its pretty nice.

 

[68k]

These Thinkpads are rather generic with specs.

 

[Hyperduel]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5524206

This is the laptop I'm using right now. Comes with BOTH Windows 7 and Windows 8. I'm quite pleased and is excellent for emulation. FYI I did purchase this from TigerDirect.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

Yes, the Thinkpads I looked up for under $800 didn't have much power or screen size for what I want. I am certain they are great, since they are IBMs pretty much.

I ended up ordering the Toshiba I linked on the second post. Kinda hard to beat the price for what you actually get, fairly new and great customer reviews. For $750... I couldn't pass it up. Comes in Wednesday. So, will let you all know how it turns out. Still, way better than these damn Dell and HPs Pavilions I've used over the years.

 

[68k]

Toshiba.... good luck with that.

Not sure why you asked for advice

 

[ki_atsushi]

lol

 

[Gamefan]

+1 thinkpad.

T-series all the way.

I work on Lenovo's all day long at work. If you are series about getting one, I suggest either an X230 or a T430. Both contain 3rd gen i5/i7 and can take up to 8GB RAM. Also, if you want to install Windows 7, drivers are easy to find.

GAMEFAN

 

[Gamefan]

Yes, the Thinkpads I looked up for under $800 didn't have much power or screen size for what I want. I am certain they are great, since they are IBMs pretty much.

I ended up ordering the Toshiba I linked on the second post. Kinda hard to beat the price for what you actually get, fairly new and great customer reviews. For $750... I couldn't pass it up. Comes in Wednesday. So, will let you all know how it turns out. Still, way better than these damn Dell and HPs Pavilions I've used over the years.

I have a Dell Inspiron 15R and love it! Since you purchased the Toshiba, please tell me you bought an extended warranty?

 

[famicommander]

I work at a Microcenter and just looking at what we sell and what gets returned I would never, under any circumstances, purchase another Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway, eMachines, MSI, or Samsung laptop. I take them off the truck when they get to the store and I put them on the truck to send them back when they break, and those brands come back way more often on a percentage basis.

Stick with Asus, Toshiba, Sony, and higher-end Lenovos and you'll do fine. Maybe one out of sixty Asus or Toshiba machines we sell comes back.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

I work at a Microcenter and just looking at what we sell and what gets returned I would never, under any circumstances, purchase another Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway, eMachines, MSI, or Samsung laptop. I take them off the truck when they get to the store and I put them on the truck to send them back when they break, and those brands come back way more often on a percentage basis.

Stick with Asus, Toshiba, Sony, and higher-end Lenovos and you'll do fine. Maybe one out of sixty Asus or Toshiba machines we sell comes back.

This is the info I was mostly going for. I read up a bit from other places and computer repair guys say pretty much this as well. I always hear that Toshiba's are usually one of the better brands compared to most. I take good care of my laptops since I use them almost more like desktops mostly. As long as it lasts the first year with its warranty, it will be fine. Also, I am buying a cooling pad this time. No damn chance of it ever overheating.

The Toshiba I ordered comes in tomorrow.

 

[Pope Sazae]

I work at a Microcenter and just looking at what we sell and what gets returned I would never, under any circumstances, purchase another Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway, eMachines, MSI, or Samsung laptop. I take them off the truck when they get to the store and I put them on the truck to send them back when they break, and those brands come back way more often on a percentage basis.

Stick with Asus, Toshiba, Sony, and higher-end Lenovos and you'll do fine. Maybe one out of sixty Asus or Toshiba machines we sell comes back.

eMachines still makes computers? I have not heard that name in a decade, it's like hearing Packard Bell was still around.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Also, I am buying a cooling pad this time. No damn chance of it ever overheating.

All you have to do is make sure the vents aren't blocked, and keep them free of dust and lint.

Buy some kind of vinyl cover, or even cover it with a towel when it's not in use.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

Well, it came in today instead of tomorrow. Pleased with it so far after messing with it for 2 hours. Windows 8 is fucking crazy using it for the first time, but at least somewhat intuitive. The keyboard could be somewhat more raised with the keys, but works just fine. Going from a Core Duo 1.89 GHZ to this i7 2.4 GHZ (3.4 GHZ when in Powerboost) is something of a big ass change even with using just a 5400 RPM HDD. It is also running quiet and cool. I was afraid the speakers would not be loud enough, but they are fine. Can't wait to test it with some PC games to see what it can handle.