Getting a laptop (Could use help with make/manufacturer/pricing)

Ilriyas

So a number of months ago I created a thread titled 'looking into a laptop' in which I had written up what would be the 'ideal' laptop but not necessarily a realistic (Or affordable) one. Now however I've come to the conclusion that if I want to play high-end video games I need a high-end desktop which is something I'm planning to build (likely) next year. With this said I am now in a position where I can afford to purchase a laptop and (As I will explain in spoilers as it's just background) need to, not later but within the next few weeks.

[spoiler=Background to purchase]
Basically (and I'm sure many have experienced this at one time or other) all of my current work is done on the family computer, the big problem with this however, and one that has certainly been growing is twofold.

1. I have two other siblings to share said computer with which means that work periods have to be divided up amongst myself and my siblings. As I am technically graduated from High School (Went back for a much needed history credit I didn't get due to a scheduling error last year) my work priority in comparison to my siblings isn't as high. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but conflicting work schedules interfere with the time I would've normally been able to allocate to work and without computer access I simply can't get work done to a quality I like.

2. Working with other people in the room with me is very, VERY difficult and always has been I do my best work in private but the nature of it being a 'family room' doesn't allow for that. Before I managed to work around that but for some reason now when there are others in the room with me I can't bring myself to work effectively. Furthermore a new circumstance has arisen that prevents me from doing work almost entirely, effectively due to my relaxed year compared to before my mother has taken it upon herself to not only check on me at the computer every half hour but in some cases actually stands behind me staring at my work from over my shoulder. This has proven to be unnerving, distracting, and has frankly caused me to become paranoid to such an extent where I simply cannot work with others in the room.
[/spoiler]

I've decided to ask this question here because, frankly I have no knowledge about laptops, laptop manufacturers, models, etc. and Icrontic is the best place to ask about this.

At the bare minimum I need a laptop capable of word processing (So anything) but I'd like it to be at least capable of even the most basic entertainment for when I go to University and have no form of electronic entertainment.

What I'd like in the laptop:
Windows 7 (Durr of course)
Capable of running Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and Virtual DJ
The capability to run a small amount of video games at a fair FPS (Nothing top notch, just the games I play often with Icrontic so League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, and Tribes: Ascend)
A fair battery life
A fair sized hard drive
I have no idea what else to include as I have no knowledge about laptops whatsoever.



As I said I have no idea where to look, or who to buy from so if I could get a few recommendations from you guys that would be great!

Thanks for this in advance.

-Ilriyas

Straight_Man

At the link is one with a 500 GB HD, same CPU as the HP Prime reviewed (2.2 GHz CPU), very good graphics (17" HD Screen, HD 6870M), and other bells and whisltes including an alienware case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200416

Alienware is Dell's gaming computer division.

UPSLynx

I'm not very well versed in Laptops, but I seem to hear good things from Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and HP. Though honestly, I cannot personally recommend HP. I had a high-end Elitebook when I worked at AMD, and despite the fact that the Elitebook is a mobile workstation aimed at high level professional industries, it had numerous issues, including some critical hardware failures that required it to be sent in and repaired. Ugly, ugly things.

Also, I know many of my friends had problems with their HP lappys around the same time. Cannonfodder and Rootwyrm are two such examples. The reliability of HP just doesn't seem up to par with the awesome quality of their current laptops.

ardichoke

That's pretty high-end considering what he was asking for.

I recently bought a new HP laptop. So far I've been quite pleased with it. I went pretty high end, since I had some cash to burn, but I've spec'd out something a bit more reasonable that should still meet your needs.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7121398

If you check http://retailmenot.com you can probably knock even more money off that price tag.

ardichoke

eek... got ninjapost'd by Lynx.

Dell and Lenovo are both good choices. Avoid Acer (and Gateway, they're the same company) like the plague though. Acer/Gateway has terrible build quality from what I've read and their support is almost as bad as the cheap Taiwanese companies (once again, from what I've read). I've only had my HP for a bit over a week, but I really like it so far, FWIW.

Jokke

I can, for my part, stand behind both Acer and Lenovo. I had an Acer that ran incredibly well, and was rock solid. I still fire it up from time to time, and it keeps going. I now have a Lenovo Thinkpad. The sturdyness and capacity of this laptop keeps surprising me. Good battery life, nifty features, and good hardware. I would avoid HP, but that's just because the HP laptop I had would crash and freeze from the moment I had it, and HP couldn't find anything wrong with it. Physically good build quality though.

Ilriyas

Thanks for the responses so far mates!

@ardichoke thanks for putting that together for me although I have to admit I'm hesitant about getting an HP laptop, from what I've heard from others there are a lot of problems with some of the newer HP models, mainly to do with hardware failure and what-not (My father and many of his co-workers recently had to switch over to Lenovo because the company provided HP laptops broke down constantly)

Definitely considering it, currently looking around some of the stores in Toronto to see if I can get a laptop that suits my needs that I can get quickly rather than have to wait for it to be shipped (As I said the faster I can get it the better)

Also while I'm writing this could I'd really appreciate any info you guys can provide on ASUS laptops, I found one for around $900 that looks like it would fit my needs but I'd like to get some reassurance about the brand.

RahnalH102

I bought this little bugger a few weeks ago and have been using it ever since. Especially since my Desktops graphics card decided to go kaput a week after this. Maybe it was jealous cause this laptop was running TF2, Skyrim, and more with ease. It's RAM isn't completely maxed out and the HDD is a tad slower then what it could be but those can easily be upgraded should it not be acceptable. It does come with a bit of Toshiba bloatware but easily removed and some are actually handy and not annoying.

Just adding fuel to the suggestion fire.

Also there is this article by @Mertesn that may at least make you want to ask him how he feels the one you found might do.

primesuspect

I've had several HP laptops on the bench for review, and own two. I guess I'm lucky because I've found them to be really solid machines.

Straight_Man

Ilriyas, some experience-based advise about laptops: First, save and buy for at least two years of lastingness, with at least three years of expected lastingness being my personal minimum. Second, buy a computer advanced enough so you can grow into it over those two-three years.

Third, never get a computer with a 14" screen and/or an old graphics adapter or a Intel graphics adapter if you want to game.

Never get a HD that is 5400 RPM either, even on a laptop. You will be replacing it soon if you do. And you will pay more for the replacement than you would pay for same thing bundled in when you buy the computer. Get at least a 500 GB drive.

RAM you can upgrade very easily.

Basil

I wouldn't worry too much about brand, so long as it's one of the mainstream ones (and Asus would be one of them).
Every poster will have at some point have had a lemon from brand x, but their experience frequently contradicts another poster who swears by brand x and so on through all the big names.

I'd be looking for whatever is best bang-per-buck from any of the usual suspects but with a decent warranty (because sod's law).

ardichoke

I think the qualms that people would have with Asus are not the build quality, but rather the piss-poor support. Yes, every brand has it's problems, but it's how well they handle them that matters (to me anyway). To that end, I'd never buy a laptop from MSI (or Asus) again. HP I'm comfortable with as they have decent customer support ratings. Same with Dell and Lenovo. Also possibly Toshiba.

RyanFodder

Also, I know many of my friends had problems with their HP lappys around the same time. Cannonfodder and Rootwyrm are two such examples. The reliability of HP just doesn't seem up to par with the awesome quality of their current laptops.

I managed to address my issues with a fresh install of windows and updating all my drivers, although several times. I believe the problem with my HP was that I bought it while it was still fairly new. Not a real excuse, but I did manage to get it working.

Do you have a budget in mind?

@Malia got an alienware 15.4" that she has had NO issues with. Unfortunately, I cannot find it on Newegg anymore

Ilriyas

Alright listing my budget would make a little more sense especially in light of what I'm looking for.

For a budget I personally am not willing to go in much more than $800 or so but if I can get a nice laptop for around $600 or $700 I'd like that even more.

I'd also like to clarify, I'm not looking for a gaming laptop the only games I really play are
what I listed in the original post I'm not looking to play games such as Skyrim, BF3 or whatever on my laptop because, as I said I'm building a desktop in my second year so the ability to run larger games isn't a priority and frankly I think that a gaming laptop would just go to waste at that point. (The only recent single player/non-icrontic games I play are Anno 2070 and STALKER Call of Pripyat both of which don't have massive system reqs)

Also another stupid question: Could anyone explain to me the major differences between a notebook and a laptop?

EDIT: Here's a link to a Lenovo laptop I found at Tiger Direct from first glance I think it'll do what I want it to but I have no idea what an Intel HD 3000 is, at least in comparison to say an Nvidia or AMD card.
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1917450&CatId=4938

Thrax

Here's the dirty secret about laptops: they all have about a 7% failure rate. If you hear about one brand more than another, it's generally because they move more volume and the squeaky wheel gets the grease in reviews.

This thread is the perfect example: no consensus.

My vote goes to Lenovo or MSI.

Straight_Man

Ok, the only Intel integrated graphics I would even consider are coming in June or later on Ivy Bridge laptop CPUs. It will be called Intel HD 4000.

I have Intel HD 3000 on my desktop CPU that folds for Folding@Home at Stanford. I would NOT do gaming with it. Intel Integrated graphics are built into Intel CPUs.

Thrax and others have suggested at least a 550 for Nvidia and at least a HD 6850 for AMD for gaming. Remember that fast graphics cards gen more heat, so laptops tend to come with lower end video.

I also noted that the HD on your suggested laptop from Tiger Direct has a 5400 RPM HD. Most real good quality laptops have 7200 RPM drives if not SATA II drives-- SATA III drives are not in inexpensive to medium priced laptops.

The Lenovo G series has a one-year warranty also. Tiger will not sell you an economical 3-year warranty which is what I got for my Lenovo.

I hate Tiger Direct except for some limited parts for building. They have a Comp USA store about 30 miles from me, and I buy on the web. Their tech support has proven to be useless to me on several occasions.

Straight_Man

A notebook, from looking at specs, is a laptop that is light in weight and has a 15.4" or smaller screen and very limited graphics and limited HD.

Ilriyas

I actually found this next one on Lenovo's website 7200rpm and almost $20 cheaper than the other model (A slightly better processor as well which is nice) once again I'm not looking at gaming even if it can only run Tribes (Out of the three it has the highest minimum and recommended requirements) on medium settings I will be happy, especially considering that recently (As in the last week or so) I've been spending more time drawing/trying to make beats with Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and Virtual DJ respectively. A small gaming capability is simply a bonus.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=37&Code=E520_BETTER_CA

Straight_Man

How about this one???

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=:000001CA:0000057E:

MUCH better graphics, and aluminum case, and 7200 RPM drive.

GHoosdum

I'd go with Straight_Man's recommendation over what you linked there, Ilriyas, because your link contains Intel HD graphics. No way you'll ever game on that.

Ilriyas

Yeah, it's right at my budget, I've been trying to find something similarly capable but slightly cheaper. (Lynx linked me the Essential G770 it's almost $80 cheaper than what Straight_Man put up but it has an 5400rpm drive though I have to admit I have no idea what the difference is.)

If all works out with my bank authorization I should have a laptop coming my way by tonight.

GHoosdum

Okay, if you have to sacrifice one or the other, sacrifice the HDD speed. You can almost always update the HDD in a laptop when your budget permits, but you can't increase your graphics capability later on.

Never sacrifice discrete graphics if you ever intend to game on the laptop.

Ilriyas

I was thinking actually, on the note of an HDD. I've got a spare Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Dock and an unused 1.5TB 7200rpm HDD sitting around. If I were to sacrifice the HDD speed in the laptop would that prove a suitable replacement for when I'm not in class?

primesuspect

Sacrifice the HD speed in the laptop, and when you're ready/have budget I highly recommend either a full-on SSD or a sweet-ass hybrid like the Seagate Momentus XT 750gb hybrid that I reviewed a while back.

GHoosdum

Which, by the way, is on sale at Newegg right now for $144 ($30 off w/ promo code EMCNFJN88).

Straight_Man

Depending on laptop you get, you might need to have a 2.5" across HD in the laptop. The ones Prime and GHoosdum linked to should fit, yours from your desktop probably will not.

The faster a HD spins its platters around inside, the faster it can get to things to read them or write them. A 5400 RPM hard drive spins slower than a 7200 RPM hard drive, so it takes longer for a 5400 RPM HD to get to things on it like pictures, etc. The more full the HD is, the more this becomes apparent.

An SSD uses digital logic, it has no spinning parts. The SSD/HD hybrid Momentus has a smaller SSD and larger HD inside. The SSD acts as cache and the HD stores more permanently.

Does this now make more sense???

John.

Ilriyas

The Blax box is an exterior dock for a hard drive connected via a USB in this sense I'd have access to both the laptops HD and the external 1.5TB.

Regardless I've decided to purchase the laptop you found, I'm going to have this thing for four years and it might as well be a good unit.

Straight_Man

Right., a HD to USB adapting thing is what you want. That gets past the size problem. I spent 1,400 plus USD on a laptop because I wanted a laptop with security to it and all thre other things I need for my uses, but I do not game. I got the laptop about 4-5 months ago. It now would sell for about 1,200.

The fatal error in Fatcat's MSI laptop was it had plastic hinges and plastic case. I made sure I got a laptop with an alloy case, aluminum and magnesium.

That case is a lot more durable than a plastic case, and sheds heat from inside the laptop better than a plastic case would. The CPUs in cases of laptops slow down when they get too hot from built-up heat. That case alone is worth about $50.00-75.00 extra USD.