Laptop Buying Advice

[hoobs88]

I'm in the market to get a laptop but before I shell out a sizable amount of cash, I'd like some advice and suggestions so I can make an informed decision. I've been looking at Cyberpower PC and Alienware but I'm open to other suggestions. I'm not big on PC gaming but I do plan to get Star Wars:The Old Republic. I noticed a lot of companies sell Microsoft Office but can't I just transfer that from my Desktop to my Laptop and save some money?

I will post a photo of the Laptop that I do end up getting in the "What did you buy today thread?" when it arrives.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[BlueBMW]

I've had good luck with the Gateway FX series laptops.  They are "gaming" laptops and have the bulk and size that comes with such an application, but overall they seem to be decent quality and at a better price than a company like alienware.  (isn't alienware part of dell or someone now anyways?)

I got my gateway P-7805u laptop in Jan of 2009 for around $900.  It still has no trouble playing the latest and greatest games at decent settings.

[Arkhan]

Alienware is a colossal waste of money.  You can get a decent gaming laptop from any company.  Just pay attention to the video card.  Youll save a ton of money in the process.

[hoobs88]

I've had good luck with the Gateway FX series laptops.  They are "gaming" laptops and have the bulk and size that comes with such an application, but overall they seem to be decent quality and at a better price than a company like alienware.  (isn't alienware part of dell or someone now anyways?)

I got my gateway P-7805u laptop in Jan of 2009 for around $900.  It still has no trouble playing the latest and greatest games at decent settings.

Alienware is indeed a division of Dell.

[hoobs88]

Alienware is a colossal waste of money.  You can get a decent gaming laptop from any company.  Just pay attention to the video card.  Youll save a ton of money in the process.

What's a good video card to look for?

[Arkhan]

Well if it is an Intel graphics chip, run away screaming.

You want you any of the newer Nvidia laptop video cards if you want to play games. 

The GT5xxM's for example.

[tggodfrey]

If you have the Original MS Office disks from your desktop, you can install them into your new laptop.

[SignOfZeta]

Well if it is an Intel graphics chip, run away screaming.

Clarification here; if you care about games, run away screaming. If you don't care about games (and by "games" I mean new, retail, multi-million dollar productions like WoW and CoD, not indy stuff or emulators) there is nothing wrong with Intel graphics in so far as reliability or driver support. When it comes to gaming obviously they fall down pretty hard, the shared RAM is not a small part of it. I tried SFIV on my MacBook and it was...totally and completely unplayable. It runs older games like Supreme Commander with no issues though. It also runs music and productivity programs at decent resolution across multiple monitors in both Windows 7 and OSX with no issues.

[roflmao]

I bought an ASUS EEE 1000HE 10.1" netbook a while back for about $300 that has an intel graphics chip.  It won't play Left 4 Dead, which is a bummber, but it will play games like Guild Wars and World of Warcraft surprisingly well (on the lowest settings).  Granted, at 1024x600, I can't imagine gaming for very long on that machine, but it's great for playing emulators on the airplane. 

I'm also looking to get a full fledged laptop and right now I've got my eye on something like this: http://www.amazon.com/N53SV-XE1-15-6-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Aluminum/dp/B004KNVK84/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IT7JFP63WTMSZ&colid=3BHVV7F1FNUZ0

It's bigger and heavier, but I can actually work on the road (I use the Adobe Production Premium CS5 suite and web development tools all day long).  It's got a decent video card and is almost as fast as my desktop!  Much smaller display, though, but a sacrifice I think I'm willing to make for portabilities sake.  I've had a 17" laptop in the past and it's a pain to travel with.

[SignOfZeta]

I bought a $300 Samsung netbook for my girlfriend the Xmas before last. It probably has Intel graphics, I don't know. What I do know is that it's the biggest piece of cock sucking shit excuse for consumer electronics I've ever owned. It's been nothing but a pain in the ass since day one, and now that she has an iPhone, it pretty much just sits there.

[blueraven]

Don't get a Vaio.

[tggodfrey]

I bought a $300 Samsung netbook for my girlfriend the Xmas before last. It probably has Intel graphics, I don't know. What I do know is that it's the biggest piece of cock sucking shit excuse for consumer electronics I've ever owned. It's been nothing but a pain in the ass since day one, and now that she has an iPhone, it pretty much just sits there.

Please dont hold back and tell us how you really feel.....hahahahhaha