[Hotshot]

Hi Iam purchasing my first laptop, and my first computer in a long time. I am hoping to get a kick arse laptop that will last a long time. My budget is aroubd 1000 to 2500 Canadian. I am going to be using it for gaming (World of war Craft) and picture editing as well as digital camcorder editing and saving.I have been searching around at best buy and Furture shop, Stable and office Depot. i found four that stood out, but i dont know much about specs and what it would take to run the type of programs i want to with out lagging. Unfortunately i am not very patient.Here are the four that stood out, if you dont mind directing me on the right path i would be very grateful, or if you have any better ideas. Thank you very much.I dont know to much about what the specs mean so i copied as much info as i could that i thought might be helpful.HP DV9330 17" $1999.99Intel Centrino core duo 2 T550 1.66GHZRam: 2048 mb DDR2 (2 Dimm) Exp. to 2048240 GB SATA (5400 RPM) Dual HDDLIght scribe super multi 8x DVD(funny shape)R/RWDLNVIDIA Geforce Go 7600Audio: Altec LansingCache: 2mb L2Fax/modem: 56k modem high speedACER Ferrari Fr1000 - 5123 12.1"(bleh) $2059.99 (on sale)AMD Turion 64x2 Mobile Tech TL-56 1.8Ghz2GB DDR2 SDRAM (Exp. to 4gb)160 GB 5400 rpmATI Radeon Xpress 1150High Definition Audio supportCache: 2 x 512 kb L256k V.92Acer Aspire AS5680 "Ultimate" 15."4 $1999.99Intel core 2 duo T7200 2.0 GHZ2 GB DDR2 SDRA160 GBSlot loading super-multi DVD + 1RWGeforce 7600 256 mbWireless A/B/G bluetoothToshiba Satelitte NB (I dont have much info)intel Centrino Duo mobile tech. T5500 1.66GHZ2 GB DDR2 200 GBI am open Minded so i will take in all of your suggestions.Thank you again!

[jbking]

A few things I'd point out:1) Santa Rosa is coming soon, like in May I think. So if you could wait for those to come out that would be one idea. There are some new things in this platform also called "Centrino Pro" which will likely affect the prices of current systems as well as new ones.2) Vista vs. XP. Which O/S are these coming with and do you realize the potential hit on gaming you could have if you get Vista on the new laptop that most are likely to have these days? Similarly, if you go with XP you do realize that you may be limiting yourself since Direct X10 is a Vista-only technology?3) What are you calling a long time? If you plan on the laptop lasting 7+ years then that is a serious challenge that I would likely suggest you go look at computer boutiques to make the higher quality systems that may last that long but that's JMHO.4) If you are going to play games on the laptop then please educate yourself about graphics cards as this is likely going to be a big deal down the road as most games bottleneck on whether the graphics card has enough power to play the game and at what level of detail. http://forum.noteboo...ead.php?t=39568 is a good primer if you want such a link.Just some initial thoughts,JB

[Hotshot]

thanks JB

[Hotshot]

hey Jb thanks for the info on the video cards.I am going to be on Vista and i think i would like a performance card nvidia geforce 7600 or Ati x1600Any ideas?

[jbking]

Those cards should be good though if I were you, I'd do a little digging into seeing when are Mobile Direct X10 cards coming and see if it may be worth waiting for these to come. Part of Vista was Direct X10 though there aren't many cards that can use this yet as nVidia's 8000 series of cards are the only ones I know of though there are some coming from ATI sooner or later. Course most games don't use Direct X10 yet either but they might over the next few years I'd imagine.Regards,JB

[Hotshot]

wont a brand new graphics card raise the price ridiculously.Are you on Cnet too jb?

[jbking]

No, a new graphics card doesn't necessarily raise the price as it may depend on what level of graphics card it is. Some of the newer cards from nVidia are cheaper than the 8800s they released before, but generally new top of the line cards will likely be pricey the question is how long are you expecting the laptop to hold onto gaming dominance? By gaming dominance, I mean that it will likely play any game and not require newer hardware as while desktops can be upgraded easily over time, it just isn't the same with laptops in most cases.I am on CNet under the name jbking2.Regards,JB

[Hotshot]

Im not to worried about being a dominating gamer, my fiance would kill me!!i just wanted the best bang for my buck, to be honest i think if i go with out the direct x 10, there is going to be an awsome game that comes out in the future that i just wont be able to play, but by then i hope im to busy with other things. i really just want a computer that wont be completely obsolete in a year, and that i can use to edit family photos and view/burn family videos. The gaming i really an added bonus. But i would still want to get the best i can for my money.Is there any webpage you can go to where you can type in your spec. prefrences and they will show you a laptop?

[jbking]

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but there are more than a few places you can search through various laptops. Here's a few such links that may be of some help:1) PC World -> http://www.pcworld.com/ic/laptops/ Click on the "Find a review" button on the right and this will give you some options to filter by in finding a laptop.2) CNet -> http://reviews.cnet.....html?tag=glnav In the section "Find the Right Laptops" there are links to narrow down the search there that may be of some help.3) Notebookreview.com -> http://www.notebookreview.com/ There is a "Laptop Search" section on the far right that you can use to search for models there and find reviews.Regards,JB

[Hotshot]

Is Dell a good company to go with?Thanks!

[jbking]

I'd say Dell is OK to use though all I've ever gotten from Dell is a monitor so far. While Dell does allow some customization that is better than going to a Best Buy and Circuit City and getting something off the shelf, it isn't the best in terms of giving the users wide flexibility like some boutiques would be though these may be out of your price range to some extent as I'm talking about those that would spend $3,000-5,000 on a laptop expecting all around awesomeness to some extent. I'd give Dell a shot and see if there is some model there that comes out meeting the criteria you want at a decent price. If there is then you have a starting point if you want to comparison shop and if not then you know Dell isn't that good after all.Regards,JB