[Maximus]

I am a student that just graduated from High School in May and will be attending college in the fall and I have about $1000-$1200 to spend a laptop. I will primarily use it for gaming, and a little school work, haha. But I really am looking for one than can handle pretty up to date gaming as well as media stuff, and the simple school work I will have to do, like typing papers, power points or whatever. I've looked at at the Dell E1705 and a few HP's. Please help me find a laptop!

[jbking]

I'd likely consider lowering expectations to some extent as well as figuring out a few variables on that laptop such as:1) Size -> Do you want a 20" monster, a 17" mini-monster, a 15.4" mid-size, a 14" small or a 12" tiny one?2) Weight -> Generally bigger are heavier but there are other factors that can count here too but do you want a 10 lb machine to carry around or something lighter?3) Battery life -> Will this be plugged in most of the time or do you want a high battery life that may add more weight to things.4) Graphics card -> If you are a gamer then you should go over to notebookreview.com's list of graphics cards to see which are good for gamers as generally this isn't upgradeable in a laptop. Don't forget to look for dedicated memory and see if it will be borrowing from the system memory.5) CPU -> AMD or Intel? Dual core or single core? Do you know of games that require a lot of CPU power or other applications you'll be using?6) O/S -> Vista, XP or something else? Something else being Mac OS or Linux for example.7) Memory -> 1 GB or 2 GB? These would be how much I'd suggest but then it is your choice to try to run with lower memory and deal with the performance issues.8) Wireless -> Most laptops now come with a wireless card built in and so you have to figure out if the card needs to support some standard that the college uses if it has a wireless network on its campus, e.g. 802.11b, 802.11g, or N.Some places will let you filter over laptops based on specs that would also be a good idea to find a few models to whittle things down to from the sea of all $1100 laptops give or take $100.Regards,JB

[Maximus]

1.) Size -> I'd have to go with 17" maybe 15" but no smaller.2.) Weight-> I've noticed that most powerhouse laptops are typically fairly heavy. So 8-10 lbs?3.) Battery Life-> It will mostly be at my house plugged in, except for when I take it to school or friends house or whatever. 4.) Graphics Card-> I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with some sort of NIVIDIA. By the way were can I find a list of graphics cards on that website, all I can find are...notebook reviews haha?5.) CPU-> Most of the laptops I've looked at seem to be AMD, which do you recommend? 6.) OS-> Most likely Vista, most laptops come with it right now, I may switch to XP at some point however.7.) Memory-> Is 1GB enough do do what I'm looking for or should I go with 2GB, I don't know much about memory.8.) Wireless-> Like I said this will mostly be used at my house, so I'm not too concerned about it.I've been looking for about a month now at specs and what not, I'm just trying to get some suggestions, thanks for the help so far. -Max

[jbking]

Greetings,Ok, so you would likely end up with an 8-10 lb machine I suspect if you do take a 17" laptop.On the graphics card, http://forum.noteboo...ead.php?t=39568 is the link I meant to post about various mobile graphics cards. nVidia isn't a bad choice though do understand what part of the spectrum you get that is a bit of a compromise.On the AMD vs. Intel, I would say each has their own fans and I have machines with each. Generally Intel is viewed as better in some respects though a Turion 64 x2 isn't likely a bad idea. I would likely suggest a dual core CPU in your case.If you go with Vista, then I'd suggest getting 2 GB of RAM in the system.Regards,JB

[Maximus]

Thanks so much for the help man. I really appreciate, you've helped be narrow it down a bit, thanks :D. Anyone else...?

[orlbuckeye]

You should look at the HP line. The new DV9500T is a good 17" screen and the DV6500T a good 15.4" sceen which will be cheaper. As far as the AMD versus Intel I like Intel because they have done better with Mobile processors features such as battery life.

[rgreen4]

Go onto the HP website, under the Home and Home Office section you will find choices of laptops, and options to customize them.The HP dv6000t with the Core2Due, Vista Home Premium, 2 GB DDR2 Ram, nVidea GeForce 7400 Video chip with 256MB memory, microphone and webcam, a 160 GB SATA HD, double layer DVD R/RW, high capacity 6 cell battery, recovery DVD's comes in at about $1100. Upgrading to the newly released dv6500t, is about $300 higher.

[Maximus]

I've found a few I'd like you guys to look at:Dell Inspiron E1705 -Intel Core Duo 1.86GHz -17" -2GB Memory -120GB Hard Drive -256MB ATI Radeon X1400 -$1402(with office student and 36 month security added)Dell XPS M1210 -Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz -12.1" widescreen -2GB -NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 -120 GB HD -$1565(office/security included)HP dv6500t -Intel Duo Core -15.4" -2GB -NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400 GS -120GB HD -$1431.99($1629.99 for Special Edition which I really like a a lot, built in camera, cool white color) (office/security included)Toshiba Satellite P200/P205 -Intel Core 2 Duo -17" -1024MB memory -NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 -premium speakers -$1176(office/security not included)Please let me know if these are good for what I'm looking for and suggestions to what to add or subtract. -Max

[jbking]

Greetings,Here's some initial thoughts on each:Dell E1705 -> Nice basic model that should be OK, not great but it'll do what you need I think but not much more.Dell XPS M1210 -> This is a rather small machine that you may want to see this to get an idea of what kinds of resolutions it'll run as I'm not sure it goes that high. Other than the size issue, it is fine.I suppose the XPS M1710 would have been too much? Just a thought.HP dv6500t -> Nicest video card I think and is definitely the best of the bunch and is what I'd take from the list, fwiw.Toshiba Satellite -> 1 GB of memory is a little low from my view and given that some may get taken for the video you'll want more than that but that's JMHO.Regards,JB

[Maximus]

I forgot to add this one:Gateway Nx860x -Intel Core 2 Duo -120 GB HD -17" -1024MB memory (is that 1GB?) -NVIDIA 7600 -$1449.98 (office and security included, the two equal about $250 btw)I don't know a lot about Gateway, but this seems to be a pretty good set-up, let me know...

[jbking]

1024 MB = 1 GBIIRC, for Vista 1 GB is the recommended minimum though it can run with less. So, aside from the memory issue it seems fine. I do think the hp is the best of the bunch though.

[Maximus]

Ok, so 2048MB=2GB? The Gateway offers the option.

[jbking]

Yup, 2048 MB = 2 GB and is the minimum I'd have in a Vista machine for a gamer.Regards,JB

[Maximus]

Thanks so much for the help man, I'm going to keep looking around, I'll keep you updated on what I find.:D-Max

[rgreen4]

Maximus - I have to agree with you on the white color of the HP special edition. It will also not show the scratches that it will collect as badly.If you can swing it, I would definitely go with the 2GB.Another factor you need to consider. Browse the various laptop makers websites to see how easy it is to find drivers, and self support. I have been on HP, Dell, and Gateway sites trying to find information for folks. Having HP products myself, I am more familiar with the HP site, Dell is pretty good, Gateway is a distant third with information difficult to find. I cannot speak to Toshiba or Sony as I have not been on theirs. This is an important part of the decision, because you will have this laptop for a long time.Make sure you get the restore discs and keep them in a safe place.

[Maximus]

OK, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the HP dv6500t, please tell me if the specs I have chosen are good for what I'm looking for and if everything will all work well together:HP dv6500t: -Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit) -Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz/2MB L2Cache) -15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800) -2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) -383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS -Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection -120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive -Super Multi 8X DVD/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support(or free upgrade to LightScribe DVD/-RW w/Double Layer?) -6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery -Norton Internet Security™ 2007 - 36 Months(or McAfee for same price?) -System Recovery DVD w/Windows Vista Home Premium -Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 OK, that all adds up to $1,629.99 not including sales tax, which I'm not sure if I'll have to play or not. Please let me know if I need to add anything, change anything, or take anything off. Thanks again.:D-Max

[smax013]

I personally avoid Norton Internet Security suite these days. I still run Norton Anti-virus, but it is the 2005 version. It seemed that things got worse and worse with newer version. But, that is just my opinion.I have had better luck with the McAfee stuff (I get it free as a Comcast customer)...although I use ZoneAlarm Pro for my firewall for my Windoze PeeCees. So, I am only really using McAfee for anti-virus on the one computer.

[Maximus]

Yea I use McAfee on my family desktop and I've been pretty satisfied, never really had any problems with it. So I'll probably end up getting McAfee instead of Norton, it's just that HP offered pre-installed Norton, but I'll just have to buy the McAfee pack separately.

[Maximus]

Anyone have any say-so on the specs I've selected?

[rgreen4]

Maximus - the hardware looks good. However, I would have to agree with others and in fact my rule is NO SYMANTEC. My HP Media Center came with 15 months of Norton Internet Security. I had to download the uninstall too because you can't just use the Windows uninstall tool. Its almost as bad a a virus itself. There are many good free Anti-Virus programs (I use AVG Free) and free antispyware programs. Just check PC World reviews.I don't disagree with you choice of Office 2007 Home & Student, just the source. The retail copy of this is good for installation and activation on three computers. It can be ordered for $120 from Newegg. If the version from HP is also good for installation on three computers, its not a big deal, but if it is not, then definitely go with the retail as even in a retail store it is the same price as HP's. The extra two installations may come in handy.