[Insurance] Getting a laptop...Need brands to choose from.

S

Skyler

Contributor
Veteran XV
Greets,

Last time I bought a laptop, I got one from Sager Midern Computer...a small company in California. I was pretty satisfied with it, except it sounded like a jet engine once the HDD was being accessed continuously, or I ran a video game.


edit: but it got stolen.

Normally I shy away from buying computers made by name brand companies like HP/Compaq, Dell, Gateway, etc...but from all the laptop threads I've been reading, Dell seems to be the choice.

I need something for school, but would be nice to play a game on in my downtime. I probably wouldn't be installing WoW or NWN2 on it or anything, so a nice amount of RAM (1 GB >), 40-80 GB HDD, and a Core 2 Duo or a Turion x2. Any ideas?

Here's my last laptop:

$1260

NP2720V - 14.1" XGA ACTIVE MATRIX LCD DISPLAY

PENTIUM® 4 2.4GHZ (400MHZ FSB) WITH 512KB ON-DIE CACHE NOTEBOOK COMPUTER
512MB PC2100 (1 DIMM)
40.0GB (4200rpm) Ultra DMA Hard Drive
5 8X DVD / 24X10X24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Softwares
Click to expand...
 
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get the dell 9400. its a pretty pimp machine. make sure you get atleast 1 year next day service with LT contract. If you want the complete insurance package, get 'complete care' it covers any accidental shit that could ever happen to that machine.
 
you can sue Dell when your laptop lights you on fire... It's only a matter of time before the lappies come with a warning label.
 
I have a Dell E1505 with a dual core Intel CPU, 1 gig of RAM and a Radeon X1400. With a good Dell coupon I got the whole thing for about $900 last year.

I play Half-Life 2, Guild Wars, Galactic Civilizations 2 and a bunch of other games on it and it runs beautifully. I can't recommend Dell laptops enough, I was very wary of them but I saw the deal I took advantage of on Fatwallet and it seemed too good to pass up. I was very happy with my purchase. :)
 
my gf has had to sent her piece of shit Dell back for repairs a total of like 6 times now... multiple hardware failures of random components... new LCD, new motherboard like 3 times, new Cd/Dvd drive, new hard drive... absolutely ridiculous.

Ive done some research and Lenovo (IBM) and Gateway seem to rank at the top for reliability and support.

Dell lures you in with complete care or long term warranty but fuck that shit if you gotta send the garbage back every other month.
 
ayz said:
HL2/CSS on a dell E1505 with 1 gig ram and X1600 will NOT run beautifully
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Funny, since I play it most days on my lunch break at work at it looks just fine to me.

I don't crank the resolution up super high but I run it at high detail and the framerate is very smooth and playable. Of course I don't turn on AA, but thats not a big deal.

For comparison, my desktop is an Athlon 4200 X2 with 2GB DDR and a GF 8800GTS so I am something of a framerate whore.
 
ayz said:
HL2/CSS on a dell E1505 with 1 gig ram and X1600 will NOT run beautifully
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I play CSS with everything on high on mine and get anywhere from 45-55 fps, so I dunno.

Edit: Oh and yeah, for the price the E1505 is a good laptop. I got mine with the newer T7200 Core 2, its a decent laptop. It's not ultra-portable, but I don't mind taking it to class with me if I need to either
 
i have the same laptop and play on 1280x768 or whatever the widescreen res is for 1024x768.

I'll get 40-50 fps on some maps but once it hits Nuke or Inferno it drops to 20-30

then again 40-50 fps to me is pretty shitty and not "running beautifully"
 
I mean, its not something I'd want to play competitively on, but it's fine for a pub, and I don't notice any choppiness. It also might make a difference that I have 2GB of RAM.
 
ayz said:
i have the same laptop and play on 1280x768 or whatever the widescreen res is for 1024x768.

I'll get 40-50 fps on some maps but once it hits Nuke or Inferno it drops to 20-30

then again 40-50 fps to me is pretty shitty and not "running beautifully"
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1280 x 800 is what you're thinking of.
And 40-50 FPS on a sub $1,000 laptop in CSS seems pretty damn beautiful to me.

Its not like I expect it to run Crysis. :D
 
Leiawen said:
1280 x 800 is what you're thinking of.
And 40-50 FPS on a sub $1,000 laptop in CSS seems pretty damn beautiful to me.

Its not like I expect it to run Crysis. :D
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that's when you say it runs "decently" but not "beautifully"

i mean when i take a shit and it comes out brown i am a lot happier than when it comes out black/green but i don't refer to it as "beautiful" just because it's preferred over something worse
 
I've never liked the feel of the Dell keypad or track pad. I have an IBM ThinkPad for work and I absolutely love it.
 
I got Dell inspirons for my mom and gf in the last 18 month

I thnik both of them are sweet and I would get one if I didn't get a laptop through work

I also have an HP NC6000 at work and it's badass, but a little old now
 
ayz said:
that's when you say it runs "decently" but not "beautifully"

i mean when i take a shit and it comes out brown i am a lot happier than when it comes out black/green but i don't refer to it as "beautiful" just because it's preferred over something worse
Click to expand...

:shrug:

Hey, whatever makes you happy.
 
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