New laptop <800$ recommendations

tibug

New Member
Hey, this is my first post on these boards and I'm a n00b, and I'm looking to buy a new laptop this summer. My current laptop is a Thunkpad t23, which is fine for everything except the stuff that I like to do. I need...

  • some gaming ability
  • I need a laptop that will run Compiz-fusion in Ubuntu happily (compiz runs off the graphics card so it doesn't tax my ram, so I need a good one)
  • is comfortable for typing for long periods of time.
  • Durability presides over portability
  • and $$$ as well as functionality both presides over looks (but if it looks good then thats a plus).
  • I will need lots of hdd space and I'll be dual booting Ubuntu and XP, so a hdd at least 100 gigs or greater would be nice.
  • I need a DVD burner.
The T23 has supersavage graphics, which is just about enough for nothing. If there is such thing as an upgradeable laptop, that's what I want. I don't care about AMD vs. Intel, and I don't do drugs.

I've looked at this one, and really like it...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115444

Hows the graphics card in this one? (nvidia geforce 7000m)

Any opinions and other suggestions? I've heard acer is pretty much the best bang for your buck you can get; are there any other companies similar? Anyone tried cyberpowerpc/ibuypower and can vouch for them?

Thanks,
Tim
 
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a friend of mine is also looking to get a lappy, so i'll be interested in what the folks here have to say too. i was recommending an acer rig, but he's still doing his due diligence.
 
a friend of mine is also looking to get a lappy, so i'll be interested in what the folks here have to say too. i was recommending an acer rig, but he's still doing his due diligence.


Yea, I have until the summer [when I have money] to make my decision. I just wanted to get an idea of what I should get. The less money the better!

Tim
 
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except for the dell outlet, or ebay, or other places to get used computers, it might be kinda hard to find a laptop with a dedicated GPU. if you give up on that, i just bought an acer extensa and i am very happy with it
 
Go to Dell outlets website: http://www.dell.com/outlet

Search for those laptops and you can filter options. For example, today I saw one with a Core 2 Duo, 2GB ram, 120GB hard drive, and an 8600M GT video card, all for under $700.
Check out this deal on the vostro small business class computers.


http://www.dell.com/content/product...nb_1500?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=bundlestab
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display edit
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD edit
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS edit
MEDIA DIRECT Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application edit
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card edit
WEBCAM No Webcam Option edit
My Accessories
BATTERIES 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
My Software
PRODUCTIVITY Microsoft® Works 8.5 Does NOT Include MS Word edit
ONLINE BUSINESS GROWTH TOOLS Free Microsoft Office Live Small Business edit
SECURITY No Pre-installed Anti-Virus/Security Software edit
ADOBE SOFTWARE Adobe® Acrobat® Reader edit
My Services & Warranties
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service edit
DELL DATASAFE™ ONLINE BACKUP 10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe edit
AUTOMATED PC TUNEUP 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup edit
ON-SITE SYSTEM SETUP No Onsite System Setup edit
STANDARD VOSTRO SERVICES TOOLS Dell Network Assistant edit
PURCHASE INTENT Purchase is not intended for resale. edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
SOUND OPTION High Definition Audio 2.0
Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Labels Windows Vista™ Basic
Processor Branding Intel Core 2 Duo Process
 
except for the dell outlet, or ebay, or other places to get used computers, it might be kinda hard to find a laptop with a dedicated GPU. if you give up on that, i just bought an acer extensa and i am very happy with it

Have trust in NEWEGG!!!! Yay!!!!

i just found this and I would buy it now except I don't have money...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115411

It's not the best gpu, but it's dedicated and it's in a <800$ laptop and it should play most games pretty well if not on their highest detail settings.. SWEET.

Thoughts on this?

Tim
 
looks good EXCEPT its vista. it all depends what you are looking for in an operating system

Pfft, I go straight to dual boot XP/Ubuntu. Won't even try vista. Okay, maybe I'll try it. Then I'll delete it or maybe tri-boot it so I can be cool:confused:. Vista sucks. Why would Microsuck make an OS that's not compatible with as much stuff as XP is. I hate XP too, but I only use it because it's the standard and 95% of all software is specific for it.

But otherwise it looks good? What would you recommend for ram upgrades if I'd want to upgrade it to 3 gigs?

Tim
 
How about this: http://www.officedepot.com/textSearch.do?uniqueSearchFlag=true&Ntt=401515

I do not know how it preforms for gaming though. Probably someone else on this forum can tell you.

Or since you will be buying it in the summer then you should probably buy this: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4182

Again I do not know how it will be preforming for the games however both of these laptops have excellent keyboards so it will be comfortable for typing a lot.

Thanks, I really loved IBM, and the new lenovo stuff looks kickass, but it's a little pricy...

Tim
 
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