New Laptop

Going off to college soon, so I need a new Laptop that'll be of decent quality. Usually just running Guild Wars and Google Chrome. Don't need some thing to powerful, but something nice that'll last. Price tag is at about $1000.
Been looking a Dell laptops but don't know to much about laptops. Any suggestions?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...tops-Notebooks

Things I would Look for

Dual/Quad Core Processor atleast 2.8Ghz
Atleast 4GB Ram
Hard Drive that has 7200 RPM
Then look at the graphics cards google them and compare


If you find a few on there you like you could post them here then I am sure we could help you choose one. There is alot on there, but newegg is the best in the computer business imo.

don't just buy any laptop, lots of variables to consider when buying one.

great website here
http://www.notebookreview.com/
the top 20 is definitely worth looking at,

Asus UL50 is pretty decent, my fav one, it handles GW nicely.

alot of glowing reviews on the Alienware m11x too for under $1000.

Asus UL50 From what I am seeing is only a dual core 1.3ghz, and a 5400 RPM hard drive.

I would aim for better than that.

I mean i just scrolled through about 5 laptops on newegg and found this which is better than the Asus UL50, although it is HP (and recertified) it has a good pricetag on it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...n%20dv6-1350us
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed T6600(2.20GHz)
Screen Size 15.6"
Wide Screen Support Yes
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
GPU Intel GMA 4500MHD
HDD 320GB
HDD RPM 7200rpm
Memory 4GB
Memory Type 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM


As for the graphics, I haven't really used laptops much, nor have shopped for them, but with integrated graphics, i wouldn't really expect too much FPS wise, and I am not really sure how you would approach adding a graphics card to a laptop if it is even possible.


From looking up that alienware I am getting these specs:
# 1.3GHz Intel SU4100 (800MHz FSB, 2MB Cache) or 1.3GHz Intel SU7300 (800MHz FSB, 3MB Cache) both overclockable to 1066MHz FSB (approximately 1.73GHz)
# 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 x 2GB)
# Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
# 11.6" WXGA WideHD LED Backlit display (1366x768)
# 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
# Nvidia GeForce GT 335M Discrete Graphics (1GB GDDR3) with switchable Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics
# 802.11b/g/n, 10/100 LAN
# 3-in-1 card reader
# 8-Cell Li-ion 64WH battery, 65W Power Supply
# Dimensions: (W x L x H) 11.25" x 9.19" x 1.29"


The thing about the alienware is it has the graphics. The pricetag is alot higher though. If it is possible to add graphics to the hp I think the hp would be the better deal, the proccessor and hard drive are both faster. The graphics card is what is really going to affect gaming though. I really do not see why they would only make it a 1.3ghz though.

The HP with the same graphics the alienware has would be a good laptop, which I am not sure would be even possible to add in graphics or not. I'm sure someone here owns a laptop and may have tryed or knows if it is possible to do. I would be of more help if it were a desktop pc.

For a $1000 budget, I'd highly recommend this model:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220706

It's a very well balanced model, will be able to play Guild Wars with no effort, max settings. It has nVidia Optimus technology, which is a huge plus for battery life. The Corei3 is a great little CPU that easily beats out any Core2 Duo.


If you can push your budget to $1,200, this will last you a LONG time, and will slaughter almost anything you can throw at it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220700


We don't recommend things that:

• Can't play games unless the user doesn't intend to ever do so
• Are overpriced beyond all logical reason and offer no advantage whatsoever, aka Alienware.

I wasn't the one who suggested the alien ware it was the post above me, but if you look at the HP I was talking about from newegg, it has the same onboard graphics card as the alienware, although...

The alienware does have a 1gb ddr3 graphics card in it. That is what I was talking about when i said it has good graphics for a laptop.

The laptops you linked are both very good looking to run games on.

I did not recommend it, just posted the specs...

A laptop is not a gaming machine, and never will be. Those "desktop replacement" things Alienware and the like sell are a complete joke, and need to be tethered to the wall 24/7. They are great for lan parties, but otherwise useless.

The vRAM makes NO difference in a graphics chip unless you are directly comparing the same model, and even then, it only enables better performance at higher resolutions.

On a laptop, it isn't just about good graphics. IGPs are still severely limited in performance, and you have to weigh out battery life versus performance. nVidia Optimus technology is a boon there, allowing you to use the Corei3/i5/i7's on package IGP normally, and the discrete nVidia GPU when needed. Optimus decides when each is needed and switches seamlessly, and it's really the first solution with no kinks in it.

And I was aware you didn't recommend the Alienware, that was a general rule unless the person in need of a system specifically asks for a boutique system or has that kind of budget (and even then it's stupid, there are better systems). I didn't feel like doing an endless quote train.

Well ofcourse laptops aren't for gaming, this is the exact reason why I have 0 laptops, 3 Desktops. He needs one that can game though, I would probably go with the first one you posted.

How soon do you need this laptop? If you're not off to college until fall, I'd advise waiting for the Arrandale refresh that's supposedly coming this summer; current chips have sub-par power characteristics.

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I'll have to go about researching and comparing when a get a few hours. lol
I'll need the laptop by January, so if it's better to wait I have no problem doing so.

They're not for anything else either.
Laptops are rubbish at everything... except portability.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+L...&skuId=9736955

Been looking at this one. Theres a 1200$ model there too.... w/ a 5870 card and a 17inch screen.
Real nice keyboards on these too. Kinda like the mac ones....spaces between keys.

My friend just got the 1200 version...its sexy but huge.

wait until november or december then - take advantage of the sweet black friday and holiday deals as well as having newer technology that will be out by then...

got a hp g60 was cheap , plays gw with full settings no probs, dual core turion not best thing on market but fine -
do you need long batt life?
my laptops are always plugged in so i cannot rate batteries

Battery life isn't to important because i'd probably have it plugged in most of the time, just if I travel around (cottage, school, etc) i would have it unplugged.

For $1000 he shouldn't have to settle for a GeForce 325 with old GDDR3 memory. I disagree strongly with this recommendation.

And what would be better...? Let's face it, while ATi has the desktop GPU market under control nicely, their mobile solutions are a joke. The new GTX 480M is power hungry, but with nVidia Optimus, it doesn't matter.... nVidia is still king in the mobile markets, period. The 325 is a great little gaming chip btw, more than enough for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2.

What about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157118


- Has a ATI 4650, which is slightly faster than the N325.
- Has a lower resolution, meaning performance will be better.
- Has 6 GB RAM

Nothing prevents you from lowering the resolution in game to one lower than the native res of the laptop to improve performance.

6GB RAM won't be necessary for GW either

I agree with the GPU statement though. Just keep in mind that with An HP laptop you may or may not have quality issues (more that other brands, from personal experience) so be sure to check reviews from long time owners if possible before buying an HP laptop.

Ive been playing on a laptop since 2005, same one im on now..........plays GW great.

I disagree........can you make a desktop morepowerfull? Absolutely.

But when I travel for work of for pleasure.......I can take mine with me, you can not. Not without some difficulty.

LCD screens tend to look bad at non-native resolutions.

You're right, forgot about that detail. Both other statements still apply though

Here's a 14" from ASUS, similar specs to the HP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220634

When you are looking at laptops, you don't just look at raw GPU power like you do with a desktop. You look at power consumption and power saving technology.

True. But with games like GW, you can stay in native resolution and play in a window. That way you can use a lower in-game resolution, without degradradation. It will just look smaller.

You know, way back in the late 1940's and early 50's when they were building the first computers, I doubt that anyone was thinking "This would be great for gaming!"

In other words, you can just as easily say "Computers are not for gaming" as "Laptops are not for gaming."

Telephones are not "for watching television" either, but people do it all the time.

Except that this is not the 40's/50's and computers have moved on. And so have phones.

Right now, laptops suck at everything compared to a desktop, except portability... and mobile phones suck at everything compared to a full size home computer/TV/phone/etc, except portability.

That may change in the future. But right now, portability is the only reason to use those things, for those purposes.

This a thousand times. Because an LCD is a fixed pixel display, running at non-native resolutions spreads each virtual "pixel" across multiple "real" pixels on the display, causing everything to look fuzzy and downright bad.

That said, I play on a Dell XPS m1530 I bought nearly two years ago with the following specs:

2.1ghz core2duo w/800mhz FSB
300gig 5200RPM HDD 8 meg cache
4 gigs DDR2 667 RAM
Nvidia m8600GT 128 meg dedicated (on-board) memory (with up to 1 gig also able to be utilized from ram pool)
1440x900 display

I'm able to run guild wars just fine, with max settings in Prophecies and factions. I'm finding some stuttering in Nightfall, but changing terrain detail and reflections to medium and turning AA down to 2x (from 4x with 8x forced AF, AF left unchanged) seems to have resolved over 90% of that.

Any laptop for $1000 the OP buys today should run GW fine so long as they do the research and don't buy anything stupid (such as a system with on-board video instead of a dedicated video card). You can get systems equivalent to mine now for $700-1000 (I got lucky on a sale, it was originally $1600 or 1800 I think, but I bought out a clearance model when they were updating the XPS line), and much better in the $1000-1200 range.

Look to Tigerdirect and Newegg, they won't steer you wrong. Heck, given my experience, I'd even recommend Dell, though Alienware tends to be overpriced. HP is also generally a good performer. Sony's are great but way overpriced too.

Good luck!

This might be good for you seeing as it is in CDN $$ as you are in Canada.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16834220697

Really? That's a terrible option. No video card.

I've been looking for a laptop as well. However, I've been looking for ones that sacrifice graphics/gaming power for a smaller size/greater mobility/better battery life. I haven't made a choice, but I'm leaning very heavily towards the Asus U30Jc-A1. It uses the Optimus, GT 310M, i3, 13.3", just under 5 lbs and under one grand.

I've also been looking at the AW M11x, Macbook 13" (because apparently Unix based is great to have), and my ultimate dream laptop: the Sony VAIO Z Series VPC-Z116GX/S. It's over a grand out of my price range as well ($2000 ), but you get what you pay for. It has a backlit chiclet keyboard, GT 330M, Sony's Hybrid Graphics system, Under 4 lbs, 13.1", bluetooth, fingerprint reader, i5, etc...

I don't know how portable you want to go, but mobility and battery life are most important to me now.

Name. you can get something well less than that for a lot less just by buying off brand stuff, i've had this awesome laptop for the past two years that cost me about 1300$. even survived a ramen spill ^__^. but generally, don't spend a shitload on stuff when you don't have to.

Of course I don't know what the OP wants in terms of specs, but if your $1300 offbrand is in the 13" category with switchable graphics and under 5 lbs, model/make please?

For me at least, it's come down to that small list mainly because I haven't found many laptops in the 13" category with that battery life b/c of the switchable graphics. If you have something with similar/same features and specs as the Vaio I mentioned, please for the love of god, share!