Laptop Recommendation

I decided not to hijack the other thread and just create my own. Plus it'll help get this forum off it's feet. I'll be going to college pursuing an Aerospace Engineering degree, so I imagine I'll need a pretty decent laptop, though nothing over the top. I'll still have access to my home computer on the weekends for major stuff.

I'm also big on PC gaming. Now I know good gaming laptops run upwards of $3,000 sometimes, but I don't want to play the newest and greatest games at the highest settings. I'll be playing games like perhaps Star Wars: Empire at War, and others released earlier.

My budget is around $1600 +/- . I've been looking at some Alienwares, specifically the Area-51® m5500 which I can configure like this:

Intel® Pentium® M 760 2.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache 533MHz FSB
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Service Pack 2
Media Center Remote Control
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
60GB 5400 RPM ATA100
128MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go MXM 6600
8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
+ Bag and small accessories

$1700 ($1600 AR)

I'm a little cautious of alienwares though, since I've heard some bad things, but this does seem like a decent setup. I would like Media Center XP and a remote on my laptop, though it's not required. Also, the lighter and smaller the better.

Can anyone recommend some other laptops?

I am the resident Dell laptop fan. Personally, I love my maxed out Latitude D610. The only problem is that this model is a bit more expensive than what you're looking for. Maybe look into the Inspiron line, though in my mind, they aren't quite as easy to use as the Latitude line {based on such things as keyboard size/shape} and just seem slightly more prone to hardware problems. But I've not had any serious problems with any Dell laptops that were not easy to fix. I replaced a motherboard on one a couple weeks ago and it took like half an hour, all because one of the DIMM slots was bad. First time I had problem like that with a Dell laptop, out of the 40+ that I have deployed in the past 18 months. But again, I just really like Dell laptops. I have friends with Toshibas, which they love. I know people with HP laptops which work really well for them.

Also, with my Latitude D610 with the 64 mb Radeon x300 mobile video card, I could play Guild Wars at max settings at 1400x1050 resolution with no problems.

I wouldn't go for Alienware, because it's overprices. Better go for Dell, Asus or some other serious brand. Personally, I wouldn't got for an Intel CPU, because they tend to be more expensive and don't perform as well as an AMD CPU. The RAM is good, but for $1700,- the harddrive and videocard are a joke.

The problem I've found with dells is that they are either too expensive (XPS Line) or I'm not able to include a decent video card on them. Most of which just have an integrated card.

I'll look into Asus though.

I didn't type a full list, other brands that come into mind are Acer or Vaio (Sony, quite expensive). At all costs, avoid Packard Bell.

Then again, I got one of the cheapest notebooks, from a German brand called Medion, and the thing works great so far (got it on 9 December 2005).

Originally Posted by Grawl

I wouldn't got for an Intel CPU, because they tend to be more expensive and don't perform as well as an AMD CPU.

The Pentium M range is a very decent CPU choice, but I agree it usually does cost more.

dell is your best choice if your looking to get the most for your money. They have a model that fits every budget. Asus is my favorite brand for the "coolness" factor. Some of their laptops rival apple in looks. I have this http://store.agearnotebooks.com/asusv6vphotos.html .... Its AMAZING...best laptop and the coolest looking i've ever had.

Dell might fit my budget, but not my specs. Someone tell me why I can't customize an XPS laptop with an actual video card?

Originally Posted by Stealth

Dell might fit my budget, but not my specs. Someone tell me why I can't customize an XPS laptop with an actual video card?

Because you don't know how? Is a 7800 gtx/6800 ultra not an actual video card?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't laptops use the system RAM for video RAM even in the presence of a video "card"? (At least, they seem to do so in the couple laptops I've seen with such cards.)
Either way, you'd still have something better than an Intel graphics chip.

Originally Posted by quazi

Because you don't know how? Is a 7800 gtx/6800 ultra not an actual video card?

I'm not talking about the huge XPS models.

Quote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't laptops use the system RAM for video RAM even in the presence of a video "card"? (At least, they seem to do so in the couple laptops I've seen with such cards.)

Not dedicated GPUs, no.

I would not suggest Sony Vaios of any kind, I have the S260 and nothing but trouble since I got it. Overpriced, underquality, stay away from it as much as possible.

Ever heard of a company called Averatec(Its a Korean company!)? Well I bought a cute little 11.5 incher a few years back and it's been lugged halfway around the world and back and dropped a few times on the way and well it's held up pretty well. I'd recommend one.

Fujitsu and Samsung also make quality laptops I recommend you look into a few models.

A big problem I find with Dell models is if you want a good video card they overcharge you by quite a bit.

I could buy an acer or IBM laptop with the same video card and same specs for £75 cheaper.

But I definately recommend Fujitsu and Samsung.

Unfortunately Samsung can'te sell laptops in the US. But they do have nice ones.

Originally Posted by Stealth

Unfortunately Samsung can'te sell laptops in the US. But they do have nice ones.

Why can't they sell laptops in the us? I swear I saw one the last time I was at Best Buy.

No, they have a non-comp agreement with Dell.

anything by acer or hp, because the company where I work at uses lots of crappy (but working) acer computers.

I'm nearly in the same boat as you, Steath, only with a $1800 budget. I need a new laptop to replace my old HP and I'm leaning towards a customized Asus.

So I went to AGear (http://www.agearnotebooks.com/) and spec'ed an Asus Z70Va:

1. Display: 15.4 inch WSXGA+ (1680x1050) TFT LCD
2. Processor: 1.86GHz Intel Pentium M 750 (Sonoma) w/2MB L2 Cache - 533FSB
3. Thermal Paste: High Density Polysynthetic Silver CPU Thermal Compound Paste (+$20.00)
4. Graphics & Video: ATI Mobility Radeon X700 PCI Express w/128MB VRAM
5. Memory: 1.0GB DDR2-533MHz Memory (1x1024MB) (+$99.00)
6. Hard Drive: 60GB 5,400 rpm Ultra DMA HDD (+$65.00)
7. DVD/CDRW Drive: 8X DVD Dual-RW Dual Layer/CD-RW Drive w/Software (+$60.00)
8. Wireless LAN: Built-in Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 Tri-Mode 802.11A/B/G LAN
9. Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth (+$60.00)
A. Main Battery: 8-Cell Smart Li-ion Battery: 4+ hours
B. Second Battery: None.
C. Second Hard Drive: None.
D. MS Windows OS: No MS Windows Operating System
E. MS Office XP Software: None.

$1616

Fujitsu is also a good choice -- the Lifebook N3510 is another choice of mine.

The X700 isn't bad but if you can get a 6600gt instead it beats it in performance and roughly costs the same too. But if it does not let you customise the gpu, thats not a bad choice still.

Personally I've never used an Asus laptop so I can't comment to how good they are.