Nemesis-301
hey guys how have you been? I haven't been on lebgeeks for quite sometime...been real busy...I hope all of you are doing good!
now I need your help to buy a new laptop...
basically I need it for gaming, (to take it with me to my friends house and play on lan)
I want to purchase it from pcandparts, but I don't have cash so I am gonna buy something with monthly payments...looking to buy something less than 900$
so far I have my eye on this toshiba laptop:
Toshiba Satellite C850-A812 Intel Core i5-2450M 4GB Ram 320GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT HD7610M 1GB
up to 4.8GB Cam/ No OS Email $669.00**
it seems it has a good cpu and a good gpu...but I am open for ideas!
I don't want to purchase an hp brand cause I know many of you have had bad experiences with it...I remember reading a topic a while back I think it was titled ("never buying hp laptops")
anyway there are these other laptops but their vga's aren't specified? I am not an expert so I don't know what do you guys think?
Lenovo Ideapad Z570 Intel Core i5-2450M 6GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT 1GB Dedicated VGA Cam/ Windows 7 Premium 64-bit - $679.00
Samsung NP300E5A Black / Silver / Titan / Vivid/ Champagne Intel Core i5-2450M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT Shared VGA Cam/Windows 7 Premium 64-Bit Email $705.00
Samsung NP300V5Z Black Intel Core i7-2670M 4GB Ram 750GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT 1GB VGA Cam/ DOS Email $792.00
Aspire M3-5800T / 15.6" LED WXGAGS / Ci32367M / Nvidia GeForce GT640M 1GB/ 2GB DDR3 + 1*2GB on board / 1x500GB5.4KS SlimGB / DVD Supermulti/ 802.11bgn / 3 cell Lithium Polymer / 1.3MP HD CrystalEye / W7 Home Premium / Ms office starter $35.00 $806.00
and btw do any of you guys know a site similar to guru3d where they compare specific laptop types? or have a gaming benchmark result for all laptops?
thanks in advance!
edit: these 2 also are interesting:
Acer TM7750G 17.3" WXGA+ , Ci32350M , ATI Radeon HD 7670 1GB , 4GB , 750GB ,NSM8X,802.11bgn , 6 cells , CAM ,BT, Linux Email $675.00
Acer AS5560 15.6" WXGA, AMD Quad Core A6 3420M/ 8GB DDR3/ 750GB /NSM8X / ATI Radeon HD 7670 1GB, 6 cell 2.2/ Camera / BT /Linux Email $539.00
IDC2
Pcandparts used to have this
Acer V3-571G 15.6" LED, Ci52450M, Nvidia GT630M 1GB ,4GB DDR3 ,500GB HDD, NSM8X , BT , 6 cell 2.2 , HD CrystalEye,linux
Now it's N/A but IIRC it used to be for 575$ + taxes
That would have been the best bamg for you buck, you can ask them if they are getting it again or if they will get the newer update the V5
IDC2
Also try to check these other sites for more options/better pricing:
DOT
MicroCity
M2
IDC2
Here is something close and even better that the acer I posted.
That's an i5, I believe 3210m, so Ivy Bridge cpu.
The 630m is a good gpu on a budget, and the lenovo build quality is better than the other mainstream companies. Their keyboards are very good.
AvoK95
Brands don't matter anymore actually. I find that, all brands are in equal quality depending on the price you pay. However, some brands like Lenovo, Toshiba and Acer still beat the other brands in pricing,
So, brands don't matter that much anymore. In fact! I was thinking about going HP for my new secondary laptop.
Anyway..here's a list:
- HP G6-2165 Intel Core i7-3612QM 6GB Ram 750GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI HD7670M 1GB Bluetooth/Cam/DOS $819.00*
- HP M6-1060 AMD A8-4500M 4GB Ram 750GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI HD 7640G + 7670M Dual Graphics Bluetooth / Cam/ Windows 7 Premium 64-Bit $782.00*
- HP G6-2130 Intel Core i5-3210M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI HD7670M 1GB Bluetooth/Cam/Windows 7 Basic 64-bit $739.00*
- HP 15-B003 Black /B009 Red Intel Core i5-3317M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI VGA 1GB Bluetooth/Cam/Windows 8 $685.00* (The graphics is either GT630 or GT640 as I recall)
- Acer AS5560 15.6" WXGA, AMD Quad Core A6 3420M/ 8GB DDR3/ 750GB /NSM8X / ATI Radeon HD 7670 1GB, 6 cell 2.2/ Camera / BT /Linux $539.00
All prices are from PCandParts and VAT and shipping is to be added. As you can see, You don't need $900 for a gaming laptop.
If I were to pick one of these, I would go with the Acer, since most Acer laptops have solid builds and cost insanely cheap, especially for the ones without an OS. If I were you, I would buy a genuine copy of Windows 8 from them, because updates are pretty important, in security, performance, and tons of other stuff, and since the price is so much cheaper than expected, it would be a steal!
IDC2
I completely agree about brands, but one thing Lenovo does right is the keyboard on all their laptop lines.
If that isn't a big issue, 539+VAT= 592.9$ which is like 56$ cheaper than the lenovo I linked to above. I'm not sure m2 has the cheapest prices in Lebanon, but still for 56$ more, you're getting a much better cpu and optimus, so performance and battery life will be much better on the Lenovo. I'm sorry, but buying an AMD processor with discrete gpu is actually a dumb move.
IDC2
If he's set on PcandParts, my advice is to email them and ask if they'll be restocking the v3 or getting the v5.
The v5 would be available with an i5 ivy bridge and i think 630m too, that configuration with no os would be the only competitor to the g580.
Nemesis-301
thanks for the feedback guys! I was comparing the gpu's and I think the acer is the best one:
Acer TM7750G 17.3" WXGA+ , Ci32350M , ATI Radeon HD 7670 1GB , 4GB , 750GB ,NSM8X,802.11bgn , 6 cells , CAM ,BT, Linux Email $675.00
since it also has 17" and a resolution of 1600*900
the gpu is really good, the only thing I am worried about is if the cpu will bottleneck the gpu?
@idc2 about the acer laptop you posted, its good but I think this one has a better gpu, but again I am worried about the cpu :/
this is getting confusing
AvoK95
What's wrong with AMD CPUs ? I find that people are a lot more happier with AMD laptops than Intel. AMD is awesome when it comes to bang for the buck and no I'm not a fan boy.
@Nemesis
and i3 + 7670M with that resolution isn't a wise choice. Your games will lag more due to higher resolution resulting in higher GPU and CPU loads.
Also, the i3 is a good enough processor for gaming, but I don't think it's worth sacrificing it, especially since you got something with better specs for a cheaper price. 17" will result you in less battery life, more resolution. Yes it means better graphics but it also means worse performance, since the 7670M is not THAT powerful.
I highly recommend you get the one I suggested. The one you chose is just not worth it.
@IDC2
There isn't a single brand that does such a thing. The thing with Lenovo is that their keyboard lay out is awesome, but the Ideapad series have crappy keyboards in my opinion (I used to work with them all the time) Their keys get stuck lots of times. But the Thinkpad series are truly epic!
The GT630M is far slower than the 7670M.
Back to Nemesis, really man, get the one I suggested, it's truly a steal. And at 1366x768, the 7670 is an awesome graphics card for that resolution. Making games run very smoothly with high settings. You will have no CPU, not RAM and no GPU limit. There is absolutely no bottleneck. But I would definitely buy a genuine version of Windows 8 or 7. Because all of your games, all of your personal data will be in the machine, and I'm sure you want those files to be safe and sound without anyone trying to hack them. I would also add an SSD if it has a secondary HDD slot. The SSD will literally make it FLY!
Nemesis-301
@avok even though i3>amd quad you convinced me avok! and thanks for your help! I am going for the:
Acer AS5560 15.6" WXGA, AMD Quad Core A6 3420M/ 8GB DDR3/ 750GB /NSM8X / ATI Radeon HD 7670 1GB, 6 cell 2.2/ Camera / BT /Linux $539.00
IDC2
Nothing wrong with AMD, they are a great choice if there's no discrete gpu. With a discrete gpu, it's much better to have it with the more powerful sandy/ivy bridge cpus... no fanboyism present.
Also, 630m and 7670m are pretty close... each will run a game better than the other. OP check the performance of the games that you play before deciding between the two.
The acer is not a bad deal, but an i5 is much better than a A6, and if it's available for a little bit more money, it's worth it.
@Avok95: Of course it's not the same keyboard... but the ideapad has a better keyboard then other mainstream lines. The thinkpads are on a league of their own, even the newer models after the switch to chiclets.
AvoK95
AMD A6 is not slower than an i3 ! It has 4 physical cores, which is great for gaming. It might be an equivalent to a low end i5.
Nemesis-301
according to this site (which I think is very accurate)
http://cpubenchmark.net/mid_range_cpus.html
the higher the score the better:
AMD A6-3420M APU scored 2,123
Intel Core i3-2350M @ 2.30GHz scored 2,674
IDC2
ok guys slow down and read what I wrote again! I said that the i5 is the faster one. And since the acer v3/v5 have the i5 sandy/ivy cpu for a little bit of extra money, then asking for those would be a better option. Also the v3/v5 have an overall better design, better mousepad, better keyboard (full chiclets design and not the horrible island key that acer had in those two models you're discussing), usb 3.0... So they are a generally newer and updated versions of the older acer as5XXX.
Anyway, that's my advice. If op wants to get the older models than fine by me, my life will continue to be the same either way :P
AvoK95
I agree with IDC2, get the one he's talking about.
Also,@Nemesis, those benchmarks are for raw performance. Yes the i3 has better raw performance but in some applications such as cpu intensive games who need quad cores or photo or video rendering, 4 physical cores would benefitial for you.
Nemesis-301
if that lenovo has a 630m gpu why is it that they have put "shared vga" @pcandparts?
Lenovo G580 Intel Core i5-3210M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT Shared VGA Cam/ No OS - $569.00
also radeon 7670>gt 630m
IDC2
He might have to get the one you're talking about. The v3 is out of stock on pcandparts and isn't available on other websites. Just email them about it and see if they'll be getting it again or at least getting the newer ivy bridge version (IIRC w/ windows 8 too).
If you're in a hurry then get the one Avok linked or the Lenovo I linked above... completely your choice at this point.
Sort of out of topic, anybody knows how much shipping a laptop from pcandparts would cost? Haven't tried buying one from them yet.
IDC2
Nemesis-301 wroteif that lenovo has a 630m gpu why is it that they have put "shared vga" @pcandparts?
Lenovo G580 Intel Core i5-3210M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT Shared VGA Cam/ No OS - $569.00
also radeon 7670>gt 630m
Might be a different model and m2 has it for cheaper? Or a typo on their website.
But the g580 can be configured with a 630m, so that's not anything unordinary.
If it doesn't have it, best option at the moment is Avok's.
Nemesis-301
IDC2 wroteNemesis-301 wroteif that lenovo has a 630m gpu why is it that they have put "shared vga" @pcandparts?
Lenovo G580 Intel Core i5-3210M 4GB Ram 500GB HDD DVDRW 15.6" LED LAN, WIFI/BT Shared VGA Cam/ No OS - $569.00
also radeon 7670>gt 630m
Might be a different model and m2 has it for cheaper? Or a typo on their website.
But the g580 can be configured with a 630m, so that's not anything unordinary.
If it doesn't have it, best option at the moment is Avok's.
yeah I will email them and ask them about the lenovo, if it has the 630m...if it does I'm gonna have to think about it...if not gonna go for the acer as5560
IDC2
OK, good luck. You won't make a wrong choice between those two options. And try to email pcandparts, maybe they have something you want coming up soon.
