Laptop buying Guide

[karamazovmm]

What do you fellas think of this Lenovo y500?
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops.../y500/?redir=y

I dont like it much. its a terrible idea to have a sli mid range mobile gpus. imagine that you are going to sli 640, no one in their right minds would say to you go for it, they will say buy a better gpu from the price of both and do without the hassle that is sli and its not perfect scaling, microstuttering, frame drops, buffer problems, game support and me getting that facepalm

for me its simple, a 765m delivers almost the same performance without any hassle thats the choice.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

LaptopUsers.net

What is your budget?
£630

What country will you be buying this in?
UK

What size notebook do you prefer?
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Video Chat and Conference, Movie Streaming and Viewing, Output Video to TV or Large Monitor, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
RTS

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will stay on desk

How many hours of battery life do you need?
3

Will you be buying online or in store?
online

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
ASAP

How long do you want this laptop to last?
5 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner

a good opportunity would be the hp envy series and the current unknown quantity the asus n550

[Heinz Guderian]

Karam, what clevo chassis should i get that doesnt throttle for about a G?

[karamazovmm]

the W series is a good option for that. they usually start at a bit lower than that, in that series you have the 13, 15, and 17 that should serve you, the 14 doesnt come with a dgpu, only with the intel 5200 aka iris pro

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

Hi everyone, I haven't read all of the thread, just the OP, it is helpful, but I would like to know what would you recommend for me, I will mostly be using this laptop to take notes at the university since my handwriting is crap and really slow, so a good battery life on it is a big plus(I guess there will be somewhere where I can plug in, but you never know), I want it to be capable of doing some amount of gaming as well, I will mostly play less graphic or just older games like medieval 2 (obviously modded) and world of tanks on at least medium settings, I will also be watching movies on it, so a good resolution is also an added bonus.

I am looking to spend around 650$ on it, but if it is possible to achieve what I described with less, put forward those suggestions as well. I will be buying it at the beginning of september if everything goes as it should, so there is no need to be in a hurry.

[bthizle1]

I still have yet to decide on a laptop.....I was thinking I'd get the sager np8230 for some time, then I had to rethink that because I travel ALOT and usually from a backpack, which means it could be damaged and/or stolen much easier. So I was weary about the 7 pounds and $1,300 (with OS). I've also been looking at the sager np7352 ($1,000), which is a pound lighter just about, around 6 lbs or so. It's really only some $200 less, but I'm curious as to whether or not it'll be a fair amount more portable. Any opinions? I'd much prefer to purchase a laptop for around say $600-700 that could handle all the TW's well, and Rome 2 on say medium/high, but I have yet to find one. Any advice?

[karamazovmm]

Hi everyone, I haven't read all of the thread, just the OP, it is helpful, but I would like to know what would you recommend for me, I will mostly be using this laptop to take notes at the university since my handwriting is crap and really slow, so a good battery life on it is a big plus(I guess there will be somewhere where I can plug in, but you never know), I want it to be capable of doing some amount of gaming as well, I will mostly play less graphic or just older games like medieval 2 (obviously modded) and world of tanks on at least medium settings, I will also be watching movies on it, so a good resolution is also an added bonus.

I am looking to spend around 650$ on it, but if it is possible to achieve what I described with less, put forward those suggestions as well. I will be buying it at the beginning of september if everything goes as it should, so there is no need to be in a hurry.

well I saw a lot of BB sales for the g46, maybe you can get one, its not portable, its a tranny in 15", its got a bad res and it has a not so good battery life

but at your budget somethings gotta give, if the 2x+ all that could be arranged

I still have yet to decide on a laptop.....I was thinking I'd get the sager np8230 for some time, then I had to rethink that because I travel ALOT and usually from a backpack, which means it could be damaged and/or stolen much easier. So I was weary about the 7 pounds and $1,300 (with OS). I've also been looking at the sager np7352 ($1,000), which is a pound lighter just about, around 6 lbs or so. It's really only some $200 less, but I'm curious as to whether or not it'll be a fair amount more portable. Any opinions? I'd much prefer to purchase a laptop for around say $600-700 that could handle all the TW's well, and Rome 2 on say medium/high, but I have yet to find one. Any advice?

I prefer as light as possible, but you are looking for 15" and gaming capable, those things dont come cheap

there is the msi ge40 and the clevo w230st as well, and those start at around the price that you listed so far and are more portable

I have insurance for my laptop, since I carry it everyday to work and uni, while they are the same place i arrive early and leave around 11pm in a very unsafe neighbourhood, so I advise you to follow a similar path if thats a concern to you

I prefer to use enterprise class hardware for uni, simply put they withstand more of the abuse and have top notch build quality along with great CS, but those aint gaming capable

[King Gambrinus]

Hello Karamozov, could you help me find a decent laptop for Uni?

General Questions

1) What is your budget? 400-700 euros. Might be able to sneak up to 800 since its my birthday soon :p.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator. Belgium (I can get it in the UK or Netherlands if easier/cheaper/more efficient)

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike: Bit tired of HP, but I don't mind.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed? Yes.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook? Web surfing, video watching, writing up docs, gaming, streaming to TV (so receiver for screen is kinda important!)

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both? Both

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games? Fifa 14, early TW games on high, late TW games on medium (as long as FPS is decent and I can see people getting killed smoothly I'll be pretty tolerant graphics wise)

9) How many hours of battery life do you need? 4-6 hours? again, quite tolerant on this part. Although I would like it if the graphics card doesn't eat up my battery while I'm doing simple tasks like surfing.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK? don't mind

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
No Windows 8 if that's possible

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information. I'm tolerant/ignorant to anything so 1280 x 800 I guess. 1900x800 is a bonus, I understand that my budget can't cover it.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen? Don't mind.

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Not at all.

15) When are you buying this laptop? in a few weeks time

16) How long do you want this laptop to last? 3-4 years

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive? Standard (250GB?) I don't need a lot of space

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive? Yes DVD-ROM.

If you could help I'd be eternally grateful.

[Nesimî]

How's this?
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X870/

Sorry about just dropping random computers here but I don't know much about hardware etc.

And I would be grateful it you could take a look at this one, the Toshiba X775-3DV80 Qosmio

İŞLEMCİ
Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.2 GHz. (Turbo Boost Teknoloji 3.10 GHz. ) 6 MB Cache Bellek İşlemci


İŞLEMCİ TÜRÜ
Intel Core i7


RAM
8 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz. (Max.8 GB) Ram


SABİT DİSK
1.25 TB ( 500GB 7200 Rpm, Hybrid 4 GB Serial ATA + 750GB 5400 Rpm, Serial ATA) HDD


OPTİK SÜRÜCÜ
DVD-RW Double Layer & Blu - Ray Disc READ/WRITE


İŞLETİM SİSTEMİ
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Tr-İng (64 Bit)


EKRAN KARTI
NVIDIA GeForce DDR5 GTX 560M Max.4095 MB Ekran Kartı


EKRAN BOYUTU
17.3" LED Screen (1920 X 1080)


EKRAN ÇÖZÜNÜRLÜĞÜ
1920 X 1080


SES ÇIKIŞI
Harman Kardon

[karamazovmm]

zip

the usual n550 from asus and the hp envy 15

How's this?
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X870/

Sorry about just dropping random computers here but I don't know much about hardware etc.

And I would be grateful it you could take a look at this one, the Toshiba X775-3DV80 Qosmio

İŞLEMCİ
Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.2 GHz. (Turbo Boost Teknoloji 3.10 GHz. ) 6 MB Cache Bellek İşlemci


İŞLEMCİ TÜRÜ
Intel Core i7


RAM
8 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz. (Max.8 GB) Ram


SABİT DİSK
1.25 TB ( 500GB 7200 Rpm, Hybrid 4 GB Serial ATA + 750GB 5400 Rpm, Serial ATA) HDD


OPTİK SÜRÜCÜ
DVD-RW Double Layer & Blu - Ray Disc READ/WRITE


İŞLETİM SİSTEMİ
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Tr-İng (64 Bit)


EKRAN KARTI
NVIDIA GeForce DDR5 GTX 560M Max.4095 MB Ekran Kartı


EKRAN BOYUTU
17.3" LED Screen (1920 X 1080)


EKRAN ÇÖZÜNÜRLÜĞÜ
1920 X 1080


SES ÇIKIŞI
Harman Kardon

both are very trash, a 13" beat them handily in performance, thats how bad they are

[Ishan]

Moreover it's TosTrashiba.

[Nesimî]

1. Why are you upgrading?
   Gaming, graphic design, software development. My old laptop fails becauae render times on Blender are way too long and it heats up so much that the air around it begins to smell like burning plastic whenever I play a graphics-heavy game.
2. What is your budget?
   About 4000 liras, or 2000 USD, unless we have more protests.
   
   
3. Where do you live?
   Istanbul, Turkey
4. Can you build this computer yourself, or do you need to buy prebuilt?
   Prebuilt would be preferable.
5. What are you current system specs?
   -If you don't know, Windows+R and type "dxdiag" without the quotes. You should be able to find the information there.
   
   
6. What screen resolution will you be using?
   -On Windows XP - Control Panel>Display>Settings will display this.
   -For Vista/7/8 you can just right click on your desktop.
   Old one is 1366x768, new one doesn't really matter
7. What websites/stores can you purchase parts from?
   http://m.istanbulbilisim.com.tr/ ; http://www.hepsiburada.com/liste/bilgisayar/department.aspx?categoryId=2147483646
8. Do you need to purchase peripherals?
   No, I have what I need.
   
   
9. When do you plan to buy this computer/parts?
   About a month.

Liberal use of Google translate is suggested, TYVM in advance. Laptop would be preferable.

[bthizle1]

Are there really any decent and affordable laptop insurances that are international? In that case I might as well get the np8230 if I get some kind of insurance that is...

[karamazovmm]

zip

thanks for filling that out, unfortunately, that doesnt give info for notebooks, for example, size, usage, battery life..

fill this out pretty please

Are there really any decent and affordable laptop insurances that are international? In that case I might as well get the np8230 if I get some kind of insurance that is...

I have no clue

[PikeStance]

Ok, instore now. Need suggestions. This computer was recommended: HP WV17J021NR
Its under 900. Thoughts,... Are there better?
thx

NEVERMIND

[Nesimî]

I dont quite get what you mean, do you need that info from me or do you have a problem with the sites I posted?

[Heinz Guderian]

I think Karam means fill the form in the OP Rafsahnjonny.

[Nesimî]

What is your budget?
1500 Dollars

What country will you be buying this in?
Turkey

What size notebook do you prefer?
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: Casper

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Computer Programming, Movie Streaming and Viewing, 3D CAD Design, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
Skyrim, Tomb Raider,

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places

Will you be buying online or in store?
online or in store

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 8 or Windows 7 or Linux

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Low Resolution (1024 x 600, 1024 x 576)
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 08/10/2013

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3-4 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
No

Battery should be as long as possible for this budget.

[karamazovmm]

Ok, instore now. Need suggestions. This computer was recommended: HP WV17J021NR
Its under 900. Thoughts,... Are there better?
thx

i have no idea what that model is, google doesnt work for it either

I dont quite get what you mean, do you need that info from me or do you have a problem with the sites I posted?

I think Karam means fill the form in the OP Rafsahnjonny.

yep, I forgot about to link terrible sorry

What is your budget?
1500 Dollars

What country will you be buying this in?
Turkey

What size notebook do you prefer?
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: Casper

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Computer Programming, Movie Streaming and Viewing, 3D CAD Design, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
Skyrim, Tomb Raider,

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places

Will you be buying online or in store?
online or in store

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 8 or Windows 7 or Linux

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Low Resolution (1024 x 600, 1024 x 576)
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 08/10/2013

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3-4 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
No

Battery should be as long as possible for this budget.

what kind of CAD apps? depending on what its better to go for a nvidia or amd.

I would go for workstations the hp elitebook w and the dell precisions are the best in their field, lenovo doesnt make em anymore or at least that thing called W530 cant be considered that.

aside that clevo notebook can be equipped with quadro gpus, but those things depending on which model are worth 1500 already, thus a P model from clevo should do fine for you, they do have some resellers in turkey, they are one of the first to launch the new models actually

[Nesimî]

Holy the HP is 2800 dollars here. The Dell precision is 5000 liras! I think Im gonna cry. Could you gimme a laptop worth 1000 dollars max instead?

[karamazovmm]

Holy the HP is 2800 dollars here. The Dell precision is 5000 liras! I think Im gonna cry. Could you gimme a laptop worth 1000 dollars max instead?

I was pretty aware that would happen, the P series would have been on the range that you wanted, the W from clevo should work as well