Getting a new laptop.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

First I'd like to thank you for the help in my earlier desktop buying thread.
( http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=459724 ). The computer is up and running a performing like a charm. Crysis 2 on max, working without a hitch.(Don't judge, I got it for 15 euros, and figured I might aswell now that I got a new comp ) And Shogun 2 on max with 12 000 men on battlefield also works nearly without any fps drops, only drops a little when I shoot 2000 fire arrows in the air, and even then it works better than before. So apart from a few graphical glitches, in Shogun 2 for example, caused by SLI I'm very happy.

Now, I'm here again, this time getting a new laptop. The goal is not to get the best gaming laptop ever. Just a decent laptop that can do some gaming, i.e. run games like M&B, minecraft, RTW, M2TW with atleast some moderate amount of success.

Anyway, here we go:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1) What is your budget? 600-850 euros, preferrably, but maybe(just maybe) 900 euros.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
Not bigger than that atleast. The idea is to have it for studying and some gaming.

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
Finland

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
No favourite. I obviously want a good laptop, don't know about brands, because this will be my first.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
Uh. I guess?

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Studying, gaming(see above), watching videos, the usual stuff.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
It is for studying. So I'll take for school more often than not.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
M&B, minecraft, RTW, M2TW, Risen, Knights of the Old Republic, that kind of stuff. Hopefully with fairly high graphics.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Hmm. As much as you'd typically need when studying.(I don't intend to play games when it's not plugged in)

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?
Buying online is fine, although would prefer to see it before I get it.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows 7 would be preferred.

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.
Does not matter much. It's a gaming/studying laptop.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?
Does not matter.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
No(within reason of course. Standard black laptop will do fine)

15) When are you buying this laptop?
Within a month. As soon as I choose which one to buy, really.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
As long as possible.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
SSD drive is not necessary. A 500 GB memory would do fine, more is better(unless it takes away from the overall performance).

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
A standard DVD drive, Blu-Ray is not necessary.

[karamazovmm]

Vaio CB
U56v
Acer timelineX 5830tg
HP dv6tqe (I prefer this one)
HP dv6z (AMD cpus)
Sager Np5165 (the gt 555m model)
Dell XPS 15


All those specially the ones with quads (with the notable exception of the AMD cpu HP) should run fine even shogun 2

The HP and the Sager are the most powerful ones of the list, being both equipped with mid high range mobile gpus and quad cpus, they can game like no tomorrow on res up to 1600*900, preferably 1366*768

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Okay, so out of that list. The only ones I could find on the internet in some of the most popular websites was
Sony Vaio:
http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/produ...2410M-4-GB-640
Acer 5830TG(two of these, the second looks better as far as I know.):
http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/produ...-i3-2310M-8-GB
http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/produ...-i5-2410M-8-GB
Not surprised I found these at that site. It's one of the better ones we have. Thanks for the help, Mr. MM.

Also, still taking more suggestions

[karamazovmm]

BTW I dont like the new timelineX series, the 14 and 13 have throttling issues due to poor design. The 15 I hear its safe, so I added to the list more to make volume than anything else. And at 800 euros its way overpriced

E520
Lenovo W520 (I think its way out of your budget)
HP 8560w (Also think its way out of your budget)
Y570

The sager you are going to look for it in reseller sites, Deviltech, Eurocom, and a lot of others, you can order one from the US resellers, like Malibal and so forth, if you do so, you are going to get more bang for the buck, and you probably can get a NP8150 with the 6990m (a 6870)

Try to find the HP dv6 series in there, it really is a good bang for the buck, at least in the US

[Lord of Lost Socks]

BTW I dont like the new timelineX series, the 14 and 13 have throttling issues due to poor design. The 15 I hear its safe, so I added to the list more to make volume than anything else. And at 800 euros its way overpriced

Finland is fairly expensive.

E520
Lenovo W520 (I think its way out of your budget)
HP 8560w (Also think its way out of your budget)
Y570

The W520 and 8560w are about 1000 euros out of my budget.
http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/produ...2410M-4-GB-500 that's the only E520 I could find. All the other popular sites seem to have a distinct lack of laptops at the pricerange I'm looking. They're all below 700 euros or way above 900.

The sager you are going to look for it in reseller sites, Deviltech, Eurocom, and a lot of others, you can order one from the US resellers, like Malibal and so forth, if you do so, you are going to get more bang for the buck, and you probably can get a NP8150 with the 6990m (a 6870)

Try to find the HP dv6 series in there, it really is a good bang for the buck, at least in the US

Checked out Malibal and it doesn't seem to sell the correct keyboard layout. Deviltech I only found in german. And I can't seem to find dv6 series in Finland, how the heck is that possible. Only one I seem to find is dv6-6011 and it seems pretty horrible.

Meh. Laptop buying is annoying, atleast when buying a desktop I can be fairly certain that I can find the parts I need for my computer. With laptops I seem to have to rely on packages or forced to ship from abroad. Only reason I'm getting one is that my parents got one to all my siblings when they got a place to study, so they want to give one to me aswell.

[karamazovmm]

since you have a gaming desktop, I would advise you to get something that you can use for school. I like smaller chassis, like the x220 (thought of buying it), vaio SA (discarded the buy, although its a nifty little laptop) and the one that I got for myself the mbp 13 there is also now the mba 13 or 11. However all those are expensive for your budget more than probably

15'' are too big to carry daily, had a experience with a 16'' and for gaming it was a leisure thing, however when it comes to transporting the thing, pretty terrible. too big and too heavy (although with the psu, it had 2.7kg)

BTW get the e520 with the 6630m

on another note you want a different keyboard, check with eurocom (another sager reseller)

PS: everyone puts the weight of only the laptop, for the psu add 200-500g

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Yes, this will be primarily a studying platform. But to be able to do some gaming on it would be nice when not at home. I spend a large part of the summers for example in our summer house(and many weekends during the other seasons). And the main idea is to be able to have a computer that I can take to school. Most likely I'll move in to the "campus" so carrying it 500 metres per day back and forth is not the end of the world. And also, being able to carry it to my friends house is good fun if it has some gaming capabilities.

And meh, the e520 was sold out according to the website yesterday. But they might get a few more in the coming days, so I guess I'll wait.

Actually checked up on some apple laptops just to compare. I chuckled at the price tag and closed the tab.

[karamazovmm]

Yes, this will be primarily a studying platform. But to be able to do some gaming on it would be nice when not at home. I spend a large part of the summers for example in our summer house(and many weekends during the other seasons). And the main idea is to be able to have a computer that I can take to school. Most likely I'll move in to the "campus" so carrying it 500 metres per day back and forth is not the end of the world. And also, being able to carry it to my friends house is good fun if it has some gaming capabilities.

And meh, the e520 was sold out according to the website yesterday. But they might get a few more in the coming days, so I guess I'll wait.

Actually checked up on some apple laptops just to compare. I chuckled at the price tag and closed the tab.

I was pretty much without options, the sony Z21 didnt make it out in time, the SA was too flimsy for me (I drag my notebook whichever place I go, being my commute time taking place during rush hour, and me using the subway... well thats how I got a crack on the lid of my last notebook).

The x220 didnt have a thunderbolt port, so in the end the mbp was made my primary choice, specially due to my gpu frying, and I need the laptop for work. I was simply going to wait next year to upgrade my notebook.

So why did I choose the only one equipped with thunderbolt? Because we can do a egpu solution with it.

What that means?

It means that I will connect a desktop gpu to it, when I want to game with it. So I get something portable with awesome battery life (although I would really like that it could sport some quads in it, it would make my coding much snappier)

It was very pricy, since in Brazil we get even more wubbed in prices than in finland

[Rakoua]

I could get the E520 to run Shogun 2 and Napoleon demos on full with no lag, but I warn you switchable graphics are a pain.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

http://jimms.fi/tuote/N43SN-VX051V what about this laptop, btw? It's smaller, which is nice, and the 550m is a little better than the 6630 or the 540m, as far as I know. And the CPU is the same.

Just wondering if it's a good quality product that doesn't explode in my hand.

[karamazovmm]

errr I dont like that asus line at all. The keyboard is so terrible that when you type on it, it gives a wave like effect, the construction is not that sturdy, and the screen is abysmal.

it aint small enough too. have you tried to find the y470? its got the same specs, and the build quality + keyboard is quite high

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Unfortunately not a single Lenovo y line has reached Finland apparently.