Laptop info needed

[snidy1]

I don't have time to investigate myself because I need to decide by tomarrow morning. I don't know anything about laptops and I'm in charge of picking one out for my brothers birthday.
It might not be possible, but it needs to be under $1500.
He likes gaming, watching DVD's, and music. I have no idea on the best brands or models. Can someone please help?
Is it possible to upgrade the video card in the future if I can't find a laptop within budget?

 

[AngryKid]

Well, everyone has their own opinion of what is the best, but I think the new HP zd7000 series is pretty sweet. They start at $1249, 17" widescreen display (nice for DVDs), and all sorts of other options. You can configure on at hpshopping.com to your liking. Free shipping too. HPs have the "scroll" feature too on the mouse pad.

My boss has one and it's pretty damn swell! Nice features and quite fast.

If you want a Centrino, however, you might also checkout the Compaq X1000.

 

[blazerazor]

Let me make this really clear, Buy a laptop for portablity!!!. You will kick your self 18 months from now when its not "new", that graphics processor won't play nothing new and its the size of the sink!! Invest in the best screen, when the laptops dead you can mod it into your case I really like IBM cause they are TOUGH. Upgrade the memory from after market sources and MAX it out. (@least512). Sony is known for being small, but I have no experience with them. Dell is average, but feel flemsy. Compaq/hp feel alittle sturdier. Toshiba's are good choice to look at.

If I were you:
NO cd rom - use external or network for your programs. At least make sure its REMOVEABLE.

Buy EXTRA battery . NOTE: the life the company says it runs is with all bays full of batteries(2), not the one(1) they gave you with your purchase.

Get the new Celrono chip with the extra L2 cache.

Good bag, spire make the BEST ones.
http://www.spireusa.com/

 

[AngryKid]

He said we was looking for gaming and DVD watching. It seems performance and an internal DVD player are more important than portability. It also depends if you need it for portability or as a desktop replacement.

I don't know why everyone likes IBM laptops. I think they are clunky, way overpriced, lack features (for what you're paying), ugly, and the mouse 'nipple' sucks. But to each his own. If durability is most important, I like Toshiba, but I still think those HP's give you a good bang for your buck.

 

[johnjkr1]

If he likes gaming, make sure you pay close attention to the graphics card..either a good radeon or geforce chip is a necessity..you cant play games on integrated intel

 

[vegetation]

Save money, buy a cheap laptop. Everyone rags on intel integrated graphics but it will do 800x600 just fine! A $600 laptop over a $1200 laptop just means you can upgrade sooner. Even the best $2k laptop right now will be old junk within the next 2 years.

 

[wjsulliv]

Laptop + Gaming == Oil + Water


You might be able to find a high enough end laptop with an acceptable graphics card (say 32-64MB Radeon) and processor (say a P4 2.4GHZ) to meet your $1500 limit. However, 1 year from now the graphics card won't cut it for a true gamer and/or the screen while ghost too much for gaming.

If you want to be a hard core gamer and have a laptop; buy a cheap laptop and a good gaming desktop. Total spend $2000, and the desktop is upgradable in 1 year so that you don't need a new machine to play games.

 

[AngryKid]

I don't think he said his brother was a "hard core" gamer. It sounds like he wants a general purpose laptop that can play some games and DVDs, and will probably last awhile.

The lowest processor you can get on the zd7000's is a 2.66 GHz. Here is what I spec'd out quick for $1499 after rebate, free shipping at hpshopping.com:

Pentium 4 2.66 GHz Processor
Microsoft Windows XP Home
512MB Memory
40GB Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
802.11b wireless
17" WXGA+ Screen
64MB nVIdia GeForce FX Go 5600

$1499 A/R, free shipping

Awesome laptop, decent price (considering what you get), it will last awhile and should play most games. And with the 17" monitor, the DVDs will be sweet.

This thing is not exactly portable, but if you want it as a desktop replacement, it would be perfect

Good luck.

 

[johnjkr1]

You can easily fit a decent graphics card into that budget, there is no need to settle for intel integrated graphics...also, after having played with them, i definetly recommend centrino based laptops...they get amazing battery life and despite their slower clock speed, they are just as fast as the higher clocked pentium 4's

 

[Ionizer86]

Yea, you can add at least 800 to 900MHz onto the P-M's clock to find out about how fast it'll run compared to a P4.

 

[Skiguy411]

So far, I like mine

 

[snidy1]

Originally posted by: wjsulliv
Laptop + Gaming == Oil + Water


You might be able to find a high enough end laptop with an acceptable graphics card (say 32-64MB Radeon) and processor (say a P4 2.4GHZ) to meet your $1500 limit. However, 1 year from now the graphics card won't cut it for a true gamer and/or the screen while ghost too much for gaming.

If you want to be a hard core gamer and have a laptop; buy a cheap laptop and a good gaming desktop. Total spend $2000, and the desktop is upgradable in 1 year so that you don't need a new machine to play games.

He has a great desktp system, but he travels a lot. That's why he wants a laptop. As for the video card, are they upgradable in laptops? I like the ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 but the laptops that come with them are out of our price range right now.

 

[snidy1]

Is this one a good choice?
Link

 

[wjsulliv]

That isn't bad.

A little heavy, but weight is a trade off for the big screen.


Most laptops don't have upgradable memory, those that do are really expensive...

I would go with that Sony. Its a nice machine, a good video card and cpu and memory for a decent price.

 

[snidy1]

I heard that the displays fade with time, are they all this way?

 

[blazerazor]

If games are a must: voodoo or alienware allow to up grade video, but $$$y. The nipple... I LOVE it and my dell has both and the pad gets in the way for me. If he wants DVD editing... Powerbooks. (i think mac makes 1/2 there $$ from Hollywood). Me, Id get a little sony,ibm,or toshiba. Tosh's got good gameing in some. Spend extra for new r420 in your desktop.

Here's my dream Sony U101 super .cool. tiny.

 

[aZhE]

Originally posted by: snidy1
Is this one a good choice?
Link

I cant believe sagers havent been brought up yet. for the same price as that sony you can get something much more powerful and great for gaming. I own this laptop with the mobility radeon 9000 64mb version and it kicks ass. You can get the P4 3.0 GHz 800 FSB with the Mobility Radeon 9600 128meg chip for $1555. more info and reviews can be found @ sagerforums

Sager 4080