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Semi-Gaming Laptop? Is There Such a Thing?

post #1 of 30
3/16/08 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 
I'm ready to buy a laptop, but at $6.00 an hour as a 17-year-old Sales Clerk, I can't afford to be throwing money the way of a Dell XPS or a Toshiba Qosmio. Specifically, I'm interested in the $900 or less range.

But what I'm truly looking for is a laptop that is capable of running games such as Fable and Guild Wars without giving me that annoying "your video card/RAM/Sound Card in insufficient" pop-up.

Also, I'm going to college this fall, so I would be using it for word processing, Powerpoints, spreadsheets, music, movies, etc.

Any suggestions?

If you need more specific info on what I'm looking for, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask. Any honest attempt to assist will be wholeheartedly appreciated.

Thank you!
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post #2 of 30
3/16/08 at 9:47pm
I'd recommend purchasing a slightly older or used model with a decent video card (Nvidia 7600, 7700, or 8600M, or ATI x1600, x1700, or HD 2600)
It would fill your requirements well and would save you money compared to a brand new model and would also allow you to play other games that interest you.
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post #3 of 30
3/16/08 at 10:02pm
Take a look at the everex XT5300T on newegg.com, just look at the reviews. You could also take a look at the forums on the bottom of the everex.com web site for more information on them. I own the 5300 and it is a powerful machine for what you pay for it, I payed 699.00 + 100.00 for a four gig memory upgrade. I play World of Warcraft at full settings with 30-60 fps. You can get a used machine if you want but if you want something new with a warranty, you wont find anything with this much in it for near what they sell for.
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post #4 of 30
3/16/08 at 11:06pm
You may also take a look at the Dell Vostro 1400 and 1500, with Nvidia 8400 and 8600 cards.

They will be able to handle gaming very well. A good balance between performance and price.
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post #5 of 30
3/17/08 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you very much for all of your helpful posts. Be assured, I will be researching each and every one of these builds.

What Intel and/or AMD processor would you guys and girls recommend? I've noticed that different builds use different manufacturers, so I'd like to know what to look for from both.

I'll keep you all informed of my findings.

Thanks again!
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post #6 of 30
3/17/08 at 7:58pm
Anything in the Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion X2 processor ranges will work fine
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post #7 of 30
3/17/08 at 11:51pm
i used to play guildwars on a Dell Inspiron with a 3.2gz P4 and a FX5200 on high settings 1024x768. pretty much anything in the last 2 years with a dedicated graphics card will run it.

basically, if you find a computer that says "Intel Core __anything_" and "Nvidia 6xxx / 7xxx /8xxx" you'll be fine.
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post #8 of 30
3/22/08 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
I'd recommend purchasing a slightly older or used model with a decent video card (Nvidia 7600, 7700, or 8600M, or ATI x1600, x1700, or HD 2600)
It would fill your requirements well and would save you money compared to a brand new model and would also allow you to play other games that interest you.
Djembe, do you know of a method I can purchase used/refurbished laptops safely and securely?

Dell has an AMAZING selection of refurbished laptops for the financially-impaired, but I'd like to have your personal suggestions.

Actually, I'd love to have ANYONE's suggestion of where I can find quality refurbished laptops, preferably from well-known manufacturers (HP, Gateway, Dell, etc.)
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post #9 of 30
3/24/08 at 1:05am
679 - 1520/c2d 1.66 8600-256
909 - 1530/c2d 2.00 8600-256
909 - 1330/c2d 2.20 8400-128
589 - 1520/c2d 1.50 8400-128
699 - 1420/c2d 2.00 8400-128

all these from the outlet
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post #10 of 30
3/24/08 at 1:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zavelin View Post
Djembe, do you know of a method I can purchase used/refurbished laptops safely and securely?

Dell has an AMAZING selection of refurbished laptops for the financially-impaired, but I'd like to have your personal suggestions.

Actually, I'd love to have ANYONE's suggestion of where I can find quality refurbished laptops, preferably from well-known manufacturers (HP, Gateway, Dell, etc.)
Tiger Direct and Newegg are a couple places I know of, aside from the brands themselves, that sell some refurbished notebooks. I've had good experiences buying from both of them, although I didn't buy a full computer from either.
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post #11 of 30
8/17/08 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
I'm back!

So, during the 5 months since this topic's creation, I have been sorting through options from just about every reputable laptop maker for a build that fits my needs.

About two days ago, I found that dell was offering some huge coupons discounts on their Inspiron and XPS models (I'll provide the link at the end of this post).

I've narrowed down my choices to two computers, both of which fall within my $1000 limit (not including tax + shipping):

From Dell (Inspiron 1525):

SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® SP1 Home Premium Edition

HD DISPLAY High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)

VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz

HARD DRIVE SIZE 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)

WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Intel Next -Gen Wireless -N Mini-card

BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam

BATTERY OPTIONS 6 cell battery

SOUND OPTIONS Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition


Price: $1,349 - 30% Off Coupon ($415.20) = $968.80




From Toshiba:

This laptop is a retail model sold at the Navy Exchange. It's a P300 model, with the following specs:

SYSTEM COLOR Black w/Fusion Finish

PROCESSOR AMD X2 (2.0GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® SP1 Home Premium Edition

DISPLAY (1440x900)

VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100MEMORY3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2

HARD DRIVE SIZE: 200GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)

WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS B/G Wireless Card

BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB N/A

INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

BATTERY OPTIONS 6 cell battery

SOUND OPTIONS Built-In harmon/kardon Speakers


Price: $799 (No tax (Navy Exchange has no taxes) and no shipping (I work there =D)

And there are my choices. If any of you guys and girls can suggest some better/equivalent builds for less, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Thank you!



Dell Coupon Page I Used: http://www.cheapstingybargains.com/cheapster/dell/
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post #12 of 30
8/17/08 at 5:29pm
I think from your two options, the Toshiba would be better. The dell is just overcharging for a slightly faster (and unneeded) cpu. To put it short, those specs aren't worth $1000. But, even at that $800 for a laptop with those specs isn't a good deal. I think I saw an HP one in another thread that had the same stuff (if not better) and it only cost $700....check out CircuitCity.com for it since I believe that was where it was at.
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post #13 of 30
8/17/08 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 
I was steering clear of HPs, as people whom I ask that seem decently knowledgeable on PCs and notebook always urge (if not DEMAND) that I keep away from them.

Is there any fuel behind this flaming of HPs?

Meanwhile, I'm searching around CircuitCity.com for that build you mentioned.

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post #14 of 30
8/17/08 at 10:25pm
I have had no problems with HP whatsoever....so I'd say that no there isn't any reason to have an obsessive loathing of HP's. Acer's and Gateways I don't trust. For me Toshiba is a gray zone but I've heard largely good things about them as well. Come to think of it, I haven't really heard anyone ever say HP is a bad brand. Asus, Dell, and Sony are amazing, but can be quite costly.
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post #15 of 30
8/18/08 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Dr. O!

I believe I found the one you mentioned, in addition to 4 more models within my budget. All three from circuitcity.com.


Which one of these would be the best value?


http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/viewCompare.do?oid=215027&oid=215818&oid=211744&oid=207704&oid=207723&user=true

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post #16 of 30
8/18/08 at 8:39pm
Honestly i think this might match what you are trying to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147746
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post #17 of 30
8/19/08 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowSonic View Post
Honestly i think this might match what you are trying to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147746
A 17-inch!

I would be all over this if the reviews didn't stress the build's overheating problems...

I could live with the graphics card (GeForce 7's decent for me), and I guess I'll just have to turn off the thing when I'm not using it or invest in a cooling pad...

All I'm waiting for now is for my Dad to come home tonight. He's bringing over a coupon code that Dell issued to employees at his job for a discount on Dell products.

Depending on the size of this discount, I'll know exactly what laptop to go for.

Thank you, all of you.




Models I'm now considering: HP DV9910us, HP DV6871US, (And Dell, depending on the company discount).
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post #18 of 30
8/20/08 at 8:48pm
(If it's not too late)

The HP dv68XX seems to be the best value. The Acer is the cheapest, but it uses the old (and awful) pentium dual-core which is a joke compared to the core2duo. The other HP is $50 more expensive and it doesn't have anything really more.

Be careful of 17" screens. I saw one the other day in Walmart and I was like "jeez that's huge". But that newegg one is very good deal. I have the 7150m and it's not too bad for light gaming stuff.
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post #19 of 30
8/20/08 at 11:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr/owned View Post
(If it's not too late)

The HP dv68XX seems to be the best value. The Acer is the cheapest, but it uses the old (and awful) pentium dual-core which is a joke compared to the core2duo. The other HP is $50 more expensive and it doesn't have anything really more.

Be careful of 17" screens. I saw one the other day in Walmart and I was like "jeez that's huge". But that newegg one is very good deal. I have the 7150m and it's not too bad for light gaming stuff.
Great! That's the one I had chosen out of the lot. Having a second opinion makes me more confident about it. =D

So, here's probably the second-to-last question until I'm finally ready to push the "Checkout" button:

Between the DV9910US and the DV6871US, which would be the better deal?

Side-by-Side Specifications

On one side, you have a nice graphics card, PLENTY of hard drive space, Wireless N, and weighs more than a pound less than the other...

But on the dv99xx, you have the 17-inch screen and Bluetooth...

I honestly can't decide. D:
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post #20 of 30
8/20/08 at 11:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
I'd recommend purchasing a slightly older or used model with a decent video card (Nvidia 7600, 7700, or 8600M, or ATI x1600, x1700, or HD 2600)
It would fill your requirements well and would save you money compared to a brand new model and would also allow you to play other games that interest you.
i am very shocked, and almost about to cry Dj, you saden me sir!

after youve been all up for Asus models........youve yet to offer up the M50 as an option?!

Zavelin
if you take any advice, please get one of these 3, whichever you can afford......if you can get the 1099$, get it, if not the 949 will be ok

those 3 will do what you want and BEYOND.......please get Asus BEFORE Hp.........i hope you listen to me, kthzbai!

get this and call it a day!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220374
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220348

have fun with it

all of those models will "light game"
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