Need help buying a new laptop please

A member here just picked up a MSI GX660 ...

core i5-460M, 4GB DDR3, 500GB SATA @5400 rpm, dedicated 1GB DDR5 with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870, 15.6 HD, Glare(1366*768) LED.

for less than 1.5K

cheers ...

Here is a good comparison chart of laptop gpu's... http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compari...rds.130.0.html

Kind of in the same boat as you atm. Here are two I am pondering:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152206

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Good price for the model I heard both good and bad about cyberpowerPC, but then again I heard good and bad about every manufacturers/resellers

Just make sure that you get a good extended warranty.

cheers ...

Very few options to upgrade a Dell where it counts.

They have to reserve the barebone configurations to some high end rigs or they will drive themselves out of business

cheers ...

Years ago Dell offered many more options in the Graphics department for any given model...seems that has fallen by the wayside.

For gaming you would want something out of the top tier of this chart... http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compari...rds.130.0.html

While they look powerful on paper, they do not approach the levels of desktop offerings and skimping here will result in misery down the road when it comes to gaming with the remedy being near impossible to affect.

Here is where I am unable to advise on laptops. In a desktop scenario the i3/i5 would be more than enough for nearly everyone's needs. I am banking on that carrying over to laptops myself. Here is the one I will probably end up buying... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT (i3/i5 = 2 cores/4 threads - i7 = 4 cores/8 threads)

- Intel Core definition

- Performance in a nutshell (from many sources - intel, wiki etc ...):

. Mobile Core i3-500: hyper-threading, no Turbo Boost, integrated graphics processor, entry level but respectable performance

. Mobile Core i5-500 Ultra-Low Voltage, when the U is being added to its name: sub-set of the Core i5, dual core processor 1.06 GHz, hyper-threading, Turbo Boost (but not always being un-capped by manufacturers when on battery)

. Mobile Core i5-400/500: basically the same with speed of between 2.26 to 2.53 GHz, hyper-threading, Turbo Boost, integrated graphics processor, good performance.

. Mobile Core i7-600 Ultra-Low Voltage: Arrandale processors (1.06-1.2 GHz) meant for long battery life in some notebook brand models.

. Mobile Core i7-600: watch out for some model with L mark (low voltage CPU), 2-2.66 GHz, the goodies of hyper-threading and Turbo Boost and integrated GPU. Core i5 would do the job just as fine comparing to the i7-600.

. Mobile Core i7-700/800/900: quad-core Clarksfield based with speed of 1.6-2 GHz, great Turbo Boost feature, no integrated GPU, high performance. Overkill at times depending on what one needs from a notebook.

Bottom line - CPU alone cannot determine how good a system is or is not

Djembe has a post somewhere in the forum that said better than what I have here.

cheers ...

CPU comparison chart... http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...st.2436.0.html - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Noteboo...ors.129.0.html

^^ That one is for desktops CPUs

The general mobile performance chart is here

cheers ...

^ Scroll down - includes them all.

cheers ...

My two cents.... Gaming and laptops don't go hand in hand... Why? Gaming takes a toll on any PC by running components to the maximum as much as hammerring the trackpad and the keyboard... (think of it this way, to replace a laptop keyboard will cost you £30UK and above, compared to a desktop at £5UK)... Laptops have and will always have an problem dissipating heat and stressing it out gaming usually will cost you in the long run... If you want to game, get a desktop or a console (consoles a lot cheaper, quicker and better game choice plus other features)... But as I said, this is my two cents...

The explanations of the iX series of intel chips are good, but there is also the AMD series too... Again my view, i7 fast and expensive, probably overkill for a laptop... i5 fast and reliable again possible overkill on a laptop, however with speed stepping (turbo boost) a good idea... i3, again fast and reliable... Celerons, forget gaming and CAD, but do most other things... And same with the Atoms on netbooks... And the same goes for AMD with their Turions and Semprons...

As for graphics... Integrated does for the majority of anything you do on a laptop... If you game though, a dedicated graphics chip (GPU) is a must... ATI (AMD) and Nvidia are both good, have found ATI is better for CAD, however unless you are a benchmark freak, you get what you pay for and both produce the same result to the human eye in the real world...

Win7 has improved dramatically the performance of laptops compared to Vista, esp on the low end front (I am a linux user, but do use XP, Vista and win7)... From experince these days, even low end laptops will run win7 very well compared to the low end equivalent struggling with Vista....

Just my two cents....

In my case I will be connecting this one... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT ...to my Sony large screen tv with a HDMI cable. (Yeah, I just pulled the trigger lol)

If I should decide to try any gaming I will most likely connect another keyboard/mouse anyway. I have a desktop for the serious stuff.

Again from experience.....

Toshiba, DELL... Solid reliable laptops, well supported, easy to find drivers for, but not really gaming machines, unless you go with DELL's Alienware... Toshiba seem to be more 'business like'... I could also add Lenovo (IBM) here...

HP.... Ok, but build quality isn't the best... Seen a lot of motherboard issues on while ranges, as well as cracked cases around the hinges even with normal use... I also add Compaq here (HP/Compaq)... They are well supported, like Toshiba and DELL, easy to find drivers....

ASUS... Reasonably OK... Well supported... Recently seen some that look oddly like the new HP's, so are probably built by the same firm.. Pretty simple to find drivers...

SAMSUNG... Well built and hardy machines, let down by being pigs to find drivers.....

SONY... Overpriced

ACER... Cheap and cheerful...