Computer advice plox

[TA1LGUNN3R]

My current laptop is falling apart, (the only thing keeping the monitor attached to the rest of it are some wires) and Diablo III comes out in a month. I actually got a tax refund this year (yay!), so I want to purchase a new pc, definitely a laptop.

I know shit about computers, though. I need something sturdy, reliable, and with decent performance. I don't need anything fancy, and my ideal price range is 600-700 U.S. smackers (even less would be great but from what I've experienced they aren't great). I'm reluctant to go any higher than that.

I've heard newegg.com is a good place to buy computers, but again, I wouldn't even know which brand to start with, model, etc. I want a PC (can't stand Macs), and the system requirements I need for Diablo are:

Windows® Vista/7 (latest service packs)
Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better.

Other than Diablo III and Starcraft II (which my current laptop can't play), I'll just be using it for school and pr0n. (joking on the porn, that's why I'll keep my shitty laptop.)

So I humbly come before the collective expertise of AN for advice/reviews/horror stories. Thanks,

TG

[rdsrds2120]

My current laptop is falling apart, (the only thing keeping the monitor attached to the rest of it are some wires) and Diablo III comes out in a month. I actually got a tax refund this year (yay!), so I want to purchase a new pc, definitely a laptop.

I know shit about computers, though. I need something sturdy, reliable, and with decent performance. I don't need anything fancy, and my ideal price range is 600-700 U.S. smackers (even less would be great but from what I've experienced they aren't great). I'm reluctant to go any higher than that.

I've heard newegg.com is a good place to buy computers, but again, I wouldn't even know which brand to start with, model, etc. I want a PC (can't stand Macs), and the system requirements I need for Diablo are:

Windows® Vista/7 (latest service packs)
Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better.

Other than Diablo III and Starcraft II (which my current laptop can't play), I'll just be using it for school and pr0n. (joking on the porn, that's why I'll keep my shitty laptop.)

So I humbly come before the collective expertise of AN for advice/reviews/horror stories. Thanks,

TG

Honestly, if your focus is gaming, you'd get more hardware for your money in a desktop. In a laptop, you're also paying for portability, but I'll go ahead and suggest Asus as far as a brand goes. They have sturdy hardware, and are usually pretty efficient machines.

Here's one that might be good for you:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+15.6 ... Id=5176627

(BestBuy usually has fair deals, btw)


-rd

[nietzsche]

You have to tell us which porn sites you visit in order to choose the best set up for you.

[nietzsche]

HE SAID LAPTOP RDS !

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Eh gaming will be limited to just a couple. I'm not that into PC gaming, just a handful of titles.

-TG

[nietzsche]

oh, and my advice, buy dell refurbished, take a few days browsing thru the available selection until you find something that fits your needs

[oVo]

A roll of duct tape should keep your laptop functional for awhile.

[natty dread]

Why laptop? Desktops are more cost-effective, and laptops are crap for gaming.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Because carting a desktop into class or anywhere else is impractical and a pain in the ass. The games I'm gonna play don't require top of the line rigs. Most of the use will be school-related, I just want something that can occupy my time as well. I prefer consoles for regular gaming anyway.

-TG

[natty dread]

you could get one of these:

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/04/alienware-x51/

[Serbia]

Make sure it's black. Black laptops perform better than any other color. My laptop is mostly black, but has some silver south of the keyboard, and on the mouse pad. And the computer's performance suffers. My wife's laptop is completely black, and is much better; has a larger hard drive, does things faster, and other stuff. The only thing it doesn't have that mine has is an HDMI port. But based on this research, black laptops are best.

[natty dread]

I have a keyboard that is silver but has black keys. How well does it perform?

[BigBallinStalin]

Not as well as an all-black laptop.

ASUS and ACER are good brands from Taiwan. Very cheap but very good for the price. If you wish to help poor starving kids in Taiwan, buy Taiwanese.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Make sure it's black. Black laptops perform better than any other color. My laptop is mostly black, but has some silver south of the keyboard, and on the mouse pad. And the computer's performance suffers. My wife's laptop is completely black, and is much better; has a larger hard drive, does things faster, and other stuff. The only thing it doesn't have that mine has is an HDMI port. But based on this research, black laptops are best.

Plus it just looks cooler, I'm sure.

So ASUS and ACER... I'll look into those.

-TG

[rdsrds2120]

Not as well as an all-black laptop.

ASUS and ACER are good brands from Taiwan. Very cheap but very good for the price. If you wish to help poor starving kids in Taiwan, buy Taiwanese.

Acer has nice monitors, but their drivers go wacky easily.

Don't listen to Nietzche. Dell BIOS are nice, but they preload a bunch of junk onto theirs that'll either eat up your memory or make you spend unnecessary time uninstalling it.

-rd

[bedub1]

You should spend at least $1000 if you want a nice laptop to last you years. Otherwise you will get crap that sucks the day you buy it.

[nietzsche]

You should spend at least $1000 if you want a nice laptop to last you years. Otherwise you will get crap that sucks the day you buy it.

+1, a $1000 laptop could last you 3 years easily. And if it is a $1000 usd refurbished system even better.

[nietzsche]

Not as well as an all-black laptop.

ASUS and ACER are good brands from Taiwan. Very cheap but very good for the price. If you wish to help poor starving kids in Taiwan, buy Taiwanese.

LMAO, like Taiwan is a pour country. In a nor too distant future the US will beg Taiwan for their technology.

[Haggis_McMutton]

An option you should consider is buying a cheap ass netbook for your internet and portability needs + a decent desktop for the rest.

I went the netbook route and I'm still using the little bugger 3 years later (even though it is quite a bit worse for wear).

[jimboston]

Some facts from a person who used to make and sell computers for a living.

1) All laptops are from Tiawan regardless of brand.

2) Brand is essentially unimportant... Price determines quality (with few exceptions). A $1000 Dell is better than a $500 ASUS... and vice versa.

My company provided me with an old Thinkpad... Based on the model and specs I could tell it was a $1500+ model when they bought it. It was 3 years old at least when I got it, and 7 when I turned it in. It was awesome the whole time... It needed a new battery but otherwise ran great.

The company was "upgrading" everyone to new laptops. I won't mention the brand.. But based on the specs and model, I can tell you the mop any was spending $500-$600 at most.

My 6yo expensive Thinkpad still performed better than the brand new $600 piece of junk.

3) If you want bend guideline... Dell, Acer, ASUS, Lenovo... all will be fine.

4) Refurb from manufacturer site is a good option. You can use savings to up the specs or get an extended warranty. These often have never been used... Just returned of had small defects out of box that were fixed.

5) Apples are more expensive. Though generally better than Windows Based PC's for you now, because price sensitivity... and also gaming. The one area Apple is NOT better for is gaming. Possible exception with Boot Camp... Haven't tried that yet.

Bottom line... Go to manufacturer website and get a refurb... And spend as much as you can reasonably afford.

If you can only spend $600 that will be fine. I have an Acer I bought on Christmas special 6 years ago. It's heavy, and doesn't hold a charge, but otherwise is still plugging away.

Oh... black computers definitely work better. Silver is OK... but the colored models just plain suck. Avoid them at all costs!

[AndyDufresne]

My Dell Latitude E6510 works alright for gaming. It plays Skyrim without many hiccups, though I can't have it on ultra high resolution or have the massive texture pack installed, but the game stills looks pretty great. There are some comparable (and newer) Dell Latitudes out there if you are looking for something gamey.


--Andy

[bedub1]

Make sure you get a 1080p screen. Make sure 6GB ram or more. Make sure it's 120gb SSD or if a spindle disk, at least 500gb or larger. Make sure if spindle disk, it's 7200rpm. Unless you wait for Ivy Bridge and get an Intel CPU with the HD 4000 graphics, you should ensure you get an add-on video card since you want to play games. Make sure it's at least an i5 processor, i7 is better.

[Army of GOD]

Click image to enlarge.

Related, I need a new laptop too, but I'm probably going to try build one over the summer. I don't really "game" on my laptop (other than Civ V and Trackmania), so I probably don't need as much as you.



Also:

[bedub1]

AoG you are going to build your own laptop? Really?

[nietzsche]

AoG,

Building your laptop is quite different from building a desktop system. For one, there aren't as many options due to form factor. Also you need to research the compatibility issues a little more. Whole systems are normally set up fully aware of any compatibility issue.

It's better to make a quick research on a whole laptop, to know if there's any hardware issue that's hard to resolve.

It might be better to go to sites like dell.com that let you choose from different options rather than buying parts and put them together yourself.

Also, wasn't a year ago that you bought a laptop? Did you make the keyboard all sticky or what?