Curse

shrouded^god · Feb 26, 2008, 11:07 PM // 23:07

Well, Ill be sucking it up and heading back to school next semester...so Im getting my student loans and such ready. Ill be going into Digital Arts (Graphic Communications/Advertisement) so I'll be figuring in the price of a new laptop into my school loans. Now...I want it to be something thats good enough that it'll be somewhat "up to date" for the next several years. Small upgrades can be done along the way if needed. Now, although I'll be using it for school...I also plan to use it at home for...music...gaming...as well as freelance work so it needs to be "multi-purpose". I understand how expensive high end laptops can get but...I definitely dont want to top 4grand and would prefer to stay ~3k...

Now what I'd like to see out of it...19"+ monitor is almost a must for me...I have a 19" wide monitor for my desktop and I previously owned a 19" powerbook G4...Im very fond of having a 19". I plan to upgrade the RAM myself...Id prefer to get a solid dualcore processor...a single 8series geforce core...prefer a 512+ 8800.

Now....Ive checked over Dell...HP....*cough* alienware *cough* and everything i see seems insanely overpriced...if anyone could give me some direction in a system that would please my needs...or suggestions on builders/companies...anything that'll help out...please post up

EDIT:

Well this is the system im currently looking at...(from HP)

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.60 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Display: 20.1" WSXGA+ High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
RAM: 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
G-card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
HDD:320GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (160GB x 2)

total being: $2,869.99

any opinions?

Thanks in advance

Stockholm · Feb 26, 2008, 11:58 PM // 23:58

Buy a BareBone system with Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor and then add what you need, that way you can get a system with the same or better specs for about half the price.

Here is a nice Kit to start from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...655&CatId=2405

shrouded^god · Feb 27, 2008, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stockholm

Buy a BareBone system with Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor and then add what you need, that way you can get a system with the same or better specs for about half the price.

Here is a nice Kit to start from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...655&CatId=2405

Appreciate the reply and yup...Ive already built my own desktop...in the market for a laptop now.

Biostem · Feb 27, 2008, 12:45 AM // 00:45

That laptop is quite good. It could probably run most current FPS's very well, too.

The only other suggestion I'd make would be to get one of those laptop holder/platform things w/ fans built in, that way you can avoid overheating the laptop & extend its life a bit. Other than that, get an external mouse as touchpads are horrible for gaming...

Just a few other things; the 5400rpm hdd is going to be noticeably slower than a desktop one - I'd suggest a faster hdd over a larger one. Also, while the specs are quite good, it does seem rather pricey...

Tarun · Feb 27, 2008, 12:56 AM // 00:56

Seems quite overpriced to be honest. You could easily get a desktop with all of that for around 1,000.

As mentioned above, the 5400RPM will be a noticeable drag on the system.

If you're going to be doing graphics and more, do that on a desktop. Get a cheap notebook (laptop) that you can use for school tasks and maybe a bit more. Things like word processing, Internet functions and maybe watching videos, etc.

Graphics/video design is intensive and your battery will get depleted quickly. In the long run you'll get better performance for your needs from a desktop computer.

From my standpoint, if I was in your position I would upgrade the desktop and buy a middle ranged notebook.

Malice Black · Feb 27, 2008, 03:30 AM // 03:30

http://forum.notebookreview.com/