Laptop shopping

[1394]

I don't have a huge budget, so I was wondering if anyone knew of a good place to get a laptop PC at for the best bang for my buck. I have looked around at some places that I know of where I buy desktop PCs (or, well, the parts to build them) but I wasn't sure if they offered the same relatively low prices and good quality on laptops.

It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction.

 

[dannyboyfx]

are you looking for prebuilt name brand, or a off brand.

I have the same question for name-brand computers.

 

[1394]

Namebrand is not important. It just needs to do what it does well.

 

[shadowcat]

What are you using it for and what programs will you use most?

 

[1394]

I would say watching video/listening to music, typing documents, maybe some gaming. I need a wireless connection too. I will probably do some graphics and such on it as well, perhaps a little 3D graphics, but nothing too intensive there, the little ball mouse thing makes me mad.

 

[shadowcat]

I would say watching video/listening to music ... maybe some gaming. I need a wireless connection too. I will probably do some graphics and such on it as well, perhaps a little 3D graphics, but nothing too intensive there

Just so you know, any time you say "graphics" and "gaming" (and I think "video" as well), you bump up the price of your laptop considerably because you now have to shop for a laptop with a graphics card -- not one that's onboard the motherboard. Laptops will cost much more than desktops and the core parts are not upgradable. The exception is are the high-end gaming laptops that allows for upgrading the video card, but it's very expensive. You can build a decent gaming desktop for about half the price (and be able to upgrade it).

There are laptops available for under $1000 but the graphics will be... well... not that great and slow, other than for word processing, office tasks and playing music (although, a flash/hard drive-based player would be much lighter than a laptop for this task). These laptops all have onboard video cards as part of the motherboard, and whenever happens, that means bad graphics for games, graphic programs and video.

If you want wireless capablility, I would look into a Centrino laptop.

I use PCWorld for their reviews of laptops and for any shopping tips. I found my work laptop this way. They have a list of "Value" notebooks to look at.

 

[zeddy]

From the dell outlet site there are some good deals

check it out as an example the one listed as FX89RYAR has a 15.4" screen, nvidia graphics, reasonable amount of ram and a DVD writer drive and a wireless card for $1169 inclusive of shipping.

 

[dannyboyfx]

yeah, if at all possible, i would think about geting an okay laptop and a easily upgradeable desk top. Other than that, i prefer sony, or ibm.

 

[zeddy]

I am not sure I rate Sony for laptops, they tend to be more "specialist" in their addons - like the memory stick, not much use unless you have other memory stick devices, also the graphics tend to be a bit puny.

 

[amphibian]

Alienware now has laptops with a video card upgrade feature. Meaning, when your vid card no longer cuts the cake you can install another one. They are the only company right now, that I know of, with this feature. Granted, their systems are expensive, but worth it if you are wanting to make a long term investment.

Laptops can be powerhouses, but its always the vid cards that push people into getting new ones since they are not upgradeable. Keep that it mind, especially since you are using graphic intensive programs and plan on using it for gaming.