It's been AGES since I've bought anything new (had this laptop for a good three and a bit years), so I don't really have any idea what I'm looking for.
I've only been looking at the Dell website recently, and have sort of narrowed it down to two - the Studio 17", and the XPS16.
Okay, so what do I want?
Something that will run faster than this slow thing I'm on now (which is a Sony Vaio 15.4", T5600, 1gig RAM)....
I won't lie, I'm looking to upgrade because I want something that will run Diablo III on decent settings with ease...I'm not into games much these days, I've got a PS3 for that. Watch a lot of movies and TV shows on my laptop, but wouldn't need a Blu Ray drive - once again; the PS3.
Decent screen is important, and build quality too. The laptop is otherwise use for Word/Excel, internet browsing, music, and that's it.
I'm budgeting $2500 maximum, both the Studio 17 & XPS16 with upgraded 9550 processors still come under this amount.
Studio 17 for it's slightly bigger screen, XPS16 because of a more powerful video card, and it looks sexy.
From my experience the Studio 17 is going to give you better bang for buck, but isn't as pretty and not as good for gaming as the 16. It does have a bigger screen than the 16 (obviously) but is also a 16:10 ratio, not 16:9.
The XPS 16 is a far nicer looking machine but does get very, very hot. In fact apart from rec's Vaio I haven't felt a hotter laptop...
Maybe consider the studio 15? There's an option for a full HD screen for around $90. The screen size recently got increased to 15.6" so you're only talking 0.4" difference between that and the XPS 16. The graphics card is also better on the Studio 15 than it is on the Studio 17... The only downside I can see for you is that the max processor (at least atm) for the 15 is the 2.4Ghz Centrino 2.
I work at a Dell Kiosk so that's why I'm only babbling about Dells... it's all I know about! ;)
You might as well check out ASUS machines while you're at it. I have a few mates with them and ASUS always seem to be pretty cutting edge with the new release stuff...
I think Dell can usually pip them on price though... I guess you have to find the balance.
what's alienware's support like these days? i know it was arse 3 years ago when i got my work lappy, but since those ****ups, the machine has worked flawlessly. even bottom of their range it played games that were current then.
I have a toshi X200 series MEPM has a toshiba X300 we game on them all the time against each other I would recommend them to anyone. a gaming laptop isnt a gaming laptop if it doesnt get hot and run out of power before the hour ends. What ever your thoughts are toshi's are good and you can get them for pretty cheap to. shop around. If you read the reviews they all say what they get paid to say just go with what you want.
Quote from grandinferno;364700: You might as well check out ASUS machines while you're at it. I have a few mates with them and ASUS always seem to be pretty cutting edge with the new release stuff...
I think Dell can usually pip them on price though... I guess you have to find the balance.
;)
FWIW, we see more Dells in for repair than Asus. Couple that with the Dell 1 year warranty vs the Asus 2 year warranty and it should be a no-brainer.
toshiba just release a L300 Series laptop with 4 gig of ram :) centrino 2 its only roughly "600 has fair bit of power.
15.4 inch screen :)
i have used many laptops Toshiba, HP, Asus, LG, Apple, Dell (VOMIT)
all have there upsides and downsides
LG Negative :ive had 2 and wont buy another they suffer from alot of manufacturing faults after 12 months Positive : Cant think of any
Toshiba Negative: the shiny surface pisses me off on the new series Positive: Great warranty, international warranty
Dell Negative: i would never buy one and if it was given to me i would sell it Positive: Great support anywhere in the world
Acer Negative:NEVER EVER buy an Acer.. warranty is terrible and they are poorly built) Postive:service centre in Darwin
HP Negative: seem to of cut back there service centres in most places, you fight when you find a manufacturing fault and poor design causing heat to crack plastics and hinges Postive: I think they still have a service centre in darwin.
Asus Negative: aslong as you dont live in Darwin Asus laptops are great otherwise you will have to send your laptop down south for repair which blows Positive: i havent had many problems with asus laptops alround 4 star rating.
However after owning and destroying many laptops i will never buy another brand but apple.
I really like the new macbook 15 inch / 17 inch which has dual video cards Able to run Windows / Mac / Linux ect and it takes ddr3 memory.
Dont buy HP's, the bigger HP laptops are prone to heat problems warping the board and breaking solder contacts over time killing things like the graphics card. They WONT replace it under warranty and will flat out tell you there is no known problem and you must have overclocked it for that to happen - despite thousands of people with identical problems AND losing a lawsuit for one series with identical problems.
Asus are generally quite good laptops, also check out Lenovo laptops, they often have some surprisingly well specced laptops for their prices and from the ones we've sold they are very good quality.
Just incase you guys didnt know pioneer make some good computer gear and for laptops you can so custom build your own and for well you get what you pay for sort of thing.. I can vouch for them as I have used them before warranty is prob better then a local shop because
""""For customers from remote areas, Pioneer Computers offers the option of "Pickup and Return." """"
check it out. Pioneer Computers Australia - Products - Pioneer Notebooks - DreamBook Power 17"-19"
but i still like my toshi. and the shiny top is awsome lol
I threatened to take them to small claims court after 12 hours of calls and they said "Fine you do that, good luck with that".
For the record the model in question is a ZD8000, do a google search on that and the ZD7000 it replaced. Both have the same problem, ZD7000 was taken to court in a class action lawsuit, ZD8000 has the EXACT same problems and HP delete threads asking about it off their forums etc.