Computers & Networking

[w_e_wilkewitz]

Hi,

I am currently in the market for a new laptop. I am personally inclined to go with an HP Pavillion laptop with the Intel duo core processor. I had also looked at VAIO's, but they have a lot of superfluous features that I will not make much use of. My friend (who knows computers well) suggests a Gateway, but I don't know much about them. Any advice that anyone has to offer would be fantastic! If I can stay under $700 would be great also.

I plan on using my laptop for:

school (papers, presentations, writing lessons plans)

entertainment (watching movies, listening to music)

WoW (world of warcraft. my subscription is currently on hold until I get through the rest of the semester).

Thanks for any advice!

[TheLexMachine]

You're gonna have to go a bit over 700. Everything HP has under that price doesn't have what you are looking for. The HP laptops with Intel CPU under 1000 all have the Intel 4500HD GPU which isn't very good for any kind of gaming. If you are okay with an AMD CPU, then your options are opened up but you will have to pay a hefty premium for an Intel CPU AND decent graphics.

[crock921]

get a macbook. I played wow with no issues, it fully supports ms office, and has much better entertainment software  than pc. good luck.

[w_e_wilkewitz]

Did I mention that i am NOT an AVID player of WoW? Merely recreational? The main use of this computer will be for school work and personal entertainment outside of WoW. As a senior in Education I don't have a lot of time to myself...

[crock921]

macbook is 999.  you can get a refurbished one for 899. It meets all of your needs plus comes with more entertainment software than you will get on your PC. This equals savings. On top of that, you don't have to worry about viruses, malware, etc. It is a superior machine for a small difference in price. 

[w_e_wilkewitz]

I agree, Macbooks are great tools, but I really think it is out of my price range at this time. Does anyone have an opinion on HP vs. Gateway?

[Drew-Intel]

given your career background, the recommendation of an apple machine is pretty keen. my mom is also an educator, and she has been very pleased with her intel-based macbook for getting her work situation in order. i don't know if it falls into the price range that you're shooting for, but it's a data point worth remembering.

here are a few systems that you may want to check out:

* asus U50A-RBBML05: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+M...

* hp pavillion dv6-1355dx: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Proces...

* lenovo SL410: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+ThinkPad+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Centrino%26%23174%3B+Pro...

all machines feature intel core 2 duo processors, 4GB of system memory, and large hard drives (from 320GB in the lenovo to 500GB in the asus and hp units). in terms of batter life, the hp gets around 4 hours, while the asus and lenovo should see somewhere around 5 hours.

for casual gaming, the integrated graphics found in all three systems should be adequate. i play games like crayon physics deluxe and world of goo flawlessly. WoW will be a bit more taxing on the system, but luckily, the game settings are able to be tweaked signficantly for play on a large variety of machines (from bad to good).

[Tomoko]

The ASUS above looks like a good deal. WoW is more processor intensive than graphics intensive, so it should run that just fine. Heck, I used to play WoW BC with a single core Ati Chip (can't remember which) and outside of cities, the performance was more than acceptable.

As for entertainment software, it's a matter of personal preference, personally everything that comes bundled with operating systems these days is bunk, there are plenty of legally free programs that do a MUCH better job. Once you  get your computer, download VLC media player, I haven't found a file it can't play yet, you can get "skins" to change it's appearance, it "just works"