Computers & Tablets

[Kalaster]

Hi!

My Eighteenth Birthday is coming up and Im getting my first laptop! But its Kind of confusing, I have never planned on spending so much money before. So ive been researching a lot about some laptops, buts it confusing because I always get mixed reviews with every laptop I look up   So I saw this Laptop,

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9353371&st=Dell+studio&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=12180...

It seems pretty good, the hardware seems to be what I need (though im not an expert on video cards, so any help on how that would be cool ) But im very hesitant to buy this one because I looked at other laptops, the same ones just different colors, and they didn't have the greatest reviews. Does anybody have any opinions on this laptop?

Im looking for a computer with power and speed, were I can work and multi task with adobe software such as Photoshop and After FX, and to satisfie my inner gamer for MMO's. I would like to keep the price at $1,000 or less, but i will look at others for more.

Thanks

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

Those specs look good, but I would look for one with an Nvidia or ATI Chip and make sure its a discrete chip too and not a shared memory gig.

[Kalaster]

Sorry, Not sure what you mean when you said

"make sure its a discrete chip too and not a shared memory gig."

[Starflyer59]

Hey Kalaster

The description will say something like 256mb of DEDICATED memory.

Some laptops have videocards with dedicated (discrete) memory and some laptops have videocards that share memory from your main memory.

Look for the word (Dedicated Memory) and you should be good.

[Kalaster]

thanks for the tip. I did some more searching around and found this one =D (I am Not Limited to $1,000)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1218094582785&type=product&_requestid=15199

(I am Not Limited to $1,000)

anybody know if HP is any good?

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

1 gig of dedicated ram Shweet! Looks like a nice laptop!

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

Honestly, This laptop is overkill when it comes to MMO's

[Kalaster]

OMG! I had chills when I saw the quad core and 6GB of ram XD Im looking into some reviews right now, looks like the screen resolution isn't the greatest for its price. But, WOW! Price isn't all that bad!

*wonders to himself if this Laptop comes with a free fire extinguisher*

[Drew-Intel · Accepted solution]

hi kalaster.

the notebook that you linked is quite the beast, but as hockey mentioned, it's probably overkill for the kinds of things you're looking to accomplish. in terms of whether the laptop is 'good' or not, read the CNET review that's linked on the product detail page. they seem to do a good a job of reviewing the machines from top to bottom.

here are three other machines that are a bit closer to the price that you mentioned.

* asus G51VX-RX05: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366651&type=product&id=1218092150636

* gateway fx P-7805u: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

* hp pavillion dv7-1285dx: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9166323&type=product&id=1218041149114

all of them come with at least 4gb of system memory, intel core 2 duo processors, spacious hard drives, and discrete graphics adapters. the gateway and the hp have CNET reviews linked on their product pages, so as i mentioned for the first sytem, check those out to get a better idea of the pros and cons.

[Drew-Intel · Accepted solution]

hi kalaster.

the notebook that you linked is quite the beast, but as hockey mentioned, it's probably overkill for the kinds of things you're looking to accomplish. in terms of whether the laptop is 'good' or not, read the CNET review that's linked on the product detail page. they seem to do a good a job of reviewing the machines from top to bottom.

here are three other machines that are a bit closer to the price that you mentioned.

* asus G51VX-RX05: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366651&type=product&id=1218092150636

* gateway fx P-7805u: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

* hp pavillion dv7-1285dx: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9166323&type=product&id=1218041149114

all of them come with at least 4gb of system memory, intel core 2 duo processors, spacious hard drives, and discrete graphics adapters. the gateway and the hp have CNET reviews linked on their product pages, so as i mentioned for the first sytem, check those out to get a better idea of the pros and cons.

[Kalaster]

Well thank you! I guess we can all say the power in that laptop is unnecessary =P

So thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. The HP you listed looks to be what i need, But im gonna have to sleep on that and consider the others aswell.