I figure this is a good thread for it, so, what do you people think of this laptop? I haven't seen any reviews yet as it's quite new, but this kind of hardware (2.4GHz dual-core Core i5, 4GB DDR3, Mobility Radeon HD 5650) at this price point ($800) is amazing.
To elaborate, my situation is this. I'm in the USA until July or so, but my desktop is still in Australia and I'd like to do some gaming while I'm here. However, my old computer is starting to fall behind a little, so I was previously thinking of buying a new desktop. I would be forced to get it shipped back to Australia in July, but that's not so bad considering Australia's prices are higher (mind you, it's nowhere near as bad as it is for video games; computer hardware is generally ~10% more expensive). However, I'm also concerned about the warranty on the parts - would I be able to RMA them in Australia?
I'm considering a laptop mostly because I have very little portable computing / multimedia hardware; my phone basically just makes calls. I used to have an iPod at one point, but the stupid thing broke; I've barely listened to any podcasts since then, in fact. Though I would love to have a smartphone, it would be plainly stupid of me to buy one with a U.S. contract when I'll be going back to Australia, while an unlocked phone doesn't seem worth the expense. Essentially, my only portable device of note is a Nintendo DSi; I guess I could do some stuff with it if I got a flashcart, though.
Sure, a 15.6" laptop isn't very portable, and battery life could be better, but on the other hand I'd be able to take it to PAX, and it would be great for taking to university. From what I know of the hardware, this laptop would be capable of running pretty much any modern game on medium settings, which is amazing. Sure, for that price I could get a desktop that would easily run them on high at higher resolution, but does that matter enough? Plus, for a desktop I'd have to buy a screen as well. According to these benchmarks, that graphics card is even capable of running Crysis on medium settings at ~50fps, though only at a resolution of 1024x768. Though the laptop's max res is 1366x768, any modern game would run smoothly with the settings turned down.
I'm also considering getting an SSD as well; though they are expensive, it would be a big improvement, especially in a laptop.
I would like to see some reviews of the laptop surface, but what are your thoughts, forum? Should I buy a laptop like this, or buy a desktop and other portable computing hardware to sate my needs?
EDIT: For reference, I priced up a comparable desktop, including a monitor (22"). It's much the same, except that the CPU is 2.93GHz, and the video card is an HD 5670, but the desktop came to $838.87. The big difference with the desktop is that I can spend ~$300 more for some all-round upgrades, though, including a quad-core, a much more powerful graphics card, more hard drive space, and a larger screen.
EDIT2: This laptop is comparable; it seems like It has had positive reviews on Newegg overall.
Both of those laptops look like they are powerful enough to do the gaming you want. However, they are ugly as sin. I can't imagine that either one will be a pleasure to use. They'll also probably break in short order. If you actually want gaming in a laptop, legitimately speaking, consider the Alienware M11X. It's small, has good battery life, can game well,and is similar in price to those ones.
Both of those laptops look like they are powerful enough to do the gaming you want. However, they are ugly as sin. I can't imagine that either one will be a pleasure to use. They'll also probably break in short order. If you actually want gaming in a laptop, legitimately speaking, consider the Alienware M11X. It's small, has good battery life, can game well,and is similar in price to those ones.
I'll admit, the M11x is amazing for an 11" laptop. However, the processor is around twice as slow, the RAM is only 800MHz and the graphics card is a little weaker. If it had a decent CPU, I would definitely buy it, but with this one the sacrifice is too great.
As for it being ugly as sin, I disagree with that, and I think your judgement of whether or not it will be a pleasure to use is entirely baseless. It may break, though I don't think it's all that likely, but that's what warranties are for.
Overall, though, what surprises me is the fact that laptops this powerful are available around that price, without a very big premium compared to a desktop. Like you, I've always thought that a desktop would offer much, much better performance in the same price range. While a more portable laptop would be great, gaming, mostly at home, is a greater priority. A laptop, however, gives me international warranty, means that I won't have to bother getting a desktop shipped back to Australia, and I'll be able to take it to PAX. The fact that it's a laptop, limited though its portability may be, is an added bonus.
I would love to see the same kind of hardware at ~5 pounds and 14", but I just don't see it happening. For example, there's this one, but the hardware is significantly worse, it's $850, and it's still 5.5 pounds.
What about this Sony? Currently out of stock, but it's 13.4" and 5.25 pounds as opposed to 15.6" and 6.16 pounds. Additionally, it has 1600x900 resolution as opposed to 1366x768. It's definitely a superior computer, and the price jump is justifiable, but there's a problem - the GT 330M is a significantly weaker graphics card than the HD 5650, and the higher resolution compounds this problem.
Unfortunately, it seems that international warranties on laptops are either not applicable, or unreliable. This is a point against laptops, but the other advantages in my case still hold up.
A 13-14" Core i5 laptop with an HD 5650 would be optimal, I think.
NVIDIA Optimus seems like a good idea, and justifies going to an Nvidia GPU instead. Sadly, there don't seem to be any sufficiently powerful laptops with Optimus out right now, but it's interesting.
The ASUS N82 seems to be coming out with Nvidia Optimus soon, so now I'm interested in that as well. It also seems that ASUS has a reliable 2-year global warranty, which is better than most other manufacturers. What I know so far of the ASUS N82Jv is that it's 14" and it ought to have a Core i5, an Nvidia GT 335M with Nvidia Optimus, an 8-cell battery, and weigh around 5 pounds.
I have an Acer netbook and I have to say it's not the most well built computer I've ever used. It did however survive a 2ft drop onto a tile floor in an airport so I guess it's well built enough.
Comments
I haven't seen any reviews yet as it's quite new, but this kind of hardware (2.4GHz dual-core Core i5, 4GB DDR3, Mobility Radeon HD 5650) at this price point ($800) is amazing.
To elaborate, my situation is this. I'm in the USA until July or so, but my desktop is still in Australia and I'd like to do some gaming while I'm here. However, my old computer is starting to fall behind a little, so I was previously thinking of buying a new desktop. I would be forced to get it shipped back to Australia in July, but that's not so bad considering Australia's prices are higher (mind you, it's nowhere near as bad as it is for video games; computer hardware is generally ~10% more expensive). However, I'm also concerned about the warranty on the parts - would I be able to RMA them in Australia?
I'm considering a laptop mostly because I have very little portable computing / multimedia hardware; my phone basically just makes calls. I used to have an iPod at one point, but the stupid thing broke; I've barely listened to any podcasts since then, in fact. Though I would love to have a smartphone, it would be plainly stupid of me to buy one with a U.S. contract when I'll be going back to Australia, while an unlocked phone doesn't seem worth the expense. Essentially, my only portable device of note is a Nintendo DSi; I guess I could do some stuff with it if I got a flashcart, though.
Sure, a 15.6" laptop isn't very portable, and battery life could be better, but on the other hand I'd be able to take it to PAX, and it would be great for taking to university. From what I know of the hardware, this laptop would be capable of running pretty much any modern game on medium settings, which is amazing. Sure, for that price I could get a desktop that would easily run them on high at higher resolution, but does that matter enough? Plus, for a desktop I'd have to buy a screen as well. According to these benchmarks, that graphics card is even capable of running Crysis on medium settings at ~50fps, though only at a resolution of 1024x768. Though the laptop's max res is 1366x768, any modern game would run smoothly with the settings turned down.
I'm also considering getting an SSD as well; though they are expensive, it would be a big improvement, especially in a laptop.
I would like to see some reviews of the laptop surface, but what are your thoughts, forum? Should I buy a laptop like this, or buy a desktop and other portable computing hardware to sate my needs?
EDIT: For reference, I priced up a comparable desktop, including a monitor (22"). It's much the same, except that the CPU is 2.93GHz, and the video card is an HD 5670, but the desktop came to $838.87. The big difference with the desktop is that I can spend ~$300 more for some all-round upgrades, though, including a quad-core, a much more powerful graphics card, more hard drive space, and a larger screen.
EDIT2: This laptop is comparable; it seems like It has had positive reviews on Newegg overall.
\o/
Did you find a purse that matches your shoes yet?
As for it being ugly as sin, I disagree with that, and I think your judgement of whether or not it will be a pleasure to use is entirely baseless. It may break, though I don't think it's all that likely, but that's what warranties are for.
Overall, though, what surprises me is the fact that laptops this powerful are available around that price, without a very big premium compared to a desktop. Like you, I've always thought that a desktop would offer much, much better performance in the same price range. While a more portable laptop would be great, gaming, mostly at home, is a greater priority. A laptop, however, gives me international warranty, means that I won't have to bother getting a desktop shipped back to Australia, and I'll be able to take it to PAX. The fact that it's a laptop, limited though its portability may be, is an added bonus.
I would love to see the same kind of hardware at ~5 pounds and 14", but I just don't see it happening. For example, there's this one, but the hardware is significantly worse, it's $850, and it's still 5.5 pounds.
Currently out of stock, but it's 13.4" and 5.25 pounds as opposed to 15.6" and 6.16 pounds. Additionally, it has 1600x900 resolution as opposed to 1366x768. It's definitely a superior computer, and the price jump is justifiable, but there's a problem - the GT 330M is a significantly weaker graphics card than the HD 5650, and the higher resolution compounds this problem.
Unfortunately, it seems that international warranties on laptops are either not applicable, or unreliable. This is a point against laptops, but the other advantages in my case still hold up.
A 13-14" Core i5 laptop with an HD 5650 would be optimal, I think.
The ASUS N82 seems to be coming out with Nvidia Optimus soon, so now I'm interested in that as well. It also seems that ASUS has a reliable 2-year global warranty, which is better than most other manufacturers. What I know so far of the ASUS N82Jv is that it's 14" and it ought to have a Core i5, an Nvidia GT 335M with Nvidia Optimus, an 8-cell battery, and weigh around 5 pounds.