Alrighty Im getting a new laptop in about a month and I need some advice on which brands and what not. I do want to game on it so im going to need it to have a nice hard drive and also decent amount of memory. Any specific brands and specs to look for??
Budget is around $1600 or so

Thanks
Mach

 

You get what you pay for

I've used IBM thinkpads and Dell Latitude D500/600 and had no problems

I guess it depends on what you want it used for?
And definately RAM up on it

 

Its pretty much for school and gaming. I need it to be able to handle many programs at one time like photoshop, dreamweaver, iTunes, firefox. So i need it to be able to handle quite a load.

 

What type of gaming? Also, what size range are you looking at? Do you want something easy to port around (but that will likely skimp on gaming performance), or are you ok with porting around something larger? Based on the school comment, I'd imagine portability would be a good thing.

Is this also going to be your only system at the time?

One suggestion would be a MacBook or a refurb MacBook Pro. Make sure to use the education link as they do offer discounts to students. The handy thing with the intel Macs is that they can run both the secure OS X and also Windows XP side by side, allowing you to migrate at your own pace. Being a student means being on a pretty viscous network, so not having to worry about the next Windows exploit means more time for other things.

I personally have a 15 inch MacBook Pro that I have been using as my only system for almost a year now. It has done everything that I have needed, including gaming. I've played Half Life 2, Quake 4, World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2 and others on it at decent framerates. As far as the viability of gaming on the MacBook, well it's not going to be the best, but a friend of mine with one does see acceptable performance out of it playing WoW. I also loaded up Half Life 2 on it, and it was playable as well, but not with everything maxed out.

As far as making a solid choice though, see if you can wait just a little bit. Apple has their big conference next week where new products may be introduced. Also, if you do go the PC route, Vista ships the later part of this month, so waiting will mean you can get a preloaded system with it.

 

Lenovo or Sony if you can afford them. If you're looking for bargin pricing, HP may be the way to go they've got some home based machines at attractive prices.

 

I am happy with a Toshiba Satellite A105 I got at Circuit City. Intel Duo core processor, 2 gigs ram, 120 gig HDD, etc for a hair less than $1k.

 

Well I will throw in my two cents worth.
My Recommendations:
DUAL CORE Processor (1.6 GHz Minimum)
2GB RAM
7,200 RPM HD (100GB+)
A good VIDEO CARD, something like a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS (Expensive but you wont regret it if you do any gaming)
Do not settle for the Intel Integrated Accelerated Graphics 950 or w/e it is they are packaging in them nowadays.
The reviews I have seen of the NVIDIA have it outperforming cards like the 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory by double.

 

Stay away from Toshiba. The mother board in my 2 year old G15 just burnt up. Toshiba apparently knew there was a problem as I have found out too late, and they aren't going to help me. Oh well, now I have a $2000 door stop.

I've had Dells in the past and never had problems with them.

 

I just got a new laptop and its VERY impressive (to me anyway). I had been on the fence for years about getting one, since as soon as you get it, its outdated already. Anyhow, I went with Dell (I know their CS isn't the greatest), but I couldn't pass up a $750 off coupon I found online in a computer forum. I went with their new 1505 with the Core Duo processor. T2400 speed, best monitor visuals, 1 GB memory, 80G HD, 4 year warranty, and wi/fi built in. I'm very happy with it. No problems so far. I don't do ANY gaming. All I use it for, is internet, iTunes, and my photos from my digi cam. All in all, I'm glad I got this one. Its very fast.

 

Dell YECK!

 

Thanks a ton for the help. Its looking like probably HP
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...lion&aoid=1426

Prolly one of the first two. HP Pavilion dv9000z series or the HP Pavilion dv9000t series.

Any pro's or con's on those?

 

my toshiba has been in the shop several times for over heating .... My wife has a dell ..... I think they are pretty good

 

I have 2 medium grade HP laptops (2 years ago high grade).
I love them.
If you want gaming,get a good video card in it.

 

Ive had my old toshiba for 6 years and its still golden, even through a crapload of abuse. My family all has HPs, theyre good.

Just get something that feels durable and has good specs, should be good. Dont buy a ****ty emachine or anything though.