Looking at a new laptop, need some advice.

[Hottage]

Hey peeps,

Looking at buying a new budget gaming laptop next month to replace the aging and somewhat battered one I have, my max price tag is pretty low, €800. I know I can't expect a monster for this, but what I've seen around seems to fit my usage very nicely.
The one I go for must be fast enough for gaming (so good graphics card) and also be good for typing on. Since I might be using it for work too, it's gotta look quite professional and be portable (15-16 inch screen and not more than 4kg).

I've currently settled on two that look like they might fit the bill, each with pros and cons. Anyone fancy telling me which they think is better for my purposes?

http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/compa.../291977;296566

	Best Price	Pros	Cons
Acer Aspire 5755G-2678G64MN	€780	2Gb Graphics Memory Cheaper 1.3M webcam 2 Year Collect & Return Warranty	No full HD 640Gb HDD
Asus N53SV-S1842V	€800	750Gb HDD 1080i Screen Looks way cooler	More Expensive 1Gb Graphics Memory 0.3M webcam 2 year walk in repair warranty

The real sticking point is whether the extra 1GB of graphics RAM offsets the extra hard disk space and full HD graphics.
Anyone with some feedback, or perhaps another entry to the arena?

[inux94]

The N53S models got the Seagate Momentus XT harddrives IIRC, which is a very good & fast harddrive.

I've got it myself, the only dislike to it is the touchpad, if you hover your hand around it, it manages to see it as a click. (happens every 5-20 minuttes for me)
But if you're gaming I assume you can just disable the touchpad (by pressing fn + f9)

Also how is 2 year walk in repair warranty a con?

[Nellah]

I took one look at the screen resolution and immediately dismissed the Acer as a laptop I'd ever use, or even look at. 1366x768 vs. 1920x1080? Hah. Also, pretty sure that's a 1080p screen, I can't remember the last time I've seen an interlaced computer screen.

The 1GiB/2GiB VRAM difference is negligible. You won't be using the GT540M for anything that'll require that much VRAM, even at 1920x1080.

Walk-in repair is better than mail-in repair, so that's a Pro in the Asus' favor.

[Hottage]

I always considered collect & return favorable to having to actually go myself with it to the dealer to get it fixed.
Maybe I'm just lazy.

[Nellah]

I always considered collect & return favorable to having to actually go myself with it to the dealer to get it fixed.
Maybe I'm just lazy.

Walk-in warranties also allow you to call them and request a box. You just ALSO have the option to go to a store.

[Hottage]

So, the Asus is looking a better bet right now then?

[inux94]

Yes, the resolution is very good on the Asus, my girlfriend ordered a 1366x768 vaio laptop and regrets she didn't get a bigger resolution/better GPU.

[Hottage]

Alright, unless someone brings me a better option, I'll be taking the Asus next pay check.

[inux94]

If you can find a N53SN then take it It's got a better GPU. (IIRC SV got the GT 540M, while SN got the GT 550M.)

[Hottage]

If you can find a N53SN then take it It's got a better GPU. (IIRC SV got the GT 540M, while SN got the GT 550M.)

Sadly it's nearly €100 more expensive, so well outta my price range. Also don't like the loss of 100Gb of HDD and 2Gb of RAM

[Brewski]

I got an Acer Aspire a few months ago & its pretty good, really stable & I haven't had any problems with it yet.

[inux94]

Sadly it's nearly €100 more expensive, so well outta my price range. Also don't like the loss of 100Gb of HDD and 2Gb of RAM

It should run fine otherwise with the 540M

Hope you enjoy it! I certainly am enjoying mine. (The first thing you need to do when you recieve your laptop is update gfx drivers from Nvidia's website, after that you should go to Nvidia Control Panel & set your PhysX-processor as Geforce GT 540M in "Set PhysX-configuration.
After that you need to go into "Manage 3D settings" and set your Nvidia-processor as standard, instead of Pick Automatically or integrated graphics)

It may sound like much but it isn't, it only takes 2 minuttes
Some games are poorly optimized and pick the integrated graphics card (your CPU) to play on, instead of your graphics card.

I got an Acer Aspire a few months ago & its pretty good, really stable & I haven't had any problems with it yet.

Well how helpful of you to post your specs & price into your post, not to mention there's lots of different Aspire products.

[Hottage]

Hope you enjoy it! I certainly am enjoying mine. (The first thing you need to do when you recieve your laptop is update gfx drivers from Nvidia's website, after that you should go to Nvidia Control Panel & set your PhysX-processor as Geforce GT 540M in "Set PhysX-configuration.
After that you need to go into "Manage 3D settings" and set your Nvidia-processor as standard, instead of Pick Automatically or integrated graphics)

I'd have been all over this like a tramp on chips anyway, I know my tech, just wasn't sure on the trade off here.

[mafao]

Asus is a better overall deal. You don't need 2GB VRAM with that card and resolution.