Need help finding a decent laptop

[Supern3rd]

I just recently enrolled back into school for computer programming, so i'm looking for a laptop that will be able to handle all of the software that goes with that, but still also looking to be able to play WoW and progress through my raid content..i just recently purchased a new desktop, so my budget for the laptop is semi-low, highest id be willing to go is 700 dollars.

any suggestions?


also, the reason im seeking help for this is because when it comes to laptop specs, such as processors and graphics card, im not too familiar with what's good and not.

[DarkBlade6]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834214191

With a new Sandy bridge Core i5 M processor, thats probably the best you can get for 700$. But it has no dedicated GFX card so you cant really play any video game on this laptop. (huge deal on this one atm, thats why it fit in ur budget)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152255

Or this one , it has a dedicated GFX card , you could probably play WoW at medium/no shadow.

If i was you, Id pick the Toshiba with a Core i5 , since you have a gaming rig at home, this laptop would be better for work because it has a bigger screen and a better CPU. Both are fingerprint proof, they are not made with glossy plastic.

[vesseblah]

Do you really need laptop for the schoolwork or can you do with the desktop you already have is the question #1?

If the answer is no, then you're kinda screwed, because you can get decent work/school laptop for $700, or you can get low end gaming laptop for $700, but you can't get both.

---------- Post added 2011-04-26 at 06:53 PM ----------

mnm illustrates my point above... Either you get decent resolution for work or usable gpu, but not both.

[Supern3rd]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834214191

With a new Sandy bridge Core i5 M processor, thats probably the best you can get for 700$. But it has no dedicated GFX card so you cant really play any video game on this laptop. (huge deal on this one atm, thats why it fit in ur budget)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152255

Or this one , it has a dedicated GFX card , you could probably play WoW at medium/no shadow.

Something like the dedicated GFX card one would be perfect.

Realistically, the only applications i'll be needing to run is C#. It doesn't take up much memory, I could realstically use any computer to run the programming software.

[vesseblah]

Realistically, the only applications i'll be needing to run is C#. It doesn't take up much memory, I could realstically use any computer to run the programming software.

Memory is not the problem, but things like programming needs big monitor. Running any modern IDE on 1366x768 screen is masochism.

[Deleted]

Particularly what you want is a large amount of vertical space; especially as most interfaces tends to devour just this. The Windows taskbar, Gnome/KDE interface, the Mac OS top-bar and especially the Dock all take up considerable amounts of vertical space by default, and when added with that of the IDE you can easily run down to 500 pixels or less to work with on a 768 monitor.

By upgrading to a 1680x1050 monitor (or 1920x1080, or 1920x1200 - the last being rare on sub 17'') you can often upgrade your actual vertical work area by nearly 60% - and the added horizontal space often means that you can now run in a split 50/50 configuration - with the IDE occupying the left half of the screen (for example), and documents and references occupying the right. (You can naturally fine-tune this even more to your specifics).

[DarkBlade6]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220997

This is probably what you are looking for, but as you can see it cost 250$ more than what u were expecting for.

15.6 inch 1080p monitor
GT550M GFX Card
Core i5 2410m

Its an excellent laptop, for less than 1000$ you cant get anything better than this .

[nwo]

I don't see anything wrong with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-987-_-Product
Has a solid CPU (even though it is last gen) but it should not be underrated. It also has a decent laptop GPU which should be able to handle WoW at high/ultra settings (with the exception of shadows of course). Only drawback would be the resolution, which is standard for this price range and it would be tough to find a 1080p resolution in your price range (with a dedicated GPU).

[vesseblah]

I don't see anything wrong with this one:

As mentioned above, buying a laptop for the purpose of programming with that low resolution is borderline masochism. That's what's wrong with it.

[DarkBlade6]

Also last generation CPU

[nwo]

As mentioned above, buying a laptop for the purpose of programming with that low resolution is borderline masochism. That's what's wrong with it.

This should be a little better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115990
Has a higher res and roughly the same CPU/GPU power as the one I mentioned earlier (slightly slower GPU). The cheapest 1080p laptop with a dedicated graphics card (on newegg) is that $950 Asus that was linked earlier by mnm.

---------- Post added 2011-04-26 at 09:37 PM ----------

Also last generation CPU

Yep, and I mentioned that in my post. So what? It's still a very good CPU not just for gaming but anything else that you can think of. You can't be too picky in the $700 price range otherwise you'll be up to a grand before you even know it.

[vesseblah]

This should be a little better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115990
Has a higher res and roughly the same CPU/GPU power as the one I mentioned earlier (slightly slower GPU). The cheapest 1080p laptop with a dedicated graphics card (on newegg) is that $950 Asus that was linked earlier by mnm.

Looks potentially usable for OP. Should have decent framerate for WoW and bigger screen.