search for great laptop value

[valuefanboy]

Why can't I post this thread? it says I'm not allowed to post any kinds of links until I post a few times. But there are no links, images or videos in my thread! gr! I had a lot more detail in the tread I wanted to post, but it won't let me! gonna start with this, hope to start a conversation.

Can anyone suggest better value in the $600-1000 range for a laptop than the lenovo ideapad Y560p?

[taekvideo]

Lenovo Ideapads are usually a great deal. That particular one has one of the best laptop cpu's on the market, though the gpu is somewhat lacking for gaming (would still play most games).
Here are a few other ideapads in your price range that would work much better for gaming:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834246151
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834246153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834246132

[valuefanboy]

Hey I appreciate the suggestions. Brief followup questions. I don't game enough other games to know how wow compares in terms of graphic card usage. If I'm planning on primarily playing wow and diablo 3, will the ideapad y560p do just as well as those more capable cards you linked? I'd be content playing on medium settings if the framerate was fluid.

My hunch is if I wanted to pick up portal 2 that I'd definitely be better served going with one of your links?

Finally, do you have any similar suggestions that can do a higher resolution? I've been used to 1900x1200. I'm willing to downsize from my 17" to a smaller screen, especially since I'm looking for something more portable my 5year old Dell Latitude D820. But I'm curious if there's anything competitive with your links that does more than 1366 x 768.

Thanks again!

[taekvideo]

wow, d3, and portal 2 are all low graphics req compared to other games.
If you want better res then this is your best bet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230077
It'll be a bit weaker on higher end games, but it should easily max those 3 games.

edit:
There's also this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215123
1600x900 resolution, cheaper, better cpu, similar gpu.

[OhpUldum]

wow, d3, and portal 2 are all low graphics req compared to other games.
If you want better res then this is your best bet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230077
It'll be a bit weaker on higher end games, but it should easily max those 3 games.

edit:
There's also this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215123
1600x900 resolution, cheaper, better cpu, similar gpu.

In comparison to other games WoW definitely has lower GPU requirements. A 520M to 540M would be perfectly fine to play at max as long as the resolution is low, I wouldn't expect max settings while gaming at 1920x1080 with all the eye candy turned up though.

The $600 to $1000 range is quite vast when we are discussing laptops. In most cases you can actually tier the lifespan of a laptop based off of its price and its requirements. Assuming your sole requirement of the laptop is to play WoW, D3, Portal 2, and the occasional web search for the next 2 years then the $600 range is perfectly fine. Assuming you want to keep a consistent level of playing for 2 to 3 years then $700 to $800 is your ball park. Lastly for 3 to 5 years you would look at the $801 to $1000 price range. This range generally has a higher end CPU, more memory, larger capacity hard drive, and higher end graphics cards allowing them the capability to last longer. While a laptops performance is always on a downward slope from the time it is purchased the simple logic of realistic expectations vs the value of your dollar you can walk away after four years and be perfectly content with your purchase.

Keeping that in mind here are a couple of my suggestions:
Gateway NV75S02u Notebook AMD A-Series A8-3500M(1.5GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 6620G $609.99
HP Pavilion dv6-6140us Notebook AMD A-Series A8-3500M(1.5GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo AMD Radeon HD 6620G $674.99
lenovo IdeaPad Y560p (43972AU) NoteBook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW AMD Radeon HD 6570M $699.99
ASUS K53 Series K53SV-A1 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M $757.00
lenovo IdeaPad Y570 (08622LU) Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M $849.99

Unfortunately they are currently out of stock on my favorites $1000 Asus G series but it was very popular at its price point.

[valuefanboy]

everyone is so super helpful and I don't know why! Thanks again.

---------- Post added 2011-08-24 at 11:42 PM ----------

last question: is newegg the best way to make any of these purchases? is there another site, or am I better off finding a local store?