Guidance with laptop purchase / build

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Xkcd

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#75681 21-Jan-2011 13:29

My old laptop has given up on me, so I need a new one. I am looking to spend around $1000, but I have realised that if i buy some branded laptop I am almost certainly going to get little bang for my buck. Fortunately, I have a friend who is willing to build one for me, hopefully saving me some costs.

This is where (I hope), you guys could help me out. I want to be able to play games to a decent standard, e.g. smoothly run a game such as CoH on high settings, and be able to watch videos smoothly as well. And in general, I want the machine to run reasonably quickly. Probably a bit of a tall order with a $1000 budget, but, quite frankly, I wouldn't know for sure so I am hoping you will be able to help me out.

I get the impression I'll need something like 4gb ram, 1gb dedi graphics and an i5 intel core (or equivalent i guess). Is that about right? And for 1000 dollars will i reasonably be able to get the performance i want? If so could you please suggest me some components that will deliver what i need? And will I be better off just buying a pre-made laptop or getting my mate to build me one after i buy all the parts?

Thank you very, very much for your help, and with a bit of luck, I'll have a new laptop in a few weeks :)

Mprezd

119 posts

Master Geek

#429531 21-Jan-2011 14:20

Xkcd: My old laptop has given up on me, so I need a new one. I am looking to spend around $1000, but I have realised that if i buy some branded laptop I am almost certainly going to get little bang for my buck. Fortunately, I have a friend who is willing to build one for me, hopefully saving me some costs.

This is where (I hope), you guys could help me out. I want to be able to play games to a decent standard, e.g. smoothly run a game such as CoH on high settings, and be able to watch videos smoothly as well. And in general, I want the machine to run reasonably quickly. Probably a bit of a tall order with a $1000 budget, but, quite frankly, I wouldn't know for sure so I am hoping you will be able to help me out.

I get the impression I'll need something like 4gb ram, 1gb dedi graphics and an i5 intel core (or equivalent i guess). Is that about right? And for 1000 dollars will i reasonably be able to get the performance i want? If so could you please suggest me some components that will deliver what i need? And will I be better off just buying a pre-made laptop or getting my mate to build me one after i buy all the parts?

Thank you very, very much for your help, and with a bit of luck, I'll have a new laptop in a few weeks :)

main issue really is that laptop components are hard to come by in NZ - there are not a lot of online retailers selling them. So most people wouldn't really know what x part will cost.

if you can get those specs in a laptop (depending on what the graphics card is - remember it is the card, not how much ram it has that will give you the performance) you should relatively get the performance that you want.

I would say a better video card is more important than the cpu. If you can get an i3 with a better video card then that will be enough.

Batman

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#429591 21-Jan-2011 17:40

if you head over to Oz you can get one like you wanted. i remember over christmas there was a asus core i7 (didn't read the entire spec) 15" for 768AUD!

try dell (dell.co.nz) or acer (trademe dealers) and you could be surprised

agree with video card. need good video card. i5 is great, but agree if you Have to sacrifice, stick with good video card and accept i3.

ps from your post i (sorry) deduce you may not know what a good video card is but don't get "intel HD" ones no matter how many GB is advertised!

Xkcd

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#429616 21-Jan-2011 18:19

Don't feel sorry haha, I am inexperienced. I have a couple more questions now. Firstly, is it easy to upgrade a laptop, e.g. if i bought a laptop with decent memory, and a good enough processor, would it be a pain and/or overly expensive to upgrade from the base video card / graphics? Or, would I be better to try and get the money in the first place and get a higher spec laptop from the start?

I noticed on the dell website, that for 200 dollars extra, there was a model that came with the "ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 - 1GB", rather than Intel HD Graphics. How significant a difference would there be between the base laptop, and that slightly pricier model?

Thanks again for your help.

Edit: I found a laptop on the dell website with the following specifications;

Intel® Core™ i5-480M Processor (2.66GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 3M cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit (English)
4GB (2 X 2 GB) 2 DIMM DDR3 1333Mhz
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
15.6 Widescreen HD WLED Glossy Display with TrueLife™ (1366x768)
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 - 1GB

Would this be a good computer for my needs?

Mprezd

119 posts

Master Geek

#429649 21-Jan-2011 20:27

Xkcd: Don't feel sorry haha, I am inexperienced. I have a couple more questions now. Firstly, is it easy to upgrade a laptop, e.g. if i bought a laptop with decent memory, and a good enough processor, would it be a pain and/or overly expensive to upgrade from the base video card / graphics? Or, would I be better to try and get the money in the first place and get a higher spec laptop from the start?

I noticed on the dell website, that for 200 dollars extra, there was a model that came with the "ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 - 1GB", rather than Intel HD Graphics. How significant a difference would there be between the base laptop, and that slightly pricier model?

Thanks again for your help.

Edit: I found a laptop on the dell website with the following specifications;

Intel® Core™ i5-480M Processor (2.66GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 3M cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit (English)
4GB (2 X 2 GB) 2 DIMM DDR3 1333Mhz
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
15.6 Widescreen HD WLED Glossy Display with TrueLife™ (1366x768)
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 - 1GB

Would this be a good computer for my needs?

with the laptops there are normally 2 things you can upgrade - memory and hdd. some you can do the cpu if you know what you are doing. But generally - no there is no upgrade path. It's not a case of just sticking in a different video card later on.

I don't know what the price on that dell is, but the specs are decent. a bit of a shame they only give you 1366*768 on a 15.6 screen.

The hd5650 is a HUGE difference over the intel graphics. like Shane Bond vs Richard De Groen

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#429669 21-Jan-2011 21:21

1) you can't upgrade anything apart from memory and hard drive.

2) you can't buy 'parts' and "build" a laptop ... well ... erm ... nope

3) the dell looks good - remember this guy wants to spend $1000 you're not going to get 1080p screen! just a tip - you can ring up and haggle for upgrades - i got an upgrade warranty and cost $60 instead of $180! (may not have lee way for the HD5650 but no harm trying)

4) ATi HD 5650 is a high end MEDIUM power gaming graphics. it will play all games at least on low settings if not medium. in lay person (non 'gamer fanatic') terms it's pretty darn good!

Batman

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#429672 21-Jan-2011 21:25

yup saw the dell inspiron 15 core i5 480m HD5650 for $1199 ... best priced that i can find so far. get it!

Xkcd

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#429790 22-Jan-2011 11:47

Thank you so much for all your help guys :) I think I'll get the Inspiron.

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Xkcd

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Wannabe Geek

#429803 22-Jan-2011 12:08

One final question, would I be better to buy a laptop now, or wait till around March? I know that the 2nd gen intel core line should be getting put into the newer models, is that worth the wait?

gzt

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#430732 24-Jan-2011 21:16

For keeping up with the latest games and demos you want as much graphics as you can afford. Most likely that is why you will end up replacing the machine. Nothing dates faster than laptop graphics ; )

The Dell sounds like a good deal.

It's my guess (-all care no responsibility-) waiting for the next gen might give you something a little better, but you will be handing over more cash to get it.

With the next generation coming in, the previous generation tends to get discounted a bit and that is often a good time to get lucky.

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#430787 24-Jan-2011 22:50

the intel sandy bridge is good, and boasts the integrated graphics in the processor chip. but id rather get the first generation cheaper and get a 1gb dedicated graphics like the dell unit you are looking at.