Need suggestions on a $600 - $700 laptop

[g-unit1111]

Specifically it must be an Intel CPU (Core i3 or Core i5 preferable), 15" screen (no bigger) and I'd prefer a BD Combo drive but it doesn't have to necessarily have one. My current laptop is a Toshiba and after a full Windows install it's looking like it's completely FUBAR. I've been looking at Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, and Asus but if anyone has any other suggestions I'm definitely open to it.

1. What is your budget? $600 - $700, willing to go higher if necessary.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? No bigger than 16", no smaller than 13.3"

3. What screen resolution do you want? Doesn't matter - prefer 1080p but if not it's not that important.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable but able to handle all desktop functions.

5. How much battery life do you need? 4 - 5 hours.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Light games - Portal 2 and definitely want it to be able to handle Civ V decently.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) - Media management (large HD required but will most likely be using existing 750GB from laptop), handle MS Office, and some Adobe and IT programs for school

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Greater than 500GB, but would like at least 7200 RPM.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Would prefer to buy direct from manufacturer if possible for customization. If not I'll buy from Newegg or Tiger if they have the best deals.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3 - 4 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? BD Combo preferred but not required.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Likes: Samsung (1st choice), Gateway, Sony, Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Toshiba, MSI, HP

Dislikes: Dell (had one with defective pixel, had to fight them to get replacement)

13. What country do you live in? USA - California

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. Nothing else really.

 

[WR2]

Hello g-unit1111;

Civ5 is pretty demanding on laptop graphics cards. You'll need something in the GT 525M or similar range just to get low graphics settings.
You'll wont find 1920x1080 resolution and Blu-Ray combo drive in your target budget range either. And the faster 7200rpm HDDs usually go with the higher end models too.

What you can get with $650:
Acer Aspire AS5755G 15" notebook $650
Core i5 2450M 2.50GHz (Turbo 3.1Ghz), 4GB RAM. 500GB 5400rpm HDD 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ GeForce GT 540M

 

[WR2]

To get 'it all' is looking like it's running right around ~$790
HP Pavilion dv6 Select Edition 15.6" Core i5
Core i5-2430M 2.4Ghz CPU, 8GB RAM, 750GB 7200rpm HDD, 15.6" 1920x1080 anti-glare LCD w/ HD 7690M graphics.
Blu-Ray combo drive.

HP Pavilion dv6t Review @ Laptop Mag

 

[fpoon]

Try this:
Lenovo Y570
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=08626PU&category-id=F41BC8E1656C5F85171FBDB172571912
i7-2670QM
8 GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM
Geforce GT-555M
500GB HDD (7200 RPM)
15.6'' screen at 1366x768
$749

 

[Tibbs01]

Try this:
Lenovo Y570
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=08626PU&category-id=F41BC8E1656C5F85171FBDB172571912
i7-2670QM
8 GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM
Geforce GT-555M
500GB HDD (7200 RPM)
15.6'' screen at 1366x768
$749

There is actually a model on clearance at Newegg for $679. Great deal imo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246221&cm_sp=Cat_Laptops_%26%2347%3b_Notebooks-_-Clearance-_-34-246-221

 

[WR2]

There is actually a model on clearance at Newegg for $679. Great deal imo

Nice find.

 

[g-unit1111]

Hello g-unit1111;

Civ5 is pretty demanding on laptop graphics cards. You'll need something in the GT 525M or similar range just to get low graphics settings.
You'll wont find 1920x1080 resolution and Blu-Ray combo drive in your target budget range either. And the faster 7200rpm HDDs usually go with the higher end models too.

What you can get with $650:
Acer Aspire AS5755G 15" notebook $650
Core i5 2450M 2.50GHz (Turbo 3.1Ghz), 4GB RAM. 500GB 5400rpm HDD 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ GeForce GT 540M

I really like that Lenovo one, what about this Samsung one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2125709&sku=S203-156121

 

[WR2]

1600x900 resolution is quite a bit better than 1366x768.
But the HD 6490M lags behind anything else mentioned so far.
Radeon HD 6490M is roughly on par with GT 520M.

 

[g-unit1111]

1600x900 resolution is quite a bit better than 1366x768.
But the HD 6490M lags behind anything else mentioned so far.
Radeon HD 6490M is roughly on par with GT 520M.

I don't know mobile video cards as well as desktop video cards - I know they're drastically different. It's been a while since I bought a new laptop - my current one is a 16" Toshiba Satellite with a Core 2 Duo T9500, 8GB RAM (upgraded from 4), and a 750GB HD (upgraded from 500GB). I'll most likely reuse the hard drive and maybe the RAM if my machine allows it.

Civ5 is pretty demanding on laptop graphics cards. You'll need something in the GT 525M or similar range just to get low graphics settings.

Yeah my current laptop runs a GTX 230M and if I attempt to play Civ V on it, it will quit after about 70 turns in. Even a 7870 and 16GB of RAM can still cause it to lag if I try to play on anything that's bigger than a tiny map (4 countries, 12 city states).

 

[WR2]

This might help you compare laptop graphics cards.
There are a few desktop cards sprinkled in for reference.
AMD Radeon HD 6490M review
If you look at the vertical list of laptop GPUs just to the right of the actual review you can see the cards rank ordered in terms of overall performance.
You'll find the HD 6490M a ~couple dozen cards below the desktop GeForce GT 220.

 

[Tibbs01]

I don't think you would be happy at all with the 6490M.

On a side note I believe if you run Civ V in DX9 mode it will run pretty smoothly on even lower end systems.

 

[g-unit1111]

I don't think you would be happy at all with the 6490M.

On a side note I believe if you run Civ V in DX9 mode it will run pretty smoothly on even lower end systems.

I've tried running Civ V on my existing laptop in DX9 but it still has problems - I guess that goes with the age of the machine.

I'm thinking about one of these - would this work: http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP3260

With all the options I want - 1080p display, BD-R, 750GB HD - it comes out to just a little over $1K, I might add the extended warranty and that would be $1100.

 

[Tibbs01]

I love the Clevo/Sager notebooks, I think you would really like them. Just keep in mind that the default GT630M at 1080p is going to limit you on demanding games. I didn't look to see if you could upgrade on that model, but I think I wouldn't go below a GT650M for gaming at that resolution.

See here for the GT630M benchies and comparisons: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-630M.63761.0.html

Good luck!

 

[g-unit1111]

I love the Clevo/Sager notebooks, I think you would really like them. Just keep in mind that the default GT630M at 1080p is going to limit you on demanding games. I didn't look to see if you could upgrade on that model, but I think I wouldn't go below a GT650M for gaming at that resolution.

See here for the GT630M benchies and comparisons: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-630M.63761.0.html

Good luck!

I'm not using this new laptop to play really demanding games (Skyrim, BF3) - that's what my desktop is for, this is more for everything else - I watch a lot of movies on my laptop so having the full 1080p resolution will work out great. At most I'll play Civ V and a couple of games like Portal 2 that aren't that demanding. But this is more mainly for work / school with entertainment and everything else on the side. I've never had a really high end laptop like this before, this would be my first foray into that territory.

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm looking at Ultrabooks right now and I'm really liking the HP Envy series - how would those rate compared to the Sager one I'm considering?

I'm not going to be buying at least until August - September so things may change by then but the 8.75 hour battery life is incredibly tempting: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/store_access.do?template_type=series_detail&category=notebooks&series_name=ENVY6t_series&jumpid=in_r329_intel_ultrabooks2012

 

[g-unit1111]

If you're not going to buy until August then you better ask in August

Yeah that was what I was thinking. :lol: