Laptop for late High School/Early College + a bit of Gaming

[thefitisgo74]

1) What is your budget?

600-800$

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Thin and Light

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Nothing in particular.
b. Dislike: Nothing in particular.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistrubited?

No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Work for late high school(maybe a tiny bit of video editing), early college and non-hardcore gaming(ie. Team Fortress 2, maybe a bit of WoW, don't have to run on high settings but able to run on medium without lag would be great.)

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

To and from school most likely. Maybe when I travel as well.

8) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?

WoW, Team Fortress 2, nothing too special.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

At least 2 hours of solid gaming, but battery isn't a big deal to me. Don't mind charging it too much. Lab tests are always exaggerated so I would say 4+ hours lab test would get me a realistic solid 2 hours.

So 4 hours

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Would PREFER to see it to test out things like keyboard and screen in real life but if it is a trusted company then I suppose online would suffice.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows 7. Never liked Vista and still currently use XP. Looking to upgrade with this laptop purchase.

Screen Specifics


12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

WXGA is fine with me.

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Glossy preferred, but if the recommended laptop is only in matte then it won't be a deal breaker.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Not really.

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

2-3 years, until I get through my first year of college.

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

250+ gigs
SSD doesn't seem like a reasonable option with my money I'm willing to spend.

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

DVD drive is all I need.

[[>>ahl395<<]]

I recommend the HP dv4t.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...le/dv4t_series

As well as the Thinkpad R400.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...6D5ABC43C80769

A higher budget could get you a better graphics card though...

[zeth006]

I don't wish to sound blunt, but the Lenovo won't cut it for graphics unless you raise the budget.

Even the HP is really pushing it IMO.

Just a few weeks ago, HP had a crazy deal on an i7 with a so-so Nvidia 230M card. After Bing cashback and minus a blu-ray player, you could get a decently equipped notebook for $800+taxes. Bing cashback helped bring it down to this price point.


So what I would do if I were you is wait until Black Friday and/or Christmas for any deals to pop up. Trust me. More deals will pop up. The two notebooks listed above are shown at retail prices.


But if you can't wait, consider this eBay Asus refurb. Just remember to apply 8% Bing Cashback.

BTW, I'm in a similar boat as you. Laptop budget at $800 or a little more for taxes and accessories. I am willing to wait as late as post-Christmas for any additional Bing offers, eBay refurb listings, or possibly a brand spanking new laptop with a decent graphics card to show up.