Laptop for school and medium gaming

[Cubic X]

Shoot me! It is in the wrong category...should be placed in back to school part. My apologizes.
Hello guy's,

After nearly 2.5 years of use my Asus A6 broke down, repair will cost my about $450. Because my old laptop is outdated I think it is better to buy a new one. Currently I'm studying Informatica (don't know if that word if familiar in USA/ UK. Informatica is IT, learning how to program and make software).

I did order a HP DV5 1160ED (with 9600M GT videocard) but the shop were I ordered it, says it wont come back anymore. So i'm looking for a laptop in the price and performance range of this DV5 laptop

The list I must use:

1) What is your budget?
Around 1000 US dollars (+/- 770 euro's). Notebook's in Europe/Holland are relative expensive in relation with the exactly same model in the USA. 1000 Dollars may look like a nice budget and can fit my needs for a laptop found in the USA, but in Holland everything is more expensive.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
15" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
My flag says it all. I Live in Holland/Netherlands so I will buy the new laptop here as well.

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

a. Like:HP, Asus, MSI
b. Dislike: Acer

5) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Programming(Java, C++, C#, PHP, ect), taking notes on school, office and medium gaming. I like playing games like Anno 1703, Titan Quest, Spore, Crysis: Warhead and Fallout 3. I would love to play it at medium to high settings with a playable framerate.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
Both. I will take it to school, but also use it at home. Quite intensive use. My old Asus was on for about 6-7 hours a day (not always used, sometimes just idling of downloading ).


7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?
I like playing games like Anno 1703, Titan Quest, Spore, Crysis: Warhead and Fallout 3. I would love to play it at medium to high settings with a playable framerate. Also new games like Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will be played.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
At least 2.5 hours due colleges on school. There isn't always a free power source

9) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Buying without seeing is oke. But I want read reviews about the laptop.

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

Screen Specifics

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

WXGA – 1280x800 or WXGA+ – 1440x900 or WSXGA+ – 1680x1050.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I like glossy screens

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Somewhat.

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
I want to buy the laptop as soon as possible, especially since college's are starting again next week
I think it must last at least two or three years, but more = better

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
I want at least 200GB. No SSD drive, just a normal HDD.

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Yes, I want a DVD Burner which can also read and burn Dual Layer DVD's. Blu-Ray isn't necessary.

[Cryptor]

Samsung r560 with an awesome battery and nice gpu, dell xps m1530 with an awesome gpu, nice battery(LED to help) and sleek design..MSI gx620, msi gt627.
Those are from the top of my head

[RaYYaN]

I was going to suggest the DV5t as that best meets your needs.

However, you might also want to see the Dell Studio 15.
The graphics card isn't the best, but should be able to play most games at medium settings.

Another option is the dell XPS M1530
It's a little old now, but it can still be had with solid specs and does perform well from what I hear.

Finally, see if the ASUS G50 series are availible in Holland.
They have the 9800M GS card, which will give you the best performance in games from the options I mentioned, and can pretty much max most games
It might be a little pricier than the others though

Hope this helps

EDIT
Just saw your post

Originally Posted by Cryptor

Samsung r560 with an awesome battery and nice gpu, dell xps m1530 with an awesome gpu, nice battery(LED to help) and sleek design..MSI gx620, msi gt627.
Those are from the top of my head

The MSI laptops are also very good, and you should definitely give them a look

[boypogi]

asus n50 will be nice

[Cubic X]

I thank you all for your reply!

Searched for the laptops that were mentioned, this are my findings:
- MSI GX620 = $1255, so above my budget. Offcourse it is 'only' 260$ more...but I have to set a limit.
- Samsung R560 = $1877. Very very very nice laptop indeed...but waaaay above my budget (price is the cheapest in Holland ).
- Asus G50 = $1813. Great laptop but also way above my budget of $1000.
- Asus N50 = $1453. What a machine! But, again, way above my budget

The DV5 is such a great laptop, it really is a shame that the 9600M GT isn't available anymore. The Dell Studio 15 looks nice, even as the XPS M1530. But the M1530 has a faulty Nvidia videocard (8600M GT).

Will the Mobility Radeon HD 3470 fit my needs? I personally want to have a videocard with 128-bit bus

But again, thanks for the reply's!

[Luhaine]

This is the best I could do with your limited budget and this still exceeds it with 40 euro's:

HP Pavilion dv5-1160ed (FT151EA) € 811,50
Intel Core 2 Duo P7350
15.4" 1280x800 (WXGA)
4GB DDR2 (SODIMM)
Geforce 9600M GT
320GB 5400rpm
DVD+/-RW DL

[RaYYaN]

Originally Posted by Cubic X

I thank you all for your reply!

Searched for the laptops that were mentioned, this are my findings:
- MSI GX620 = $1255, so above my budget. Offcourse it is 'only' 260$ more...but I have to set a limit.
- Samsung R560 = $1877. Very very very nice laptop indeed...but waaaay above my budget (price is the cheapest in Holland ).
- Asus G50 = $1813. Great laptop but also way above my budget of $1000.
- Asus N50 = $1453. What a machine! But, again, way above my budget

The DV5 is such a great laptop, it really is a shame that the 9600M GT isn't available anymore. The Dell Studio 15 looks nice, even as the XPS M1530. But the M1530 has a faulty Nvidia videocard (8600M GT).

Will the Mobility Radeon HD 3470 fit my needs? I personally want to have a videocard with 128-bit bus

But again, thanks for the reply's!

I know what you mean about being on a budget.
I had one and it stopped me buying many laptops that I wanted, I got one in the end though, and I'm happy

Back to you
Not all the 8600 cards are faulty, and apart from that the the m1530 probably outperforms the studio 15.
I'm not too sure about the Studio's card though, as it is not a performance card
See this for more info :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=302231

It should be able to play the games, but at medium/ low settings

hope this helps

[MidnightSun]

The ATI 3470 will not perform nearly as well as the Nvidia 9600GT - the ATI equivalent of that card is rather the ATI 3650.

The Lenovo Thinkpad T500 may be a good choice for you, although it might be on the high side of your budget, and will have a matte and not a glossy sceen.