I Finally Found a Laptop! Just Need Some Technical Advice. Thanks.

[nissangtr786]

get the gt 650m as it should take similar power consumption to a gt630m but perform just over 2x as fast.

[russjames]

If gaming/video editing is your primary concern, you might want to look into some actual "gaming laptops." You could squeeze a lot more gaming performance out of $1500 than you are. What games do you plan on playing? A 650M is good, but if you'll be playing games like BF3 or Crysis I'd definitely suggest you look at something else, as you could be getting a GPU twice as good as a 650M for $1500.

Well If i go with the 3610QM and no Norton it comes to about $1,250. My main concern is video/photo editing and would only be doing a little casual gaming. I use to play some Total War games and would probably get back into them if I had a computer that could sufficiently support them, but thats about it...


"Just found this
Asus - 17.3" Laptop - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - G75VW-BBK5
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus...0m-review.html
It was mentioned to be a full HD screen in the review that I have linked to."

looks like a nice laptop but i think i'd still stick with the HP. It looks like the ASUS has a little bit better graphic card but the HP will have a better hard drive. They're about the same price and I think the features on the Hp would tip the scale for me.

[Karamazovmm]

you could go for the msi force 1762, it will give you better power while staying within your budget, powernotebooks and xoticpc offer those

but the best thing is for you to fill out the form

[lebob23]

dble pst...

[lebob23]

You need to understand that drives can easily be added later,
I would go with this config for $1519:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
No additional security software
9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
17.3-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Backlit Keyboard
Included 2 Year Warranty
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

YOU ARE OVERPAYING DON"T BUY HP

[shadowprophet99]

just as a suggestion, maybe go to either malibal.com or sagernotebook.com and customize a similar computer. It'll probably end up being a little better for a similar price...

[cmick25]

Regarding antivirus programs- the nastiness that get your laptop in trouble usually will find its way around the paid options too and the free AVs (AVG, Avast, Avira and MSE being the most effective and least demanding on the resources (on average!)) in average and normal conditions do the job.

As for the hard drive options- I believe that HDD+ mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache would give a slightly better and noticeable performance boost. However, the hybrid drive isn't that far behind and should it go faulty after the warranty period it can be easily taken/swapped out. I'm not sure how accessible are mSSDs, and how easy it is to change it.

The Asus in the link looks sweet, except the fact it is 1 year warranty only.

[russjames]

So I've made my decision on the hard drive. I'm going to avoid the 32GB mSSD and just go with the 750GB 7200rpm for now. Maybe sometime in the near future I'll look at purchasing a bigger SSD. However, that raises a couple more questions...

1. Is there any compatibility issues that come with purchasing a SSD or will any Solid State work with the 750GB 7200rpm and HP Dv7t?

2. Is it complicated to install a new SSD or can you just pop it in and be good to go?

3. Do you have any particular SSD that you like or prefer? and is there a certain size I should look for to accompany the 750GB 7200rpm HDD?

Thanks.

[Karamazovmm]

I would look for the hp lounge for that questions, those are very specific ones, and Im not sure if people here know the answer, the models have launched just a few days ago, you need a machine and someone willing to do that from the get to go.

Assuming that the msata is there for you, it should be a simple plug and play, I would install windows on that drive, otherwise you are going to miss a lot of the advantages of the ssd

[elalbelton]

So I've made my decision on the hard drive. I'm going to avoid the 32GB mSSD and just go with the 750GB 7200rpm for now. Maybe sometime in the near future I'll look at purchasing a bigger SSD. However, that raises a couple more questions...

1. Is there any compatibility issues that come with purchasing a SSD or will any Solid State work with the 750GB 7200rpm and HP Dv7t?

2. Is it complicated to install a new SSD or can you just pop it in and be good to go?

3. Do you have any particular SSD that you like or prefer? and is there a certain size I should look for to accompany the 750GB 7200rpm HDD?

Thanks.

Hey RussJames, what specs u end up havin, I wanna buy the exact same computer and I have the exact same concerns...
do you have any complains or anything I should know