Have about $1200, Asus the best for that limit?

I just started college and have some money to spend on a laptop. Last year, I had settled on a G73Jh and have been planning to buy it. But now there's a lot of talk about new models with new graphics cards. Now I'm lost. So, I'll list some things I'm looking for in a laptop and hopefully you can name the perfect model.

- My limit is $1200, but would prefer to go lower (about $1000). If the laptop is really nice, $1200 will probably be ok.
- Performance. Most of my time spent with the laptop will be school related (internet, Photoshop, and 3ds Max) but I want something that can run any game without it being forced to 25FPS.
- It has to be durable, I don't want something that's going to malfunction in 6 months.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I want the best possible for $1200 or less.

 

Well the G73JH-BST7 from bestbuy I would recommend...I own it myself and if ya don't mind a 17 inch lappy that will play any game for years to come...I recommend it....ofcourse battery isn't great so If ya plan on using it on battery alot then another brand might suite you....but prolly will have a crappy graphic card in it....but I love mine and couldn't be happier... ...good luck!

 

You can get the refurbished G73JH-RBBX05 for around $900. It comes with a 90 day warranty and most of the people who have them are very happy with them. For $1200 you can get a new or almost new G73JH or G73JW on eBay if you are patient and look for deals. The G73JH-BST7 is $1200+tax so it is closer to $1300, but people have swung deals and gotten it out the door for $1200. Personally I would wait for the refurbished ones to go available on bestbuy.com or newegg.com and get one of those.

 

Get the refurb for $900. 90 days is a good period of time to see if anything goes wrong.

Alternatively, asus has some nice N series laptops - not as great for graphic horsepower, but still nice machines.

 

Asus G73Jh-RBBX05 Refurbished www.BTOtech.com

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...=1218243761956&skuId=1257894&st=G73&cp=1&lp=1

So there's no spec difference between those two, except one is 640GB and the other 500? Something I worry about when buying from ebay is whether I get a warranty, or if I need the store receipt.

 

I got a refurb G73JH-A1 for 999.99 and somehow ASUS still gave me 2 year 360 Warranty and 1 year ADW

 

I've found it's actually kind've a fun game to find out how long (or short?) your battery life is when gaming.

 

What did you do for that to happen? Did you call and ask about a warranty, register online, the warranty information was in the box....?

 

I just sent in the receipt and warranty card for the 1year AWD and registered online for the 2year 360. I thought the ASUS rep processing would notice the [REFURBISHED] ASUS G73JH-A1 but they didn't. I got this from a warehouse black friday sale at NCIX btw.