Want to buy a laptop

hey guys i had my eye on this ASUS M50 Series M50Vm-B1, particulray the CPU it has.

my questions are, is this is the best time to buy a laptop? i game, but dont really expect to game in ULTRA high levels, TF2 and BF series and other games here and there.

i know there are gaming laptops but 1400 is the highest i will spend. seems like 9600gs is pretty good

also that laptop has 32bit vista, i want to put 64bit on and wipe it clean, will i have any issues or drive compatibility? a mod said that 32bit drivers will work just fine when i put 64bit. is this true and 100% confirmed?

but i am more worried about buying that laptop and seeing something MUCH MUCH better in a month. will that be the case or there is nothing on the horizon right now for that price thats better?

i will appreciate if you guys can help with those questions. thanks

 

if u dont know. There is G50vt with 9800m GT/S for $1250 in Best Buy.

I think it has 64 bit vista.

 

As i'm sure you know... laptop/computer technology changes with the wind.. so I'm sure there will be something better in a month. "MUCH MUCH better" is a relative term and really depends on how picky you are about hardware.

I am in the same boat right now. The only reason I am waiting before buying is that I expect there to be some sales around Thanksgiving time for Christmas buyer's. If there aren't any great deals, that is ok... I am in no hurry to buy right now.

Also, I am not particularly happy with Asus' selection of laptops right now. The G50V is too gaudy for me, and the M50 series seems a little over-priced when they are not on sale. I'd also like something with a little better battery life than either of the two. I am looking at 15" laptops mainly.

I would also consider Sager's, but they too don't have anything that is suiting my fancy right now. The low end 15" they have is decent but I don't really want a Sager that is built on Compal, also I don't particularly like the looks.


If you are in need of a laptop now for some reason and you can't wait, the M50 Series is a nice choice.

If you can wait a month to see if any good deals sprout, then I would wait it out and get a little better laptop in the end.

As most people will say around here --- don't chase the endless technology loop, you'll never win. If you keep waiting for that new upgrade, you'll never buy a laptop.

Kevin

 

I saw that asus lappy at BB, but it seems kinda ugly for my taste, not as nice as the m50 series i saw in other pictures and its not a 9400 CPU

and WOW i didnt know companies changed laptops so quick. see i kinda need it right away and not so much, i want to take it to work with me since i am working longer shifts now and have nothing to do at work.

i could wait i suppose but like you said, i wont be able to catch up with the updates, but i didnt even know laptops were being updates with new stuff so often.

what i a trying to say here i need Core 2 Duo 9400, 9800gts or equivalent, 4gb's or ram and vista ultimate and a sleek looking shell. Asus is close but i wont want to spend the money and seeing something better for the same price come out, better as in not some new ports or extra USBs but better video from 9600gs to a 9800

i doubt CPU's will change and memory you know, i mean what can they possible put into the laptops thats so radical and different besides a new video?

 

You want all that for $1400?? You might need to consider dialing your budget up or your expectations down.

Asus isn't going to change models anytime soon, and next product refreshes are at least 3-4 months off since most just were launched or had their updates within the past 2-3 months.

The only model that Asus is putting something like the 9800 into is maybe going to be the G70 series update, well above $1400. Maybe the next update of the VX series, but who knows and that's going to be double your budget.

Third, Asus *never* does sale pricing.... Ever. MIRebates *sometimes* on poor selling models, right before the refresh updates come out.

With your requirements, if they're all solid and non-negotiable, Asus isn't going to be for you. You'll need to look at the boutique builders to get what you're looking for, or maybe look at Gateway - they've been putting higher spec'd systems together at budget pricing.

 

well you see i guess what i want isnt even made.

i need a 15.4-.6 screen and i dont anyone will ever put a 9800gt into it or 9800 anything. for those who do they just have a 17" laptop which is too big to carry around with me

this is why i am interested in this model ASUS M50 Series M50Vm-B1. what is your view on it ClearSkies? I love it because it has a fast CPU, 4 GB's of ram and ok video 9600gs, it isnts a 9800 but i guess if i want that ill have to pay alot which i cant, 1400 is already high

my main issue with that asus laptop is the 32 bit vista. i have a 64bit vista new which i want to put on, will i have problems installing the 32bit drivers? someone said i can with no issues but i am skeptical still, thats why only gripe, the 32bit vista. other than that its pretty quick and looks nice.

can you help me out with the above?

 

In reply to the message 3 posts above mine. Well ASUS are changing their models pretty fast, I think the frequency is roughly a refresh every 6 months. With the G50 they went faster, I think the G50Vt was out around 3 months after the G50Vm? But of course it's only a submodel.

W.r.t. GPU vs something else, until Q2 2009 I guess it's only going to be GPU, as the Nehalem microarchitecture is going to come in then.

But I totally agree you should buy when you need and not wait for the "next big thing".

The reason for which they don't usually put the high-end cards in a 15.4 is probably heat dissipation. In life, there are always going to be compromises, and this is one of them: performance versus heat, and size...

 

Hey Goshax.

Well, think throughly before you buy your laptop on one little detail: how important is gaming. Both the M50 and G50 laptops are great for their price. The best buy model if awesome if you want a gaming laptop on limited budget, while the M50 has more bells and whistles, and most probably peform better due to better CPU (Assuming B1 version) on other tasks. Depending on how important Gaming is, I would say the 9600GS is still an awesome card.

What sort of gaming performance are you looking for? 9600GS may not be a high end card, but its definetly capable (I game alot on my 9500GS and its 10-15% slower than a 9600GS). the only real game I ever struggled with was Crysis, but that was expected, and even then I did manage to finish it with pasable fps.

If you don't like the looks of G50, and gaming is not super important, then the M50 will be great for you. And as everyone else suggest, don't be waiting for the next big thing. I bought my M50sv back in may I think, and within a month the new M50vm launched with better specs and price. But you know what? I don't regret buying my laptop, I have been enjoying it ever since, and I still am able to work, play, and do whatever with my machine.

I believe Asus laptops have among the best bang for your buck.

Now, about Vista: as far as I remember, your driver disc contains both 32 bit and 64 bit drivers, and most probably you can download them at the Asus website. I am thinking of getting Vista ultimate 64 myself.

 

thanks for such great replies guys.

the main games i will be playing at TF2 and BF2 series 2142 as well, UT3, supreme commander series also. believe me i am not trying to get it just for gaming but id love for it to game well, i think the games above dont really require much. crysis everyone has problems with, i never really planned on putting it on, my desktop is used for that.

i checked Asus website for 64bit drivers and there are some, but not nearly enough as a 32bit, there is also no video driver. this is whats holding me back right now, is the drivers, if someone can clear that up for me if i can put 64 and install everything as 32bit i would get the lappy mentioned M50 Series M50Vm-B1

i would love to buy the "gaming" additions of the asus laptops but they are really ugly to me, not the orange, but the shape of it and they are all 17" so thats not so portable to me

thanks in advance