Suggestions on how to spend 3500

Hey,

I recently had a order placed for a Studio 15, but they canceled my order due to a component they don't carry anymore, so I have to re-order. What would you guys suggest?

I play some games like: Counter Strike Source, and Team Fortress 2 etc. I'd want Blue Ray aswell. What do you guys suggest.

Thanks,
Geby.

 

Make your way over to this forum:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Fill in one of these in a new post in that forum:

INSTRUCTIONS: New laptop buyers, please copy and paste the below questions into a new thread. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. If you are unsure, just say so. It's OK, that's why you're here. Give as much information as possible and try not to be vague. The more accurate information you give, the better the recommendations you will receive.

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General Questions

1) What is your budget?

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

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

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike:


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

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

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

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

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?

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

Screen Specifics

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

a. WXGA – 1280x800 or occasionally 1280x768; For people who like big text and icons that are easy to read. Less stuff fits on the screen, which translates into more scrolling.
b. WXGA+ – 1440x900; A modest bump over WXGA. Text and icons are a bit smaller. A little more stuff fits on the screen.
c. WSXGA+ – 1680x1050; The middle ground. Again, text and icons are smaller than WXGA+, and more stuff fits onto the screen. Good for having applications open side by side, like a web browser while playing a video.
d. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Very small text and icons, that can be hard to read. Lots of stuff fits on the screen, which means less scrolling. Good for applications that require a high level of detail like CAD or Photo Editing.


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

Build Quality and Design

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

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

Notebook Components

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

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

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Please state any additional features you need. It's also helpful if you can indicate how experienced you are with computers. If you're a novice and don't know much, that's alright. Everyone's a novice at some point.



Glossary and Explanations

Glossy vs. Matte Screen

Glossy screens have a reflective coating. Colors appear sharper and more vibrant. They do however produce more glare. Some people like them, others do not. The glare problem is most acute in well lit environments, like an office. Glossy screens tend to be better for multimedia uses like viewing DVDs or photos. If you are unfamiliar with the screen types, we would highly recommend you check some of each type out before you buy. The screen is one of the more important parts on a notebook. You don't want to get stuck with something you don't like.


Screen Size & Resolution

Please note screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some can view WUXGA resolution on a 15.4” screen all day, while others think it is horribly small. Again, we would recommend you check some notebook screens before you buy to see what best fits your needs. (see notebook screen guide article for more info)


SSD (Solid State Drive)

A solid state drive is a flash based storage device which uses non-volatile NAND memory chips instead of the traditional mechanical rotating disk and reading head. This newer technology drives perform much faster since they dont need spin up. Think of it as using your RAM as your hard drive. It consumes less power since there are no mechanical moving parts, this in turn also gives SSD's the advantage of running cooler. They are also impervious from damage by vibration, shock and magnetism.

The downsides compared to a traditional HD is it lacks storage capacity and its price is greatly higher per GB.
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-nickspohn

 

Thanks buds.

 

It's the best place for it. I'm sure we could answer it in this forum - but there you are much more likely to get an unbiased opinion. Hope you get a good response! Good luck

 

Well, I'd specifically want something through Dell, hence posting here. I've now posted there aswell.

 

For that budget, you can get a pretty beefy M17X, since Alienware is now part of Dell.

 

Still recommend filling out the form. Otherwise you'll get such a random set of answers back - all we know is that you wanted the studio, you play some old games and you need blu-ray. Not much to go on, I think you'll agree. Heck, even my Inspiron will manage all of that and not cost half as much as you've got to spend.

The forum I pointed you in the direction of is still the best place I think. If you get no joy in a couple of days though, by all means post your needs in here. Posting in two places at once though might get removed due to double posts

 

I agree the WNSIB section of the forum is going to get you an assortment of comments/suggestions from all forum members regarding what type of lappy would be best for you!

It was very helpful to me, even when I was looking towards purchasing a Dell...it was nice to know what else was out there, based on my completion of the form.


Cin