Budget Gaming Laptop...This or That?

At the risk of opening myself up to much pain, I have been using a terrible 2006 13.3" macbook with 512MB RAM and an Intel Core Duo (not core 2 duo) processor to play world of warcraft on the lowest possible settings for the past two years...however, my machine overheats, and it is impossible to really enjoy the game because of the slowness. Having recently graduated, I have come into possession of some funds, and I am considering one of the following two options for a replacement "gaming laptop." Please let me know which one you think is a better deal for my money. I appreciate all constructive input and am open to other suggestions or configurations as well. Thanks!

1.) HP dv7-1285dx http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-pavilion-dv7-1285dx-entertainment-notebook-2-40ghz-intel-centrino-2/q/loc/101/211107427.html

2.) Acer Aspire AS6530-5753 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115546

 

I would go with #1 due to the larger screen resolution.

 

hey man if u have some time fill up the FAQ so we can help u

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152108

^ Probably the best budget gaming laptop. 4670 gpu for $750 (less $50 from a mail in rebate)? Yes please!

 

Satlas is very true, I am thinking on getting that laptop, but if you want to enjoy more movies I would get a Acer Aspire 6920/6930.

 

I don't know why the Acer would compete. MSI EX625 rocks both of their socks off for gaming, although for $900 (price of the HP in question) you can upgrade to a Best Buy version Asus G50vt.

 

Yes, if you're going to spend $900 on a notebook the best choice would be the ASUS G50Vt-X1 at bestbuy. While Acer and HP are fine, I've had an Acer before and the warranty is horrible while the build quality is standard. HP seems to have better warranty than Acer, but I've had a few friends who had their HP's screw up on them quite fast. ASUS and MSI would be the better brands within this thread and the Geforce 9800M GS in the ASUS G50Vt is the best you can get for your budget. Plus if you ever need to you can easily flash it to the 9800M GTS for more power.

 

thanks everyone for the expert advice. so its between the MSI and the Asus. I found the Asus refurbished on Tiger Direct here:

Asus Refurb: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...CODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE


MSI New: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152108


do you think it would be better to purchase the refurbished Asus or the new MSI? Final question..thanks for all input!

 

Number 1 would be my choice,hands down......

 

The asus is better

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9173262&type=product&id=1218044029168

Im gonna have to say this Asus, Ive had it for a month now and its working great. Im using CS4, Blender and some light gaming on it. Ill be upgrading the processor in September and that will make it even better.

 

damn i never seen that asus before thats a great deal. i have the p-6831fx and that asus is faster and is pretty cheap! i might go buy that now...

 

The asus is faster.

I own the X5 variant and its one of best PCs i've ever bought not had one problem yet, runs great, maxes out all my games at native res apart from crysis in which I put all settings to high native res no AA.

 

hey random off topic question is the 8800 gts sower then then 9800 gs?

 

Another vote for the ASUS G50VT here. I was a bit of an early adopter and thus paid $1200 for mine, yet I still think it was a great deal. The prices people are getting now are steals.

 

so im definitely going with the asus...is the x1 refurb for 749.99 or the x5 new at best buy for 899 a better deal? is that extra 150 dollars (plus best buy tax...ugh) worth it for a brand new one or should i just hit up the refurb x1 for 750? all input appreciated!

thanks!

e

 

I'd go with the refurb and maybe upgrade the CPU down the road. The 9800M GS and 8800M GTS are similar, but the 9800M GS is 55nm, thus has slightly higher clocks and runs cooler. It overclocks to 9800M GTS clocks easily.

 

Go with the X1 if you can. The X5 has a bigger battery, but you don't get that much more life with it, so its extra usefulness is limited. The X1's processor is faster by 130MHz. Other than that, there's no differences other than the paint scheme, and I think the X1's blue color scheme is more attractive.

 

The 9800M GS is very similar to the 8800M GTS, but the 9800M GS uses the G94M architecture and has a smaller/cooler die at 55 nm compared to the 65 nm on the G92M architecture of the 8800M GTS. As such the 9800M GS, although being an underclocked 9800M GTS still has higher clocks than the 8800M GTS and runs around 10% faster while it can easily be flashed to a 9800M GTS for even better performance.

 

I'm in the same boat as the OP. However, I am using this opportunity to set a record for the largest computer upgrade known to mankind (in regards to gaming performance). This year I plan to retire the X1300 and the double digit 3DMark 05 scores and replace it with the biggest beast I can get my hands on. I admit th W90 has made me flinch but I am holding out for the Montevina+ update and Windows 7.

Oh, and just to rub it in; you missed out on the M1730's with SLI 9800's for $999 last week.

 

I went from Geforce2 Go, to Geforce Go 6800 Ultra, to Geforce Go 7300, to ATi Mobility Radeon X1600, to Geforce 9500M GS and finaly to Geforce 9800M GS/GTS. So yea, for you I would call that a large leap.

 

The biggest upgrade I made was a long time ago when I went from a Pentium 2 266MHz w/ Voodoo 2 PCI to an Athlon XP 2500+ 1.83GHz w/ Radeon 9600 Pro AGP.