Purchasing a new laptop

[color="#cc8899"]Mine has started spazzing out on me lately, and with Windows 7 coming out, I figured this would be a good time to upgrade to something nice (my current laptop was just a basic package, nothing fancy). I plan on using this for the next 3-4 years, so I wanted to get something that would last and not be made useless by gaming standards within months as well. This is what I ended up with -


HP Pavilion dv8t Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC

* Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
* Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
* FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
* 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
* Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Espresso Black)
* Intel Wireless-N Mini-card
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Microsoft® Works 9.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
for $1,350 before add-ons

Total price with some extra stuff and taxes is roughly $1,750. With Bing's 25% off, that's roughly $1,350. Seem worth it?[/COLOR]

Well, if you look on http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeFo...646.0.html , a 230M is apparently ranked lower than stuff like 8800M GTS, but higher than 8600M GT. It will run anything that's out now at probably medium settings.

That processor is crazy though. I just recently read they had laptop-ready i7s somewhere like a week ago. I didn't know they were already available. And 18.4" laptop is very hard to find a bag for though. I had a hard enough time finding one that my 17" fit in. I have a friend with an 18.4 and he had to get a bag that was made for the laptop.

i7 with an 8 cell? What's the battery life on that?

i7 with an 8 cell? What's the battery life on that?

[color="#cc8899"]Doesn't matter, I don't go anywhere with my laptop that doesn't have an outlet for a charger.

I'd imagine 4-5 hours tops, I guess. Maybe 3. Either way, if I'm using it for more than 2 hours without having to charge it, it's ok with me.[/COLOR]

The first i7 laptops had a one-hour battery life, so I can't imagine this one having more than two. I'd say it would be closer to 1.5 hours, but since you said that you'll have no problem finding outlets, this shouldn't be a problem. I'd still opt for a 12 cell battery just in case.

You're going to want more ram since the OS can actually use more than 4 gigs, but other than that it's a good deal. HP is my favorite brand.

I have a 9-cell and it gets 3 hours max with my processor undervolted (duo core though). I'm sure it extends further if you take Aero off, and I've always got a bunch of crap open. From reading the posts about me, it seems i7s will get noticeably less time though.

Just remember that you probably won't be able to play games without being plugged in. Most graphics cards won't work 100% without being plugged in because they'll just take up too much power.

I have a 9-cell and it gets 3 hours max with my processor undervolted (duo core though). I'm sure it extends further if you take Aero off, and I've always got a bunch of crap open. From reading the posts about me, it seems i7s will get noticeably less time though.

Just remember that you probably won't be able to play games without being plugged in. Most graphics cards won't work 100% without being plugged in because they'll just take up too much power.

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I leave my laptop plugged in when in use anyway, so again not an issue. As for the bag, I can order one with the laptop for roughly $30. Not a huge deal. W7 uses less memory than vista, and my current laptop is 2gig and manages (vista). I think I'll be fine with 4g ram. If I want a high battery life/low capability laptop, I can lower my older one to craptastic for non-gaming use.[/COLOR]

4 GB of DDR3 should be fine. My desktop has 2 GB of DDR2 and is running W7 RC.

I heard anything above 6 GB is a waste of money.
I too am looking for a new computer. I prefer HP, any suggestions?

I heard anything above 6 GB is a waste of money.
I too am looking for a new computer. I prefer HP, any suggestions?

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HP has some pretty nice laptop setups, and if you search through Bing (search for HP) you'll see an offer for 25% off for ordering with Bing's cashback service, which is nice (saving $400 or so on mine that way). They range from about $750-$1300 default setups, so probably $900-$1800 for medium setup, $1200-$2500 for maxed out (I would recommend buying a desktop if you're going to spend more than $2000).[/COLOR]

I heard anything above 6 GB is a waste of money.
I too am looking for a new computer. I prefer HP, any suggestions?

I see no reason to get over 4GB of ram. Nothing is going to need over 2GB on its own, and after you factor in how much Vista/W7 takes, 4GB is really the max you'll be needing for now.

Personally, I don't like HP. I guess it's not really that fair that I base my judgment off an 8 year old desktop from them, but it wasn't all too great when I got it. I do notice that they'll have parts that sound very good, but in actuality are a little mediocre, and I guess that's my biggest gripe. My desktop had a Celeron in it, which sounded awesome I guess but was a budget pentium 3/4 I think. When I browsed for laptops, they had 8600Ms with 512 MB of ram, but looking into it, they apparently can't do much with the extra 256MB they have over most 8600s due to clock speeds. On the one MasPan proposed, a 230M is a very nice card, just compared to the rest of the computer I see it as a bit lackluster. And unrelated to HP's computers, I've had 2 printers from them and they both induced lots of headaches and cursing xP For non-gaming though, they're rather good, and I think they're generally cheaper than Dells (which I just find stupidly expensive at times).

Right now, I have a Gateway FX, which it runs everything quite well, although that isn't to say it isn't without issues. It overheats quite easily, so I'm going to end up changing the thermal paste to something better (Gateway's is apparently quite cheap. I'm switching to Arctic Silver 5). I tried the Crysis demo on it, and I can't play the demo without a cooling fan due to the overheating. Also I have to have V-sync on on some games like Dead Space or else it overheats then too. I'm really just kind of mad that I got mine last year, since now they are 300$ cheaper, have DDR3 ram, and a 9800M GTS rather than an 8800M GTS.