BD Laptop suggestions

[aramis109]

If this has been covered, I apologize. I know that new deals are always popping up and honestly I don't normally venture into this part of the forum.

I'm looking for some help from my fellow blu-ray.com members. I'm interested in picking up a laptop for travel that can play some games (WoW or the like) as well as play back BD movies. I'm interested in keeping it around $1000 or less if that's feasible. I would like to get the new Intel i processor (i3 or up) and the more RAM the better. I hate the fact that I will be travelling about 50% of the time for the next year and will not be able to bring my favorite movies with me for the airport/hotel/etc.

Can you guys recommend any deals or the like? Thanks fellas!

[aramis109]

No suggestions all day and 23 views?

[rtpelltier]

Originally Posted by aramis109

If this has been covered, I apologize. I know that new deals are always popping up and honestly I don't normally venture into this part of the forum.

I'm looking for some help from my fellow blu-ray.com members. I'm interested in picking up a laptop for travel that can play some games (WoW or the like) as well as play back BD movies. I'm interested in keeping it around $1000 or less if that's feasible. I would like to get the new Intel i processor (i3 or up) and the more RAM the better. I hate the fact that I will be travelling about 50% of the time for the next year and will not be able to bring my favorite movies with me for the airport/hotel/etc.

Can you guys recommend any deals or the like? Thanks fellas!

Hi aramis,

You might want to look at this one...

Toshiba Satellite® A505-S6012 Laptops

In my experience, Toshiba makes great laptops, and this seems to fit your specs pretty nicely.

Good luck with the search.

RTP

[Icecoldblue]

I'd suggest something that has a dedicated video card instead of integrated graphics if you want to play WoW at more than 10fps with the lowest settings. Otherwise, that laptop would be fine.

[travelbug]

heres is another toshiba at a great price:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+...&skuId=9716111

it has the new intel i5 cpu
it has nvidia 360m gpu which will allow you to run almost every game on high
it is however in an 18.4 inch format and bluray is not a standard option (but im sure you can get it on this machine)
one of the best bang for buck laptops out there if you dont mind the size and weight

[travelbug]

another great option would be the asus g51j

ASUS G51JX-A1 - XOTIC PC - ASUS Gaming Laptop

its alittle more expensive at around 1500usd but you do get an i7, 6gb ram, nvidia 360m, bluray option, 1080p screen and asus' great 2year warranty.

i myself use a sager 8690. its an absolute beast but may be alittle aboove your budget at a little less than 2000usd with my config. but just in case:

Sager NP8690 - XOTIC PC - (Built on Clevo W860CU) np8690 Gaming Laptop

[aramis109]

Thanks fellas! I'll take a look at the Toshiba presently.

I've been comparing- I get a little off of Dell and HP through work. Even with the discount, thus far the Sony VAIO F1190X seems to be the winner thus far, giving everything I could ask for. It's a bit pricey at about $1250 though.

I'd love to have a Sager but it's probably out of my range. Oh, that BB Toshiba link doesn't seem to work- got another link or a model #?

[travelbug]

forget the sony. too expensive for what your actually getting

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by travelbug

forget the sony. too expensive for what your actually getting

Weird, looks like my post never got posted or got deleted. Anyway, I was thinking the same thing on pricing on that Sony, but then I actually compared components: i7 processor, 4gb RAM, 500gb HD, 1gb Nvidia video card, 1080p screen, and a BD player for $1250. It's actually cheaper than most I was looking at, but I do like that ASUS deal you posted. I need to compare it some more.

[travelbug]

at first glance the sony looks good. but that nvidia card is a 310m which is a low end card. you definitely wont be able to play WOW at 1080p or anywhere near there.
the asus g51 and toshiba on the other hand has a nvidia 460m/260m(virtually the same card) which is their second fastest mobile graphics card. and the asus g73 will have the ati 5870 which will be the fastest mobile card when it comes out.
if gaming performance and future proofing is not important to you, then the sony would be a consideration. however there may be other brands with similar features that will sell for less (ie dell, msi, asus)
check this website to help you look through some laptops and a comparison of graphics cards:

Notebookcheck: Notebook & Laptop Reviews and News

[travelbug]

oh by the way this is the asus g73:

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha1-order-p-2731.html

[travelbug]

and heres the toshiba link in bb, it should be the first entry at 1049usd:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Laptop-C...at150700050002

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by travelbug

at first glance the sony looks good. but that nvidia card is a 310m which is a low end card. you definitely wont be able to play WOW at 1080p or anywhere near there.
the asus g51 and toshiba on the other hand has a nvidia 460m/260m(virtually the same card) which is their second fastest mobile graphics card. and the asus g73 will have the ati 5870 which will be the fastest mobile card when it comes out.
if gaming performance and future proofing is not important to you, then the sony would be a consideration. however there may be other brands with similar features that will sell for less (ie dell, msi, asus)
check this website to help you look through some laptops and a comparison of graphics cards:

Notebookcheck: Notebook & Laptop Reviews and News

This is really good information. I haven't kept up with graphics cards (especially laptop ones) in years and am out of the loop. Thanks!

How does the nVidia GeForce GTS 360M compare to the 230?

[Delorean2006]

Sony on their website has their "F" series laptop for $1200 that comes with blu-ray and the new core i7 and an Nvidia graphics card with a 16.4 inch screen 1600x900 resolution, i dont know what your price range, but at best buy they have the same laptop with a 1080p screen for $1350
Sony | SonyStyle USA

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+V...&skuId=9705382

[travelbug]

Originally Posted by aramis109

This is really good information. I haven't kept up with graphics cards (especially laptop ones) in years and am out of the loop. Thanks!

How does the nVidia GeForce GTS 360M compare to the 230?

the 230 is considered a midlevel class 2 card:
Notebookcheck: NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M
it has 48 stream processors
should be good enough to play wow but probably not at 1080p

the 360 is a class 1 card:
Notebookcheck: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
it uses 96 stream processors and gddr5 memory
it is the 2nd fastest mobile gpu in the nvidia line atm

[aramis109]

Thanks guys.

travelbug, these comparisons are what I was looking for. I couldn't find them earlier when I was putzing around in the office. I think that the ASUS and the HP (since I get a discount) are my two top contenders right now.

ASUS: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g51jxa1-...wconfigure=yes configured with the BD drive is $1516. Obviously above my original budget but I would rather spend a little more and not need to upgrade. It has the Nvidia 360M.

HP: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh.../dv8tqe_series $1473 (with my EPP discount) configured with 6gb RAM, 500gb HD and blu-ray player. It has an 18.4" screen vs. the smaller ASUS 15.6", the 230M Nvidia instead of the better 360M.

Both have 6gb RAM, 500gb HD and would probably scream for a long time to come. I haven't bought a new PC of any kind in many years so it'd be a leap of an upgrade for me. I'm currently using an old Dell D600 laptop with a bit more ram thrown in and an old Dell P4 desktop with more ram and a bigger HD.

[travelbug]

believe me when i say that the asus' 360m ( not 320 ) is worth the extra 75usd compared to the hp.

but before you make a choice maybe you wanna check out this forum:

What Notebook Should I Buy?

theyre the absolute best in the web when it comes to notebooks etc and maybe they can give you better advice than me- maybe even find you a bd laptop thats good for gaming with a fhd for 1000usd.

tell me how it goes..

[McBain]

Toshiba just rolled out a new X500.

Link: Toshiba Qosmio X500 Laptop Computers

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by travelbug

believe me when i say that the asus' 360m ( not 320 ) is worth the extra 75usd compared to the hp.

but before you make a choice maybe you wanna check out this forum:

What Notebook Should I Buy?

theyre the absolute best in the web when it comes to notebooks etc and maybe they can give you better advice than me- maybe even find you a bd laptop thats good for gaming with a fhd for 1000usd.

tell me how it goes..

Oop 360. I like that forum-thanks. I'm looking to buy sometime in the next month so I'll let you know.

Originally Posted by McBain

Toshiba just rolled out a new X500.

Link: Toshiba Qosmio X500 Laptop Computers

I like those Qosmios too- the X505-Q870 looks pretty sweet.

[bilbravo]

I have a Sony VAIO from BestBuy (CW/17FX) which they don't sell anymore. It is a great laptop though, and would definitely recommend the CW series. They have a dedicated graphics chip (GeForce 210M) which provides a great experience with moderate gaming and excellent performance in Windows and with Blu-ray playback. The model I have is
-500GB HDD
-Intel Core2Duo 2.13Ghz
-4GB RAM
-14" LED screen
-GeForce 210M
-Blu-ray drive

you can configure with a Blu-ray writer if you like as well. The battery life is about 2 1/2 hours in real time usage, but it has some great power features and battery life has not been an issue for me.

Hope that helps.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921644659496