• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

CHALLENGE! - Recommend me a laptop (medium budget)

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too
Hi all, i'm gonna buy a laptop for university.

This is a challenge for you all. The one that will suggest me the laptop i'm gonna buy will get either some 120mm fans, and/or misc stuff like that (only stuff you need of course :D. I have fans, fan controllers, filters, cables, old processors and mobos, old power supplies and so on. You pay shipping) or 10€ on your paypal account.


i'm not an expert in laptop field, so i'd like you guys to give me some advice...
my budget is 700-800€, which should be around 1000-1150$. Considering electronic stuff costs more here in EU, 900-1000$ would be a nice USA price. I will use Linux on it.

This is what i'm looking for (bold for important stuff):

- Good computing power, but nothing extreme
- INTEL dual core processor, possibly 40nm (use less current)
- list of preferred graphics cards (not in order of preference, those are MOBILITY graphics chips):
4650/70
4860
GTS250M
4830
GT240M
(dedicated graphics memory not less than 256mb)
- wide or non wide screen, dont care
- DVD burner
- good screen
- no need for exceptionally good sound
- silent! (i will use a custom built cooling pad)
- between 13" and 16" (1400x900 maybe?)
- great build and components quality: it has to last long. Good plastics, anodized aluminium would be amazing
- good battery life: 2 hours watching a DVD are required
- minimum of 2gb of ram (DDR2 800 or DDR3 1066 at least), if only 2gb, expandable
- minimum of 250gb 5400rpm HDD
- built-in wireless
- SD card slot

the latest and greatest:
- if this is possible, and i hardly believe it is, room for TWO 2,5" HDDs


thank you all in advance, and good luck!!!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
2,228 (0.37/day)
Location
Larisa, Greece
System Name StarCruiser Dark Knight v.2
Processor Intel® Core™ i5-3570K
Motherboard P8Z77-V LX
Cooling 1x custom W/C loop/ inflow:6x120 /outflow:4x120, 2x200
Memory Viper 3 Black Mamba (4x4GB)
Video Card(s) Powercolor LCS 5870
Storage 1X 128GB OCZ, 2 x 1.500 Gb Seagate
Display(s) Samsung 24" LC24F396
Case custom MDF case (I BUILT IT) check sig.....NOW
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Tagan 900 watt
Software Win 7 RC / Open office / Games

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too

lol, probably both :D

problem is that vaios are pretty expensive here in EU, and i didnt even consider them. The one you proposed costs about 1000€ in EU, from what i can see, which is a bit too much for me. Vaios are like Macs and Ipods, you pay more for the trademark than for the product... in EU, at least. The hp is too big for my likings and costs around 1000€ as well here. :banghead:
 
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
2,228 (0.37/day)
Location
Larisa, Greece
System Name StarCruiser Dark Knight v.2
Processor Intel® Core™ i5-3570K
Motherboard P8Z77-V LX
Cooling 1x custom W/C loop/ inflow:6x120 /outflow:4x120, 2x200
Memory Viper 3 Black Mamba (4x4GB)
Video Card(s) Powercolor LCS 5870
Storage 1X 128GB OCZ, 2 x 1.500 Gb Seagate
Display(s) Samsung 24" LC24F396
Case custom MDF case (I BUILT IT) check sig.....NOW
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Tagan 900 watt
Software Win 7 RC / Open office / Games
is there no way you could order in the us and have it shipped to... Italy!?
 

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too
is there no way you could order in the us and have it shipped to... Italy!?

sadly the shipping would kill me... and the package would be subject to taxes once it arrives here. add 20% :twitch:

i was eyeing the toshiba satellite A500-14F
 
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
2,228 (0.37/day)
Location
Larisa, Greece
System Name StarCruiser Dark Knight v.2
Processor Intel® Core™ i5-3570K
Motherboard P8Z77-V LX
Cooling 1x custom W/C loop/ inflow:6x120 /outflow:4x120, 2x200
Memory Viper 3 Black Mamba (4x4GB)
Video Card(s) Powercolor LCS 5870
Storage 1X 128GB OCZ, 2 x 1.500 Gb Seagate
Display(s) Samsung 24" LC24F396
Case custom MDF case (I BUILT IT) check sig.....NOW
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Tagan 900 watt
Software Win 7 RC / Open office / Games
you could buy it using a friends address and then have send it to you (declare it as a present: 0% tax)..... just a thought!
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2009
Messages
922 (0.17/day)
Location
London, UK
Processor AMD FX 8350 Black Edition @ 4.2Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 Rev 4.0
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory Samsung Green 16GB 30nm 1600Mhz DDR3
Video Card(s) XFX HD 7950 DD 3GB @ 850/5000Mhz
Storage 240GB Intel 520 SSD + 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) ASUS PB278Q 27" QHD
Case Fractal Design R5 Black
Power Supply Seasonic Platinum 760W
Mouse Corsair Raptor M40
Keyboard Corsair Raptor K50
Software Windows 10 Pro
with the shipping im sure itll still be cheaper than buying here in europe, max should be $50 shipping
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,518 (1.43/day)
Location
Kansas City
System Name The Dove Box Rev 3.0
Processor i7 8700k @ 4.7GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus X APEX
Cooling Custom water loop
Memory 16GB 3600 MHz DDR4
Video Card(s) 2x MSI 780 Ti's in SLI
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 PCIe SSD, 4TB
Display(s) 27" Asus 144Hz
Case Enermax Fulmo GT
Audio Device(s) ON BOARD FTW
Power Supply Corsair 1200W
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Win 10 64x

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too
you could buy it using a friends address and then have send it to you (declare it as a present: 0% tax)..... just a thought!

Yep, but if something goes wrong? if i have to RMA i cantr ship it back to Asus USA! I've already bought tons of stuf in the USA, but nothing so expensive... i'm scared to do that!

Asus makes a great $1000 laptop, the max resolution is a 16:9 ratio of 1366 x 768 but it has a 240M:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220566

2.5GHz dual core processor
4GB memory DDR2
320GB 7200rpm HDD

But if you want a full 1080HD screen jump the price up by $300 for this beauty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220576

Full 1080HD screen
260M gpu, which scores nearly 10k in 3d06
and my personal choice if I were buying a new gaming laptop :D

those are interesting! Problem is, i'm using only linux... the games i'll play will work fine even on a simple 4570/4650. My main concern with this laprop is durability, portability and battery life. I'll be using it only as a University laptop, while i'll probably keep my current desktop rig for gaming.

I've seen the (fairly) new Dell Studio 1555, seems good (review of one of the possible configurations). Very sturdy, and up to 6hrs battery life! (with 9 cells battery). There are some better valued notebooks, but not dell quality...
This is good too, nice hardware, but poor chassis (review)

opinions? :confused:
 

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too
actual possibilities i've spotted till now:

Compal KHLB2 (840€)​
P8800, HD4650, 3gb DDR3 1333MHz, seagate momentus 320gb 7200RPM. Review. Bad Screen and mediocre build quality

toshiba Satellite A500-14F (800€)​
P8700, HD4650, 4GB DDR2 800, 320gb 5400rpm (SATA-150:shadedshu). cant find any review.

Dell Studio 1555 (750€)​
P7350, HD4570, 4GB DDR2 800, 250GB 7200RPM. Very long battery life and sturdy chassis. No proper reviews found

Dell Studio 1555 (850€)​
P8600, HD4570, 4GB DDR2 800, 250GB 7200RPM, Very long battery life and sturdy chassis. No proper reviews found. Color ruby red :D.

HP Pavilion dv6-1240el (800€)​
P7350, HD4650, 4GB, 500GB 5400RPM. Unknown info. With remote control.

ACER Aspire 6930G-844G32Mn (650€)​
P8400, 9300M GS, 4GB DDR2, 320GB (?). Unknown info. With remote control.
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
You could try Sager Notebooks I believe they ship internationally have great prices. They don't gouge on upgrade either.
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
9,231 (1.66/day)
Location
Montreal, Canada
System Name Homelabs
Processor Ryzen 5900x | Ryzen 1920X
Motherboard Asus ProArt x570 Creator | AsRock X399 fatal1ty gaming
Cooling Silent Loop 2 280mm | Dark Rock Pro TR4
Memory 128GB (4x32gb) DDR4 3600Mhz | 128GB (8x16GB) DDR4 2933Mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3080 | ASUS Strix GTX 970
Storage Optane 900p + NVMe | Optane 900p + 8TB SATA SSDs + 48TB HDDs
Display(s) Alienware AW3423dw QD-OLED | HP Omen 32 1440p
Case be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 rev 2 | be quiet! Silent Base 800
Power Supply Corsair RM750x + sleeved cables| EVGA P2 750W
Mouse Razer Viper Ultimate (still has buttons on the right side, crucial as I'm a southpaw)
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite, Pro Type | Logitech G915 TKL
ASus has an international warranty! So take that out of the equation... Buying the asus& a 9 cell extended battery and you're good to go!
 

Odin Eidolon

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
920 (0.16/day)
Location
Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy
Processor e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling HDT-1283
Memory 2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card(s) HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Storage WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case CM RC-690 sligthly modded
Power Supply Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too
You could try Sager Notebooks I believe they ship internationally have great prices. They don't gouge on upgrade either.

configured one... they seem to be good! do you have any info on the battery life/quality of the chassis?

ASus has an international warranty! So take that out of the equation... Buying the asus& a 9 cell extended battery and you're good to go!

Didnt know that, thanks... i dont really like Asus and Acer, i've had both of them and both werent very sturdy. But the experience from one product cant tell for all. My brother's dell on the opposite is incredible... he went over it with a car... and only the screen was broken, they replaced it under warranty (accidental damage warranty (+60€))!!! :roll:
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
9,231 (1.66/day)
Location
Montreal, Canada
System Name Homelabs
Processor Ryzen 5900x | Ryzen 1920X
Motherboard Asus ProArt x570 Creator | AsRock X399 fatal1ty gaming
Cooling Silent Loop 2 280mm | Dark Rock Pro TR4
Memory 128GB (4x32gb) DDR4 3600Mhz | 128GB (8x16GB) DDR4 2933Mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3080 | ASUS Strix GTX 970
Storage Optane 900p + NVMe | Optane 900p + 8TB SATA SSDs + 48TB HDDs
Display(s) Alienware AW3423dw QD-OLED | HP Omen 32 1440p
Case be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 rev 2 | be quiet! Silent Base 800
Power Supply Corsair RM750x + sleeved cables| EVGA P2 750W
Mouse Razer Viper Ultimate (still has buttons on the right side, crucial as I'm a southpaw)
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite, Pro Type | Logitech G915 TKL
omg... I had the exact opposite experience but in larger quantities... I have a whole bunch of friends into comps... laptops and desktops alike. They may not be that smart for comps but they love em lol.

ALL without exception of dells that I and my friends had, weren't sturdy, had at least 1 hard drive failure in the 1st year, and battery problems after 3 yrs and a monitor prob after 3 too. That is 6 dells... all inspirons

4 of my friends have ASUS laptops, no problems, all OCed them too (against my recommendation).

But in general, I did LOTS of research, and ASUS IS like the best laptop company... HPs and Acers are good too. I had WAY to many friends of friends ask me to fix their dell...

I don't know about desktops though,, since I've never bought a prebuilt desktop

Seriously though, if you do the research, you can see that ASUS are godly
 
Top