hello, i need a laptop for under 1000$ USD. i will be using it mostly for music, browsing, school work, recording (i have a DI for my instruments), and possibly the occasional CS:S match ive been surfing on newegg and so far ive found this one: Gateway M-6851 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101154 specs: proc: Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83G ram: 4GB DDR2 gfx: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 512MB GDDR3 screen: 15.4'' @ 1280 x 800 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit what do you guys think?
12x8 screen isn't great for a 15.4 these days, you can get 16x10 - but it depends what res you feel comfortable with. HD 2600 should be capable of CS:S easily enough, but personally I wouldn't buy a Gateway. Dell Factory outlet is nice and cheap usually but you have to keep checking it to see what's new.
hmmm what about this one: SONY VAIO FW Series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117793 Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26G ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB 3GB DDR2 ram 16.4'' @ 1600 x 900 Windows Vista Business
sony tend to be over priced and have poor battery life. Dell are great, but next in line would be acer, no jokes they build well spec'd laptops with decent prices. there build quality is a little fragile but whos going to throw a laptop around?
I don't rate acer at all. They always suffer from problems later in life (usually with overheating). Although I can't fault their pricing. Sony are nice but usually overpriced. Dell would be a safe bet. Asus maybe!
Acer seems to be hit or miss, some people have no issues, and some people have them die on them within a year or two.
