Shopping for these things is a pain in the ***...

I don't really care what brand I go with, looking at Dell right now, will move over to HP later, and from there who knows. I want to spend no more than $1500, definately want a PC (no MACBOOKS) and I want it for two uses, school work and minor gaming so I don't have to lug my desktop to L4D parties anymore.

Anyone have a good brand suggestion? I'm not bad with PCs, but when it comes to laptops, there's not a good selection like when you build your own desktop.

racist

MacBook, install XP or Vista. You shouldn't discount a solid product, especially since you can put the OS you prefer on it.

MacBook

Also, can confirm that normal macbook can play Left4Dead with damn good framerates and resolution.

HP ick no.

Other than that I have no suggestions.

Macbook! (seriously)

But if not, if you can find a good bargain, I really liked Sony Vaio's latest laptops. They seemed to really kick *** on the gaming front. I'm really unsure of how much they are, it is Sony after all

I don't know about North America, but here in Finland the Sony Vaios are ridiculously expensive.

They are here too.

Macbook + Vista.

Seriously.

Someone explain to me why a macbook, better than "install windows and viola" I don't know crap about mac hardware.

[url]www.buy.com[/url]

Build Quality is great, support is awesome, osx is pretty bad ***, installing windows is easy peasy.

Also they have multitouch trackpads

This.

Especially with the new MacBooks, the unibody enclosure really makes it feel solid.

Get one of those touchscreen ones where the screen flips around to make it a tablet.

Since the new Macbook has the integrated 9400m, it seems like the way to go, as much as I hate to admit. Crysis? Hell no, but that'll handle anything the source engine throws at it.

Another vote here for the MacBook, although I hate the new trackpad-is-the-button thing.

It doesn't take long to get used to - using other laptops becomes a problem though. >_>

It runs Bioshock at medium res

If you are getting a laptop for gaming, please look into the Gateway FX series. They are amazing for their price range. I got mine last year and it's slower than the newer versions...which go for $1400. I think.

Mine was $1200, it has an 512MB 8800GTS, dual core 1.87ghz mobile, 3 gigs of ram

it is still so money

But that thing's heavy. Light laptops are the win.

And Gateway... Eeuh! *shudders*

Thinkpad.

Asus can be pretty good. I have a Gateway and I hate it.

If you want a lightweight but full-featured, rockin' business machine (that doesn't really play games), I'm with GBK -- an X200's the way to go.

Ok well the Macbook still doesnt sound good, a touchpad and 'build quality' aren't going to sell me to a mac.

Here's what I found that I liked on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220403

Yeah except it's big, bulky, and crappy on battery life. It won't be nice to drag around.

I bought my dell inspiron about a year and a half ago, it's been a pretty laptop. 1.6 dual core, 2 gigs, nvidia 7300gt, it was $900 then

Except now I take a FULL ATX tower machine, 20 inch widescreen monitor, and a bag of essentials with me... so the laptop is small in comparison.

Small yet still heavy for any real carrying around...

If you're going to be taking it to classes and dragging it all over, trust me, even the extra few pounds and couple inches makes a tremendous difference. And don't forget that being tied to an AC Adapter makes it about as portable as your desktop.

Doesn't sound good? 7 out of 10 people here are recommending it to you.

It's your money and spend it how you like - but the consensus here is pretty conclusive. It's solid, fast, reasonably priced, attractive, has an excellent screen, it's lightweight, has great battery life, and that's not including the awesome trackpad, OSX (which you may not use admittedly despite it's inherent awesomeness) and multitouch.

At least go to a shop and play with one: I made the switch and I'm NEVER looking back. And I was a vehement defender of windows.

It's not that I'm not open to it, its just there havent been very good reasons for getting one other than:

Runs windows
'build quality' - kinda vague
good support
multitouch - thats probably nice
9400m - not bad
light and battery life - will have to check the specs

I will at least give it a go over on specs and whatnot, however I doubt I will get to check one out as the nearest store that would have one is likely 70 miles away.

The CPU is comparable with just about everything you'll find out there. It has DDR3 1066 RAM which most other laptops do not.

As for build quality, the big new thing is the all-aluminum "unibody", which really is just one big slab of aluminum. It won't wear down over time and crack, it's incredibly sturdy, it's light. And the screen uses glass instead of the plastic found on most every other laptop. The glass extends from edge to edge of the entire top part of the laptop, not just the viewable screen. It makes it much easier to clean, and also protects the screen much better. The thing is so sturdy that even if you try to push and poke the LCD it won't bubble, unlike every other laptop I've ever used.

The 9400M is THE fastest integrated video chipset out there right now. The performance it nets is rather impressive.

Overall, it's just so much more like how a laptop SHOULD be designed. It's stupidly thin, weighs like 4 pounds, gets 5 hours of battery life, and comes standard with all the typical extras, bluetooth, Wireless N, webcam...

While the 9400M is very decent in the laptop world, I wouldnt accept it as a desktop replacement for gaming. The 9800GS in the KOP_AoEJedi's Newegg pick is significantly faster.

MacBook $1299

Pros:
Aluminum Unibody
2 hours more battery life

Cons:
Significantly weaker GPU w/ shared memory
Smaller screen w/ lower res
Slower Processor
Less standard HD space
Only TWO usb ports
2 gb less ram
Windows not included, extra cost…

Asus G50VT-X2 $1350

Pros:
Stronger GPU with dedicated memory
Larger screen with higher res
HDMI output to 1080p
Faster Processor
More standard HD space with option to add another.
2gb more ram

Cons:
1.6lbs heavier
5cm wider & 4.2cm deeper
2 hours less battery life



looks pretty obvious...

If you really think that size and weight isn't terribly important than no crap.

But I used to have a 15" beast of a laptop. It had a dedicated GPU, fast CPU, good space and all of that.

But I stopped bringing it to parties. Why? Because even then, it wasn't terribly fast compared to my PC. And gaming on a laptop sucks, regardless of what it is.

And then I stopped bringing it to school. Why? Because it weighed so much and took up half of my bookbag.

And then I stopped taking it with me to other places, because the battery would die so ridiculously fast that I had to charge it in less than 2 hours, and that was assuming I was just browsing the internet, not gaming. I couldn't even make the entire way on most flights.

The slight CPU difference won't mean crap when you're doing school work. The 9400M will cover most gaming you need when you absolutely have to. It can output 1080p over DVI (which can use an HDMI adapter).

OS X is so much nicer for school work, as it's stable, and stupidly fast, and easy on battery.

Too late. Thanks for all of the input, but the decision was made!

Oh well, we tried. I hope we were wrong and you still enjoy it 6 months down the line >.>

what this thread pretty much sums up as:

everyone: "Get a macbook"

KOP_AoEJedi: "yea but its a mac!"

everyone: "But they dont suck"

KOP_AoEJedi: "yea but its a mac!"

6 months later:

KOP_AoEJedi: "i hate taking my laptop to school, it's a pain to drag around"

everyone: "told u"

My laptop may be slightly heavy, and it may be a Gateway, but judging a computer based on its brand name (hi vegie) is probably the worst mistake you can make since the Gateway FX series is the best, cost-effective laptop I've seen. Since I bought mine last year 4-5 more people I know have bought one so they can have a portable workstation that they can carry around with them...or to play games, lol.

My battery also lasts for 3 hours.