Please help me chosse which laptop I should buy :)

General Topics
1

Hello,

Can someone please help me decide which laptop I should get? I was thinking of getting the dv7-t because it’s so much cheaper but I’ve been doing a lot of research and a lot of people were saying that the hp dv line has a serious overheating problem. However, I am not sure if that notion is still true for the newer models. Then I came across the Vaio S series which had me thinking about spending the extra $400.

Technically, I am looking for three things: (1) A laptop that can perform for my casual gaming, (2) A durable laptop that I can bring to school and work, (3) Something not too expensive. (4) Something that will last me at least 3 to 4 years without problems

I’ve narrowed my choices down to two, which would should I buy:

(A) Hp-dv7t (17 inch)

Price: $699.67

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7, Home Premium

Processor: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz

Graphics Card: Intel® HD Graphics 3000 [HDMI, VGA]

Memory: FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Hard drive: 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

or

Sony Vaio VPCSB190X CTO (S series, 13.3 inches)

Price: $1029.99

Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon™ 6470M (512MB VRAM) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology

Memory: 6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1333

Hard drive: 500GB (7200rpm) hard drive [add $0.00]

Thanks!

2

I dont particularly like HP but that seems to be a better choice than the sony which seems very over priced considering its only a 13 inch with 512meg graffics.

Personally i like Acer or Asus, the former gives great value for money if that is what your after where you’ll pay more for an Asus but your generally getting better componants imo.

Back to your choices if you’ve decided on the option between those two go with the HP.

3


http://my.jetscreenshot.com/2701/m_20110930-asbg-12kb.jpg

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 17R (Intel i5 Processor)and am very happy with it.
I currently have 2 Dell laptops and 1 Dell Netbook.
All performing without problems. I take all 3 on the road with me
when I’m doing the “Protecting Yourself and Your Identity Online”
presentations for Avast.

4

I use a Dell Inspiron N5030. If I were you I would go with a laptop which has 4GB Ram since you do a lot of gaming. Personally I don’t see any need for 6GB Ram. 4GB is plenty. Another important item is processor speed. :slight_smile:

5

I have a HP (Compaq) laptop and have no problems with it BUT I have been warned that HP may be exiting the computer part of their marketing.

Therefore if you buy one, they may desert you as far as product backup is concerned.

You might do well to consider another brand.

6

Oh no I wish I read that before I bought my laptop :o lol. I just purchased an Hp dv6t quad core with i7 processors, blue ray player, 750gb/7,200 rpm hardrive, 6gb of ram, and 4 year warranty for hardware and accidental damage, for $1,100 :cry: It was just too good of a deal to pass up, in my opinion. Was this a good buy?

Thank you all for your opinions, believe me I read each one before I bought this. They were all nice laptops but the price on this one ultimately won me over.

7

The stuff about HP’s overheating is bull. I’m now on my second HP laptop and I have never had it happen. The first one, a Dv5215us model, never overheated once in 6 years of heavy usage including a lot of FPS and MMO 3D gaming. It came close to reaching it’s max cpu temp but never quite got there. This new one that is in my signature (which only cost $599) never goes over 148F even while gaming. I feel HP builds, or built since it looks like they’re getting out of the PC business, some of the most rugged and reliable laptops out there. They also WILL still stand behind anything still under warranty so don’t worry about that.

As to your choices, it depends on what you want to do with the machine. For everyday use, both would be fine. If you want to do gaming, the Sony would be a lot better (except for the small screen)since even the Intel 3000 graphics are weak compared to the Radeon 6000 series. Personally, if you can wait a month or two, laptops with the new AMD Trinity Accelerated Processors will be on the market. They’re based on the new Bulldozer core and from all accounts will be even better than the current Llano line of APU’s which are excellent in themselves.

EDIT: I just saw what you bought and it’s a very good machine. I personally have never paid for even a 1 year service package on any electronic item I have ever bought and never regretted it. I have never bought any piece of electronic equipment that didn’t last at least 5 years with no servicing needed but if you feel safer , then so be it.

8

I just bought a 17.3" laptop for $478. It’s ok, the sound output is’t very good. I have 15 days to decide if I want to keep it.

It stays icecold, I don’t feel any heat blowing out of any ports. :slight_smile:

I’m running the same security apps except I changed from MailWasher to Spamilator.

See my sig. for more on my new lappy.

BTW, my two year old Gateway laptop kicked the bucket. :cry:

9

Thanks guys, I was so worried about the hp laptop overheating that I went ahead and bought a $70 cooler :-[ the Cryo Lx notebook cooler.

Also, Dch48 thanks cause you were the one that introduced the hp dv6 laptop to me on another post :slight_smile:

10

The problem with the sound on my new lappy was due to avast!'s webrep.

If I disable webrep gmail free phone service works just fine.

11

Notebook Review http://www.notebookreview.com/
Laptop Magazine http://www.laptopmag.com/

12

That’s strange, I’m using Google’s voice and WebRep without any problems. ???

13

Bob,

I was using a Dell laptop to make a phone call when a popup notified that the sound would be better if I disabled webrep while using google phone service.

I applied this advice to my computer. :wink:

14

In your instance, I hope following their advice made a difference.
I have 3 Dell laptops. Have never seen the message and use Google voice quite often without problems even while WebRep is active.

15

To the OP, since you bought the HP, which looks very similar to mine on the outside and may have the same features, I will offer some things I have changed in the default setup. I didn’t like the way they changed the function keys so the specially programmed things were the default and you have to press the Fn key to get the actual function keys to work. Luckily it was very easy to change it back to the other way around. As a gamer, I need the F1-F12 functions to be the default. In the BIOS there is a setting to enable or disable the action keys mode.

Secondly I found the light around the touchpad to be annoying but that is very easy to toggle on and off by pressing FN-space.

Thirdly, I think the touchpad is too big and not recessed enough. There have been many times when I was typing something and accidentally hit the touchpad causing my cursor to jump to a different location. A few times it actually caused me to lose everything I had typed. I really never use the touchpad so I disable it by tapping twice in the top left corner of it. A little red light comes on and it’s disabled until you double tap again. Of course I could permanently disable it in the device manager too.

I also don’t use the fingerprint reader and that is permanently disabled.

Of course your desires for how you want the machine to work may be different. I’m just offering up what I have found.

16

Hi Dch48!

Sorry for the late reply, been really busy lately. Been buried in paper works :-X But I will be doing what you suggested, I get my hp dv6t quad core in a little less than 2 weeks!!! I can’t wait!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D