New laptop?

[thedooku]

It's time I finally break down and replace my ancient home laptop. I've been looking around quite a bit and think I've made my decision, just want to get some expert opinions on whether or not it's a good deal and any potential deficiencies.

Asus K52Jr-X4

My GF and I will need to add MS Office Basic, but other than that, the only negative I see is that it's shit brown....but that matters not to me (and might be why it's so cheap?).

Primary usage will be entertainment (movies, music, pics, web browsing), some work (word/excel) and some games (Starcraft 2 capable?)

I also found a Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse for $60 at Bestbuy Canada.....unless someone has a better portable mouse suggestion.

Thanks in advance for the opinions/advice

[EagleOne]

Well it has gotten great reviews so I don't see any issue there. It looks like it can handle gaming with that graphics card. My only question is about the price, is that American dollars or Canadian rubles?

[norm]

That should do you fine.

Also how important is it for you to have Blu-Ray? I know you're a part of the PS3 crew so I'm assuming you have blu-ray movies. Are you hooked in with a program like a Netflix or something else or do you download movies to watch? Only reason I ask because with a screen that small DVD quality and Blu-Ray quality will look the same.

Reading through the reviews the color isn't brown, more of a carbon fiber color. Also something about having to buy the blu-ray software separately? You may want to read through the reviews to get a better idea on that.

If blu-ray isn't as important to you that should give you some more options and save you a little movie.

Also try Newegg Canada along with Tiger Direct. Newegg will sometimes have a ton of better deals compared to Tiger Direct.



As far as the mouse, wow that's pricey..lol For that price you may be able to get a rechargeable mouse. If you're looking to save a little money why not save you 40 to 50 bucks and get a cheaper mouse. Only benefits I see to the Logitech mouse is it works on glass. So if that's a deal breaker go for it.


Overall congrats on the new laptop!

[thedooku]

@ Eagle, you're a putz. We're not talking pesos here....the Canadian dollar has been at or near parity with the US dollar for a while now. The same laptop on tigerdirect.com is $20 cheaper.

@ Norm, thanks for the honest opinion. I'm always looking to save a few bucks, but I also like having all my options open. Blu-ray is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it's a very nice to have. I do own a lot of blu-rays (and dvds) and don't want to think my viewing options should be limited by the display method I choose.

As for the mouse, I did see the reviews mentioning a lack of blu-ray software, but I'm not too concerned, I'm sure I can scrounge something up. The idea of opening up my options and saving some money by eliminating the blu-ray is appealing, what type of upgraded specs/components would you say I should look for? Faster processor, more RAM, etc?

As for the mouse, did you mean the $100 or $60 pricetag is too much (or both)? I found this logitech mouse, don't really dig the blue, but is that the price range you think I should be in? The works on glass doesn't really matter, I just saw that "anywhere" mouse had really good reviews and it's on sale this week @ Bestbuy.ca for $59.

I was confused by the "brown" as well, no pictures looked brown, maybe the guy who writes the descriptions is slightly color blind?

Thanks

[norm]

Completely missed where it said $60. I would say go for it.


As far as the PC. It is completely up to you. If it was up to me I would maybe skimp on the blu-ray and add more memory. But then again I don't have a blu-ray system and a library of blu-ray discs to factor in;). It's completely up to your tastes.

The another thing that might slow you down playing Starcraft is the HDD speed. I doubt it'll matter much to you though.

Last thing is the battery life. 6-cell should last you 2 to 3 hours I would think.

I think it's a good laptop. It'll do what you want it to do.

[MandaloreFett]

Me and my fiancee are also on the market for a laptop so any suggestions would be great, Im not too computer saavy. I want a new desktop as well cuz I need one for when The Old Republic comes out!!!!

[APAT]

I agree with Norm 100% on the suggestion to nix the blueray drive for more memory(or get both :) ). I bought my laptop a couple of years ago and it came with 4gb of RAM. So you should get 8gb right away instead of trying to upgrade later.

@MandaloreFett

I've got a Dell XPS M1330 and love it. Never had an issue and it actually is faster booting up and surfing the net than my desktop that has a faster processor and more memory. I've owned 3 Dells now and don't have a bad thing to say about them. Check out the outlet on the Dell sight for good deals.

[fromunda]

I have an Asus K60 notebook and aside from the ridiculous place they put the speakers(not sure if its the same) I like mine. The hd crashed on the U81 I had but I think it might have been caused by the windows 7 disc I got from Asus. My laptop worked fine untill about 3 weeks after I upgraded from Vista.

[thedooku]

Thanks for all the help fellas. I might add some more RAM or HDD down the road, but I think it'll be a while before either are a limitation.

Last time I bought a new computer was 10 years ago!

[MandaloreFett]

I agree with Dooku, thanks for the help and suggestions, I will look into each of them

[thedooku]

So, after more consideration and research, I've decided I don't need Blu-ray support. One of the main motivators is that Windows 7 does not have/offer native (Windows Media Center) Blu-ray playback support. WTF? Didn't they pull the same shit with DVD back in the day? I know I can get 3rd party software or rip my blu-rays, but are their feelings still that hurt by the HD-DVD debacle that they refuse to include (OR even offer) a $30 license?! /end rant

Anyhoo, the "must haves" I'm sticking with are: Windows 7 64bit, 4 Gig+ RAM, dedicated video w/1 Gig+, HDMI(DVI) output, gigbit LAN and wireless N, webcam and mic.

I don't have a clear requirement for processor(s) and speed.....because I don't have a clear understanding of what the F they mean these days, LoL.
Is more cores always better?
Is a "2.2GHz i5" better or worse than a "1.6GHz i7"?
Are AMD chips as good as Intel? Am I just paying extra for the Intel brand name?
I lost understanding of processor specs somewhere around the Pentium era.

I actually look forward to learning more and researching the best laptop for my dollar (Canadian ones, Eagle).

I'd rather make a lengthy and knowledgeable decision than a quick and ignorant one.

Any further tips/suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

[thedooku]

After much deal-searching....I came up with this Lenovo Ideapad Y560

The only cons I see are the hard drive speed and the lack of a full keyboard. I have a coupon that brings the price down to $749.....don't think I want to pass up $500 off!

Anybody have any experience with Lenovo and/or Ideapads?