Export thread

I'm looking to replace my current "net surfing/photoshop/storage" computer with a friendly lil laptop. It doesn't need to be able to run Modern Warfare 2, but the ocassional "WoW/mmo" on low settings would be nice to have running in the backround while I "main game" on my gaming system. Unfortunately my current "scope" is limited to this site:

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=5680

Reason being, I scored a nice little $800 credit there (the interest rate is ridiculous but if it helps my credit to make payments, what the hell) and I'm trying to get a laptop for about $600-900 that'll suit my needs. Problem is, I know next to NOTHING about laptop processors and mobile video graphics. Any advice/suggestions would be fantastic.

Processor isn't really all that important so long as it has multiple cores. To compare the vid cards, I've found this site to be extremely helpful.

WoW will run pretty much on anything though, even intel integrated graphics. I know, cause I did on my laptop, and its intel gfx is even the 2005 gen. Gets a bit crankly in that big city in outland, I forget what it is called because it's been so long, but across most of the game it flies.

From recent personal experience, I'd shy away from any HPs, they come absolutely LOADED with all kinds of dreck you probably don't want or need and they've had some serious driver support issues in recent times. I've had good experiences with toshibas. I haven't checked out the latest dells, and I can't speak to samsungs.

These recommendations/condemnations are based SOLELY on the published specs, not software load, warranty, expected durability, nor anything else. Those can easily be changed/influenced/will expire, etc, but it's the hardware itself which can't be changed. Of the 31 listed, I would only consider the following 5:

HP dv7-2177cl
-This is the only one of the 5 which does not use the Core i5 430M processor. It comes with Vista SP1 instead of Win7, and it uses an older Core 2 Duo P7550* which, though it runs at the same 2.26GHz as the rest, will only perform at about 80% the speed of the i5 models. However, this model makes up for these by having the best graphics card (Radeon Mobility 4650) of the bunch (literally about 3x faster than any of the rest). This is the model I would recommend, even in spite of the slower processor and older OS.

Toshiba L555-S7008
-The only non-HP of the bunch, this is the lightest 17in in the field at only 7lb. However, it has the slow integrated Intel graphics, slower Ethernet (no gigabit), and the shortest battery life. Choose this one only if you absolutely can't stand HP.

HP dv6-2170us
-This is the only 15in model in the list, and therefore the lightest of all 5, but its smaller screen may be an issue if you want full widescreen (and it also has the slow integrated Intel GPU). It will still do 720p, but only just. Choose this one if you hate 17in screens, want the longest battery life, or need the absolute lightest/most portable notebook.

HP dv7-3186cl
HP dv7-3188cl
-These two models are almost identical except for the price and the size of the hard drive. The 3186 has the faster i5 but is middle-of-the-road on pretty much all the other specs. The 3188 looks like it is just a 3186 but with 2x320GB drives inside it and an extra $100 on the pricetag. The dual drives can (with some effort**) be configured to a partial RAID0 for high speed but low reliability, or a partial RAID1 for moderate speed but much better reliability.

They are my opinions, no warranty is expressed/implied/etc. You are encouraged to verify my data before plunking down any cash/credit.

Thanks to Notebookcheck.net for helping out, I didn't know about this site's existence until I started doing this research.

--Patrick

*The Sam's club website incorrectly claims it uses a 'P7750,' which doesn't actually exist. It is possible they meant to say 'P7570,' which has the same specs as the P7550 except that it has Intel's virtualization technology enabled (the P7550 does not), however HP's website claims this model uses the P7550. This won't matter to you if you never plan on using Win7's XP Compatibility mode, which does work on P7570 but won't on P7550.
**You'd have to split the drives up, and you wouldn't be able to boot from the RAID portion. However, it might be handy to have the option of either a RAID0 swap partition for scratch files or a RAID1 for important data (depending on how you plan to use the machine).

I would throw in a "stay away from HPs" agreement with GB unless you do some serious research into build quality. HP is notorious for individual SKUs having strange problems, particularly with video cards.

As a whole, they're good machines, but once in a while, an entire run is known for having bad problems.

PatrThom said:

This won't matter to you if you never plan on using Win7's XP Compatibility mode, which does work on P7570 but won't on P7550.

Click to expand...

Nevermind, Microsoft just released an update which removes the VT-x requirement. So now just about any processor that can run Win7 can also run the XP virtual mode (though the XP mode still sucks astro-ballz for games).

--Patrick

Hm, I wonder if I should still look into this. I haven't been able to sell my "internet" computer yet so that's mostly what's holding me back.