Kong
02-17-2011, 03:06 PM
I just bought a new laptop. I did a lot of research to get the best deal so I thought I would share the info.
If you are looking for a new fast laptop for a good price and don't need to play the latest games on highest display settings then this is the laptop for you :D.
I purchased it last month (January 2011), so this info is 1 month out of date already.
I paid $760 + 20 shipping. This laptop is about $300 less than the same thing from Dell.com. It is fast enough to handle anything you would throw at it for the next several years with the exception of the latest and greatest video games ran at max 3D settings.
I purchased it from a custom build shop. It took about 18 business days to arrive. They said 13-18 days when I ordered so it was on time. If you are not in a rush then a custom build is better IMO than getting a stock computer from somewhere like Dell or Best Buy.
This is the laptop I ordered.
CUSTOM NOTEBOOK Spring Peak SP15 Core™ i3 / i5 Value Notebook, 15.6" WXGA TFT Glossy LED LCD, Integrated Intel® GMA HD Graphics : AVADirect Custom Computer Configuration (http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=17000)
Spring Peak is made by Intel. It has a couple nifty gimmick features.
Wireless Display, Anti-Theft protection, WiFi repeater, and Intel Always Aware which is a gyro scope that can tell if the laptop falls and shuts off the harddrives to protect them from impact. It can also tell if it is flipped upside down or tilted which can let you slide objects around on the screen by tilting it like on an Iphone.
Just gimmicks except the theft and drop protection.
However, they discontinued it so you can not buy the exact one I have.
The next closest thing is this
CUSTOM NOTEBOOK Compal NBLB3 Core™ i5 Value Notebook, 15.6" HD Glossy LED LCD, Intel® GMA HD Graphics : AVADirect Custom Computer Configuration (http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=19095)
It does not have those gimmicky features I just mentioned and it doesn't have bluetooth preinstalled but it does have HDMI support and price and other specs are about identical.
I changed the default features to these: (In order for this to be a good deal you need to change all of these, I researched each one to make sure they were the best bang for the buck - especially the processor and harddrive. On the memory you could skimp and get 4GB instead of 8GB and not notice much of a difference.)
Processor (The i5 processor over and under clocks itself automatically when needed. Meaning if you aren't doing much then it runs under powered to save energy and pro-long life. And as soon as you start doing something very intensive it will safely over clock itself.)
# INTEL, Core™ i5-450M Dual-Core 2.4GHz, HD Graphics, 2.5 GT/s QPI, 3MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 35W, OEM
Memory
# KINGSTON, 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM SODIMM, CL7, Non-ECC
Hard drive (this is a very fast hard drive which most people over look. Usually people just look at the numbers on the box which don't tell you very much.)
# SAMSUNG, 640GB SpinPoint MP4, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache, 2.5-Inch, SATA 3 Gb/s, OEM
Operating System (I installed my own copy of Win7 x64)
# NONE, No Operating System (Choose OS or subject to Limited Support)
Here is the Windows Performance Rating. The scale is 1.0 to 7.9 so processor and memory are almost max. Pretty good for an $800 laptop.
Processor 6.8
Memory (RAM) 6.8
Graphics 4.2
Gaming graphics 4.8
Hard disk 5.9
If you are looking for a new fast laptop for a good price and don't need to play the latest games on highest display settings then this is the laptop for you :D.
I purchased it last month (January 2011), so this info is 1 month out of date already.
I paid $760 + 20 shipping. This laptop is about $300 less than the same thing from Dell.com. It is fast enough to handle anything you would throw at it for the next several years with the exception of the latest and greatest video games ran at max 3D settings.
I purchased it from a custom build shop. It took about 18 business days to arrive. They said 13-18 days when I ordered so it was on time. If you are not in a rush then a custom build is better IMO than getting a stock computer from somewhere like Dell or Best Buy.
This is the laptop I ordered.
CUSTOM NOTEBOOK Spring Peak SP15 Core™ i3 / i5 Value Notebook, 15.6" WXGA TFT Glossy LED LCD, Integrated Intel® GMA HD Graphics : AVADirect Custom Computer Configuration (http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=17000)
Spring Peak is made by Intel. It has a couple nifty gimmick features.
Wireless Display, Anti-Theft protection, WiFi repeater, and Intel Always Aware which is a gyro scope that can tell if the laptop falls and shuts off the harddrives to protect them from impact. It can also tell if it is flipped upside down or tilted which can let you slide objects around on the screen by tilting it like on an Iphone.
Just gimmicks except the theft and drop protection.
However, they discontinued it so you can not buy the exact one I have.
The next closest thing is this
CUSTOM NOTEBOOK Compal NBLB3 Core™ i5 Value Notebook, 15.6" HD Glossy LED LCD, Intel® GMA HD Graphics : AVADirect Custom Computer Configuration (http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=19095)
It does not have those gimmicky features I just mentioned and it doesn't have bluetooth preinstalled but it does have HDMI support and price and other specs are about identical.
I changed the default features to these: (In order for this to be a good deal you need to change all of these, I researched each one to make sure they were the best bang for the buck - especially the processor and harddrive. On the memory you could skimp and get 4GB instead of 8GB and not notice much of a difference.)
Processor (The i5 processor over and under clocks itself automatically when needed. Meaning if you aren't doing much then it runs under powered to save energy and pro-long life. And as soon as you start doing something very intensive it will safely over clock itself.)
# INTEL, Core™ i5-450M Dual-Core 2.4GHz, HD Graphics, 2.5 GT/s QPI, 3MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 35W, OEM
Memory
# KINGSTON, 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM SODIMM, CL7, Non-ECC
Hard drive (this is a very fast hard drive which most people over look. Usually people just look at the numbers on the box which don't tell you very much.)
# SAMSUNG, 640GB SpinPoint MP4, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache, 2.5-Inch, SATA 3 Gb/s, OEM
Operating System (I installed my own copy of Win7 x64)
# NONE, No Operating System (Choose OS or subject to Limited Support)
Here is the Windows Performance Rating. The scale is 1.0 to 7.9 so processor and memory are almost max. Pretty good for an $800 laptop.
Processor 6.8
Memory (RAM) 6.8
Graphics 4.2
Gaming graphics 4.8
Hard disk 5.9