Best value laptop at ~13inch

[splintitan]

ok, the m1330 are looking risky, and i cant risk $500-600 one on ebay.

13 inch seems like a great size/weight with performance (currently useing a 14" e1405 which is still great). Im looking for the one with the most recommended vid card as well, supposedly Radeon HD 3450 is reliable and quiet but the whole video card thing gets really complicated for me.

some laptops i have looked at are the samsung x360 and the lenovo u330 which are apparently not the lightest, but would appreciate some advice.

Thanks

edit: beside light gaming it will be used for video/photoshop programs (university)

 

[mpilchfamily]

As long as your not a heavy gamer the video card doesn't really matter all that much. So what will you be using this for?

 

[splintitan]

i do light gaming. FEAR online worked on lowest mostly fine. i hear 8400gs can be loud/hot which isnt a plus. are most nvidia cars like that?
also the lenovo has the double vid cards... are they both built in the mobo?

 

[IlllI]

stay away from any nvidia 8xxx gpus
a lot of them were defective http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008...erheating_dying-2.html

 

[splintitan]

thats what i hear. the x360 seems really hitech (amazing battery life) and expensive so maybe i should count that out.
is there a laptop i should be waiting for?

 

[wwswimming]

if you go into Best Buy, you'll see some amazing deals for $500-$550 -
16 or 17" screen, dual core @ 2 GHz or more, 3 or 4 GB RAM, etc.

then once you find a salesperson and say, "which one is in stock",
maybe 1 in 4 of those great deals is actually available.

you can get some good deals that way, you just have to have patience
with the sales department bait & switch tactics.

(i have an Asus 13", paid $619)

 

[splintitan]

thats a nice deal. is the whole i5 buzz worth the wait?

 

[IlllI]

HP dv3t ?

 

[splintitan]

what about the acer timeline, and the Sony VAIO VGN-Z11WN/B looks promising (http://www.trustedreviews.com/...-B-13-1in-Notebook/p1)... pricey.
dv3t looks like a possibility.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Dell outlet + coupon discounts on the Studio XPS m1340 (with the nvidia 9400 gpu) would probably be a good deal.

 

[splintitan]

thanks, they are pricey but maybe hopefully the outlet will work. do they also offer warranties/extended?

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: splintitan
thanks, they are pricey but maybe hopefully the outlet will work. do they also offer warranties/extended?

dunno about extended offerings, but you get the basic 1 year warranty for any refurb just like you get with any new purcahse.

 

[splintitan]

they apparently do offer more at the checkout. has anyone heard about the heat on the studio xps? not a plus...

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: splintitan
thanks, they are pricey but maybe hopefully the outlet will work. do they also offer warranties/extended?

Dell offers the same warranties on refurbs as for new -- you can everything from one-year depot service to 4 year, next business-day, on-site, complete care.

I don't think M1340s have made it to the Outlet yet. If you have time to be patient, sign up for the e-mail coupons and check the stock when you get them.

Costco is running a promotion on the M1340 now but it still comes in at about $1100. You automatically get an extra year's warranty at Costco and if you use a credit card with "Extended Warranty", you may get a total of 3 years coverage.

 

[splintitan]

any opinions about the acer timeline, lenovo u330, samsung, even the m1340 and why one should choose A over B?

 

[Commodus]

The Acer Timeline and Lenovo U350 won't be gaming machines in any real way; they both have to use Intel integrated video and can't make up for it in raw CPU power. They're economy ultraportables.

 

[Parasitic]

The M1330 has a discrete 9400M GS? If so that gets my vote. I had a M1330 with a 8400M GS for a few months and it ran stuff pretty well. Obviously not going to be blisteringly fast and visually super impressive, but keep in mind that it only has to work with 1280x800 on a 13" screen.

 

[firewolfsm]

How was the battery life on your M1330 Parasitic? I might just get this off the outlet if I can't wait for the 1340 to move there.

 

[splintitan]

what do you mean it has to work with 1280x800 on a 13" screen? does it mean every game has to play that resolution as long as i use the 13.3 screen?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Athena
I don't think M1340s have made it to the Outlet yet. If you have time to be patient, sign up for the e-mail coupons and check the stock when you get them.

Been there for a month or two now. They go pretty quick though, so you just gotta check the stock everyday. I think the LED models sell out the quickest.

Originally posted by: Parasitic
The M1330 has a discrete 9400M GS? If so that gets my vote.

M1340 has an integrated 9400M, just like the new macbooks. They also come in a hybrid SLI option that should increase both performance and battery life (I dunno if it actually does).

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: splintitan
what do you mean it has to work with 1280x800 on a 13" screen? does it mean every game has to play that resolution as long as i use the 13.3 screen?

He means the maximum/native resolution is only 1280x800 on the laptop's screen. It shouldn't require tons of GPU horsepower to reasonably play games at that resolution. You can select a lower resolution if you choose but, unlike CRTs, LCDs don't scale non-native resolutions incredibly well.

You won't be able to properly use higher resolutions without hooking up an external display.

 

[amritsingh87]

Am also looking for a similar laptop... I want it to be light , small screen , good build (ASUS , Toshiba i've heard) , processing power of sth. like a c2d 2.0 or better , basic graphics... just NOT x3100 ...

all suggestions welcome...

and as with anyone... as cheap as possible...

 

[splintitan]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: splintitan
what do you mean it has to work with 1280x800 on a 13" screen? does it mean every game has to play that resolution as long as i use the 13.3 screen?

He means the maximum/native resolution is only 1280x800 on the laptop's screen. It shouldn't require tons of GPU horsepower to reasonably play games at that resolution. You can select a lower resolution if you choose but, unlike CRTs, LCDs don't scale non-native resolutions incredibly well.

You won't be able to properly use higher resolutions without hooking up an external display.

i thought he was saying something specific about the xps. The thing that worries me about the studio line is the heat (under the laptop around 100!). im thinking the m1330 might be better if its a refurb.

 

[splintitan]

any good words about the HP 6930p?

 

[TotalLamer]

How about the 12.1" HP dv2? They just added upgrade options for the new dual-core Athlon Neo and Turion Neo CPU's, and you can configure it with a discrete graphics card as well.