i see a lot of deals on 15.6" laptops but not so many on 17" laptops. are 17" laptops just not popular? would 15.6 be suitable as a desktop replacement? i always figured itd be a tad too small.
have u guys seen any good deals on 17" laptops? lookin to spend around $900. something for gaming (tf2, bf3 and d3 in the future) with decent specs ie. 2nd gen i5, decent graphics etc. is this realistic? or should i just build a pc :X
thanks
17" for $900. I really doubt you would find a new laptop fitting the bill.
Best look at second hand Asus G73 from greys online/ebay/OCAU
it depends on what you want to use the laptop for.
small, light laptops are great for mobility. if you just are just going to use it exactly as a desktop then you are better off with a desktop.
Unless you're getting a top end gaming laptop you will probably find games like BF3 and D3 will struggle. For the price of a semi decent laptop you can get quite a powerful desktop PC which you can also upgrade at any point unlike most components in a laptop. If mobility and space isn't an issue you will be best off just building a new desktop computer.
Sample build here (prices sourced from msy)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3Ghz 1155pin Boxed CPU - $220
HSF: Noctua NH-U9B-SE2 Performance CPU Cooler (Universal) - $59
MB: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Z68 HDMI DDR3 Intel 1155pin - $153
RAM: Kingston HyperX 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 1600 KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX - $65
Case: Antec Sonata IV Piano Black Tower Case with 620w PSU - $187
HDD: Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 1TB ST31000524AS SATA3 7200RPM 32MB HDD - $99
DVD: Samsung SATA 22x Black DVD RW - 1 Year Warranty - $19
Choice between ATI/NV depending on personal preference
GFX: Gigabyte 2GB 6970 PCI-E VGA Card - $389
Gigabyte 1280M GTX570 PCI-E VGA Card - $389
Total $1191
Slightly above your preferred spend but well worth the extra $291 for a decent gaming rig
I use a 15.7 for my desktop replacement, its fine (unless you need to do programming, in which case its a pain in the arse).
a second monitor is like sweet glory though. Whenever I do programming I hook it up to the nearest monitor I can find.
Lab computer monitors
Library Catalogue computer monitors
Lecture theatre monitors
Tute room projectors ;)
you know what I mean….
For laptops I usually just go with the smallest screen with comfortable keyboard, which currently is around 13-14 inches. You can always get an external monitor if you want a desktop replacement.
Even with my 14" 1440x900 I found it adequate for programming. But then again I am on vim most of the time rather than full blown IDEs.
Vim celebrated its 20th anniversary 3 days ago.
vim, emacs and gedit are the ones I use and on windows notepad++ but when you need to build for a specific environment, two windows is absolutely essential for an emulator/VM/browser
thanks for the replies :)
To answer your first question, 15.6" is ideal, but it's just a personal preference
Of course, you could just hook up to a separate bigger monitor