New laptop

[GiPilot12]

Hello everyone, it's been a while! So here is the unnessasary story:

I recently got an internship this summer instead of a job. I've wanted to buy a new laptop, but needed an internship as well. Big surprise is, at the last minute, I found out that the internship was paid! So now I'm sitting on about 1500 USD (I'm being paid in Swiss Francs) that I want to blow on a new laptop. But I don't know where to start.

I was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction, especially since I've not been keeping up with current technology. Here are a list of requirements/wishes:

-Because of UC Berkeley, I get a free copy of windows 7 so no OS needed
-Trying to play games like Diablo III and maybe some more intensive ones like BF3 (low settings is fine)
-I would LOVE to try out a SSHD
-I would rather buy in the USA since I like the US keyboard and I don't want to transport the laptop overseas with me when I leave in 3 weeks but if I find a good deal here in Switzerland I'll go for it

Thanks so much in advance

love from Switzerland

-Stefan G.

[GroundZero3]

SSHD = SSD?

[Steve R Jones]

Finding a lappy without an OS will be difficult...

Will you be dragging the machine around a LOT where you'd want a business class or will it be stationary a lot?

[RicheemxX]

For laptops if you can wait a bit I really suggest waiting until the back to school sales go online. Right now Sony and MS both have option for free gaming systems but if you hold off for a bit you can get more bang for the buck.

I also really suggest going into a retailer and putting "hands on" a few laptops. Some people are really subjective to what they like and don't like about certain models. (trust me you'll see). ASUS, HP and Toshiba all have two different models that are either love or hate.

For your price and wanting SSD you might be looking "ultrabook" so you especially want to get hands on those and see if it looks and feels good. If not a smaller 13-14" laptop might save you money and give you a better overall value.

[GiPilot12]

SSHD = SSD?

Yes, sorry. As you see, even my jargon is out of date.

Finding a lappy without an OS will be difficult...

Will you be dragging the machine around a LOT where you'd want a business class or will it be stationary a lot?

I'll be moving the computer at least once a week, but I will not be bringing it to class most of the time. But I'd still rather have a laptop that can be carried around in a standard back pack.

For laptops if you can wait a bit I really suggest waiting until the back to school sales go online. Right now Sony and MS both have option for free gaming systems but if you hold off for a bit you can get more bang for the buck.

I also really suggest going into a retailer and putting "hands on" a few laptops. Some people are really subjective to what they like and don't like about certain models. (trust me you'll see). ASUS, HP and Toshiba all have two different models that are either love or hate.

For your price and wanting SSD you might be looking "ultrabook" so you especially want to get hands on those and see if it looks and feels good. If not a smaller 13-14" laptop might save you money and give you a better overall value.

Thanks for the input. Yes, you're right, I'll want to put my hands on the keyboard for sure to get a feel. Ultrabook? Alright, I'll do a little research in that direction.


Any more input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Stefan

[GiPilot12]

Alright I started looking. I'm looking at video cards right now. What is a good video card? I am looking at cards starting at :

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory

and better

But the last time I looked at video cards, we were still at GDDR3, so I have NO idea if this is any good. Also, what is a good amount of RAM to get? I was looking at getting at least 8GB.


EDIT: I looked at SSD, and the capacity to price ratio is just too low for me right now. I have at least 5TB of anime that I watch, and keep several gigabytes loaded on my computer at all times to be able to watch on BART, bus, etc. So SSD just doesn't look worth it for me right now.


Just out of curiosity, is something like this a good bang for the buck?


EDIT2: using this as a reference for video card/processor

[RicheemxX]

Oh wow you are looking at a totally AIO machine, gamer and all.

That ASUS is a beast, and not just figuratively but literally, it'll be heavier than heck. It'll be a rock solid performer for just about anything you throw at it being in college but I thought you might be looking lightweight end of the spectrum not desktop replacement.

Yeah SSD is great for some things, but the price/performance and storage ratio just isn't there. If you want TBs of space just do youself a favor and either network your PC or go with an external. Now days you can get a NAS setup or setup a home network pretty cheap and then you don't have to worry about it all being on your lappy.

[GiPilot12]

My house (I have 2 EECS majors living in it) have a dedicated file server with 10TB of space on it hahahahahaha they "borrowed" old HDDs from the school and set up an old dell server for our house so storage isn't too important. Yeah weight isn't an issue for me, I just want it to be smallish.