Is this a good buy?

[Lazywolf]

Okay, I found this laptop, and I'm wondering if it's a good deal:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1197075184211

I'm looking for a laptop for college; I'd like it to last for a few years and still be able to run current programs (games, Photoshop, movie editing, etc.)

Is the processor speed good (I've been out of the technology loop for two years), or should I go with a quad core? Will this be a decent, solid laptop? Any other suggestions (cost is an issue)?

[pullmyfoot]

looks decent. price is ok too. you might want to find one with a better graphics card though if you plan to do any gaming at all. because save for game like cs 1.6 and warcraft 3 that card is really gonna struggle

[Lazywolf]

Thanks for the input! Anyone else have any comments?

[RetroEvolute]

Definitely a good price for a new laptop with dedicated video and 2gb ram... Go for it, I say.

[EXreaction]

If you don't expect much for battery life or gaming and it's fine.

I can't find any specifics on the battery life with the 8400M GS, but the 8600 gets about 2 - 2 1/2 hours on the 6 cell. The 8600 uses about 7 watts more than the 8400, so I'd put the battery life at around 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

I would much rather build a 14.1" with integrated graphics, then leave gaming for a desktop.

[carl33p]

I bought a similiar laptop about 4 months ago: Dell Vostro 1400

The only game I play on it is CS: Source. It plays ALL HIGH settings with high framerates. The 8400GS compares about with my 6800XT.

As you can see, I got mine for significantly less with a 9-cell. Although yours has webcam, WirelessN, bluetooth, Firewire, and software. And the XPS is a "nicer" build.

[EXreaction]

Hrm, I didn't think the 8400GS was that good...

[carl33p]

Hrm, actually it scores worse than the 6600GT at Toms.

I must get similiar framerates with my 6800XT vs 8400GS because the my CPUs are a A64 3700+ vs C2D 1.4Ghz.

But heres a few benchmarks that show the 8400GS can play your HL2, FEAR, Doom3, etc at laptop resolutions.

[EXreaction]

There is a difference between the 8400 GS and the 8400M GS. The 8400 GS is quite a bit better.

[mark1230]

It looks well good and pricing is also somewhat good it is involving the general features of a common laptop and wil be good for your college work.