Help me purchase a Laptop

[tool_462]

Being an "enthusiast" I've always despised laptops for being underpowered and overpriced vs. their desktop counterparts. Never wanted one, but now I need one

Heading to Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) for a couple months in Glynco, GA (I'm from Minnesota.) They have PC's available for use there but based on what we have here (2.8Ghz P4 netbust with 256MB of RAM) it won't be sufficient to satisfy my needs for 2 months away from home. I will also be going back later in my career (1-2 years from now) for 17-19 weeks.

I don't keep up much on mobile stuff, nor do I keep an eye out for deals on laptops like I do on everything else.

Here is what I know I'm looking for:
- Intel CPU (not a fanboy thing, just have access to cheap upgrades if I want)

- Dual Core minimum (No Celeron/Pentium Duals)

- NO Intel IGP (needs to play modern games moderately well at native res, low-medium settings is fine)

- 14" screen minimum

- Reputable company with good warranty service

Things I would like if it fits in the price range:

-LED Backlit (No idea how much extra this costs usually, so don't laugh )

-4GB minimum (I will upgrade it myself if it is cheaper)

-7200RPM drive (May upgrade to SSD)

-Wireless N

-HDMI Out (with Wireless N I should be able to stream from my HTPC about 50 feet to my 720P TV for movies and stuff right?)


Price range, I don't really have a set budget, under $900 or so would probably be my ceiling. If I can buy the basic model and upgrade RAM/CPU/HDD myself, that works too. I'm just not too familiar with what notebooks can be easily upgraded and which can't, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[tool_462]

So far I've found this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146612

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146584

How does Nvidia GT 240M compare to Nvidia GT 130M?

[purecain]

i've been going crazy trying to find the same thing... in the end i decided on an acer aspire 5542... and to wait for ati's breakout box for graphics...

i can sell this laptop for exactly what i paid, and have been feverishly searching online for something around £800GBP...

as of yet i'm still struggling... the best installed gpu at this price range seems to be the ati 4650xt... which is supposed to be on par with the NV 9600m... so this is inadequate for the tastes of a performace junky such as myself...

upon clicking on this thread i hoped you had been given many suggestions... the simple fact is, buying a performance laptop for the right money is not straight forward...

i wanted to upgrade the gpu... not possible due to the lack of availability and compatability....

even upgrading the cpu is difficult due to the amount of extra heat produced...

looking at sager.com is a start for both of us.... as it seems we would both need something custom built... thats if the external graphics breakout box isnt released soon...

by the way... the 240m is a far better chip than the 230m... just google nvidia 240m benchmarks....

goodluck... tool 462

[tool_462]

Posted on another forum and ended up going with:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...nsumer_ecoupon

Ideapad Y550 with T6600 (I will upgrade to T9xxx chip for no cost to me) GT240M, 4GB DDR3, 160GB (Putting a SSD in there) for $723 shipped from Lenovo.