I'm surprised I didn't think of getting one before, especially since it'd be infinitely useful for college stuff. The computer I'm using now is pure junk. Here's some of it's specs:

Intel Pentium 4, 1.80 GHz
512 MB of ram
NVIDIA GeForce 3 Ti200
And some Santa Cruz (Turtle Beach) sound card.

If there's any other info I should post, just tell me.

I've had it for almost 8 years now. I've bought 2 new graphics cards for it, both costed $150, and both fried in less than a year. My video/sound card are both loose since a piece that supposed to keep them in place broke - I need to be careful when plugging stuff into them.

I don't really plan on doing much gaming at all, but some gaming power would be nice though it's not a big deal. I love putting beats together with a program that I use often (Fruity Loops), so sound is somewhat important. I plan on spending about $500-650. I don't want somethin too hardcore, but I still want somethin that's pretty good especially since I'll be getting rid of this computer once I've got the laptop.

I usually use Newegg.com for buying tech stuff, but if you know a better site for buying laptops please let me know. I've never owned a laptop before and I've never really used them either, so I don't know much. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to go by user reviews, but this one's has alot of good feedback:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114611

How does that look? Does it look good enough to be a desktop replacement? I want somethin that'll last a very long time so I really wanna get a laptop that's worth the price. This'll be one of the biggest purchases I've made in a while so I'll probably take my sweet ass time before I finally decide on one.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I can think of two options :

theres HP HDX 16.. that should set you back anywhere between $999-$1400 depending on the config... that comes with a 512 MB 9600M GT card though which is adequate for most titles..(except GTA4, crysis)

if your looking for a slightly more gaming friendly option .. there is an ASUS lappy :ASUS G50VT-X2 I think shd be available for $999 on bestbuy.com it comes with a 9800 GS

I currently own the HP.. its a good system, great speakers, well built people seem to have positive reviews about the asus online as well- so you wont be a loser if you went that way either. Overall the asus had the edge for gaming thanx to its 256 bit graphics card.

good luck hunting.

Ha ha. Need a new laptop too. Well not really that I need one but I get a technology allowance from work every two years and it is time now. My nephew who seems to know alot about these things suggested this laptop for me:

Asus Laptop X71Q-7S021E

# Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0 GHz )
# 320GB S-ATA (5400RPM)
# NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300M G , 512MB dedicated graphics memory
# 17" TFT (WXGA+) (1440 x 900)
# DVD Super Multi
# 3072 Mb DDR2 800 (1024 x 1 , 2048 x 1 )
# Video Camera built-in (1.3 million pixels)
# Microsoft® VISTA Business ( XP Pro recovery disc included)

What kind of power are you looking for? Enough to run WoW? Warcraft 3? CS 1.6? Half Life 2?

i am tossing around this one

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10828269


sad thing is its drastically better then what i have at home in my desktop

I can't go with that system. I like Toshiba but 2GB RAM is too little although you can upgrade that but I personally won't buy anything with Intel integrated graphics. They clutter up the market with machines with Windows Experience scores of processor et all = 5 , graphics =3.

Here's a few options you might consider. All have true Core 2 Duo and discrete graphics and 4GB RAM

NEW EGG

TOSHIBA Satellite A355-S6944 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600(2.40GHz) 16" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 NoteBook - Usually $999 on sale for $849 a bit ,more but in every way a much better machine

Acer Aspire AS6930-6942 Intel Core 2 Duo T6400(2.00GHz) 16" Wide XGA 4GB Memory 250GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS NoteBook - Not a favorite brand but at $799, good specs

Dell has a good deal on their Studio 15 but the sale ends in a few days

I'm a Mac only user atm but I'm planning to return to PC gaming. This time I also want a notebook. I narrowed it down to these two:

Acer Aspire 6930G

LG S510

I'll most probably buy the LG S510, as it seems to have an excellent non-glare display, but it will cost me 1100€, so I think it's out of question for you.

The Acer 6930G version with a GeForce 9600M GT is currently avaibale for 750€ (don't know the US prices).

Also, check this (helped me a lot):

Buyers guide: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Purchase-Consultation.13212.0.html#results
Comparison of notebook graphics cards: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html

 Enough to run WC3/CS 1.6, and just enough to run HL2 I guess. I doubt I'll be doing much gaming at all, especially since I won't be buying PC game anymore - haven't in about 2 years now. I still have some old PC games though (Orange box, Guild Wars, etc).

I'm more worried about sound, since I use my computer for making music and my PS3 for gaming. I'm tryin to find somethin cheap'ish, like around $500-600.

 I was tempted to just get a new desktop, but a laptop would be much more useful especially since I'm in college.

Whatever you do don't buy hp. Asus and sony vaio are the best brands... usually.