First of all, I'm not sure if this is the right section for this kind of thing?

Anyway, I'm going to be buying a new laptop soon and was wondering if anyone had some decent suggestions. I'm currently using an Inspiron 6400, which has worked fine until now, but need something that I'll be able to game on. I was looking at the Inspiron 9400 but I'm still not too sure. My price range is around $3000 (10% leeway), so any suggestions?

 

Studio XPS is nice and can be specced up closer to your budget limit, though i doubt it would be necessary.
Screen can be upgraded to 1080p, 3670m gpu(i think..) and ddr3 mem =].

 

Acer Gemstone Blue series is cool too. Or you could always go Alienware.

*Queue post ranting about how overpriced Alienware are*.

 

Wouldnt 3k Australian be like 1.5k US?

 

Yea 3k aus dollars will get him a shitty piece of shit if he were to go the Alienware route.

 

If you live close to Melbourne (or more specifically, Sunshine) then check out Centrecom.

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/default.php

They're pretty much the cheapest PC component seller and have massive amounts of hardware at their Sunshine centre. As for what type of laptop you want, well, it really depends on what you want to do with it.


Is it a desktop replacement or do you plan on carrying it around? If it's a desktop replacement, I'd recommend getting a 17" laptop. If it's not, then 15.4" is your highest because anything else becomes a pain in the arse to carry around. Hell, I find my 15.4" a clunky heavy bitch to carry. That said, the most powerful laptop graphics cards are in 17" or higher laptops.

For your price, I'd also suggest getting a laptop that has, or can upgrade to, a 9 or 12 cell battery. It'll make it a lot heavier but you'll get a hell of a lot more juice out of it.

Check out this link: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html

You can compare mobile laptop graphics cards and have a look at the stats of each. If you find a card that sounds good, check at the bottom of the page because there'll usually be links to laptops that have them.

Edit: What type of resolutions/details are you wanting to play. If you just want to play some of the latest games with whatever details, as long as they look fairly nice, then I wouldn't spend $3000. I bought mine for $1000 and it comes with a 9300M. I've played Call of Duty 4 and Dawn of War: Soulstorm on it without any troubles.

For your price range, I'd look at the 9600M GT. It'd do things nicely for you but it shouldn't make a laptop too expensive.

 

I just saw this: http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computer-sale/toshiba/?gclid=CNOKrL74oJkCFQOqbwod5AwkqA

That's a decent 256-mb dedeicated graphics laptop for only 1300$

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't think the Australian dollar is quite that bad. I'm pretty sure it's around about $2000 American.

I do prefer a 17" and yes I'd like to able to play the latest games (Fallout 3 and stuff). And sadly, I live in Canberra, so no Melbourne for me.

I'll check out that site though Shezza. Thanks for the help.

 

Yea it's not that bad but when all the currency variables are taken into account people in Australia still pay about 35% more than peeps in the US for any type of electronics.

Manufacturers can do this because it's supposedly harder to sell and distribute products in Australia.

 

Kraken

Is it absolutely vital that you get a laptop? For 3000$, you might get a great laptop here in Australia. However, you could also get a kick-arse desktop that would flog anything that you throw at it.

The centrecom website I linked to you has a nice Custom Quoter section, where you can virtually select any part you want for your PC. I fiddled around with it for 30 seconds just now, and you can get a Core i7, 4gb of DDR3, a nVidia GTX280, a 22" LCD, a gaming keyboard and mouse, 750gb HDD and a case/800w PSU for under three grand- and they build it for you for an extra 75$.

You can also select an OS if you don't already have one at home.

If you don't know what all those things are, then let me put it another way: I would kill you and everybody you know for one of those.

Seriously.

Consider a desktop, unless you really really want to carry something around with you. That said, if you do then you really shouldn't be getting a 17" laptop. Those fuckers are heavy as hell and aren't really designed for that.

 

It's not vital, but I will need one within a few months at least. However, it has to be a laptop. I'm staying at a dorm near my uni so I do need to lug my laptop around for work and such. Also, no problem with the laptop being bloody heavy. This one and it's power pack are around 3.5kg, so I'm used to it.

 

Fair enough. Yeah, I'd just go to JB or a dedicated PC store and tell them what you want. By spending that kind of money, you'll be able to negotiate with them a bit- might get some other stuff out of it at a lower price.

The phrase to use is: "What can you do for me?"

Trust me, it works.

 

When you have tits maybe. Still what Shezza says is good. Listen.

 

Spend a grand or so on a decent desktop (that can likely go toe-to-toe with any three-grand laptop you care to name) and half a grand on a serviceable laptop - you're only going to need it for word processing, it seems - and blow the rest on hookers and blow. Or, y'know, savings or rent or something equally nuts.

 

Pick something that will fit on your lap in an airplane.

Unless your a female contortionist, and we all know that your not a woman . . .

It may not be convenient but a box will give you a lot more bang for the buck, and its a lot easier to upgrade.

But if your dead set on a laptop or need a high grade one, look into refurbished models from the manufacturers, I got Insperion 1720 for $1,000 US (new price was $2,000+) with an 9 cell battery, last about 3 hrs on full tilt.