Need it to be right around 800$ or less. Basic use will be Rosetta Stoning, pic editing, webcam chatting, facebook. Needs to be able to do medium setting gaming of games from the 2007-2009 frame or so. Doesn't have to be able to play anything newer on higher then medium. No FSAA, no AF. This will be used to keep my sanity with my new job as I'll be out of town a fuckton.

Windows 7 64bit, 4gb ram+, nonintegrated video card, 15" screen or higher. Weight isn't an issue

Ones I've looked at already. both of the video cards preform roughly the same or close enough not to matter.

729$ Acer Aspire AS7741G-6426 Intel Core i5-480M 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, 17.3" Display, Windows 7 Home Premiun 64-bit

I like this one cause the screen is bigger.

$750 MSI FX620DX-256US Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M

More RAM, slightly smaller HD, slower processor, 20$ more money =(

 

Of the two, I'd probably go with the Acer.

-With Turbo Boost the processors go up to about 2.9Ghz each.

-The Acer is 1600x900, MSI is 1366x768 resolution.

-4GB of ram should be enough for what you need. The Acer supports up to 8GB though, so if you find you need more later you can replace to old ram.

-The Acer is available at Newegg and Amazon for $699 and $681.

Some pros/cons from the reviews:

Pros:
Can apparently run stuff like Civ 5, Portal 2, Dawn of War 2, Dragon Age 2, Starcraft 2 and Deadspace 2 fairly well. One guy said Starcraft 2/Deadspace 2 on highest settings. Has a full size keyboard, including the num pad.

Cons: Some find the keyboard, microphone and screen to be bad, others like the screen and keyboard but make no mention of the microphone. Laptop runs a bit hot.

 

Appreciate you finding the Acer at Newegg for much cheaper Kaenil, I'm heavily leaning towards that now. Went to Compusa to try to buy one of the two I wanted in person and was treated to row after row of integrated overpriced bullshit, or weak as shit Radeon cards with a 900$ price tag.

 

I'm not to sure I would go with the Acer.

While the Display of the MSI is smaller, it has the better CPU and graphic card.
The Acer has an first generation, and the MSI an second generation (sandy bridge) CPU, more RAM and a better graphic card (according to benchmarks).

The funny thing is, that on the MSI website it is stated that the HDD has 640gb. I would, if possible, ask the vendor which is true.

So considering all this, and that the MSI has USB 3.0, I would go with the MSI.

 

http://slickdeals.net/deals/laptop/

http://www.fatwallet.com/laptop-deals/

 

Wound up getting the Acer anyway. The benchmarks I looked through for hours showed barely any performance difference, not enough for me to care about anyway, and I liked it better in person then the MSI. MSI's screen was too glarific and seemed very dim.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115990

 

Wanted one with a warranty and accidental damage protection. Can't get that off ebay sadly. I'm going to be traveling a ton for my new job and wanted something good enough to game at low to medium settings so I can clear my gaming backlog, and webcam chat with my wife and kids. It's going to be bounced around a lot, so getting one with a warranty was a must.

 

Bit late now, but i've found through experience that Acer laptops tend to break and fuck up a lot quicker than most any other brand.

 

Have bought replacement insurance on it, so even if they do and I get mad and chuck the bitch at the wall, accidental will take care of it. Really, so long as it lasts 2 years I'll be happy with it. I'll give it to the kids/wife and then buy a top tier one.

 

I can almost certainly guarantee that it will, as long as the frustration at it doesn't grow to an obscene level, last for the two years.

 

I bought my Lenovo X201t off ebay, brand new, opened and used once at a convention then boxed back up, full 3 year international warranty with accidental damage protection for $1800 shipped including tax and duty. To buy that laptop here in Australia was over $4000.

eBay can still hold many gems like that one if you look enough and buy brand name who carry good warranty. As much as people hate Dell, I reccommend them because of their excellant warranty here in Australia. In home repair with 48 hours? Fuck yeah.

 

I'll probably pick up a XPS or alienware one in a few years. This one had a low budget on it, so I was limited in what I could get.