Staples: $498 Laptop with dedicated graphics

[DavidY]

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

HP 15.6" Laptop, 2.2GHz 2nd Generation Intel Core i3 2330M, 4GB RAM, 750GB HDD (DV6-6b75CA) $498 at Staples:

2.2GHz 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2330M processor
4GB system memory; Expandable to 16GB
750GB hard disk drive
15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Radeon HD 6490M switchable Graphics
Dolby Home Theater with Altec Lansing speakers
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 with WiDi
Built-in HP TrueVision HD low-light webcam
Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Ports include 4 x USB 2.0 and HDMI
HP Imprint finish with the lattice design in espresso black finish
Dimensions: 1.23"/1.39"(H) x 14.88"(W) x 9.71"(D)
Weight: 5.78 lbs
1-Year limited warranty

HP doesn't have a great record for reliabiliity (actually the worst among the big brands). It is rare to find a laptop with a second generation Intel CPU (i3 or better) with a dedicated graphics (Radeon HD 6490M is a midrange performer) in the sub $500 range.....can play games.

Dave

[Blue Flower]

So is this really good deal, I mean, is HP good brand for laptop cuz I've been looking for one for quite sometime, I read your comment in the other topic that HP is just as bad as Acer and Emachine....which brand would you buy for your self ?
Thanks

[DavidY]

I have never owned an HP laptop. I have read that their business laptops are very well built and are much more reliable. The $498 is one of the their consumer laptops.

The specs are very good....smoking hot if the CPU was a second gen i5. Not sure if there is much of a difference between HP, Acer and Gateway on their consumer laptops. Roll the dice kind of thing. $500 is not a lot of budget for a really good laptop.

I am very happy with my $500 laptop (14 inch Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E420...business oriented laptop that is more economical ie. closer to consumer....the 1366x768 display is only average at best....love the US keyboard however. Mine is less than 5 pounds. 5.8 pound/15.6 inch is too big for me.

Dave

[Blue Flower]

thanks DavidY. but how do I know consumer laptop or business laptops ?

[Vanishingacts]

I am in the market for a laptop for similar purposes (ie. games: star wars the old republic, world of warcraft, league of legends, etc. etc.).
My desktop's components are excellents in all aspects except for the graphics card.
I also need a laptop since my last HP's charging cord crapped out (twice!) and I am just sick of dealing with it.

So, wanting to kill two birds with one stone.. I figured I would purchase a decent laptop (under 500) that will fulfill my personal and gaming needs until I am not lazy to upgrade my desktop computer!

I paid ~800 for my last HP laptop, and I must say.. I will never spend that much on a laptop again. It pooped out after a year and a half and I found the cd drive to be crappy since day one.

** I have another HP laptop, and that CDR drive TOO is a piece of crap. having a USB external one handy is worth it .

HP has decent customer service whereas I have found Toshiba has next to none.

I am almost 100% certain that we can find a laptop that has an i3 processor with more RAM than that for under 500 bucks.

My concern is having a great processor, graphics card, and ram...
I figure an external hard drive is ALWAYS an option.. so having an extra large hard drive is never selling point for me.
RAM in a laptop, however, is since it is not typical that it can be upgraded easily.

I mapped one out just before boxing day and found the best one for the buck... then decided waiting in line for it was not something I wanted to do this year I will let you know my findings!

EDIT:
I mention HP's great customer service due to the fact that when those cute little netbooks came out.. starting price at $400 ish dollars and I purchased one (two total, one there was an issue right away and was able to return to store, other a problem later down the road).. we had a MAJOR problem with it. I don't recall what, but they had replaced the laptop entirely AND for all of the trouble they sent us an external hard drive and an external cd drive.. amazing.
My mother had an 800 dollar toshiba laptop, and when major major hardware failure happened.. they had her drive the laptop out to a repair center... they repaired it.. and returned the laptop with NO operating system. She was expected to repurchase and install windows 7 herself... hawhawhaw. Terrrrrrrrrible customer service.

[Vanishingacts]

Hi there David.
I have a found two laptops at two different price ranges, $500 as in your original post and for $349 that offers a decent amount of bang for the buck.

$499 at Best Buy:
Acer 15.6" Laptop, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5-2430M, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD

2.4GHz Intel Core i5-2430M
6GB system memory; not expandable
1TB hard disk drive
15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel HD Graphics 3000
WiDi Capable
Connectivity options include 10/100/1000 Ethernet and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Ports include 3 x USB 2.0 and HDMI In/Out

Weight: 5.73 lbs
1-Year limited warranty

In my opinion, the Acer is significantly better component wise in every aspect. I have never dealt with Acer before, but I cannot imagine them being any worse than Toshiba!



$349 at FutureShop (Web Only):
HP 15.6" Intel Pentium B950 Laptop (G6-1C39CA) - Grey - Web Only
2.1GHzr Intel Pentium B950
4GB system memory; RAM slot available
500GB hard disk drive
15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel HD Graphics
Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet 10/100 and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Ports include 3 x USB 2.0 and HDMI, VGA
Weight: 5.22 lbs
1-Year limited warranty

While this little guy lacks slightly as far as components go, it is a very affordable laptop. The processor lags behind the i3 and i5 just barely, but apparently can be made to be as fast as the i3. Less hard drive space and I am only assuming a lesser graphics card (website will only tell me Intel HD).


The graphics card you selected Radeon HD 6490M is showing online as ~800Mhz.
While the Intel ones are showing ~1100-1300MHz.

From what I am seeing on this website I am looking at the Intel HD 3000 looks like it would be able to run more games than either the Intel HD 2000 or the Radeon. Credit.

With that being said, I would go with the $499 one from Best Buy that I have shown here. You will be able to keep it for years before having to replace it with a new one due to outdated hardware.

[DavidY]

thanks DavidY. but how do I know consumer laptop or business laptops ?

Most laptops at FS, BB, Staples, WM, LD, etc are consumer grade laptops. The exceptions (ie. business grade) are Lenovo Thinkpad, HP Probook, Dell Vostro and Dell Latitude. Dell XPS and Dell Inspiron have laptops for home and small business.

Dave

[DavidY]

Hi there David.
I have a found two laptops at two different price ranges, $500 as in your original post and for $349 that offers a decent amount of bang for the buck.

$499 at Best Buy:
Acer 15.6" Laptop, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5-2430M, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD

2.4GHz Intel Core i5-2430M
6GB system memory; not expandable
1TB hard disk drive
15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel HD Graphics 3000
WiDi Capable
Connectivity options include 10/100/1000 Ethernet and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Ports include 3 x USB 2.0 and HDMI In/Out

Weight: 5.73 lbs
1-Year limited warranty

In my opinion, the Acer is significantly better component wise in every aspect. I have never dealt with Acer before, but I cannot imagine them being any worse than Toshiba!



$349 at FutureShop (Web Only):
HP 15.6" Intel Pentium B950 Laptop (G6-1C39CA) - Grey - Web Only
2.1GHzr Intel Pentium B950
4GB system memory; RAM slot available
500GB hard disk drive
15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel HD Graphics
Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet 10/100 and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Ports include 3 x USB 2.0 and HDMI, VGA
Weight: 5.22 lbs
1-Year limited warranty

While this little guy lacks slightly as far as components go, it is a very affordable laptop. The processor lags behind the i3 and i5 just barely, but apparently can be made to be as fast as the i3. Less hard drive space and I am only assuming a lesser graphics card (website will only tell me Intel HD).


The graphics card you selected Radeon HD 6490M is showing online as ~800Mhz.
While the Intel ones are showing ~1100-1300MHz.

From what I am seeing on this website I am looking at the Intel HD 3000 looks like it would be able to run more games than either the Intel HD 2000 or the Radeon. Credit.

With that being said, I would go with the $499 one from Best Buy that I have shown here. You will be able to keep it for years before having to replace it with a new one due to outdated hardware.

http://www.notebookcheck.net compares different graphics and their capabilities. See here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html

Radeon HD 6490 #152 (midrange performer)
Intel HD 3000 #212 (#153 and lower are classified as low-midrange performance)
Radeon HD 6520G #183 is considered as light gaming when matched with the AMD quad core A6-3400M CPU.
Nvidia Geforce GT 540M #102 (midrange)

The A6-3400M/HD 6520G combo can play Starcraft 2 in medium rez. However, a laptop with Intel HD 3000 can only play Starcraft 2 in low rez. GTX 56M based laptops can play most new games in high or ultra rezs.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

NOTE: Green is good, yellow is fair/not sure, red is poor/won't play

In the sub $500 range, see the $498 HP with Radeon HD 6490. $400 laptops with AMD A6-3400M/Radeon HD 6520G. Moderate gamers typically start in the $600-$800 range and often have the GT 540M as their graphics. Heavy gamers are over $1000 and often have GTX 560M or similar graphics (#37 high performance).

There is a problematic 13.3 inch Acer Timeline that has an Intel i3 second gen I think and Nvidia Geforce GT 540M graphics...owners report overheating and cooling issues when gaming....ranges in price in the low $430 to $500-$600 at Staples.