Advice on Laptop
 

Hello All,

I'm currently in the market for a new laptop for my younger brother. I am operating on a limited budget of around 500-650 dollars... CAD or USD

Now, normally when I buy my own laptops - I have one very important requirement... that it MUST have discrete video card, none of that integrated Intel bullshit. But because of the limited budget this time around, I have a decision to make.

1. Buy a Sandybridge i5 with integrated Intel HD3000
or
2. Buy a 1st gen i5 with some sort of 1gb discrete card.

Things my brother does:
SC2, MSN, internet, all Team Fortress 2.

I'm leaning towards option 2 since it seems it will be more suited for my brother's needs.... but I really need some outside feedback since I've been away from the hardware scene for some time....


p.s: I just bought myself an Asus X53SV (called K53SV in North America apparently)...

OH YEAH.... I WILL NEVER BUY HP OR DELL --> my preference goes
Asus - Acer - Toshiba - Lenovo/IBM - Samsung

TIA

Since he's gaming discrete for sure.

Acer3820TG is pretty good
i5 processor
1GB ATI graphics

I run those games max settings no problem

well if u currently own an ASUS, and u have no problem with it, u mind as well get ASUS for ur younger bro.
ASUS is known for GAMING.

I don't kno much about the other manufacturers but when i came across ASUS, i knew it was the right choice for a hardcore gaming laptop.

currently i own the asus g53-jw
specs
i7-740qm 1.73ghz not sandy bridged :(
nvidia gtx 460m
15.6" screen
750gb
6gb ram
windows 7

but then again ye it cost me $1500... kinda sad aboot it but w/e i needed a desktop replacement/skewl laptop
but u can get an ASUS with i5 with ur budget.

Buy Laptop Online, Netbooks, Tablets, Canada Online Computer Store

Since our CDN dollar is worth more against the US dollar perhaps try shopping down south?

Cheap Laptops Deals - LogicBUY

on the side note...
beware of heat temperature...
when i run TF2 goes up to 70-78*C w/ vent
HON 70-78 w/ vent
guild wars 66-70

these temps are normal for the GPU chip


what i experienced when i first got this laptop is everything was soooo cool/calm/collected. cold laptop never heated but as soon u starting updating windows... bios update/etc/apps/ the temperature will rise greatly.

Just get the Acer 3820TG with HD5650/6550

Perfect mix of performance, battery, and price

Thanks for the input guys. I didn't realize my upper spending limit was posted as $750 - my parents are only looking to spend a max of 650 on this.

I'm currently looking at a Asus with A6-3400 and a Radeon 6650
$599

I used to be the biggest AMD fanboy ever - I have built computers with Athlon 64s, Semprons, Athlon XPs.... the whole schebang, but lost it after dual cores start coming out.
Anyone have experience with the new Llano CPU family?

Llanos are a good way to keep the budget down while getting good performance. They may not beat a Core i3 in overall power, but the GPU performance isn't even close. With most mobile GPUs, you are looking at medium-ish quality levels with no AA, and the A6 should be about the same. That Asus looks like a good choice.