first laptop : how to choose ?

[toniglandyl]

Hi all !
I'm going to need a laptop for work and a bit of gaming (Ideally, I have my desktop PC for gaming, but I still want some power to play)

I'm giving it a budget of 600-ish euros, and maybe get up to 800 euros if the changes are REALLY significant.

What brands are to avoid ? which ones are awesome deals ?

what I want is something without any hassle on the drivers part. I'll probably install a new HDD in it as 2.5" HDDs are getting cheap and that will let me get a fresh crippleware-free machine too. I've had plenty of trouble with ATI on upgrading the graphics on friends' laptops so I'm prefering an Nvidia dedicated GPU. (but maybe things changed ?)

 

[Zur]

What brands are to avoid ?

Can't really say but Acer have had a reputation for higher return rates and a design that doesn't put up with much wear and tear. They might have cleaned up their act though and do offer some decent hardware.

Toshiba laptops seem to have a sturdy design. Lenovo too but they do basic no-thrills stuff. HP should have a decent budget all-rounder available. Also check out Samsung, Asus and MSI budget models for comparison.

Whatever your choice you should be able to get a decent 2.4 GHz cpu for the price bracket you're aiming for. Check and compare features like integrated graphics to make an informed decision.

Here's some review links:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/budgetnote/tp/BudgetNotebook.htm
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-budget-laptops/
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/laptop/3214583/group-test-whats-the-best-budget-laptop/

 

[toniglandyl]

I'm looking at this : http://www4.fnac.com/avis-Asus-N53SV-SX580V-15-6-LED-USB-3-0-Bang-et-Olufsen/1p3526534
whaddya think