Alright, I made a thread in here a few months back on the same topic. Since time has passed, technology has changed, and more importantly; prices have dropped.

My spending limit is around $1500. I'm looking at a Laptop on Ibuypower... Here's the link and specs I've upgraded to;

http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/c...r.aspx?mid=249

Case ( Battalion 101 CZ-7 Ultra 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 Widescreen TFT Notebook w/Li-ion battery, Universal AC Power Adapter )
Processor ( [New !!!] Intel® Core 2 Duo Mobile T7300 Dual-Core Processor (2x 2.0GHz/4MB Cache/800FSB) )
Free Software/Game ( [Free] iBUYPOWER T-Shirt with Archlord Game Graphic on Back --- $19.99 value )
Memory ( 2048MB(1024MB X2) DDR2-667 PC5300 [Notebook Memory] Corsair Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( Mobility 512MB NVIDIA 8600GT PCI-Express 3D Video )
Hard Drive ( 80 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA-150 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
External Raid Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [CZ-7 Ultra] )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.92 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100/1000 Network LAN [Notebook] )
Mouse ( None )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in 4x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Build-in 4-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
Carrying Case ( Free Deluxe Carrying Case )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 )
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner ( None )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 1x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Video Camera ( Build-in Digital Web Video Camera )
Headset ( None )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [Free !!!] Wireless 802.11 a/b/g 3945 Mini-Card )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard One(1) Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

Sub Total: $1,423.00

You guys think it's worth it? Here's the second choice... But I'm really thinking against it. You guys help me decide! Here's the specs for this one;

Inspiron 1520 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
System Color Jet Black
Memory FREE! 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
LCD Panel Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT
Hard Drive FREE! 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08
Combo or DVD+RW Drive CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Camera Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 15-months
Battery Options 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 3 Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor - Next Business Day
Dell On Call Dell On Call, 30day, Getting started Assistance, unlimited incidents
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
Digital Media Editing Software Yahoo! Music Jukebox - Music Player
Datasafe Free 3 GB Online Backup for 1Yr

Sub total:$1,473.00

I'm counting on your &Totse!

PS: If you guys know of anything better, by all means, feel free to point them out.

What are you planning on using it for exactly?

Nothing too fancy.

The usual laptop stuff>

Surfing the Interweb
Media related stuff (Music, movies, etc.)
Some gaming (I'm not talking the very best.. but, something around the mid level. I asked a rep and he said it should run Crisis, I'm just not sure if he was lying)

I just want it to be something that will run good (insert random Windows joke about it being the problem of not running well)...

It will not run Crysis...at all...



I could just be fucking with you though..



But seriously...it wont run Crysis...at all...

Second one.
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†Jesus†

Reasons?

I'd also plump for the second one. Ibuypower laptops have cheap cases meaning they creak and feel pretty flimsy.

Also, Dell's support and spares network is likely to be much better than ibuypowers as their company is much bigger. Also, once ibuypower discontinue support for that laptop in favour of a newer model, parts will be hard to get and expensive.

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†Jesus†

Yeah...

But damn, IBUYPOWER has a 512 Graphics card...

How much of a difference between the two Graphics Cards is there?

with a 128bit memory bus it doesn't really matter

exactly, and I think they both have 512 anyway due to 256 being turbocache, although I may be wrong.

I personally would go with the 2nd laptop for reasons stated above.

I just got an inspiron 1520 the other day, its awesome.

Get it.