[pers]

Hi all.

I am looking for a new laptop, at TigerDirect specifically, as I am going to visit the store to purchase it.

If you could give me the best possible suggestions, that would be great.

My creteria:

*Price between $800 to $1200 CDN.

*An available VGA connector as I would like to connect it to a TV.

*It needs to be portable, 15.4/15", is what I think will fit best.

*I want a Core 2 Duo processor, as I would like to multitask and/or game.

Following the points above, I have found some laptops which I believe can suit my needs:
Please take a look at: ::This One:: and ::This One::

Those laptops are refurbished, and have been reduced in price gradually.

I am not sure about the screen size either, if the 17" is a good choice for value/price, then that option is available as well.

Please let me know what you think of the two, or post the ones which you think are better.

Again, I am going to visit the TigerDirect store Only, not buy online, so please restrict your findings in TigerDirect only.

Thank you,

Cheers

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Huh, I've been looking for a laptop like this for a while myself.
CPU wise your not going to find a better one for the price, I have been looking for a month now and havn't been able to the T7x00 CPU laptops for under $2000.
The downside is that it's refurbished and only has 3 months warranty, I'd recommend getting extended warranty as it's reburbished.
Another downside (to me anyways) is that this laptop seems to have a glossy monitor that will reflect like a mirror, I really don't like this feature but it's become the standard now.
Also the GPU isn't great as it's Intel accelerator 950, but honestly in the laptop market you won't get the best of both worlds unless you spend at least CND$2000.
Overall this is a really good laptop for the price that you won't be beat. But I'd take a look at the extended warranty.
I think I might buy one myself as this is exactly in my price range and what I need for university.
James

Edit: tigerdirect's warranty looks iffy, read it closely, it might not be worth purchasing.

Edited by james_8970, 03 August 2007 - 10:24 PM.

[james_8970]

Huh, I've been looking for a laptop like this for a while myself.
CPU wise your not going to find a better one for the price, I have been looking for a month now and havn't been able to the T7x00 CPU laptops for under $2000.
The downside is that it's refurbished and only has 3 months warranty, I'd recommend getting extended warranty as it's reburbished.
Another downside (to me anyways) is that this laptop seems to have a glossy monitor that will reflect like a mirror, I really don't like this feature but it's become the standard now.
Also the GPU isn't great as it's Intel accelerator 950, but honestly in the laptop market you won't get the best of both worlds unless you spend at least CND$2000.
Overall this is a really good laptop for the price that you won't be beat. But I'd take a look at the extended warranty.
I think I might buy one myself as this is exactly in my price range and what I need for university.
James

Edit: tigerdirect's warranty looks iffy, read it closely, it might not be worth purchasing.

Edited by james_8970, 03 August 2007 - 10:24 PM.

[pers]

glad I could help in some way as well.

But is it worth buying the 17" for $100 more, or just stay with 15.4" ? That is my greatest question.

[james_8970]

Depends on what you want, if you want longer battery life and better portability get the 15.4", if you want a bigger screen get the 17". Remember if your lugging this around alot the extra 1.6" will add weight.
Also look closely at the warranty, the way I read it, is if your item is 500$ or more in value they won't repair it, either way the warrenty looks iffy as we are canadian and it seems to be some kind of American warranty so they might not even help us across the border.
One last thing, I'm not sure of the life span of gateways as they are a lesser known laptop manufacturer, you may want to look around at this. Otherwise this laptop really is great for the money, I'd just be a little cautious as you know what they say, if a deal seems to be good to be true, it just might be that.
James

Edited by james_8970, 04 August 2007 - 10:20 AM.

[pers]

Ok, thanks alot for your help, James.

[james_8970]

Np, if you end up buying this laptop let me know about your experience as I don't plan on buying a laptop till the end of the month. I always like to know what other peoples first hand experience is with a product before I buy my own.
James

[pers]

Hi James,

I bought the laptop yesterday!

It is simply amazing! Very thin, sleek, doesn't seem big at all, although it is 17"! j

It is greatly fast! and the 2 gigs of ram! Amazing speed! Windows Vista Ultimate, which I purchased seprerately, works great! Aero is flawless, not a hick-up!

I tested the laptop against my AMD Athlon x2 4200+, using performance test 6.1. The AMD scored 865 on the CPU test, the laptop however, scored 1066.5 on the CPU test!... !

So yeah, great buy!

I did not purchase any warranty for freaking $240, but it seems to work great, so .

All in all, great buy.

Good luck!

[james_8970]

Thanx, I'm still looking around, not sure if I'll buy locally or online. Don't plan on buying for a month, so I have lots of time to think about it. That CPU is definatly a good one, we should be paying double for that laptop if not more. How do you find the glossy monitor, on the tiger direct video's it seemed to reflect alot, but it could have been from the bright lights on the stage.
James

Edited by james_8970, 05 August 2007 - 10:07 PM.

[pers]

Actually, the glossy monitor almost does not bother me at all, I mean, it might reflect some light, but I don't really notice it... so, i guess i find it alright...

[james_8970]

Yeah I think it was just the bright stage lights making it seem worse then normal.
James