Looking for a laptop recommendation

[theimp]

Hello all!

I have a question on which laptop I should buy to meet my needs (and budget). I have an iMac desktop, but am looking for a windows 7 laptop. I plan to do normal things on it most of the time (internet, documents, etc), however I'd really like for it to have the capability to play World of Warcraft, which me and my bf play together sometimes! I have been looking at some laptops that have intell 4500MHD graphics, but am not sure if that is good enough for the game.

I would like it to be 15 or less, fairly lightweight. Hard disk space and battery life is not as important to me. I als have no need for an optical drive or sd slots, but won't mind if they are there either. I'm trying to keep this around 700 or less (oh and LED screen is a plus too!)

Let me know if you have any recommendations! I have no clue how to judge graphics. Although this is a mac forum, its the only computer forum I know/trust

Thanks!

 

[theimp]

Anyone?

 

[js81]

I just bought THIS ONE online at Best Buy over the Thanksgiving holiday (its sold out now, but should come back into stock if you're interested) for $399. I was looking for basically the same thing, except I wanted these three things: 1) under $400, 2) fairly thin (<1.25"), and 3) a semi-real video card (NOT an Intel card).

I haven't actually received it yet (still waiting) so I can't comment on performance, but I saw one at our local Radio Shack the other day and its sweet looking and seemed quick enough. It has a dedicated 256MB Radeon HD 3200, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. My only concern is the low-voltage AMD Athlon processor...

 

[theimp]

Wow that looks promising! Thanks for sharing. When you get it be sure to update me with its performance

 

[thejadedmonkey]

My desktop has that same video card, and a slower CPU, and it plays WoW great. Actually, that's a really sweet computer. If I was in the market for a Windows 7 laptop, I'd snag one of those.

 

[js81]

I hope to get it today or tomorrow, so I'll post some first impressions when I do.

EDIT: Looks like a no go. I finally got a tracking number from Best Buy - they just shipped it today. It'll be at least Monday or Tuesday before I get it.


The display model at Radio Shack had the Intel low voltage Core 2 Solo - mine as the AMD dual core - and the display model was plenty quick.

 

[js81]

OK, got my new Acer 5534-1121 today.

Initial impressions: So far, so good. I was worried it would be very slow, but so far it is very quick and responsive - nearly as much so as my wife's Macbook - pretty nice for a laptop I paid $373 for.

It's nowhere nearly as nicely built as the Macbook, but its not too bad for the price. The keyboard is nice and easy to adapt to - the touch pad is wide and supports two finger scroll (sweet!) plus it has a smooth "action" to it. The clicker buttons are cheap feeling, but I usually tap-to-click anyway.

The screen is very nice and bright, but its VERY glossy.

The speakers are very weak, but tolerable. The webcam has a nice bright picture, even in a fairly dark room. Might actually be better than the Macbook's.

Not a ton of ports (only 3 USB, 1 VGA, and 1 Gigabet ethernet), but I knew that going in.

After I've had it a couple days, I'm going to record a video review and post it on Youtube. Check back and I'll post the link when its done.