You can just get a Chromebook and play webdip live games. Problem solved.

@abg,
It's probably going on 4 years now which I guess is the expected life a laptop. I don't have a desktop so it's gotten plenty of use as my primary computer - including while I was doing my thesis and working from home.

I'd probably recommend the Lenovo Ideapad Y480.

What do you want for screen size?

Right now I think I have a 17 inch wide, which I like, but the screen size had been giving the laptop structural problems the entire time I have had it, I'd like to avoid that.

You'll probably want to run either 15.6" or a 14". 15.6" is going to be heavier and consume less battery though.

*more

Oh god, 17"?

Well, the Y480 is 14" and the Y580 is 15.6".

By the way, your old pal YJ just ordered a new PC to build. I doubt anybody cares, but this seems like a great opportunity to post up and brag a bit. This will be my first build, should be fun.

-ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 Intel Series 7 motherboard
-Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core processor with 8 GB L2 cache
-16 GB DDR3 1866 MHz RAM (because a BOSS gets more than 8 when it doesn't do much)
-EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB GPU
-OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive 120GB system drive
-Seagate Barracuda 2TB storage drive
-Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Tower (I have overheating issues, hope this helps)
-Thermaltake W0382RU Modular 750 Watt PSU



Momma is gonna scream.

it might actually be 15.4, I honestly forget, and the fact it has a wider screen might throw off the measurements, but I'm def good with going smaller.

Whatchu working on man? You must be doing some MAD video editing

@SC, my 14" Lenovo is a really good middle ground, although 1.6" is a huge difference, so just make sure you're comfortable with a slightly smaller screen.

@Mapu - As a fellow p[rofessional software engineer, I must disagree with you. Integrated laptop graphics at the base model level suck no matter how much RAM you cram in it. Get a quad core with a high end mobile GPU for gaming and make certain it can handle the memory you would like to eventually add to it.

Sure, for devlopment, memory is king, but for gaming it isn't. I do both, so I am looking at the top of the line ASUS for my next mahcine.

Thanks everyone, I'll def look at the Lenovo

Is it worth rushing home on Cyber monday to make the purchase?

@Draug

My friend recently bough a *beast* of an Asus and it seems wicked good. I can get the model for you if you want.

@YJ - Nice game machine. Too bad the form factor doesn't work for sitting in the living room playing while watching porn.

@SC

Lenovo doesn't seem to be having any particularly amazing deals, so I'd say no.

@abge - Please do. Mine did as well and they are probably the same, but I'd still like to compare. Seems ASUS can produce a competitive machine to alienware for $500-800 cheaper.

I checked out the computer you were talking about Abge and they said they are taking a good chunk off (whether they are or not is a different question)

@SC - Also consider what you may want to hook it up to. Windows 7 and 8 can take advantage of an external ESATA drive to significantly speed up processing, but it needs an actual ESATA port to do it, not just any ol' USB 2 or 3. And if you want to hook it up to a TV for use as a streaming movie viewer, make certain it has better than just a SVGA output. You'll at least want DVI (a DVI to HDMI conversionc able can be bought) or better yet HDMI or the universal video stuff Dell uses.(I forget what it is called).

Yeah, everything I've read about Alienware seems to indicate it's a complete waste of money.

haha thanks Draug, I'll keep that in mind. I will be able to view the tentacles in extremely high rez though without worrying about aliasing.

@YJ

Enjoy overclocking that son of a bitch lol

Dells break to easily.
Go for the highest screen resolution you can get.
Make sure the Ram that's fitted is the fastest the motherboard can take (Dell fitted the slowest - grrr).
If it has 4 or more cores and hyperthreading then get into the BIOS and turn off the hyperthreading - each hyperthread-core takes up as much cache as a full core but only runs at ~15% of the speed. The full cores can use the extra cache much better.

I just got a couple of these for my daughters: Acer Aspire AS5560-7402. Basically, I was looking for a cheap laptop that they could play Sims 3 on, as well as ordinary browsing, word processing, etc. This one has 15.6" screen, AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M (1.5GHz), 4GB DDR3, 500 GB HD, AMD Radeon HD 6520G, W7 Home Premium 64-bit. I got it for $430 each out the door with Office Starter. They're arriving this week, hopefully will do the trick.

I'm just going to jump in here for a second and play devil's advocate for all of you Lenovo lovers. The laptops are ugly, the machines are sturdily built but not exceptional when it comes to anything other than dropping them, clit mice are terrible, the functio key is in the wrong place on their keyboards, and they're slightly overpriced. Go with an ASUS, they're much nicer.

@THM, I have a very similar machine, and it hasn't lasted well over the two years I've had it. I would advise your daughters to treat them well.

Hasn't lasted well in what way? Crashing? Glitchy? Sticky keyboard?