EDIT: Nevermind, I got the Acer~

Oi,

So I want to buy a new laptop and I've come across several deals that I could possibly afford but I'm not sure which would be the best choice. Before I post the specs of laptops I found I'll tell you a bit about my needs... I need something that'd last and that wouldn't need replacement next year. I don't play games regularly, but when I do, I'd play mostly RTS games like C&C3 or World in Conflict. I'm not much of a gamer but I had a crappy integrated 128 mb video card in my current/old laptop but it didn't work well for many games, so a decent VGA would be nice. RAM is not much of a problem because I could upgrade that relatively cheap. Disk space isn't a big problem either because I have a big external hard disk, but more space wouldn't hurt. I watch movies a lot, so a nice screen is a plus. I also do a lot of programming and some photo editing.

So here are some of the options I have. They're all in the $800-1000 range that I could afford, and all come with some sort of warranty. Sometimes specific information is lacking because I don't have any more information right now.

Dell Inspiron 1520
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0 GHz)
120 GB HDD
1 GB Memory at 667MHz (2x512)
256 MB Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT
15.4" LCD CrystalBrite
DVD Writer RW+
Webcam, Card Reader, Wireless, Bluetooth
Available in different colors!
Vista Home Premium

PackardBell EasyNote MX67-P-077
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0 GHz)
160 GB HDD (5400 rpm) SATA
2 GB RAM
256 MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
15.4" display WXGA TFT
DVD Super Multi (double layer) drive +R9
Wireless LAN, S/Video, BlueTooth
Vista Premium

Toshiba Satellite A215_S7437
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 processor (1.9 GHz)
200 GB S-ATA hard drive
2 GB RAM
128 MB ATI Radeon XPress 1200
15.4" XGA TrueBrite monitor
DVD Super Multi
Wifi, Bluetooth, FireWire, Card Reader
Vista Home Premium

HP Pavillion DV 6725 E
Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 (2.4 GHz)
160 GB HDD
1 GB 667 mhz RAM (512x2)
256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
15.4" widescreen TruBrite TFT
DVD Combo
Bluetooth, Wiireless, web cam, finger print reader
Vista Home Premium

Acer AS5920G 301G16Mi
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0 GHz)
160 GB HDD
1 GB RAM
256 MB ATI X2400-XT
15.4" WXGA CrystalBrite LCD
DVD SuperMulti
Wireless Lan, camera, Bluetooth 2, Card Reader
Vista Home Premium


Help!

Dell Inspiron 1520
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0 GHz)
120 GB HDD
1 GB Memory at 667MHz (2x512)
256 MB Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT
15.4" LCD CrystalBrite
DVD Writer RW+
Webcam, Card Reader, Wireless, Bluetooth
Available in different colors!
Vista Home Premium

this and upgrade memory to 2 GB or downgrade OS to Windows XP.

That 8600M GT is easily the best video card in the lot, but as you said you're not much of a gamer. So might as well go with an extra gig of ram, a faster processor, and a bigger hard drive.

Thanks.

I still can't decide between Dell Inspiron and HP Pavillion because of the faster processor and bigger hard drive like you said. RAM is not a problem like I said earlier (cheap to upgrade~). I'm not sure if I should favor Dell for a better video card (I also like the fact that it comes in colors!).

While processor in Dell seems to have lower gigahertz, it should have higher L2 cache (2MB on HP, 4MB on Dell). The frontbus speed seems to be same in both.

Thanks for your help.

It's a shame but I couldn't get the Dell (I actually bought it and somehow ended up with some built-in intel card which is not what was advertised so I gave it back and got a refund and a hundred "we're very very sorry we didn't know!".)

So what would be the best next choice on the list? Also what's the next best video card? In fact, if someone could tell me what they think of each option just in case the next best choice is also not available/has problems. The HP one looks good to me but I'm not sure if there's something subtle that I'm missing.

Thanks again!

Edit: Nevermind, I got the Acer with a GeForce 8600M GS card.

I too am also getting a laptop eventually (summer time roughly) I need a really nice laptop for under 600. I want it to have Vista Home Premium on it with 2 GB ram and at least a 100 GB HD. I doesn't have to have and insane Video card I just need it for school. I want to have dual core (that basically standard I know) I'd prefer it to have a 1.9 GHz processor or higher. Brand does not matter to me....... as long as its ascetically pleasing. I also want it to have a screen size minimum of 15.4 inch.

I too am also getting a laptop eventually (summer time roughly) I need a really nice laptop for under 600. I want it to have Vista Home Premium on it with 2 GB ram and at least a 100 GB HD. I doesn't have to have and insane Video card I just need it for school. I want to have dual core (that basically standard I know) I'd prefer it to have a 1.9 GHz processor or higher. Brand does not matter to me....... as long as its ascetically pleasing. I also want it to have a screen size minimum of 15.4 inch.

In the uk you can get a very nice cheap HP laptop with home premium http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136619 (£280). I bought another gig of RAM from play.com for £12 and a laptop bag from ebuyer for £20 (backpack).

It does me very well for uni and 2d gaming. It's quiet, the screen is magnificent and it's mega cheap.

There's ebuyer in the US I think, but they might not have the same deal.

Thanks, but it's too late now!

The processor turned out to be 1.8 GHz for the HP (typo in the ad, they said), and the video card turned out to be a GeForce 8600M GS for the acer (also a typo, but a good one!), so I ended up buying that. I'm liking it so far, it has a 4.8 Vista rating which I assume is good.

crumply, are you sure that laptop has Vista Home Premium? On the site it reads as having the Basic version. Looks a good buy though.

The laptop even has a sticker on it saying "Vista Basic". It does come with home premium and I have confirmed that by going to Control Panel > System.
 
The fact it has the aero theme gives the game away

Okay i found a deal buy hunting a little bit... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8654057&type=product&id=1196469485969 its a bot ove 600 but w/e