Recommendations for a new computer

After only about 18 months, the hinge on my Alienware m14x disintegrated. I got the runaround from Best Buy for the last *six weeks*, only to find out now that the only thing they can do is to junk my laptop and give me my money back.

So I would like a recommendation for a laptop that is cheaper than what I paid ($1400, I'm thinking) but that will still run games okay. Because if I'm getting money back, I'm going to put part of it towards my move.

Oh, yeah, I'm moving to Alaska this summer because I'm going to grad school. :)

If you are looking for a new laptop and Alienware is giving you crap. Look at the Dell XPS laptop line. It's comparable to Alienware but a bit cheaper.

I use Alienware (Aurora A4) and I love it. I am thinking of buy a laptop also Alienware but now I am concerned about the hinge issue so will be looking at the XPS line myself.

How about this:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/353324/Toshiba-Satellite-C55D-A5170-Laptop-Computer/?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-Computers_and_Tablets-_-353324-IQ_PE%20&Channel=Google&mr:trackingCode=45A47A2F-5E75-E311-90E9-BC305BF82162&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=22395426956&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=20224360076

I don't know much about AMD processors. I am guessing this won't run games very good. The graphics card seems to be reasonable. Also I suggest more RAM, Windows is a resource hog.

My 2 cents.

But I'm guessing I could upgrade those sorts of things through the store? A higher model? I don't know how to phrase this stuff.

Next model up:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/257735/Toshiba-Satellite-S55t-A5389-Laptop-Computer/?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-Computers_and_Tablets-_-257735-IQ_PE%20&Channel=Google&mr:trackingCode=6B550E89-F830-E311-A755-BC305BF82162&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=36442270076&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=45145031689

Neither of those will work well you need something with a discreet video card and in a laptop that means it will be pricey. If you want to be able to play games well on the laptop you aren't going to be able to save much of the money that was refunded unfortunately.

I play on a laptop it's a 2 year old HP Intel i7 that I picked up for about 1500

Well, I half-assed my gaming for a long time on cobbled-together Frankencomputers before I got the Alienware, and I survived. I mean, I doubt I could play a game like SW:TOR on a lower-end system, but some other games, okay. I'm as desperate for moving money as I am for a computer, and quite frankly, headed to school, I'm going to be gaming less and writing more. But I still need to keep my nose in the gaming world, as gaming development is presently my Plan B after grad school.

There are ways around some of that stuff, lowering video settings within games.

So I found out I'm stuck having to go about this with store credit, which means I'm stuck having to go through Best Buy. They don't have the Toshiba I posted above, but is this one close enough?

http://bit.ly/1ilinXw

Quote by SiranNataan

So I found out I'm stuck having to go about this with store credit, which means I'm stuck having to go through Best Buy. They don't have the Toshiba I posted above, but is this one close enough?

http://bit.ly/1ilinXw

If you want something that will handle games well, you'll need something better than the Toshiba. As Gravity mentioned, you'll be better off spending the extra cash on something with a dedicated Video card, Either GE-force graphics or AMD graphics. Even with the settings turned down, the integrated Intel chips just won't cut it with gaming.

I'd shop around and hold on to your best buy credit for something else as I doubt they carry much in terms of gaming-ready PC's (though i could be wrong)

For a laptop, here's something i found. :) http://tinyurl.com/qj7eetf

Shop around. You can find a deal on something, also check dell outlet for Refurbished Alienware machines. May save there too.

Hope this helps. :) Good luck!

Steve

I had a look on best buy the first one i found that wasnt super expensive but seemed like it could run games was
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/gp70-leopard-010-17-3-laptop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive/5185148.p?id=1219113400424&skuId=5185148&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=4#tab=specifications

I had to look it up on the MSI website to get the exact chip but it does seem to have a dedicated graphics card in there so should suit both purposes nicely while not blowing the entire budget.

The link is screwed up. Could you reformat it? Then again, I'm probably not going to get a chance to read this again before I go to the store--my day is jam-packed today, and tomorrow is my last time in a while that I have time to go to the store, and the library doesn't open till noon tomorrow so I won't have the chance to read this before I go.

From what I can tell, anyway, that's a Mac. Macs explode when I touch them.

It wasnt a mac i promis ill try and get the link again.

Hopefully this works

Thanks. That looks pretty good.

I got my new computer! Ended up getting an MSI GP60.

Downloading DC Universe now. Will download STO and LOTRO in the next couple of days. Not sure if I'll download any of my other old games. Rift got boring fast. SW:TOR is intriguing but grindy. Haven't touched Champions in who knows how long.