Help! possible comp buying.

[Dark_Nemesis]

OK, so I may be buying a new computer, depending on the results of my current one. Anyway, I was looking around on Newegg and came across some (what looked to be) good buys, but some of the numbers seem wacky. I'll post several models and can you guys tell me why there is such a price variant in spit of the fact they seem to basically have the same stuff in them? I realize their is such a thing as brand names, but I'm confused here. Need some professional feedback on whats the best deal.

The main thing I'm looking at is a VIAO of some kind, I've heard good reports about them and my brother says there suppose to be a higher grade computer. Plus, I've owned 2 HP's and have been moderately Impressed with them. No, I'm not buy a MAC, they are largely garbage and highly overrated. Thought I'd try out a Sony. Too, I'm mainly interested in the CPU, Hardrive, Graphics, and RAM, beyond that is meh, whatever. Prefer 15-17 inch. So here's some specs from a few I picked out, a little help?

Basically what I'm asking is, which one is the best for the price (duh). I know a fairly good amount about what makes a computer "good", but maybe for you gamers you may pick out some further, hidden stuff, like the difference between a GeForce and ATI, anyways, let me know what you'd get. Help!

Sony VIAO NS series:
Price 799$
Screen 15.4" 1280 x 800
CPU Intel core 2 Duo T6670 (2.20 GHz)
Graphics Intel GMA 4500M (integrated/shared system memory)
Hardisk 250GB @ 5400 rpm
OS Vista Business (64bit)
Memory 4G RAM @ DDR2 800 speed

Sony VIAO FW series:
Price 949$
Screen 16.4" 1600 x 900
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53 GHz)
Cache 3Mb
FSB 1066mhz
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (1024 dedicated memory)
Hardisk 320GB @ 7200rpm
OS Vista Premium (64bit)
Memory 4G RAM @ DDR2 800 speed

Sony VIAO NW series:
Price 799$
Screen 15.5" 1600 x 900
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz)
Graphics Intel GMA 4500MHD (integrated/shared system memory)
Hardisk 320GB @ 5400rpm
OS Vista Premium (64bit)
Memory 4G RAM @ DDR2 800 speed

Sony VIAO NW series:
Price 949$
Screen 15.5" 1366 x 768
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz)
Cache 2Mb
FSB 800mhz
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (512 dedicated memory)
Hardisk 320GB @ 5400rpm
OS Vista Premium(64bit)
Memory 4G RAM @ DDR2 800 speed

Well, that's it. I'm kinda leaning towards the 16.4" computer (the bigger one), but was wondering what you guys thought. Took me a while to type this up so I'd really appreciate some honest opinions.

[Tehw00tz]

I highly suggest getting something that doesn't have integrated graphics. With that being said Sony VIAO FW seems like the best of the four.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Yeah, I was reading about the integrated graphics, sounds like they aren't mean for gaming. I'm not a huge gamer myself, but I would like something that will last me a while (component wise).

My last computer I bought had 128 dedicated graphics, with something like 800 total, a GeForce of some kind. Not great, but I payed nearly $1,500 for it. Tax and everything. Had a 2.0ghz core 2 CPU, 2 G RAM, 160 Hardrive. Just to list of a few...

Too, I think part of the reason comps are so cheap now is the recession, people will do anything it seems to sell a product. Sigh, and then there is College, hopefully will be able to get finical aid, in which case buy a new comp won't be a problem, bit I may have to hold off a while on college if not, or until I manage to make some more money, lol.

Hmm, so is there a huge noticeable difference between dedicated and integrated? You seem rather opposed to integrated of any kind, just curious.

[aegir ravenking]

Agreeing with wootz here, integrated graphics are very bad for any computer that is going to be doing anything other then surfing/email/music/word processing. That being said, my last to computers I bought were that way, however they were desktops and those can and were fixed.

As for why you got computers that are the same price, but clearly not equal, my bet is that it is simply an age difference that hasn't been fixed by "discounting" the older inferior stuff. I get to see it(and explain it) all the time at my part-time job.

Only issue is how much you have to carry the computer around, I know that the weight might not seem like much, but it will after carrying it for an hour.

[GeneralFunk]

NewEgg
Buying the parts for a comp is the best way to get more comp for your money.

[Tehw00tz]

I wouldn't try that unless you have a lot of experience doing such, or know someone that will do it for you.

[CryptLord1234]

Gonna toss my vote in with the VIAO FW. As for everything else,

I highly suggest getting something that doesn't have integrated graphics.

QFT. Can't be said enough. QFT, QFT, QFT. . .Well, I suppose integrated would be okay for business, you're playing games here. Having a dedicated GPU would be nice.

Side note: That last Sony VIAO NW needs a price discount. . .the FW is more bang for your buck, same price. . .

Although I suppose for the completely computer illiterate, that's mostly mumbo-jumbo anyway.

[ayn-m00k]

As has already been stated, integrated is made of fail and aids.

Also, if you know someone capable, building your own machine is amazingly cheaper

[Cokemonkey11]

I'm assuming you can't build the computer yourself. In that case, get someone to do it for you. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

[Dekar]

Does everyone realize that he wants a laptop, and no PC, which you cant build yourself according to my 2 seconds of googling?

[Cokemonkey11]

Why would you want a laptop?

[Tehw00tz]

He said the word college about 3 or 4 times, I assume he wants something that is easy to carry and portable. A desktop computer meets none of those standards

[Dark_Nemesis]

You're freaken awesome wootz!

Why would I not want a laptop? Yes, mainly for College, plus I do alot of writing, probably major in journalism, and I'm not a huge gamer, but it's nice to have that option now and then. Also, It's convenient to have when I hop over to my friends house and do some LANs, ya know

Oh, and thanks Dekar, glad you cleared that, seemed to fly past some people, lol

On a side, note, I probably will be buying a new comp. I was a dumbass and hugely underestimated the price it (may cost) to fix my current comp. My dad said if it's the motherboard then I can expect around 300 or more. Meh, the mechanics of life I guess, still, I can't say as I am going to complain owning that VIAO, I'll just be broke for the next four months. Anyways, thanks all for your help.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Question, is it just me or are Alienware slightly overrated? I don't know too much about them, but eh, they seem to get alot of praise for no apparent (good) reason, it's not like Sony, HP, Asus, Toshiba, etc can't produce a good gaming machine, so?

[aegir ravenking]

Alienware don't make good gaming computers, they and others like them make only pretty much top of the line gaming computers.

The cost is somewhat from the "cutting edge" tech where you pay twice as much for 10% more speed, but yes you are mostly paying for having the word Alienware on the tower.

Being that I am lazy when I am not at work all I have done for my last 3 desktops is as follows:
1. Go to Sam's club and pick a unit out.
2. Clean as much crap off the hard drive as possible(my last one I actually bought a real XP pro disk to do the job right)
3. When I get sick of the performance, stick an actual graphics card in it.
4. When it starts feeling too slow again, add more ram.
5. When it dies, return to step one.

This cycle keeps me going for an average of 4 years per tower. But that is all back loaded(ie first one 6, second 5, this one maybe 2.5?)

[Dark_Nemesis]

Dude, Kevin, do you get discounts on computers? And what do you have as a far as a comp goes?

Rather strange that most here seem to either own a desktop or prefer one considering the lot of you sound as though your in college.

[Reaper]

A lot of people use a laptop to browse internet and type, and a desktop for gaming.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Yes, but if you can have both rolled into one, !

Granted, there really isn't a contest between the two, and even an older desktop with inferior components may come out on top of a newer laptop just because you don't have the issue of 'space' .

[aegir ravenking]

No, kids I don't get a discount(well, we do on produce and walmart stock). Sam's is part time job I do mostly because it is fun(don't ask you don't want to know)and money to play with/pay off mortgage 15 years early.

The computer I have now is 9 months old with a graphics card put in it about a month ago($30 bucks).

And I say kids as I am hitting 30 less then a year from now.

If you are really curious we(store in Harrisburg, PA) got a model in for $800 that isn't bad at all, I can dig it up details later tonight.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Meh, a $30 graphics card? I thought a good one cost around $150?

You're almost 30?

The happy one is that I think it's cool that even older guys play EotA.

[Lanthis]

I'd watch for deals @ Dell or HP, recently I saw a full HD laptop with NON-integrated graphics for somewhere between 700 and 1000.

Dell support, in my experience, has been awesome, if you ever have any issues. They're also pretty reliable machines, as we used them exclusively at my old job (IT @ a Fortune 25 company).

Just my two cents, if you're going for laptops. My disclaimer would be, however, that I'd never buy a laptop that I didn't get to test drive first, to test the screen and stuff.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Meh, the problem with that is you can't really test drive them, unless you buy from a retailer, and they generally don't sell a good as machines. It's pretty hard to beat the internet in terms of choice, and even price.

I'd watch for deals @ Dell or HP, recently I saw a full HD laptop with NON-integrated graphics for somewhere between 700 and 1000.

Yea, this is rather common right now, with the recession and all. Awesome time to buy a computer.

[Cokemonkey11]

Meh, a $30 graphics card? I thought a good one cost around $150?

You're almost 30?

The happy one is that I think it's cool that even older guys play EotA.

Mine was $100, and at one point I had 2 of them in SLI and was playing crysis on high at 60 fps.

But yea, generally $100 is a good price point.

[aegir ravenking]

Computer is 9 months old, came out maybe a month before pciexpress2, so ya, my intelligent options were limited. I could have spent $100, would have got maybe 10% more speed and a gig of ram instead of 512. But I am still on 32bit windows and have 3 gigs of ram already. Plus this one has an HDMI output, so when I get around to it I can hook it up to this:

http://www.vizio.com/product.aspx?id=2674&pid=1698

PS, and yes, very nice deals on computers all the way around. And again yes, store bought models will never be top of the line(never mind all the extra crap installed on them too) compared to internet prices. Still, and also strangely, unless you are getting one hell of a promotion buying straight from HP or Dell will cost you more then a middle man dealer, mind you that pretty much applies to anything(Ipods are an easy check).

I really don't understand it, but every time I shop around, that is what I find.

[Dark_Nemesis]

So I got the results of my computer the other day. The motherboard crashed, hehehe, basically meaning a crapton amount of money to fix. Buying a new computer is certain now. The tech where my dad works couldn't even fix it, told me to send it to HP, but I'm not covered anymore so bleh, new computer here we come.

Just thought I'd let ya'll know. Thanks for all the supportive help and advice!