SOLVED New laptop for deployment...

How is it going ocf? It has been a very long time since I have been on here. I have been out of the computer world for a very long time and I am going to be looking for a new laptop as a Christmas gift. The budget that I am looking at is about $500 bucks. I am looking for a 17 inch screen as 15 and below are hard for me to read and give me a headache after a while. This will be going with me to Afghanistan and will endure a very harsh environment. The dust there is the same as baby powder and I expect sandstorms every other week. (That's how it was the last time I went.) I will however be operating it indoors mostly with some kind of A/C. The average temperature outdoors will be 120-130*F during the summer and around 90-100*F indoors. This laptop will be running on a cooling pad! Im not horribly concerned with battery life and will be plugged in to 110 AC 60HZ and 220 AC 50HZ at different times throughout the day. Main purpose will be internet via wifi (facebook and skype), HD movies and occasional gamming. (Command and Conquer, FEAR, Call of Duty) I do not plan on maxing out the games for the simple fact that my budget wont allow it however I want it to look decent...

I have really been looking into ASUS i5 setups, but what are some of yall's opinions?

****TLDR****

* ~$500 Laptop
* Occasional Gaming
* Primarily HD Movies, Internet (Facebook, Skype)
* Typical operating conditions extremely dusty 90-110*F sometimes exceeding 130*F during summer
*17" Screen
*Big HDD 500GB or more preferred

This is about the only option I am seeing around that price. Unfortunately it is a 15.6 inch. You will definitely want to keep the laptop in some kind of double-sealed anti-static bag / case.

look on new egg for referbished ones.. i got a 17" hp windows 8 for around 400.

TransformedBG said:

look on new egg for referbished ones.. i got a 17" hp windows 8 for around 400.

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He needs a dedicated GPU, and an i7's hyperthreading would cause rapid overheating in the conditions he will be working in.

But yes, Newegg's refurbs are a good option in general.

Don't forget TigerDirect....

Well I do prefer ASUS for the fact that their warranty will cover anything that I can possibly throw at it and I have had excellent customer service in the past with Motherboards that I have fried and others that were DOA. They always helped me out. I have two picked out from them and I know neither are top of the line by any means however that is NOT what I am looking for with the given budget and the conditions they are going to be working in. How do you all feel these will compare to each other in real world performance for what I am going to be doing.

The first 2 has 4GB of ram whereas the other 3 in this post have 6.

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-X75A-DH3...DKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1384911488&sr=1-13

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B7K11PU...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3kxhpag5kc_b

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-X75A-DB3...PDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1384911488&sr=1-9

I know these other two are not ASUS however they do fit my requirements and would I notice the extra 200 MHZ on the Toshiba?

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V...DKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1384911488&sr=1-14

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satel...DKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1384911488&sr=1-10

I have not found any noteworthy deals on Tiger Direct or Newegg right now.

Toshiba's hard drives drop like flies in my experience.

I've been doing some digging further and I think I have found the best deal

Neweggs ASUS X75A-DH32

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231457

• Intel Core i3 3110M(2.40GHz)
• 6GB Memory
• 500GB HDD
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• 1600 x 900
• Windows 8 64-bit
• DVD Super Multi

It has the best combo of memory and clock speed. What do y'all think?

Given the price, it's hard to say anything bad about it.

EmAn said:

I've been doing some digging further and I think I have found the best deal

Neweggs ASUS X75A-DH32

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231457

• Intel Core i3 3110M(2.40GHz)
• 6GB Memory
• 500GB HDD
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• 1600 x 900
• Windows 8 64-bit
• DVD Super Multi

It has the best combo of memory and clock speed. What do y'all think?

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I had the i7 version of this laptop when I was deployed (999 on sale at Best Buy)... Pretty decent construction, looks similar anyways... and the cooling is nice (easy to clean weekly with canned air too)... i'd try to look for an i5 version to give you a better middle ground imho... but decent find overall

stay safe!

I have an Alienware over here in Afghan right now and it's awesome, way out of the price range you are looking for right now. I love the i5 for the price, as far as HDDs or Ram, you can always upgrade after you get in country and that extra pay kicks in.

Oh yea, and you can call Dell, They have a 20 or 25% discount PLUS free 2 day shipping for military and you can get a credit card through them if you are hurting on cash right before deployment.

RangerBarlow said:

Oh yea, and you can call Dell, They have a 20 or 25% discount PLUS free 2 day shipping for military and you can get a credit card through them if you are hurting on cash right before deployment.

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Wow...Dell just got some points in my book...not as many as you guys get though.

I got my Alienware from them, $2,300 with a free protective sleeve, Alienware gaming mouse, awesome mouse pad, a $100 gift card, free 2 day shipping and a custom name plate.

Ouch, 2300 for an i5? what are the spec's?

EDIT:
also for deployment, when I bought my laptop, I got it from best buy and bought the "accidental" on it... if you buy online, and they don't ship APO, just go to shipitAPO.com and just get it forwarded. Sure you will have to pay for shipping twice (once from the site, then one more when it gets forwarded), but for how much the comp will cost, is well worth it.

God no! lol, I have an i7 3740QM and a 680 in my laptop. I was just stating that i5 is really good for the price.

RangerBarlow said:

God no! lol, I have an i7 3740QM and a 680 in my laptop. I was just stating that i5 is really good for the price.

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Muh bad! I was gonna say! But cool, just wanted to make sure for my shallow reading habits!

http://www.tacticaleng.com/c11/c24/BA-5590-Battery-Cable-12V-Unterminated-p28.html

Might be useful for making your own 5590 adapter for when your generators over heat during the mid day sun. Just make friends with your local comm shop.

Oh speaking of power... If you can find/acquire/borrow/or have a voltage regulator or UPS, use it. I know after each deployment (and each laptop per) I have shot the battery up due to the power fluctuations of a generator. If you use an UPS/Regulator, it will keep a nice even 110-120 at 50-60hz (consistently) and your battery will survive. Plus using it on battery from full to near empty once and a while wont hurt either. Even "commercial" power sucks over there, and sometimes its still a Generator farm giving the power anyways.

I sent the last link I had posted to my inlaws who are getting it for me. I know its not the most powerfull however it is gonna work well for me. I'm not a big fan of dell/Alienware however I may give them a look at afterwards. Where I'm heading to I have been before. Power comes for a 12 unit generator farm all are the 40 foot boxed in cummins setups however I'm not sure how much each one puts out. I did not notice too many power flucuations however at the airfield we have a ups in every office and shop due to the sensitivity of the equipment we use for aircraft work.l, so I am not too awfully concerned about that. I do appreciate the input guys.