Is this a good PC?

[smearyllama]

Lately, I've been suffering torrential ammounts of PC envy, and I think I may have found the perfect solution:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do;HHOJSID=BTkJMShQ20f75Y5vQ2sXChnm1djTyys1bHkdwxPzGBlp8yv1LX10!-1052009883?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=ENVY&series_name=ENVY14_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY14_series

And so, with a hearty recommendation from Gameinformer, I would like to know if this is worth the $999.99?

Edit: I'll primarily use it for gaming and watching movies, but also browsing and homework.

 

[Eren Murtaugh]

hp is relatively well known for their great gaming laptops, but for a more conventional use, go with Toshiba or Dell. Just remember that Dell is the maker of ALIENware, the quintessential gamer's computer. Mostly it's how you're gonna use it, but I've been happy with my Dell for quite some time, and it's like 5 years old.

 

[wordsmith]

Is there a particular reason for getting a laptop? If not, I'd save a bit of cash and get a desktop equivalent. Course, if you're traveling a lot or in student halls, I know Deskys aren't always convenient, but as a general rule of thumb you'll get the same kit for cheaper in a desktop.

Oh, and you can *always* knock a few quid off by building your own machine. It's not as hard or scary as it looks

Further:

hp is relatively well known for their great gaming laptops, but for a more conventional use, go with Toshiba or Dell. Just remember that Dell is the maker of ALIENware, the quintessential gamer's computer. Mostly it's how you're gonna use it, but I've been happy with my Dell for quite some time, and it's like 5 years old.

Never ever ever ever ever EVER go with Dell. Alienware is overpriced, you're basically paying for a name tag. Maybe Eren here will tell you different, but my experience with Dells is that you have to use Dell parts to upgrade, whereas most other manufacturers tend to use similar geography, so you can mix parts from different companies, depending on price and performance.

Spoiler: case in point

Dell PSU-

Standard PSU -

 

[smearyllama]

Is there a particular reason for getting a laptop? If not, I'd save a bit of cash and get a desktop equivalent. Course, if you're traveling a lot or in student halls, I know Deskys aren't always convenient, but as a general rule of thumb you'll get the same kit for cheaper in a desktop.

Oh, and you can *always* knock a few quid off by building your own machine. It's not as hard or scary as it looks

Hmm... I should edit that. To answer your question, my mom hates any mess, so a laptop is a great solution that also allows me to watch TV while eating breakfast on the weekends. It's also for gaming use. Can you build your own laptop?

 

[SnipErlite]

That is pretty good. You could get pretty much the same setup with Core i5 for about £700, although I dunno if that extra 60 would be a deal breaker.

It's a pretty swish computer.

Oh and on the topic of companies, I've had my old Dell gaming PC for 5 years now and it still works fine (although I did upgrade it). But I dunno anything about HP's products, so don't let me put you off

 

[skennedy929]

Take this with a grain of salt, but the last PC manufacturer I'd buy something from is HP.

 

[smearyllama]

That is pretty good. You could get pretty much the same setup with Core i5 for about £700, although I dunno if that extra 60 would be a deal breaker.

It's a pretty swish computer.

Oh and on the topic of companies, I've had my old Dell gaming PC for 5 years now and it still works fine (although I did upgrade it). But I dunno anything about HP's products, so don't let me put you off

Of course, I don't know the pounds-usd (that is a pound sign, right?) exchange rate, so I really wouldn't know...

 

[ALuckyChance]

I always thought the newer HP brands were incredibly horrible.

Try doing a google search for the best manufacturer's and computers.

 

[Infinatex]

Hmm it's not bad. Unless you really need the use of a laptop though I wouldn't get it.

 

[smearyllama]

Hmm it's not bad. Unless you really need the use of a laptop though I wouldn't get it.

Anything you recommend instead?

 

[RicoADF]

Is there a particular reason for getting a laptop? If not, I'd save a bit of cash and get a desktop equivalent. Course, if you're traveling a lot or in student halls, I know Deskys aren't always convenient, but as a general rule of thumb you'll get the same kit for cheaper in a desktop.

Oh, and you can *always* knock a few quid off by building your own machine. It's not as hard or scary as it looks

Hmm... I should edit that. To answer your question, my mom hates any mess, so a laptop is a great solution that also allows me to watch TV while eating breakfast on the weekends. It's also for gaming use. Can you build your own laptop?

Laptops are never as good as a desktop for gaming, their not really built for it even the so called 'gaming laptops', and as stated above you pay more for a less capable system.
Laptops are made to be portable, so you sacrifice power and capability for the portability.

Best suggestion is to build a PC, weather you have a local store do it for you, do it yourself or know a mate that can do it for you. You could buy HP/Compaq/Toshiba if you must and they work well but you pay more for the brand name.

EDIT: Also with a laptop theres very little option for upgrading in future (only the ram), where as a desktop can easily be upgraded and rebuilt down the line saving $ in future.

 

[SnipErlite]

That is pretty good. You could get pretty much the same setup with Core i5 for about £700, although I dunno if that extra 60 would be a deal breaker.

It's a pretty swish computer.

Oh and on the topic of companies, I've had my old Dell gaming PC for 5 years now and it still works fine (although I did upgrade it). But I dunno anything about HP's products, so don't let me put you off

Of course, I don't know the pounds-usd (that is a pound sign, right?) exchange rate, so I really wouldn't know...

Yeah it is, and a quick google reveals the exchange rate means that $999 is about £640.

 

[Warrior Irme]

HP recently has been a big pile of shit for me. I will never recommend one of their laptops. My family has had 3 laptops turn to bricks after parts have failed in a 2 year span. All of them supposedly highly rated and such. If you find that it can run the games you want then go for it, but know that you won't be using it for very long. And before anybody comments that I didn't take care of the laptop know that it had never been dropped, dented, scratched, or had any other harm from misuse happen to it.

 

[smearyllama]

HP recently has been a big pile of shit for me. I will never recommend one of their laptops. My family has had 3 laptops turn to bricks after parts have failed in a 2 year span. All of them supposedly highly rated and such. If you find that it can run the games you want then go for it, but know that you won't be using it for very long. And before anybody comments that I didn't take care of the laptop know that it had never been dropped, dented, scratched, or had any other harm from misuse happen to it.

What do you reccomend, then? I'd like to know what you think.

 

[Danzaivar]

Specs look good for the price. You should call it a laptop rather than a PC though, it's technically correct to call it a PC like, but yeah.

 

[Warrior Irme]

HP recently has been a big pile of shit for me. I will never recommend one of their laptops. My family has had 3 laptops turn to bricks after parts have failed in a 2 year span. All of them supposedly highly rated and such. If you find that it can run the games you want then go for it, but know that you won't be using it for very long. And before anybody comments that I didn't take care of the laptop know that it had never been dropped, dented, scratched, or had any other harm from misuse happen to it.

What do you reccomend, then? I'd like to know what you think.

I haven't had my Asus long enough to know how long it's going to last but it came very highly recommended to me by some close friends. I can't really pass judgement on a laptop I haven't had for more than 2 years though. I just know that at least for me, my brother, and several friends of mine, that HP has been terrible for lifespan. I can name off the top of my head 8 people I know that have had HP laptops die in under 2 years, out of perhaps 12 I know that have owned HP laptops.

 

[smearyllama]

SNIP

Is there a notebook I can get with better upward mobility?
I really would like, if possible, a mobile multimedia platform (emphasis on gaming) that'll last me a decent amount of time. I'd like to try a lot of PC games, but my 2 computers are either lacking RAM space or graphics, so at this point I'm kind of stuck playing old RPGs off of GOG.com.

 

[Ironwampa]

Looks pretty good but I'd do a bit of research on the processor options before making your final decision.