[Synec]

Ok, im going to try to make this post straight to the point and as brief as possible.

I am attending a university in the fall and will be living on campus. I will need some form of a mobile computer that has at least 3-4 hours of battery life and is able to compile and run java, c, c++, etc.

My original plan has been to buy an Alienware M11X R2 for $1200(including full warranty) with the following specs:

i7 620 Processor
Nvidia GT335m Gfx
4GB DDR3
320GB hard drive
11.6" Screen(I will have my 22" monitor in my dorm for programming)

I have been thinking about the price however, and realized that $1200 is alot to spend on a laptop which is mobile, but ultimately weaker than my current computer. I would like to keep my current rig, but it is WAY too hot and gigantic to keep in a dorm with a Q6600 @ 3.0ghz and an 8800gtx.

I love to game, so I would like to be able to continue moderately in college. Would I be better off getting a new desktop in a LAN size case and buying a netbook? Keep a $1200 budget in mind and tell me what you think!

Thank you everyone, I am confident that OCN is gonna help me make the right move here

 

[juryben]

I'm on a netbook as I'm typing this.
You will rather want a laptop for stuff. Maybe not a 1.2k one but a netbook cannot run Visual Studios 2010 smoothly. Plus you'll kill yourself trying to program on a netbook keyboard.

 

[MoMurda]

I had a just an m11x and it just wasnt good enough for gaming for me. So I went back to getting a desktop. I would go with a cheaper nice 500 dollar laptop or a nice netbook.

 

[E_man]

I'd go desktop + netbook.

You get the power of a desktop, the screensize of a desktop (netbooks are nice, I own and enjoy one, but you don't want an 11" primary screen), the larger and better keyboard and mouse of a desktop, and a portable laptop.

Or, you could buy an M11x, an extra screen, kb, and mouse. Basically a docking area. You can use your M11x as a desktop with the kb/mouse/screen (at lower power than a real desktop) and then unplug it and go portable with a computer heavier, but more powerful than a netbook.

 

[Uncivilised]

Dude dnt bother with the m11x, for an 11" notebook its really expensive. Anything alienware is terribly overpriced and isnt usually worth it. Go for the desktop + netbook option.

EDIT: Or look at the msi gx640. Its got an i5 and a mobility 5850 which can be OC'd to be roughly the same as a desktop 5770. Best part about this laptop is the price, $1100US. Cheap isnt it?

 

[smashblock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncivilised EDIT: Or look at the msi gx640. Its got an i5 and a mobility 5850 which can be OC'd to be roughly the same as a desktop 5770. Best part about this laptop is the price, $1100US. Cheap isnt it?

Yeh I would recommend something like that. Or you might be able to go something a bit cheaper thats still ok for gaming and save a bit of money (as well as getting a machine that is a usable size for gaming).