Building A Laptop

Hello fellow Geeks,

I want to build a new laptop but I don't know where to start.

I have a laptop now and want to upgrade it to something faster but I figure it would be cheaper to just buy a new one.

I run a lot of programs at once and it becomes slow which I can only assume that it's either the processor or the RAM. Also, when I run high definition video files it becomes choppy which I think is due to the video card that is in it.

I guess what I'm saying is I need a faster high performance computer. I looked online but none of the ones I was looking at met the specifications that I'm seeking.

I attached a log of the Hardware I'm currently dealing with.

If someone can point me in the right direction, like a website or something else that's useful would be great thanks in advance.

 

Exactly what do you want to do?
Watch movies, hard or mild gaming, Photoshop, video editing, etc.
Your laptop specs will vary widely depending on what you want to do and how many of these programs you want running at the same time.
Lastly, do you have a price point in mind?

 

First of, next quarter I'm taking CompTIA A+ Core Hardware and CompTIA A+ Operating Systems so my knowledge base will be higher but that's why I want to get my computer up graded for this reason or build a new one.

What I want to do is watch HD movies but the video card I have not gets choppy when the resolution gets to high and editing is definitely a plus.

I also run a lot of programs at once like, Microsoft Word, Internet Browser, Torrent Client, CCleaner, Smart Defrag, Electric Sheep, iTunes, just to name a few. When I run around 3-4 programs at once the computer slows down and I get a lot of "Not Responding" messages.

I would like to do a little bit of gaming like playing Spore or Minecraft but the main focus is better program efficiency and performance.

The price I would like to stay under is about a $1000

P.S. I hate Windows 8 so staying with Windows 7 is preferable.

 

There are a number of "choke points" in what you are doing.
1) lots of programs open means lots of RAM, think 12G or even 16G
2) Online gaming and Torrents are usually exclusive unless you have your Torrent Client throttled way back. Torrent Clients are made to use all available bandwidth, better to run them at night while you sleep
3) CCleaner, SmartDefrag and other maintenance programs can be run weekly or less often if you wish, like Torrents, they should not run while you want to be productive

Your gaming requirements are modest and any gamer will show movies just fine.

Considerations:
weight, how much do you want to lug around?
size, I like a 17" 1080P but it requires a large backpack to transport comfortably
battery life, how often are you away from an outlet?
HDD speed vs storage, I recommend a SSD boot and HDD storage drive so the laptop has to have two bays

Where to look?
As much as I love Asus ROG laptops, they come with Win8 and need to be upgraded to Win 7. Best Buy has a program to do this for a few bucks. I have also had good luck with Lenovo, Samsung and Gateway. I would shy away from Sony or Mac as you will run into proprietary constraints.

 

What is your opinion on MSI computers?

 

I have not had that much to do with them, truthfully. I believe they are middle tier and should be fine. Double check the compatibility of the components.
Looking at the MSI linup and the Asus lineup you may want to up the ante to $1300.
They come with Win 8.1, my local Best Buy has them and will upgrade to Win 7 for $50. I would have this done and do a back up as soon as I got it home.

 

I was just wondering what your thought about them were. For the Video issue, you think a larger video memory would fix the choppy movies? I found this laptop do you think I would solve all my individual specifications? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2CP1ZV6433