MHA/other techies - need your input, buying a new computer

[so niceeee]

alright, here is my situation/budget/experience/needs. i'm hoping you can point me in the right direction for the best fit.

this new computer could be desktop, or it could be a laptop. nothing is concrete at this point in time. I would PREFER for it to be a laptop, but I'm also fine with saving hundreds of dollars to get a polished desktop. I currently own a laptop I could continue to use for business purposes, but I wouldn't mind getting a new laptop and passing this one down to my sister who desperately needs one.

at any rate, here's what my upcoming needs are for purchasing a new system. I NEED to be able to run Diablo 3 without anything that even slightly resembles lag. I NEED something that can do basic to intermediate video editing. other than that, I'd like to put enough boom in my box to run games such as D3 for the next couple of years.

small screens/displays don't bother me, and like I said, I'd prefer a new laptop. I'm open to trying out Apple, but would prefer something using windows 7. if your best suggestions are in the form of a desktop, I have experience building one from scratch, but want something with the bulk of the work done for me. I won't mind installing new hard drives, ram, video cards, or motherboards, power supplies, etc etc, but I'd definitely prefer to buy something that has most of this stuff done for me. I don't have the patience to mix and match every fucking thing this time around.

a top of the line battery is a necessity if I am to choose laptop over desktop

my budget is 2k at a maximum (which needs to include essential software (ms office, matlab, and an OS) for everything.

thanks in advance for the suggestions. last time I had a computer I played games off of was a desktop gaming rig where I pretty much did it all myself to run EQ2 comfortably back in the day. honestly haven't followed gaming performance hardware much since then.

[MHA]

Well, it's a bit hard to judge Diablo 3 since they haven't announced their relative spec recommendations yet, but going by Blizzard's past history it would be easy to guesstimate something that would work fine. Certainly any single computer--desktop or laptop--that you'd spend between $1500-2000 on (that isn't style over substance) should burn through Diablo 3 like there's no tomorrow.

When you're talking that kind of budget, however, I have to run one recommendation by you first... Are you amenable to creating TWO machines? You could still bust Diablo 3 wide open on a $1k DIY desktop, AND you could spend $1k on a laptop that's simply great at being a laptop without being wasteful by trying to push it to places laptops are usually not meant to go. (Like video editing. )

Also, I will require you to tell me beforehand what your software outlay is looking like. Obviously the OS is part of the package, but something like Matlab I do not know the price of for your uses. Nor what version of Office you want, since there are many, MANY versions. (Not that I ever recommend purchasing Office. Unless you muuuuuuuuuuuuust have rigid, 100% compatibility at all times or muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust have Outlook, you can get by just fine with free alternatives and spend the pricy "Office entry fee" on hardware instead. And even if you DO need Office, do you have a version you could simply move from another machine? It's not like they're locked to it.)

[so niceeee]

definitely open to the idea of two machines if it can be done within my price range. could this be done without a total gimpasaurus laptop though? as far as software goes, I don't imagine anything being more intensive than Diablo 3, but you never know. I want to get my hands dirty in video editing for a project I have with my classroom. nothing should be too intense, but I can't stand lag, i'd rather get bludgened with a coconut or something repeatedly than lag. as far as graphics/design go, I'm pretty old school and my website was originally made with ms paint and notepad. i pretty much suck right now at ANYTHING outside of HTML, but i'm making a new years resolution to get better at creating and editing my own video/graphics for my website(s). so, I'm looking to get my hands dirty in those sorts of things and wouldn't want to be limited.

this is all a clusterfuck and i apologize haha, but keep asking questions if needed for sure.

[MHA]

Questions are fine. Questions are what keeps us from wasting time irrelevantly. ^_^

I wasn't asking the software question about performance, though. I was asking for it because you said "$2K cap minus software" and rattled off some examples. The cost of Windows 7 would be factored in if need be, but Office? If you just want Word and Excel, it could be $80. (Though I'd question buying it at all if that's what you want, since you can use OpenOffice for free.) NEED Outlook? $320. Publisher? Access? $370. Can you upgrade? $180.

Add in Matlab (which I do not know how much it runs), and that's some hefty unknown price sway. I need you to identify that ahead of time. (And any other peripheral surprises, like "oops I also need a 24" monitor!")


Meanwhile, while a $400 laptop would be gimp, $800-1000 ones would perform well, and could probably even give you Diablo 3 play. (Though likely not highest-quality, lag-free. But that's what the desktop would be for.) To get good gaming and video-production ability out of a laptop, you'd definitely want to hit the $1500-and-above range.

I think we can eek out something more interesting. But I need to know what the definitive hardware (plus OS if needed) cap is. Any other software that you think or know you need has to be worked out now, basically. (Or you give yourself an acceptable buffer of "well if I REALLY do need X/Y/Z after all, I'll just spend the extra...")

[Trademaster]

You should also check to see what a student copy of Office would run as well. You may be able to get it cheap to free through your college.

[MHA]

'struth. Part of the known unknowns and unknown unknowns.

[so niceeee]

2k would pretty much be the absolute max. well, nothing is absolute, and I could go a little higher if needed, but I'd like to snag everything for 2k or less if plausible, mehehehe.

[MHA]

I know... I realize that... But you haven't told me what you NEED to separate (and if) for Office. Or Matlab. They need to be removed from the equation, because I don't know their costs for YOU. I can't answer those questions for you.

Or are you saying "$2K max, ignoring anything but the OS, but try to be reasonable?"

[so niceeee]

Or are you saying "$2K max, ignoring anything but the OS, but try to be reasonable?"

^^
yes, sorry for the confusion. my writing skills are admittedly horrid but that's exactly what I meant.

[MHA]

Ok! Just wanted to make sure that was squared away. Suggestions you have to remove $400 could be a bother.

I'll root around a bit. Might take a few days to come up with options, what with the whole New Year thing and all.

[so niceeee]

take your time, I probably won't actually throw down to purchase for another couple of weeks or so unless there is a smoking deal I need to take advantage of in a timely manner

[MHA]

Hey bunky. The other tech thread reminded me of this one, and that my "taking my time" ran straight into "disappearing for weeks."

How's your situation been?

[so niceeee]

Hey bunky. The other tech thread reminded me of this one, and that my "taking my time" ran straight into "disappearing for weeks."

How's your situation been?

I've been trying to monitor diablo3/sc2/SWTOR. I think it's safe to start buying bits and pieces now, ya? definitely want to put my own together to get the best bang for my buck. Not something I immediately need built, but wouldn't be a bad idea for me to start buying some of the components. suggest away.

[MHA]

Getting a PS3 affect your budget at all?

[so niceeee]

Getting a PS3 affect your budget at all?

nope