Whatever you select, make sure you pick a model with a video card that does everything you want or as close to it as possible from the get-go, for your budget. Unlike desktops, with few exceptions the video card you buy a laptop with will be the one it still has when it ends its life. With laptops, increasing performance typically comes at cost of greater power consumption/thermal output, and increasing size/weight, and reduced battery life...and of course price. You will need to decide which features are most important to you: you can sacrifice some portability to get a bigger screen for example, and more robust video options. The newer low voltage components that do not sacrifice performance are typically very expensive.
If you look at Dell, don't be afraid to browse the outlet (excluding off-lease systems from your search) as those units carry the same warranty as new. Particularly look at the scratch & dent and custom orders canceled by customers after they were built. Dell separates its Outlet inventory by categories, but labels it all "refurbished". Don't be scared by the term scratch and dent either: they do not sell systems with any cosmetic defects that could compromise the operation of the unit. I have purchased almost exclusively refurb desktop systems for my home, as well as the business networks I maintain, and in some cases I never could even find the "cosmetic defect" they claimed existed, and if I did, it was usually a small inconspicuous rub mark or ding on the edge of the case that wasn't obvious. You can sometimes get real savings via the Outlet, but not always if there are good promotions and incentives on new builds or package deals being offered. I've had a refurb Dell Inspiron E1505 for a few years now, with a 256MB ATI X1400 video card which is adequate to play WoW at low to medium detail settings, and always did fine with UO, although I stopped playing before the enhanced client. More importantly, it was budget friendly (under $800 when average laptop prices for similar hardware at the time were $1,000 and up), and has a large, high quality screen so I can watch movies comfortably. The drawback is limited battery life and hefty weight for a laptop (8 lb.) but I bought it as a desktop replacement, so those factors were not very important to me. I have been very happy with it, although in general, I must say Dell's customer service for the regular consumer, has continued to spiral downward, with no bottom in site. Fortunately, in the 3 years I've had it, the unit has not had any issues.
Pay attention to your laptop's warranty details before you buy, and make sure the repair options you are getting fit your expectations, and upgrade the options if necessary, if you can afford it. Software support for a laptop can be worth its weight in gold sometimes for a non-techie person as well due to the maddening array of driver issues and setting tweaks that can be needed, particularly if you ever need to reinstall something. Manufacturers are fond of tossing in really attractive priced base warranty with no software support, so they can advertise a low overall system price, but if anything actually happens to the system, the user can be without it for weeks due to the mail-in/return policies or end up paying steep per incident support costs when something goes bonkers software wise.
PC Magazine has some really helpful reviews on laptops, looking at overall features (check the dates, you want to make sure more recent models are covered), and I often go to
Tom's Hardware and
X-bit Labs for specific performance tests and reviews of components.
If you go the Mac route, make sure you research installation options for your favorite Windows applications in advance.
So...basically look at these overall considerations and start looking for something that is a good fit for your price range:
- What overall video performance do you require to satisfy the applications you plan to run on the laptop?
- How much processing power do your apps need?
- Multi-media: how big a screen do you want, and what quality?
- Portability - how low a weight and how long a battery life do you absolutely need?
- Warranty/support options
-Skylark