Looking to buy a new computer - any tech suave folks who can make suggestions?

Hi there! Thanks for reading. So as the topic says, I need a new computer. My current machine has a lot of problems (below) and it's just generally a good time for an upgrade. My big evil secret though... I know frightening little about this machine I am on. Once the tech talk starts, my brain shuts down. Before I begin on what I'm looking for, I'm going to post what I'm working with now. Note: This is taken strictly from the computer itself, so I don't actually know what it means lol. It's a Toshiba laptop, Qosmio X305-Q701. It has a 17" Trubrite HD Display, Intel core 2 Duo processor P7350, NVIDA GeForce 9700M GTS with 512 MB VRAM, 200GB 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive, 4GB DDR3 System Ram, 1066 MHz. ((If there is any other info that would be helpful, let me know and I'll try to find it). I've had this machine a really long time, and it was a 'gaming laptop' when I bought it. From what my tech friends tell me now, it's more like a glorified paper weight compared to newer machines. That said, I'd like to get my hands on one of these newer machines. I'd like it to be an upgrade, as who wants a new computer that's worse than your old one? Ideally it will be a laptop that can handle gaming... I know that's generally not recommended, but long story short, I spend a lot of time travelling, stuck in one bed or another, so having a stationary desk top won't do me much good. I'm not a pro or competitive gamer that needs the best, but I don't want to be the person always lagging and dropping either, if that makes sense. Really, more often than not I use my computer for web surfing and writing, but I'd like the option to play games. Money wise, I can roughly spend 2,000$ on this; I can go higher if need be, but the odds of my wife flipping out increase dramatically lol. If anyone can give any suggestions or recommendations, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for your time! V

Not super tech savvy either, just general experience. Avoid windows 8, at least for a while, and stay away from apple, for various reasons, which I will go into if need be. Probably doesn't help much, but there it is.

If you intend to build it your self the take a look at <a href="http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/</a> (I think there is a us version as well) they often do a best computer build for x price range for x month sort of post. for $2000 you should be able to get a computer that can run every game on the market on close to full graphics. If you cant build it your self maybe you have a friend who can help you, otherwise I'm not sure who you should buy a finished computer from in the US but I would stay clear of ailenware and apple unless you really want to just waist money.

Thread getting off point and into the weeds already. Looks like you're covered. Wish you will with your new computer.

Your post doesn't seem really clear. But it works for me.

assuming that the highest cpu usage will come from gaming. i must ask. what games do you like to play? do you play the latest games. do you want them to look good or just to run smooth. my brother bought a gaming laptop some time ago. its portable but its god dam heavy and has a charger the size of a brick. still it runs games with 3d goggles and all that stuff you barely use. first you have to make clear what will you use the laptop for and then you look for the requirements.

Well I work at bestbuy in the computer and tablets sections so I know a little bit about this stuff. Mostly the lower end computers though ($500-1000$ ones) But lets see if I can break some of the stuff down for you. We'll start with size, you said yours is a 17 (17.3). Thats the largest below that is the 15.6 which tends to be average size for a computer. Going below that gets you into smaller more portable computers but not really what I think your looking for. And you lose the 10 key if you go below a 15.6. Next i'll touch a bit on processors. Which is a little hard but ill see what I can say. You said yours is a Intel core 2 Duo processor P7350, which has 2 cores, and 2.0 mhz. Which you can think a processor as the brain of your computer. Now 2 cores would basically be like have 2 brains combined together. 4 cores would be like 4 brains. mhz is the clock speed or rather how fast it preforms. But the higher the number the better. With the computers I sell we run into AMD and Intel for processors. Now understand that everyone has their opinion and even some are biased. Like macs vs pcs. But with AMD vs Intel (trying not to be biased) the main difference is AMD have better built in graphics, so movies, games, and the such run smoother, Bu the downside is AMD's get hotter. So Intel tends to run a lot cooler. (these are a generaliztion, if you have a better graphics card in your intel will run better than an AMD) With Intel processors run from celeron, pentiaum, i3, i5, i7. Celeron and pentiaum suck period... AMD is similar with A6, A8, A10 just look for the higher the number and its a better processor most likely Now lets move to ram. RAM is kinda like the horse power of your computer. The more the better. I'd say with gaming try to get up to like 8, 10, or even more. You said your computer has 4gb of DDR3. DDR3 is just the type of ram, its the newer type (the 3) and you don't have to worry to much about it unless your trying to put more in. the 4gb is what your worrying about. the 4gb is the thing you wanna worry about. Like i said earlier try to get 8 or more. Graphics card is one of the most important parts for gaming, and as such one of the hardest to go over, each one is a little different and you would think the higher the number the better, which isn't the case. You will just have to look into each one and figure out which is best. So we talked about screen size with 15.6 or 17.3 inches. We covered Processors, mutiple cores, clock speed, and AMD vs Intel. Then we went over Ram with getting lots of gb. And we ended by slighting touching of graphic cards. I hold this helped a bit. -meld

Well, 17 isnt the largest as I have an 18" Toshiba Qosmio with a corei7 processor. If you like what you have but just want more up-to-date, go ahead and get a new model Toshiba. I love mine and it runs everything ive thrown at it, including Skyrim at full graphics. First, answer some questions: 1-Did you carry around the 17"? For actual travel, id suggest a 15.6" as that will have a large enough screen to game on and wont weigh 100lbs. 17s arent horrible, but my 18" is pretty much a desktop replacement. You can also go smaller, but if you do, definitely attach to your TV or a large monitor when you are at home. I connect my 18" to my 55" TV when Im home...or the 24" monitor if the family is watching something on the TV. 2-What type of games do you play? I ask because theres a segment of the US that thinks firing up Solitaire on their laptop is "gaming". RTS will require less of a video card but possibly more ram and CPU. FPS is VERY cpu and video card dependent. RPG are generally a little less video card dependent, but Skyrim would call me a liar. At the top end of your price range, this is nice: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-G75VW-DS73-3D-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B007RKGJD8/ref=sr_1_7?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1358275477&sr=1-7" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-G75VW-DS73-3D-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B007RKGJD8/ref=sr_1_7?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1358275477&sr=1-7</a> Specs are great, blu ray is a nice touch. Accidental damage warranty is awesome for the first year. 1.5TB hard drive that's 7200rpm is very nice....yes, a Solid state drive would be perfect, but this is a good option. Video card is extremely powerful. Good amount of RAM. I believe it even comes with a nice gaming mouse.

Now, slightly over your budget (unless no tax or shipping) is this beast: <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230590" rel="nofollow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230590</a> Has 2 hard drives, one solid state and the other larger. Last one, this is a Toshiba and it's pretty ridiculous not to mention 3d: <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216023" rel="nofollow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216023</a>

General thing is, if you're going for a desktop, never buy a prebuilt unless you're certified unable to plug things in. Laptops, however, generally buy them prebuilt. Another thing is, buying refurbished stuff is a good idea - They test the hell out of refurbished stuff, because they're already losing money on it, they don't want it shipped back to get repaired again, so checking out that stuff is a good plan. Checked out newegg for stuff, found this little bro. <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152372" rel="nofollow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152372</a> Good drive space (Anyone who needs more than that is either into Let's Play stuff or video stuff), an APU. For anyone who doesn't know (including OP I assume), an APU is the chip of a GPU (The Video Card) inside the CPU. Meaning integrated graphics don't suck, and cheaper in the long run. The only problem is that it uses the system's RAM as VRAM (VRAM is the RAM in a Video Card), and since VRAM is usually very, very fast, you'll need fast (generally 1600 and up) RAM, which this has. It'll do very well playing most games from 2012 and before, you won't be playing Crysis 2 at 100FPS at 1440p, but, it'll probably run it well with med or low settings. The only problem I see with it is the clock speed, a small 2.3GHz. Granted, it's a Quad-Core, meaning that it's going to still do more than say, oh, a 3.0GHz Dual Core, but hey, if you're going to play games or do stuff from the past 3 years, you're going to want a Quad-Core. And the price is nice as well, a comfortable 1200 for a prebuilt laptop, but a desktop build can be twice as powerful for the same price (I've got something similar for only 200 bucks). I'd also like to point out a few inaccuracies in the posts above - specifically, "But the higher the number the better," in reference to clock speed. Judging based on clock speed is not a good plan to begin with, because while yes it is overall bigger = better, when comparing two processors that have different numbers of cores, you'll end up doing pretty badly. A 2.0GHz Quad Core can be and usually is more powerful than a 3.0GHz Dual Core. "AMD is similar with A6, A8, A10..." While a technicality, this is a very bad thing to say - The A Series are APUs, which, are described above as being both Video Cards and CPUs rolled into one chip. Comparing that to an i5 or i7 is a very bad idea, equivalent to comparing two different cars, one from 1950 and one from 1990, for mileage. Finally, I'd like to end with this - If you plan on gaming (Assuming you're talking stuff like Dawn of War, GTAIV, etc), this computer will play stuff on lower settings but play well, mostly. If you plan on just playing solitaire and web surfing, this'll be just a bit of overkill.

As another point I hadn't noticed it was you V so hit my up on Skype and I will give you a hand.