Looking for a laptop; buy now or wait?

[p13m4n]

Hi guys. I'm looking into a laptop for multimedia and schoolwork. My budget is really low - a maximum of $500 before tax. I found a refurbished Lenovo V570 with i5-2450M selling for $399 on Future Shop (http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/lenovo-lenovo-ideapad-15-6-2nd-gen-intel-core-i5-2450m-laptop-v570-silver-refurbished-english-only-v570/10202491.aspx).

Is this as good as it gets with retailers trying to get rid of Sandy Bridge laptops, or do you think prices will go even lower? Would there be any Ivy Bridge laptops under $500 that could compete with the V570? Or are the performance/battery life gains worth saving up more money for? If it's really worth it, I could see myself saving up another $300 or so.

Thanks in advance.

[gnuman]

I think that is as good as it gets. To get an i5 Ivy Bridge would be very tough to get at that price point considering that they are new and commend a price premium. Don't forget too Lenovo is a great brand of laptops. If you want $500 and Ivy Bridge probably Acer would be the first ones out there.

[DavidY]

If you are planning to game, this laptop won't cut it. With the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics, it will play D3 at low. There was that $498 HP DV6 recently on sale at Staples that has dedicated graphics and is a good gamer (HP is among the lower tier brands among laptops....worst record for reliability).

Dave

[leoben]

do you guys think refurbished laptops from futureshop are ok? I'm looking at this one:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/samsung-samsung-15-6-2nd-gen-intel-core-i7-2675qm-laptop-np700z5b-w01ub-silver-refurbished-np700z5b-w01ub/10197052.aspx?lang=en-CA&pcname=&sku=10197052&path=380cea0dac5f78124200cbc305d67ff6en02


the price looks good but worried about the fact that it's refurbished and i might get a lemon..?

[DavidY]

do you guys think refurbished laptops from futureshop are ok? I'm looking at this one:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/samsung-samsung-15-6-2nd-gen-intel-core-i7-2675qm-laptop-np700z5b-w01ub-silver-refurbished-np700z5b-w01ub/10197052.aspx?lang=en-CA&pcname=&sku=10197052&path=380cea0dac5f78124200cbc305d67ff6en02


the price looks good but worried about the fact that it's refurbished and i might get a lemon..?

90 day warranty only. 1600x900 is a nice rez for a 15.6....most 15.6 are 1366x768. 6490M graphics is a bit too slow for gaming (only a bit faster than the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics). Samsung has a decent reliability (better than Acer or HP).

$799 for this Asus laptop i7-2670QM, 15.6 inch 1366x768, GT 540 graphics.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX39365

Dave

[ShadowVlican]

go for those Llano based laptops if you plan to game... AMD is miles ahead of Intel when it comes to IGP/APU