Ordered new laptop...did I do good?

[acheron800]

So I have been looking to replace my 3 year old HP dv6700, has done me very well with some harsh abuse. Video editing, constant web browsing, eating **** while skateboarding in the school parking lot (huge dent and lifted deck and still nothing broken except the CD drive) etc...

I always check techbargains for the newest discount codes and found this.

dv7tSE

17" 1600x900
1.6 ghz i7 720QM quad 6mb L3 turbo boost up to 2.8ghz
6gb ddr3
500 gb hd
1 gb radeon 5650
aluminum chassis
aluminum deck and lid
9 cell battery

for $899

I thought this was a REALLY good deal and really wanted a quad to be up to snuff, but now that I am reading a little more, should I have gotten the i5 instead?

I do some video editing, NO gaming (xbox for that), web editing, web browsing, remote video camera viewing, remote computer access, publisher 2010 and photoshop.

I basically wanted something that can handle 15 web tabs open, while viewing my cams, and also have other programs running as stated.

I was thinking about the XPS or studio 16, but for the price I didnt think I could pass it up...

What say you techies?

PS mostly for home and some office use, have my desktop at the office but none at home, but sometimes need some offsite work done, and since I am graduated now, no more lugging to school so I dont think I will be lugging it around too often.

[WTSGDYBBR]

Looks like a good deal the 6gb of DDR3 will be great that's a 64 bit OS for a fact because I believe 32 bit with service pack 3 maxs out at 3gb . The issue is with labtops is there is not much you can do with them once they get out dated you may have wanted to look into a desk top for all the work your doing.

[nick]

I think you did well. The display could've had better resolution, but that would likely cost more, as well. As for the i7, it's not as good for battery life, but you'll appreciate the performance.

One thing I'd recommend is getting a hard drive with full drive encryption, the Seagate ones can be found around $130 for 500GB 7200rpm, Hitachi ones are even cheaper (I'd get a Seagate though). One less worry to deal with.

[nick]

Looks like a good deal the 6gb of DDR3 will be great that's a 64 bit OS for a fact because I believe 32 bit with service pack 3 maxs out at 3gb . The issue is with labtops is there is not much you can do with them once they get out dated you may have wanted to look into a desk top for all the work your doing.

4GB. You often see 3.25GB due to chipset issues and the video card using shared memory.

[acheron800]

Forgot, it is a 7200 hd and yes it is 64 bit, most new machines are coming with 64 bit.

I would get a desktop if I had an office or room for it, but i am constantly between the living room and the bedroom. I would love a desktop that I could upgrade once a year but like I said no room... Also not "too" worried about battery life, I am never too far from an outlet, and my current laptop only lasts about an hour on "power saver" mode. So the claimed 4 hours (will probably be more like 2) will still be quite the upgrade.

Kinda bummed on the resolution as well, nothing higher was offered unless I stepped up to an envy, and for that price I would have gone XPS for sure. Although my 20" monitor at the office is 1600x900 and I am perfectly fine with that, and I assume on a 17" it will be even better than on a 20".

Also what does "discrete graphics" mean?

[nick]

Also what does "discrete graphics" mean?

The video card that's not integrated into your chipset.

[Tacom]

Make sure to take the battery out when it's fully charged, and you're using it while plugged in. I notice people rarely do this and it fries the battery after awhile as well as contributing to the heat generated by the laptop. By that same token don't let the battery completely discharge or sit unused for too long.