Xbox 360 and laptop

Quote from Raynold101 : why get a new 360 separately when you can buy a new eligible laptop and get a free xbox with it?

thats what i am planning on doing now, just trying to see what I really need in the laptop to effectively run the programs i need.

question when u buy a laptop from best buy, is it a free xbox or 200 bucks?

Quote from SOMTHIN4NOTHIN : question when u buy a laptop from best buy, is it a free xbox or 200 bucks?

Free Xbox 360 4GB Slim (Black) $199 retail, no cash

Quote from SOMTHIN4NOTHIN : Do you think this is the best way to go? Especially since I will have a physical establishment to take these things to should somthing go wrong? Also, I probably wont end up doing it, but ive always been enamored with alienware, does BB ever do discounts on that?

Alienware is way overpriced, and you're paying for the brand usually and some frills like keyboard or tower lighting and aesthetics. There are more inexpensive computers that are comparable, so save your money unless you want an overpriced gaming computer.

Quote from SOMTHIN4NOTHIN : How much ram do I really need to run cad and other programs smoothly at the same time?

I don't have a lot of experience with CAD but I do with PS, and if I were to throw out a number I'd say 8GBs of fast RAM (high speed) at least for smooth working.

I also wanted to comment on the computer you linked and asked about how it stacks up to your needs -- that set does not come with a hard drive so you'd have to purchase that extra. Everything else in that kit seems fine except for the amount of RAM it comes with (4GB), which you really may want more depending on how heavily you use CAD and PS and AI.

If I had to throw just a whimsical suggestion out there for you, firstly I would suggest a desktop over a laptop because you're going to pay way more just for the convenience of being able to carry it around. So, if you don't NEED it to be portable then get a desktop. Also my suggestion (without having done extensive research) might be something like this Asus from Newegg. [newegg.com] for $560.
It's got a 1TB hard drive, 64 bit 8 core processor at 3.1 GHz, Windows 7, 8 GB RAM...would actually be a pretty speedy computer I would think, but of course you'd have to get yourself a monitor too.

If you wanted to get a computer with less RAM, then they get way cheaper. Maybe you really should go for that first laptop on the Fry's ad that person linked. It's got 4GB, but it depends again how much you want to sacrifice for program smoothness and productivity, depending on how hard you run those programs, to save money for less RAM. The same computer is on Newegg for like $350, and in the ad for Fry's it's $269 and it's a laptop so yay for portability and not really having to pay out the nose for it.

Reallllly though if you current rig works (I'm assuming it's a desktop?) then you might be better off just replacing your RAM sticks to add more RAM, depending on the capacity your current computer can accommodate. (You really need to know what your computer can handle before you go off purchasing RAM otherwise you're wasting your money...) Ballpark range for that might be something like $50 for like 8GBs of DDR3 RAM. Cheapest solution yet in my opinion, but you kind of have to know a tad about your computer to purchase the right stuff and install it (but really it's not at all that hard!!).


PS - If you are buying anything expensive from Best Buy for whatever reason, please sign yourself up before hand for their rewards program so you can at least get yourself a gift card back on your purchase to buy something else. Better than nothing.