Looking to buy a Laptop. ZT Systems any good?

Anybody have any experience with ZT Systems? It looks like they have the best laptops with the best video cards for the cheapest price. Am looking to buy a decent gaming laptop for around $1k. I also DO NOT WANT 17". They are just too big/heavy, would rather lug my desktop with it's 21" CRT around.

The one I am looking at is the 300 series which I believe has the 7600 Go:
http://www.ztshopping.com/Default.as...roductid=19910

The Home systems all have GMA 950 or X3100's or cruddy ATI's. The 7600 GO looks like the best they got with a monitor smaller than 17".

Some others that I am looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220236
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834210003

This one has the card I really want with lots of dedicated ram but it is a stinkin 17". :(
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834210007

If I absolutely have to I will get a 17" but would rather do my best to avoid it.

What this system is for:
Programming in Visual Studio 2005 or higher
Programming in Torque Engine (3d rendering engine)
Working with Maya (I am a programmer just learning how to use it so not extensively)
Some light MMO gaming (EQ2, LOTRO, COH)

i dont know about ZT but i do know that Power Notebooks is an EXCELLENT place to deal with. also Newegg is also terrific.

Check out the Dell Inspiron 1420 special now on - configure it - may be $250 more than you say you want to spend BUT a KNOWN company and assured support I would think.


imho anyway


:)

Their ok for everything but gameing...small company, like CCT said, spend a little more and go for someone better known..

The 1420's have Intel X3100's though. :(

EDIT: NM it also has the 8400M GS as a option.

if you want a dedicated gaming laptop then you may want to check out Alienware
http://www.alienware.com/Configurato...de=SKU-DEFAULT

Not worth the premium. Upgrade that from that horrible ATI card to the nvidia and the price starts skyrocketing. If I was gonna spend that much I would buy another brand and get a better card like a 8600 GS/GT.

Speaking as one gamer to another. You're looking for a gaming machine, that means you're looking for quality and performance. Once you go cheap you throw both out the window. So regardless of what you get remember the age old saying of "You get what you paid for". I advise taking the suggestion of looking into alienware products. To better help you understand I'll put it into car terms. When people want to build a race car they look for performance brand name products. They NEVER go for the cheaper stock parts that they can get from the local store. Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niclo Iste

Speaking as one gamer to another. You're looking for a gaming machine, that means you're looking for quality and performance. Once you go cheap you throw both out the window. So regardless of what you get remember the age old saying of "You get what you paid for". I advise taking the suggestion of looking into alienware products. To better help you understand I'll put it into car terms. When people want to build a race car they look for performance brand name products. They NEVER go for the cheaper stock parts that they can get from the local store. Good luck.

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I kind of have to agree. When it comes to PCs I say stick with a reputable company that is established and you know will be able to provide you support. Working on PCs for over 15 years I have found it difficult to get the less known companies for support. I remember a recent repair I did for a customer on a "Store Brand" PC that shall remain nameless that I could not even get support to help me and the customer through a hardware problem. It was under warranty and I gave them an error code from their very own diagnostics program and when the customer wanted to use the onsite warranty they were told they had to ship the PC to the repair center and pay for the cost themselves. They had very little online support for documentation and drivers so it made it difficult for the customer to try and help themselves. At the very least check out their support section of their webpage to make sure it contains thorough information. But I try and tell my customers to stick with the big boys for the most part (Dell, HP, Sony, Apple, Gateway, etc...) and any of their sister companies like Alienware, ACER (now merged with Gateway/eMachine I think). You know that even if their tech support line is not there for everything you can always get better support from the internet community and find parts if you should need them.

just my 2 cents :cool:

Well said Bob Iroc and Nclo
Who in the heck is ZT Systems anyway?
Never even heard of them and I dont think its cause I don't get out enough.:)

They are a small company out of New Jersey trying to go big. They sell desktops at Staples and I work for Staples and I can not give them away without major arm twisting

I think I am gonna go with a Dell Inspiron system. Found one that I like. Only problem is it is about $1800 but they do have coupons sometimes up to $750 off so just waiting for Dell to send out that coupon.

New idea:
Anybody had any experiences with building your own laptop? I thought I might try it because I can get what I want this way.

This is what I am looking at:
Asus C90S $950 (comes with a 8600M GT with 512mb ram):
http://tinyurl.com/33ngol
2GB Crucial DDR2 $100:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=C90
Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM HD $80:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145194
Intel C2D E6750 $195:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029
Intel A/B/G/N Wireless $45-5(combo with the C90S):
http://tinyurl.com/3aqttg

After shipping, etc... Approx ~1400.

A bit more than I wanted to spend but it has great expandability. Comes with NO OS but I can get one easily.

Built hundreds of desktops but never touched laptops before. From what I have read the C90S is the premium system to use for building your own (at least for 15").

I'm guessing you're just hell bent on not going the suggested route. If you're that insterested in not taking advice go for it. From my 10 years of experience I haven't heard anyone say anything good about these build your own laptop kits. Might as well just look on E-bay if you're going for a deal.

That was a bit harsh Niclo. While I agree cheap and gamer do not belong in the same sentence, I would also say that the likes of Alienware are overpriced and short on service once the warranty has run out (speaking from experience here).

The route eedmond is suggesting gets him close to his budget with the ability to further upgrade when the budget allows plus the ability to learn about his laptop in great detail.

Review of that comp 'kit'.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=142447

I would say get a 7200 rpm drive for it if gaming.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CCT

Review of that comp 'kit'.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=142447

I would say get a 7200 rpm drive for it if gaming.

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Ya, that review is what gave me the idea of trying to build my own.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niclo Iste

I'm guessing you're just hell bent on not going the suggested route. If you're that insterested in not taking advice go for it. From my 10 years of experience I haven't heard anyone say anything good about these build your own laptop kits. Might as well just look on E-bay if you're going for a deal.

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Sorry but paying the premium that Alienware wants for a laptop is not my idea of smart. Plus the video card in their cheapest model isn't quite what I am looking for (7600 Go). And Asus is a quality brand. I used to for the longest time ONLY buy Asus MB's for all my desktops that I built. I would take the Asus name brand over Alienware anyday.

Ok, I decided that building my laptop was just too expensive. I thought originally it would allow me some upgrade ability but since it is limited to 1066 FSB cpu's and the top 1066 FSB CPU is a E6700 and I would be buying a E6600 that is virtually no upgrade later.

What I am gonna buy is going to cost $1540 with a $425 off coupon bringing it to $1114 total which is within my budget considering I got to buy some other misc. items (carrying bag, bluetooth mouse, etc...). I was also going to buy originally like a 3-4 year warranty but after getting all the warranties on there it added up to a easy additional $400. So instead I am dropping the warranty (because I think it is gonna be useless anyway) and instead getting more ram, faster cpu and some additional add ons.

This looks like what I am gonna be buying later tonight from Dell:
Inspiron 1520
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache) CT750HN [222-9009]
Operating System (Office software not included)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition VHP3E
System Color Jet Black BLK [313-5395]
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz 2G2D [311-7215]
LCD Panel
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900) 15XGAL [320-5461]
Video Card
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 256AC [320-5639]
Hard Drive
Speed: 120GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) 120GB72 [341-5556]
Network Card and Modem
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem INTNIC [430-0493]
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1 ADOBER [420-7468]
Combo or DVD+RW Drive
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive) 8XDVDRW [313-5197][420-6464]
Sound Card
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition ISBADV [313-5014]
Wireless Networking Cards
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card TM1390 [430-2307]
Camera Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam DCAMERA [320-5691][412-0968]
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed)
No Productivity software pre-installed MSONO [412-1397]
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed)
No Security Subscription (30-day trial) VNSNT [412-0940]
Battery Options
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell) 6BAT [312-0525]
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options
1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service ST111RR [950-3337][950-9057][960-2780][983-3090][987-5437]
Dial-Up Internet Access
No ISP requested NISPFSS [461-3063]
Miscellaneous
Inspiron 1520 I152001 [466-7698]
Bluetooth and Wireless USB
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR) TM355I [430-2348]
Doms Camera Module
Jet Black color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera DBLKWC [320-5806]
Processor Branding
Intel® Core™2 Duo Label IC2DNB [310-8319]
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium VPN [310-8628]
DataSafe Online Backup Free 3 GB Online Backup for 1Yr

If you see any GLARING problems or know of a better coupon, better deal for this level of computer let me know ASAP.

I had no experience with the ZT Systems , and either my friends.I think that if you want to get a laptop around $1000 for gaming , you can have a look at this Compaq Presario v6444us 15.4-inch Widescreen :
2GHz Intel Core Duo Processor T2450
15.4-inch WXGA TFT Display
2GB DDR2-SDRAM memory
120GB SATA-150 hard drive
Integrated Wireless
Windows XP Professional
I noticed that right now it is on sale for $800 :
http://www.**********.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=65382
I think that's quite a reasonable price for the laptop ,quite a good choice , but maybe need something better , just a suggestion anyway hope it helps.

Maybe he need somthing better , he seems got a good budget .

If your looking for a powerfull laptop that is easy on the shoulder, you may want to look at the XPS 1330 series, it can run the gforce 8400 series video card. The 13 LCD makes is a very portable and small laptop.

If your looking for a slightly larger screen, the 1530 is rumored to be released soon, looks like a 1330 with a larger screen at 15 inchs ( http://www.lesdelliens.com/ )

The only downside is the price tag, they are expensive systems.

In regards to notebooks and warranties, Speaking from experience, don't skimp out on the warranty at all, get a warranty that covers the time frame of your expected usage. If you plan to replace it in 2 years, get a 2 year warranty, etc. Make sure you get the accidental damage coverage from wherever you buy, it's invaluable.

Warranties... oh definitely. At day 367 you are left with a nice doorstop if you don't have a full warranty. Getting parts out of warranty is difficult and often you are reliant on ebay. To put the expense in perspective

cost of laptop divided by number of years warranty...
Example
$1000+$400 insurance/warranty for 4 years = $350 a year

$1000 laptop 1 year's standard warranty=$1000 a year... and all you need to do is drop it or spill something once.

Yes I know, it's a risk, you will look after it, it will never have a drink near it, no children nearby, if you take it in the car it will never get stolen... and if the battery catches fire? or the mainboard has a manufacture defect which only shows after a couple of years?

Frankly, if you want a new laptop every year, then don't get the warranty. If you want to ensure that your laptop lasts 3-5 years, get the warranty.

I have never owned a laptop BUT I would want a 'transferable' warranty so if I wanted to upgrade and sell it I could ask a better price (and thus recoup my extended warranty cost).


:)

there are several companies in the us producing sli gaming laptops at very good prices that blow most alienware and other big brands out of the water for bang to the buck
so just choose carfully the thing with the support is prity irelivant as the laptops already mentioned utilise the same mainboards there arent that many boards out there in the laptop market you would be supprissed how many so called cheaper brands use identicle boards as toshiba ect so drivers are easy to find even for obscure makes try windowpc they have some great laptops there that utilise the mainboards used in so called better brands.
ps do not drop the warranty buy a 2 year minimum get the misc items after when you can