So, I got my tax refund check finally; I got $840 to blow and getting an additional $78 from state taxes. So money isn't too much of a problem for me currently.
I was surfing newegg.com and spotted a few good models and was wondering what is best on the internet price and performance wise. I'm looking for something that can at the very least run oblivion on pretty good settings.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115539
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115546
^ the links above are some good deals I found but I'm welcome to suggestions on other sites concerning models. I don't have to have top of the line, but something that's just a really good bang for the buck. I appreciate the help. 
(optional reading ahead)
If anyone seriously cares about where I've been or if you even remember me, I've decided to get my life straight and headed off to Cleveland Job Corps; I'm getting my High School Diploma and taking up Sign & Display. I've almost received my HSD and nearly 35-40% done of my TAR A (which is to say that TAR A is basic complete and B is mastery, and B takes merely another two months.) I figure I should be getting a laptop since my gal and I can use it if we got to a LAN and still use my regular desktop as well as the laptop; And use the laptop while I'm here.  Anyway, thanks for the help ya'll. I'll be watching faithfully as (or if) these topics are discussed.

With a $900 budget it would be impossible to get a laptop that can play Oblivion on good settings and a playable frame rate.  Niether of the laptops you linked to would be able to do it.  You have to remember Oblivion is all about the GPU, and the same mobile version of a GPU will perform worse then the non-mobile version.  The end answer being you need a 9800m, HD4800m, or HD3800m to run it at descent settings.

I would say EBay, but it is very easy to get scammed when looking at laptops on EBay.

Check this out:

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx

It's got a new GT 120M in it with 1GB of memory and HDMI support.  800 bucks, on sale from 900.

Also check this one out:

www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp

It is more than capable of making Oblivion it's bitch(tbh some ppl have clouded memories of oblivions requirements. My x1950 pro ultimate, yes not mobile but still an older card, ran it on highest without a problem)

Originally posted by Jackcolt

Also check this one out:

www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp

 

It is more than capable of making Oblivion it's bitch(tbh some ppl have clouded memories of oblivions requirements. My x1950 pro ultimate, yes not mobile but still an older card, ran it on highest without a problem)

It does not display anything; You need to link the product page, not the shopping cart list.

Was doing some more shopping around found the Gateway FX P-7805u

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&st=Gateway+FX+P-7805u&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218043606827

And if I can save up a bit more I should probably grab that, eh? Just tossin' around suggestions. I was just giving an example with Oblivion rather, would still like to be able to play Fallout 3, EverQuest 2, Battlefield 2, Call of Duy 4 and the like is what I meant. Thanks!

Argh ffs, though the link from an add directed me to the product page not my shopping cart. Anyways here is the product:

www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp

The one you found compared to this one has a bit better processor and more memory dedicated to GPU - which frankly won't help you too much as I'd suspect the video memory wouldn't be the bottleneck. Also the one you found has a bigger screen. The difference is $250. Those $250 will buy you a bit of extra performance along with a bigger screen. But they will definately be able to play Call of Duty 4 and the likes.

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668231.php

i have two of these. for mr and my wife. best damn laptop for the money. i can play every new game maxed out w/o a problem

Yeah, the P-7805u FX edition is pretty much what I've been looking at the past few days. Seeing it cheapest on Bestbuy.com for $1,149.99 but I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing some coupon. My mother (who is a computer nut herself) suggested waiting til at least April 15th for some tax reason though it may just be speculation. Well, at least I know what to save up for and it's pretty much a clear decision now.

Originally posted by Zhanghia

Yeah, the P-7805u FX edition is pretty much what I've been looking at the past few days. Seeing it cheapest on Bestbuy.com for $1,149.99 but I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing some coupon. My mother (who is a computer nut herself) suggested waiting til at least April 15th for some tax reason though it may just be speculation. Well, at least I know what to save up for and it's pretty much a clear decision now.

if you need to cut a few extra lawns to get the 1149.99, then by all means do it.  Just to give you a heads up, the last FX model laptop did not go down in price until October 2008, when this model was being introduced.

I have almost played every contemporary PC game on this laptop and I am constantly amazed how much firepower this beast has. Its been a dream come true for me.

Ive been playing CoD WAW multiplayer on max setting, wireless, and getting a 40 ping....playing up in bed while the wife is sleeping. The laptop is just a powerhouse (of course my Dlink wireless/internet router helps too)

Originally posted by Enigma

Originally posted by Zhanghia

Yeah, the P-7805u FX edition is pretty much what I've been looking at the past few days. Seeing it cheapest on Bestbuy.com for $1,149.99 but I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing some coupon. My mother (who is a computer nut herself) suggested waiting til at least April 15th for some tax reason though it may just be speculation. Well, at least I know what to save up for and it's pretty much a clear decision now.

 

if you need to cut a few extra lawns to get the 1149.99, then by all means do it.  Just to give you a heads up, the last FX model laptop did not go down in price until October 2008, when this model was being introduced.

I have almost played every contemporary PC game on this laptop and I am constantly amazed how much firepower this beast has. Its been a dream come true for me.

Ive been playing CoD WAW multiplayer on max setting, wireless, and getting a 40 ping....playing up in bed while the wife is sleeping. The laptop is just a powerhouse (of course my Dlink wireless/internet router helps too)

Not exactly -that- easy but I appreciate the sentiment. It's a campus-like setting but I'm hopeful that I'll be employed on center. (40 minutes away from home and I can't do anything from 8am-4pm so it's not exactly easy to procure extra funds. I'll try to make some stuff happen though.

If you're planning on buying a dell, go to notebookreview.com.  I got my xps 1530, worth $2000, for $1250.  They have a lot of good coupons

I got a chuckle out of this from the gateway website when I checked out that 1150$ laptop:

"Cutting-edge NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GTS graphics render stunning 3D images, give stutter-free playback and provide support for the hottest DirectX® 10 games with plenty of GDDR3 discrete video memory."
 

What exactly is discrete video memory?  Is it video memory that you cheat on your wife with?  Entrust it with nuclear secrets?

Marketing people are stupid.

Originally posted by goneglockin

I got a chuckle out of this from the gateway website when I checked out that 1150$ laptop:

"Cutting-edge NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GTS graphics render stunning 3D images, give stutter-free playback and provide support for the hottest DirectX® 10 games with plenty of GDDR3 discrete video memory."
 

What exactly is discrete video memory?  Is it video memory that you cheat on your wife with?  Entrust it with nuclear secrets?

Marketing people are stupid.

It means that the graphics card comes with its own memory, rather than relying on the computer's RAM...Discreet is better because you won't have a video card sucking the RAM out of your system.

dedicated is better.  discrete is bullshit for stupid people.