Hi, I finally settled on this laptop:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....21809337 9440

BestBuy US has it for 700 USD (which is an extremely low price given the specs). But Toshiba Canada is selling an "almost" same model (with the exception of a backlit keyboard) for 1250 CAD:
http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.gr...9662#spec top

which sounds ridiculous! So can any of you please tell me how to get the laptop from Bestbuy US to Canada (I have a relative in Detroit but I dunno how long and how much it will take to ship)

OR

Any good Canadian laptop retailers online so I can look up another laptop and not get disappointed like this again :(

Thanks

Your only option with that laptop are shipping redirection services, you'll be looking at paying an extra $100+ USD on top of the $700 USD for the laptop + shipping twice. It'll end up costing you somewhere near $1000 CAD when it's all said and done, which isn't worth it.

If you have any family in the US, you could get it shipped to them and have them ship it to you.

As far as other laptops go, tell me the price range/specs you're looking for and I'm sure I or someone else here could help you out.

Thanks for the response
I have a relative in Detroit as I said, how much would it cost if BestBuy ship to them and then they send me through some service like UPS etc?

-->> Also, is there a possibility of picking up from one of their US stores? I will be coming to Canada on a Student visa and their Buffalo store is 1.5 hours from Mac, perhaps one of my relatives in Mississauga could do this for me?

I'm looking for these:
Core 2 Duo, equal to or more than 2.0 GHZ with 3MB L2 cache
4 GB RAM atleast
320-500GB HDD (preferably 500)
a full keyboard, including the numpad
15-16 inch screen (720p+) and HDMI output (1080p)
eSata port is necessary and a Dual Layer DVD-+RW drive (preferably slot load)
Dedicated GPU (preferable ATi and more than or equal to 512 MB)
and the standard webcam, GB ethernet, WLAN

Things I don't care about:
Card reader & Dialup Modem

and if possible...a backlit keyboard
Range is about $1000 CAD

The best thing about this notebook that I chose was that it had all of these + nice speakers and Bestbuy just lowered the price from 750 USD to 700! :(

>ATI
>full keyboard
>15-16 inch screen (720p+)
hahaha oh wow

You don't need a full keyboard. To add the numpad, they make all of the keys smaller.
you don't need the dedicated GPU either.
and 720p has to do with screen resolution. only 17'' (well not only necessarily, but most) laptops can do 1080p, every other kind (even netbooks) can do 720p.

But I do agree that laptop at bestbuy US is a good deal (except for the 16'' part)

Originally Posted by FireDragoonX

>ATI
>full keyboard
>15-16 inch screen (720p+)
hahaha oh wow

You don't need a full keyboard. To add the numpad, they make all of the keys smaller.
you don't need the dedicated GPU either.
and 720p has to do with screen resolution. only 17'' (well not only necessarily, but most) laptops can do 1080p, every other kind (even netbooks) can do 720p.

But I do agree that laptop at bestbuy US is a good deal (except for the 16'' part)

FireDragonX, sorry bro but I understand my needs more than you
I didn't know about the 720p thing though. 1080p from an HDMI port to an HD screen is quite possible though.
I need the dedicated GPU not for gaming...but for graphics
I do need the full keyboard because i can never get used to a laptop one (and i won't even try )

why is the 16" a bad point..unless you wanna carry it in the class with you i guess?

would someone answer this one for me?
is there a possibility of picking up from one of their US stores? I will be coming to Canada on a Student visa and their Buffalo store is 1.5 hours from Mac, perhaps one of my relatives in Mississauga could do this for me?
I'm really thinking about this option

I just like my laptops 14'' or 15.4''

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product... E16834152129
is the closest to what you want, it doesn't have 3MB cache and probably doesn't have the right ports (esata and HDMI out) either.

same with this one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product... E16834220547

and
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product... E16834220559

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product... E16834220559
this one is really good but I dunno much about Asus and it will be hell managing a 1TB external hdd without eSata ports :(

sadly, i'm stuck at Toshiba A505-S6965

If you really want that original laptop from bestbuy U.S. (It's a decent deal), I'd just recommend having your relative in detroit buy it, cross the border, and give it to you. Just meet them at the border, which basically just costs you 3.5 hours of your day round trip.

If your budget was a bit larger though, I'd suggest you get an alienware, since your spec demands are pretty top heavy. Plus, that way you could play games too.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

If you really want that original laptop from bestbuy U.S. (It's a decent deal), I'd just recommend having your relative in detroit buy it, cross the border, and give it to you. Just meet them at the border, which basically just costs you 3.5 hours of your day round trip.

If your budget was a bit larger though, I'd suggest you get an alienware, since your spec demands are pretty top heavy. Plus, that way you could play games too.

thanks, what about me going to the buffalo Bestbuy myself (the way is shorter)? any complications while crossing the border for a Canadian student visa holder?

Um... have you considered ASUS? The Asus U50 (15.6") would probably fit all of your needs. I have one selling at my store for $1130 right now.

http://www.pacificnotebooks. com/in...nd=38&pa ge=5

If you want something smaller (14") which I would personally recommend, the U80 would also work. Is there a reason why you want Toshiba?

Originally Posted by Afzal

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product... E16834220559
this one is really good but I dunno much about Asus and it will be hell managing a 1TB external hdd without eSata ports :(

sadly, i'm stuck at Toshiba A505-S6965

ASUS laptops are nice, I moved from Toshiba to Asus and I can't say I've found anything wrong with it (the fact that it was an awesome laptop for the price helped too). I know a friend who has one of the G (Gaming) series Asus laptops and he seems to love it too.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

If you really want that original laptop from bestbuy U.S. (It's a decent deal), I'd just recommend having your relative in detroit buy it, cross the border, and give it to you. Just meet them at the border, which basically just costs you 3.5 hours of your day round trip.

If your budget was a bit larger though, I'd suggest you get an alienware, since your spec demands are pretty top heavy. Plus, that way you could play games too.

What he's looking for isn't that top heavy, it's a multi-media laptop at the best. It's not in the same scale (price and capability-wise) as the Asus G series, Alienware, or Dell XPS laptops. Even the Asus M series (multi-media) seem to be a decent step above what he's looking for. Alienware would just be a waste of money for him.

Originally Posted by Afzal

thanks, what about me going to the buffalo Bestbuy myself (the way is shorter)? any complications while crossing the border for a Canadian student visa holder?

Call BB in buffallo and ask if they can have it shipped in or if they have it in stock, if not just get it shipped to your relatives in Detroit and drive down to pick it up.

To avoid border complications, take it out of the packaging and leave the packaging box in the states. They will not charge you at the border for a laptop you own as long as they don't know you bought it in the states.

i had a really bad experience with Asus CD writers some time ago and I read really really good reviews about the laptop i chose, thats why my mind is stuck on it. I'll check out the Asus M Series if u say so

Just cross the border into Buffalo?

1-800-461-9999 That's the phone # for Customs. Call them & ask them if you can cross with your student Visa. I don't know much about that, but I know i've bought a flat screen TV, iPod, and a bunch of other clothing, electronics in Buffalo many times. 9/10 times I never got asked to pay duty, one time they asked me to pay duty on some clothes I bought, around $35 or so.

Also when buying stuff in the states, it'd be best to take off all tags, packages, or anything that shows you bought somthing there, and toss it in a garbage there before coming back to Canada. There's no way they can prove you bought somthing there if there's no evidence of packaging, or price tags.

Vanessa and Tailsnake, thanks for the advice and the number, I'll talk to them soon I have my A level result coming up in 8 hours...so I'm tense about that right now :$

Originally Posted by Afzal

... it will be hell managing a 1TB external hdd without eSata ports :(

lol, how? Mechanical hard drives aren't even fast enough to take advantage of eSata, or even all of the speed offered by USB 2.0 for that matter :p.