Buying a laptop

[Esparko3]

I'm thinking of getting a laptop for the last half of my high school. It'll be mainly for university.

I've had some experience with netbooks and such and I've decided that I'm going to go against netbooks. I'm a bit of a power user and those just don't have the power.
I've also used those MacBooks, those're nice, but I'm not used to the interface and I rather stick to the Windows deal.


Anyway, here's the stuff:

• Processor that is decent for a bit of multimedia usage. (maybe similar to the Intel in the MacBook Pros, those laptops seemed pretty smooth)
  Those SU Intels looked interesting, but do they fit into my requirements? I've been looking around and I've seen some laptops that already have the new SU intels.

• Battery life that could be around 5 hours (even if it has to be with an optional large battery add-on thing)

• Maybe if it had a bit of gaming capability. That'd be nice, but not anything like an extreme gaming laptop.

I'm probably gonna wait till windows 7 comes out, I'm using it right now on my desktop. I'm quite impressed.

Budget can go to like around $1,000 tops.
I'm in the Philippines, so I can't quite order online internationally. But there's a good selection here for laptops, just shoot away.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Esparko3
I'm thinking of getting a laptop for the last half of my high school. It'll be mainly for university.

I've had some experience with netbooks and such and I've decided that I'm going to go against netbooks. I'm a bit of a power user and those just don't have the power.
I've also used those MacBooks, those're nice, but I'm not used to the interface and I rather stick to the Windows deal.


Anyway, here's the stuff:

• Processor that is decent for a bit of multimedia usage. (maybe similar to the Intel in the MacBook Pros, those laptops seemed pretty smooth)
  Those SU Intels looked interesting, but do they fit into my requirements? I've been looking around and I've seen some laptops that already have the new SU intels.

• Battery life that could be around 5 hours (even if it has to be with an optional large battery add-on thing)

• Maybe if it had a bit of gaming capability. That'd be nice, but not anything like an extreme gaming laptop.

I'm probably gonna wait till windows 7 comes out, I'm using it right now on my desktop. I'm quite impressed.

Budget can go to like around $1,000 tops.
I'm in the Philippines, so I can't quite order online internationally. But there's a good selection here for laptops, just shoot away.

Basically any Core 2 Duo is going to take care of the mulitmedia, and any graphics chip, from integrated through the highest end mobile discrete GPUs will be sufficient for anything from YouTube through BluRay.

For a grand, you could score a 15 or 17" system that has a decent graphics card in it. I know that here stateside you can find systems like that in that price range, but I am not sure how that compares to the Philipines. What you will find though is that a more powerful gaming laptop in that price range is not going to be the sleekest system in the world.

 

[ecom]

I like Dell Latitudes and IBM Thinkpads (but I haven't used one of the Lenovo ones). These are business laptops so they are bit a bit better and sometimes lighter. My Latitude has a magnesium alloy chassis for example, while most consumer lines use plastic. Gaming is not the strong point in my Latitude since it has Intel GMA 4500HD graphics chip. For desktop apps and video though, it works fine. Some Latitudes and Thinkpads have option for discrete graphics, but my 13" does not.

My laptop weighs 4 lbs with the extended battery. Running only MS One Note, I was able to sit through a 150minute lecture and still have 70% of my battery remaining (Wifi off). The battery life is highly dependent on what you are doing and how intensive they are. If I were actively designing something in CAD, then the battery life would be much shorter.

While my Latitude E4300 is not the most powerful system, I bought this mostly as a compromise. I traded some speed for lighter weight. The SP9400 is about as fast as a desktop E6600 or E6700.

A good place to get some deals is Dell Outlet. Personally I prefer their small business models even though my computers are for personal use. Sign up to receive their emails or look on their twiter site and you get coupons on already discounted systems. I think my laptop cost me about 40% of a new one with equivalent specs. Plus I get free shipping and the same warranty as the new models. You may want to deselect the scratch and dent if you cannot accept cosmetic blemishes. The other ones look just like new except that they may have a green refurb stick on the bottom. Latitudes have 3 year warranty standard and I think everything else has 1 year (as far as laptops go).