Laptop recommendations -- (Smaller than 15.4, decent gamer, great battery life)

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R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
8,351
1
76
Hey guys,

So I've basically found that all the notebook review sites are god awful. I haven't been able to find a laptop that suits my needs.

My last two laptops have been Dell Inspirons and Vostros, with my most recent one being a Vostro 1500 which offered me a decent balance of cost, performance, and weight.

I don't need an amazing gamer, I do like to throw down the infrequent game of Counter Strike Source, Starcraft 2, but again these are infrequent.

There is one MAJOR requirement that I have for this laptop, it MUST be smaller than 15.4 inches. Since I'm carrying this around from city to city while traveling and to campus while at school again in September, weight and size is incredibly important. Also, because I'll be taking this on planes, trains and to class, battery life is incredibly important. Please note, I'm not opposed to having a larger 9 whr battery added on to the laptop.

So far, the only laptop that I have found that meets my requirements is the HP Envy 14, but I was shocked at the price. I picked up my Vostro for $650 after incentives. The Envy has a mediocre screen (the radiance display is no longer available) with a low resolution, and the refresh which is coming out this month doesn't seem to be any better.

Thanks for your advice.
 
Zen0

Zen0

Senior member
Jan 30, 2011
980
0
0
Well you clearly want everything but don't want to pay for it.

You should get a 15" Macbook Pro with the high end graphics. You will be paying $2000 for it though.
 
Axon

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
Once you say "gaming," the concept of "great battery life" becomes impossible. Alienware m14x R3 or m11x r3 are both good choices for you, and as a student you'll get a free xbox with your purchase. But you won't get anything that does what you want (in your form factor) for $650.

Sager's NP5160 would meet your weight requirement - it's a light 5.6 lbs - but it's 15.6". http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-p-2999.html

If you want cheap(er) and light and kinda sortaish can run SC2 on low, get a Lenovo.
 
Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Lifer
Dec 28, 2001
11,391
3
0
Since you didn't say anything about screen resolution, I'd say either go with the following:

- Asus U31SD

The next two options don't have discrete graphics but they're sufficient to play the games you've mentioned (SC on lower settings, though)
- Lenovo Thinkpad X220
- Thinkpad T420

Hell, even the Brazos quasi-laptop/netbooks might have enough to play the games you've mentioned
- Lenovo X120e
- HP DM1Z

If I were you, and since you've mentioned school in September I think it applies, I'd wait until laptops w/ Llano chipsets come out (soon, I think): they're supposed to be more affordable and is capable of (moderate) gaming, so you should have more choices AND better pricing due to new competition.

Then again, [thread=2169717]I should talk[/thread]. :awe:
 
R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
8,351
1
76
Zen0 said:
Well you clearly want everything but don't want to pay for it.

You should get a 15" Macbook Pro with the high end graphics. You will be paying $2000 for it though.
Click to expand...

Don't want a macbook pro, the graphics are far beyond what I need.
 
R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
8,351
1
76
Axon said:
Once you say "gaming," the concept of "great battery life" becomes impossible. Alienware m14x R3 or m11x r3 are both good choices for you, and as a student you'll get a free xbox with your purchase. But you won't get anything that does what you want (in your form factor) for $650.

Sager's NP5160 would meet your weight requirement - it's a light 5.6 lbs - but it's 15.6". http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-p-2999.html

If you want cheap(er) and light and kinda sortaish can run SC2 on low, get a Lenovo.
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree, I got 8 hours of battery life on my Vostro 1500 when it was new, and it could play everything that was out at the time.

Like I said, I don't need everything cranked up to super high resolution, or super high quality.

I just want a laptop that can play the occasional game when I want to.
 
R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
8,351
1
76
Schadenfreude said:
Since you didn't say anything about screen resolution, I'd say either go with the following:

- Asus U31SD

The next two options don't have discrete graphics but they're sufficient to play the games you've mentioned (SC on lower settings, though)
- Lenovo Thinkpad X220
- Thinkpad T420

Hell, even the Brazos quasi-laptop/netbooks might have enough to play the games you've mentioned
- Lenovo X120e
- HP DM1Z

If I were you, and since you've mentioned school in September I think it applies, I'd wait until laptops w/ Llano chipsets come out (soon, I think): they're supposed to be more affordable and is capable of (moderate) gaming, so you should have more choices AND better pricing due to new competition.

Then again, [thread=2169717]I should talk[/thread]. :awe:
Click to expand...

The problem is that my wifi has started to shit out on me so I need to get it asap.

I'm liking the studio 14, I don't need speakers because I have external ones to plug into.
 
Axon

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
RbSX said:
I strongly disagree, I got 8 hours of battery life on my Vostro 1500 when it was new, and it could play everything that was out at the time.

Like I said, I don't need everything cranked up to super high resolution, or super high quality.

I just want a laptop that can play the occasional game when I want to.
Click to expand...

Whatever the previous performance was, these days, you can't get 8 hours out of anything save the best business class laptops. Further, I think that's only in a best case scenario, as I've owned many laptops over the past 15 years, and nothing I've every seen could game unplugged for 8 hours. Even the best, my IBM T41 Thinkpad, barely lasted 8 hours with a full battery if I was actively using it.

That said, in addition to the X220, I would suggest the ASUS N series. I think it's one of the best out there in terms of aesthetics. http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Multimedia_Entertainment/N43SN/

Not sure if it crosses your battery life requirements...I think the only thing that will is a laptop that uses integrated graphics.
 
R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
8,351
1
76
Axon said:
Whatever the previous performance was, these days, you can't get 8 hours out of anything save the best business class laptops. Further, I think that's only in a best case scenario, as I've owned many laptops over the past 15 years, and nothing I've every seen could game unplugged for 8 hours. Even the best, my IBM T41 Thinkpad, barely lasted 8 hours with a full battery if I was actively using it.

That said, in addition to the X220, I would suggest the ASUS N series. I think it's one of the best out there in terms of aesthetics. http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Multimedia_Entertainment/N43SN/

Not sure if it crosses your battery life requirements...I think the only thing that will is a laptop that uses integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

I never said it could game 8 hours. What I meant is, when I need to travel with it and do word documents, I can get the battery life out of it.

But it needs to be able to play the occasional game.
 
Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Lifer
Dec 28, 2001
11,391
3
0
RbSX said:
The problem is that my wifi has started to shit out on me so I need to get it asap.

I'm liking the studio 14, I don't need speakers because I have external ones to plug into.
Click to expand...

Well then keep your eyes peeled on the Lenovo/Dell Outlet websites - they normally have decent deals on current/previous-gen systems; even moreso if you consider the promotions they often have.
 
Kroze

Kroze

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2001
4,052
1
0
I would definitely get the Lenovo T420. They can be had for $700.
 
Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Lifer
Dec 28, 2001
11,391
3
0
Kroze said:
I would definitely get the Lenovo T420. They can be had for $700.
Click to expand...

Hell yes: I just re-checked the specs - 14" high-resolution screen option, current-gen Sandy Bridge core, discrete GPU option - I was wrong about [post=31833818]that one[/post], my bad -and the base model is on sale for that cheap? For a Thinkpad?

I think that's a no-brainer there.
 
B

Bolas

Member
Feb 7, 2009
119
0
76
There are some pretty good deals to be had on the previous generation of Alienware m11x, I would think. I've seen them for about $700 for the base model, for example.
 
C

cerebusPu

Diamond Member
May 27, 2000
4,008
0
0
RbSX said:
The problem is that my wifi has started to shit out on me so I need to get it asap.
Click to expand...

If this is your only problem with your current laptop, have you tried changing out the wireless card or using a usb wireless dongle?

i got a 14inch dell latitude for $650 from dell outlet. it has nvidia discrete graphics, sandy bridge core i5 to i7, 4 hours of battery on a 6 cell, and its around 5 pounds
 
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