Need some general advice for my next laptop...feeling a little clueless

[tvrboy]

Hello,

I need some general advice about buying laptops. Any perspectives would be greatly appreciated! In February of this year I purchased an Asus N73jq because it was the best multi-media laptop I could find. Yeah, there were probably better choices on the market, but I'm not as saavy as you all (however if you need a recommendation on $1000+ headphones I'm the right guy😀) That decision was a poor one because I travel a lot. Every year I fly all the way around the world at least once. I also take many long side trips on trains and buses. As you can imagine, this 17.3" 7.5lb laptop is impossible to carry around. So, I need something new.

I've been looking at getting an ultraportable laptop that better suits my needs. I wanted something extremely light, no bigger than 14" and able to play HD video seamlessly. Is there anything under $750 that fits my needs, or am I better off looking at things like the Asus Zenbook, Dell XPS 14Z or Samsung Series 7? I don't want to spend that much, but perhaps the extra $300 would be worth it in the long run for something both fast and light. Any thoughts or model suggestions? My only specific question is will the Intel HD3000 be sufficient to run play HD video? Most of the computers I'm looking at come with the only the HD3000 rather than a discrete graphics card.

 

[DaveSimmons]

> My only specific question is will the Intel HD3000 be sufficient to run play HD video? Most of the computers I'm looking at come with the only the HD3000 rather than a discrete graphics card.

HD3000 has the power, but depending on the format of the video there might or might not be support for decoding using the graphics hardware instead of the processor.

That's why a netbook using an Atom or an AMD E-350 would not be a good choice for you -- for those, when the graphics hardware can't do the decoding the processor will struggle with HD video.

If you wanted a 15.6" model it would be easy -- just get any dual-core Sandy Bridge pentium or i3-2xxx and the CPU will be strong enough to decode anything that the HD2000 / HD3000 can't deocde.

You have to be more careful about an ultraportable laptop since if it has an ultra low voltage CPU the clock speed might be set too low to decode all HD formats.

For example the Toshiba just reviewed by Anandtech ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/5088/toshiba-portege-z835-a-new-ultrabook-appears ) only has an i3 CPU at 1.4 GHz with no Turbo Boost automatic overclocking like the i5 and i7 processors have. So it might struggle with some 1080p HD formats, though 720p is probably OK.

 

[CraptacularOne]

This is a bit bigger than what you're looking for at 15.6in but it'll easily do what you're asking:

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?m...id=20074696&ramid=80113913&batteryid=10056805

Use the code "promo" when you check out to get another $30 off the price.

I do a good bit of traveling and a 15.6in laptop is about the right size between portability and usability. I just purchased a P150HM from them which replaced my older ASUS G73JH and it's a great deal easier to carry around with you than my old G73JH and it's a lot lighter too.

 

[tvrboy]

Thanks for the information. I know it would be a lot easier to choose a 15.6", but I had one of those before... it was a little too big to carry. What do you guys think about the Inspiron 14R? Seems to have everything and switchable lids too ...

Extra question... if I spraypainted an extra lid with Tamiya metalflake laquers (basically auto paint) do you think the particulates could be ingested and somehow damage the motherboard? The lid would not be on the laptop when I paint it, just worried about the residual release of chemicals... I do use a sealer though...

 

[DaveSimmons]

Yes, any 2+ GHz Core i3 is more than fast enough for all HD decoding in software.