[Solved] Have $550 to Spend on a Laptop; What Should I Get?

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

So I sold my ASUS G60VX today for $550. I will use that money for another laptop, as the reason why I'm replacing it is that it was too heavy and the battery life wasn't very good. It only lasted 2 to 2 and a half hours on a full charge doing the normal stuff like web browsing and checking email. That being said, I'm looking for a laptop with a smaller chassis (11.6 to 14.5 inches) that has good processing power (I will not go with Zacate) and decent battery life (over four hours). It also needs to have good build quality since this will be used for college. The laptop I currently have in mind is the ThinkPad Edge E420. What do you guys recommend?

 

[PuppettMaster001]

Trying to sell my ENVY 14 because I bought an Acer 1830T from Amazon and LOVE IT. The pics from Amazon don't do it justice.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Trying to sell my ENVY 14 because I bought an Acer 1830T from Amazon and LOVE IT. The pics from Amazon don't do it justice.

Read the reviews and it does indeed seem like a great laptop. The weight is perfect, and the processing power is good. 8+ hours of battery life seems like a winner, too. Only things that kinda freak me out are the 5400RPM Hard Drive, glossy display, the touchpad and keyboard... and perhaps that it's an Acer.

However, shipping for here is only $8, so that's great. I will definitely keep this in mind since out of the Timelines this seems to be the only one that makes sense for what I want.

 

[PuppettMaster001]

I swapped out the hard drive that came with it for a Crucial M4 128GB but the hard drive it came with is WD Scorpio Blue which isn't that bad of a hard drive. I was kinda freaked out about ordering an Acer as well but I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality.

I haven't tested the glossy display out in daylight yet but indoors it is pretty nice. Keyboard takes a little getting used to since I am used to my ENVY 14 but it is good. The touchpad is smaller than I am used to but much much much better than the one that came with my ENVY (probably the most frustrating touchpad I have ever used).

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

I swapped out the hard drive that came with it for a Crucial M4 128GB but the hard drive it came with is WD Scorpio Blue which isn't that bad of a hard drive. I was kinda freaked out about ordering an Acer as well but I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality.

I haven't tested the glossy display out in daylight yet but indoors it is pretty nice. Keyboard takes a little getting used to since I am used to my ENVY 14 but it is good. The touchpad is smaller than I am used to but much much much better than the one that came with my ENVY (probably the most frustrating touchpad I have ever used).

Oh, dear lord. :$ That's probably the drive I hate the most currently because of the IntelliPark "feature". Basically the drive will always go to sleep after eight seconds of inactivity and there's nothing you can do about it since it ignores OS-set sleep settings. Really don't like WD for that when it comes to laptop HDDs. That being said, I could possibly get some money if I sell the drive and use it for an SSD, though it'll have a very small capacity.

The reviews mention the build quality being good, but the thing I'm worried about is not really that but much more the fact that Acer has been known for sometimes taking a few... missteps. However, there's barely any bad reviews for this model even from people that have had it for a decent amount of time so I guess that means the QC on these is much better than their normal models.

Regarding glossy screens, I hate them on laptops. I will use it outside a lot on the college campus, so that's kind of a strike against it. Same goes for the keyboard, which I have used on some of their other models and I found it an absolute nightmare. The Touchpad I won't worry THAT much about since I can use an external mouse.

Now, given how critical I am of machines in general, I think this looks very good overall. It'll definitely be on my shortlist.

 

[unokitty]

If you don't mind looking for a used computer, you might look at a ThinkPad X200.

I think that I've had mine for a little over two years. Very mobile, meets your battery requirements, but I would recommend that you personally get some hands, and eyes, on a screen of that size. Took me a bit to get used to it.

But its been a great machine for me.

Uno

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Ever think about a llano laptop?

 

[fffblackmage]

Check out the Dell Outlet. Specifically, I was looking at the E5420 Latitude laptops. You should be able to find one under $500. Matte screen and business laptop quality chassis. I'm thinking of getting one myself, assuming I manage to sell some crap I have lying around first.

 

[eBauer]

Another vote for the Dell outlet, but go to the e6xx latitudes instead. They come standard with a 3 year warranty where the e5xx latitudes come standard with one year.

If you wait for Outlet coupons you can easily get one for under $500.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Ever think about a llano laptop?

Yes, but they don't really suit what I want. I'm more interested in processing power than graphics computing power.

Check out the Dell Outlet. Specifically, I was looking at the E5420 Latitude laptops. You should be able to find one under $500. Matte screen and business laptop quality chassis. I'm thinking of getting one myself, assuming I manage to sell some crap I have lying around first.

Looks good, but the weight... 5.6 pounds is an awful lot for a 14" laptop. I almost wanted to kill myself with my G60VX given how much it weighed and how much I walk to get around places (I don't have a car). Looks too business-ish, too. I prefer the look of the ProBook and ThinkPad Edge, but more so the Edge.

Another vote for the Dell outlet, but go to the e6xx latitudes instead. They come standard with a 3 year warranty where the e5xx latitudes come standard with one year.

If you wait for Outlet coupons you can easily get one for under $500.

I imagine those weigh even more, no? I don't want anything over 5 pounds, and the ThinkPad Edge E420 I eventually decided for is almost at that limit since it weighs 4.6 pounds. At the same time, it has an i5-2410M and a 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Hitachi, I think) so I think it should be pretty good for the $550 I paid for it. We'll see.

I was looking a lot at the Acer Timeline X 1830, but the glossy screen and the keyboard were deal-breakers for me. I've used laptops with 5400RPM HDDs in the past, and they've been too sluggish at most things so I wanted to stick with 7200RPM. Hopefully I made the right decision, but the laptop should be here by Friday. Maybe I'll take some pics and video.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Yes, but they don't really suit what I want. I'm more interested in processing power than graphics computing power.



Looks good, but the weight... 5.6 pounds is an awful lot for a 14" laptop. I almost wanted to kill myself with my G60VX given how much it weighed and how much I walk to get around places (I don't have a car). Looks too business-ish, too. I prefer the look of the ProBook and ThinkPad Edge, but more so the Edge.



I imagine those weigh even more, no? I don't want anything over 5 pounds, and the ThinkPad Edge E420 I eventually decided for is almost at that limit since it weighs 4.6 pounds. At the same time, it has an i5-2410M and a 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Hitachi, I think) so I think it should be pretty good for the $550 I paid for it. We'll see.

I was looking a lot at the Acer Timeline X 1830, but the glossy screen and the keyboard were deal-breakers for me. I've used laptops with 5400RPM HDDs in the past, and they've been too sluggish at most things so I wanted to stick with 7200RPM. Hopefully I made the right decision, but the laptop should be here by Friday. Maybe I'll take some pics and video.

Please do a review if you can.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

I'll probably do a review, but around a month after I've had it. I want to provide my view more so knowing how it is to use on a daily basis.