suggest me a notebook!

[Crappopotamus]

heres my situation: im going to uni, but im going to be moving every 4 months for coop. this is why i need a laptop. i dont need something super light, cause im probably not going to be lugging it around to all classes, but something thin and light would be nice. less than 6.5 lbs would be good. 6 or less is ideal.

i dont need something overly powerful. something with a pentium M processor is a must, seeing as that is the future... helps keep things compact, and also helps with battery life, even tho thats not something thats terribly important to me. im going to be doing basic tasks with it (browsing, email, word processing). im not much of a gamer, but it would be nice to have something decent (eg radeon9000)

i want a 15" svga screen, just so its easier on me if i use the laptop for extended periods of time. i think 14" is just too small. also, i dont want widescreen. doesnt seem that useful to me, id rather have a larger screen.

i definately want something thats solid and has a good keyboard. <- really important.

finally, i want to spend less than $2000CDN (before tax). with this price range, ive been considering not getting a pentium M. everyone tells me that theyre worth it, but i dont really care about battery life... should i look at other options?

the model im really considering right now is the asus M6Ne with the 15.1 sxga, which weighs slightly over 6lbs. its really got too much power, especially on the graphics side, but it seems to meet my needs. the only thing is that asus is pretty new to notebooks, and i dont know about their build quality. i will find out soon enough tho, theyre having a little show in toronto this weekend. 😀

please comment on processor, screen and the asus.... other suggestions are much appreciated as well. thanks in advance.

 

[loup garou]

Hey, if you get a chance at that show this weekend, can you take a look at the Asus S5N/S5Ne's build quality if theres one around as well? It's their ultralight, I'm considering purchasing a barebones one but am also concerned about the build quality, but can't find anyplace to check one out in person in NYC. Thanks!

Bump for you too. 😉

 

[Homebrew]

Take a look at the Sager NP3790. It is on the upper limits of your budget and may exceed it by $100-200 depending on the options but definitely fills your requirements. Weight is slightly above 6lbs, 6.5 with the 6 cell battery, ~7.5 with the 12 cell.
Comes with the widescreen, but its a 15.4" WSXGA+ so should surpass your screen requirements. Reviews state the keyboard is very nice. Stick with the Pentium-M (Dothan) if you can. Its more than just less power consumption (25w), it is about 1.8x faster than a comparable P4. You can have a DTR system and still get 3-5 hours of battery life, nice!

pctorque.com, powernotebooks.com, discountlaptops.com are the resellers to buy from.

There has been a long backorder with this model through all resellers lately but they are starting to catch up. Should be shipping normally in two weeks.

Don't own one yet (due next week), but the reviews have been good for the WSXGA model. Some complaints with the WUSXGA version (screen anomalies).

The ASUS is a nice machine, would probably be looking at that as a second choice though.

 

[Crappopotamus]

ive never heard of sager, are they a good brand? and i dont know about their distribution to canada... if i have to import from the states, it will likely end up way too expensive. but i will definately take a look around for them. it does cover my needs, but the specs are on par with the asus... why would you go sager over asus?

how useful is the widescreen? is it primarily for movies? ive never used one, but wouldnt a 15" widescreen look the same as a 14" screen, just stretched out? if thats the case, that doesnt suit my needs. i need a bigger, easier to read screen. i have no use for wider. i might as well go with a 14" and have a smaller and lighter notebook.