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Wife went back to school - $1K laptop budget

Phynaz

Phynaz

Lifer
I have no idea about home systems (I buy business).

Overall build quality, weight and screen quality are most important. Back-lit keyboard would be nice. Looking at 14" non-glossy display, the 15" are nice but they are all over 5 pounds.

Throw out your ideas!
 
What is she studying? Are Macs on the table? How much does SHE care about screen resolution and the like? Would she be better served with a tablet (the weight factor specifically)?
 
Thinkpad T series is a good bet. I picked up an T420 in my sig (with half the RAM it has now) last June for a little over $700 (including a second adapter)
 
Sunburn74 said:
how picky are you about 14inches?
Click to expand...

The question isn't how picky HE is, but how picky SHE is about 14 inches. :whiste:

If she isn't, my standard recommendation would be the Vostro V131.

Build quality is ok. Some have complaints about the hinges, but has a nice aluminum exterior. Screen quality is kind of meh for those picky about it, but it is a matte screen and the biggest problem is low max brightness. However, I find it fine and run it around medium brightness anyways. Regarding viewing angles, it is a TN screen. Basically, aside from brightness it is not worse than any other screen, and because it is matte is actually better than some, IMO. If you buy the Core i5 version it comes with a backlit keyboard. Weight is around 4.1 pounds. No optical drive. 9 hour battery life (no joke, I actually get 8-9 hours).

If you don't catch a sale, a fairly loaded one can be had for around $900. Toss in a nice 120GB SSD and watch it fly!
 
Not all 15" are over 5lb
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=vpcse13fx&N=0&InitialSearch=yes
4.4lb, 1080p. Won't beat that unless you are talking about a tablet. Maybe consider the upcoming Prime with 1080p or iPad 3 with supposed 2048x1536.
They are also including the free sheet battery to effectively almost double the battery life.
Note though, that the battery life is relatively poor because of the smaller internal battery. But it's highly portable at 4.4lb and if battery life is needed, the free slice battery (1.36lb) will give it better battery life than all 15" laptops except maybe macbook pro.
 
Meh, XPS 14z is not worth spending extra over Inspiron 14z. All it has is low end dedicated graphics. Everything else is basically the same (ports, weight, display) and Inspiron 14z gets better battery life.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the great responses. I'll answer the questions here.

Stu, she is a Psych major. Lot's of research and paper writing, so a tablet is off the table. If I had the budget I'd get a 15" MBP and be done.

Sunburn, she is going back to school after raising two kids - she's actually in college with my youngest. The eyes aren't what they once were. So 14 is probably the lowest I could go in screen size.

Brain, the T420s is on my list. 4 lbs with a 128GB SSD for about $800.

Zap, thanks I hadn't considered a Vostro. Costco had an incredible deal on a Inspiron 15R, but is sold out and have said they aren't getting any more.

Rookie, thanks. The Sony's were on my list, but when I checked Amazon they were all out of my price range.

Biostud, I'm on the fence about HP. They are what I buy professionally, and I'm currently running an HP desktop for personal use. I just think HP has missed the ball on the quality front. At least it seamed the Dells didn't have as many issues.


Thanks again, and keep 'em coming guys!
 
Wow, just saw a xps 14z at MicroCenter. That is one really nice machine.

Edit: Bought!

i7-2640m
750GB
8GB
 
Last edited:
Congratulations. Those notebooks look awesome in pictures. 😛 Haven't seen one in real life yet, but I can't imagine her not being happy with it.
 
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