Dunno what laptop to get for University! D:

[mm911]

1. What is your budget?

1250 - 1500 (although 1500 is pushing it)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15". I don't really think I can settle for less.

3. What screen resolution do you want?

whatever is standard for the 15". I think it's 1440x900?

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portable, it's for University

5. How much battery life do you need?

As much as possible.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Not really any graphically intensive games, to be honest. I have my powerful desktop for that! Maybe the occasional stint on Minecraft, maybe some source games on lower quality

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Word processing, MAYBE some video/photo editing, web browsing

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

Not very much, I have my desktop, and some external drives to boot!

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

www.memoryexpress.com

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as possible.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

At minimum, nothing. MAYBE a DVD reader/writer

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Prefer ASUS/maybe Samsung. I've read multiple reviews of their laptops, and they seem to stand out. I have also owned multiple ASUS products (monitor, Transformer tablet, PC mobo) and they've worked out great. No problems with them.

I dislike Acer, as we've had an Acer laptop in the past, and it was absolute trash. The build quality was cheap, and I really didn't like the way they looked.

13. What country do you live in?

Canadia!

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

As I'm heading to university in the fall to study Engineering, I've decided (along with my parents, as this is going to be a high school graduation gift) to grab myself a laptop.

I'm stuck between these 6. I've broadened my brand preferences from just ASUS to Samsung as well, apparently they make good laptops as well. I'd like this to be able to study/take notes on, as well as the occasional game (Minecraft, maybe source games on lower settings).

http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX35914 I really don't like the silver on black design, it brings me back to early 2000's computers Also, it's an i7.
http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX39922 Not that I hate macs or anything, but it just reminds me of a macbook and I really dislike the colors involved. i7.
http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37683 Not bad, I'm just wondering what the battery life on this is, considering that I'll probably be out and about for 12 hours a day for the next 4-5 years.
http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX39831 most interesting to me, to be honest, it looks like it has nice specs, looks nice, has an amazing battery life as far as multiple youtube video reviews go, and the only one in the list that is an i5, surprisingly. Higher price though.
http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX39464
http/www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37261 Nothing to say, I like the color, but it's an i7.

Keep in mind I'd much rather have an i5, considering from what I've read, i7's in laptops are battery slaughtering buggers. If you're going to recommend other laptops/notebooks/whatever the heck they're called nowadays, I would like to have around these specs.

-i5 (i7 MAYBE if the battery life is good enough)
-8GB of ram (I'd rather have this than 4GB, unless you can convince me, and I'm not easily convinced. I'd like this to be as "future-proofed" as a laptop can be)
-SSD(?) I'm not sure about this one. How long would an SSD last before crapping out? I've never had one before, so I have no idea about them other than they're screaming fast. The size doesn't necessarily matter, due to the fact that I have external drives I can use, along with my desktop.
-Battery life. This is a BIG one. I mean life as in "would it last me for a day" and "would it last over the years".
-Weight. I'm not too too concerned with this, as it's going to be in a backpack/messenger bag. I'd still like it to be fairly light.

Considering if I look at a so-called "Ultra-book", I have to be concerned about the whole unit. If ONE thing goes on it, it's completely trash. If something like the battery or ram chip or HDD goes, I could probably replace it (if it was out of the warranty period, of course).



I dunno, It's still really up in the air, and I'm overwhelmed by all the possibilities that are offered. I whittled myself down from ASUS's G line (Jeeez, they look like "TOTLLY GAMR PROS ONLEE") because of the bad/terrible/atrocious battery life. I had convinced myself before that I'd sell my desktop and use the money towards one of them (used parts? not going to happen)

Perhaps others here who have maybe studied Engineering who know what kind of programs I'm going to be using could offer some advice on what I might be using. Considering I'm heading into what pretty much our University sets up for "newbies to Uni" (taking various different courses towards a certain faculty to get a "feel" for the potential career) I'm not too sure what programs I'd be using within the next few years. I'll most likely be entering electrical or computer engineering if that helps. (maybe Mechanical, but thats a huge maybe - maybe autoCAD is a program I shall be using? )

Anyways, sorry if this post is a mess, and I'm rambling. But I just need some help. I'll probably be posting this on several other forums, so I can get LOTS of answers .

Thanks bunch, folks

 

[dingo07]

I would look at Dell's XPS line - I own an XPS M1530 since 2007 and it still rocks, even more after putting in an OCZ 250GB SSD. I used AutoCAD on it daily with no probs.

 

[rubbateckie]

I would go with the Asus N56 or add in an Asus Zenbook to your list of consideration. From what you are saying, it sounds like build quality and laptop profile is where your price is going to come from!

 

[dreamslides]

Nah, head over to HP get a decent laptop for like 800 bucks with an upgrade on videocard, damn good laptop configurations there unlike dell

 

[dingo07]

Nah, head over to HP get a decent laptop for like 800 bucks with an upgrade on videocard, damn good laptop configurations there unlike dell

Ha! HP makes Printers! OP, if you listen to these fools you'll end up with an inferior laptop. Dell's XPS is the best of the lot, and of course you can upgrade the parts of the build on their website!

 

[dingo07]

Your biggest issue is Battery Life, no matter what laptop you choose, but don't factor it into the equation because they are roughly all the same. Forget about a laptop lasting a day while working on it unplugged. Never gonna happen! It can't even be done with an iProduct! You will always have to carry the power adapter with you and 50% of the time be working with it plugged in. Life expectancy of the batter is the same, expect it to last about 2.5 years before being useless.

 

[rubbateckie]

HP typically doesn't have great build quality. Like I said before the Asus n56 is a good oen to look into. So are the Dell XPS's and the Inspiron 15R Special Edition looks pretty awesome as well

 

[dreamslides]

Yea but the dv4t-5100 with an i5-3210M / 6GB DDR3 / 500GB 7200 RPM / NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR 5 video memory upgrades is only $879 and that damn good, I'll investigate Dell but I don't think they offer anything this amazing at that price. And what build quality do you refer to? Did you take one apart and see how it's made?

 

[rubbateckie]

Both parents have had HP's for works for years now and I have seen quality drop off in HP's products. They even have had a few, like the one I am using now, for home use. This has had a variety of problems from the drivers for the touchpad and webcam not work with Windows 7 (which came on the computer) to the power switch fall apart. And this one even has a primarily metal body.

I do agree that the deals are amazing and I cannot speak much about the dv4t or the dv line for that matter.

 

[seanmcc]

Just to throw in my 0.02$ here. I've had years of dealing with HPs and Dells of both the consumer and corporate varieties and can say that, on average, they are just awful. A couple diamonds in the rough over the years, but most have been nightmares.

You use a computer for regular things and don't need it to be a gaming workhorse. I assume that you'll want it to last through college, so don't be afraid of an i7, especially the dual core variety used in upper end "ultrabooks"/smaller laptops.

Take a look at the Vizio Thin-and-light. I just bought their full size notebook and so far I love it. The thin-and-light has a dual core i7, 4 gb of ram, and a beautiful 1080p screen for 1250$.

 

[dingo07]

At the end of the day you're not going to be gaming, so in all actuality, they are all in the same category, get whatever one you want for the money and it's 95% gonna be like the next one for the similar price.

If you wanted to game with it, it would be a different story and you'd really have to look at specs and hardware.

I've owned Dell's for over 10 years, desktops and laptops, and have never had an issue.

 

[mm911]

Best answer selected by mm911.