Help Buying first laptop

[bloojays23]

Tired of using my sister's old and junky laptop for class and I think it's time to buy myself a one.

1. What is your budget?
$250 - $600
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Thin and Light,preferably under 5 pounds
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Doesn't matter,but I would like a screen of atleast 14" though
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable, I have a gaming desktop already
5. How much battery life do you need?
As long as possible, preferably over 5/6 hours
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)?
I dont really care, but It'd be nice if I can play games like LoL,Starcraft 2, BF3 BUT it doesnt matter
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
I do some video editing,torrenting, downloading, photoshopping, in other words, alot of multitasking
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Atleast 300+GB, I would like to have a SSD though
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Newegg,Amazon
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Probably 6-8 Years
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Doesn't really matter, Id like to have blueray writer though
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.
I like Toshiba,Acer,Asus,Sony
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I would like to have multiple USB ports,3.0 is a PLUS. Ethernet is also a must. I dont want laptops that can overheat easily, or have flimsy designs.

Specifications
■Dual core of 2.3+GHz
■Under 5 pounds. Lighter is BETTER
■4gb DDR3 Ram or more
■No Glossy screens please
■Ethernet is a must
■2+USB ports
■14 inch or larger screen sze
■I dont care about Windows OS, I have 64 and 32 bit of Windows 7
■ I like black metal finishes

 

[blazorthon]

There is no way that you will get an SSD in a laptop at your budget unless it is a small 64GB and in that case, you won't have a hard drive anymore. 5-6 hours of battery life is also kinda optimistic. There probably won't be a decently performing laptop with that long of a battery life in your budget range.

 

[bloojays23]

Yeah I kind of though that was the case with the SSD. Though I did say I would like one but if it isn't possible with my price range then that is fine.

I don't think expecting 5-6 hours of battery life is optimistic at all. I won't be expecting 5-6 hours while doing rigorous workloads. I'm suggesting that if I were to do simple and medium workloads such as watching movies, downloading, using MS office or anything like that, I would like to have 5-6 hours of battery life. I'm pretty sure I would get around 2-3 hours if I were to do photoshopping, video editing .

Sorry for being not specific enough.

 

[WR2]

How soon are you planning on buying the new notebook?

 

[WR2]

I'm suggesting that if I were to do simple and medium workloads such as watching movies, downloading, using MS office or anything like that, I would like to have 5-6 hours of battery life. I'm pretty sure I would get around 2-3 hours if I were to do photoshopping, video editing.

You get max battery life in 'classroom note taking mode'. Thats screen brightness at 20%, WiFi/Bluetooth radios off, and a single word processing app running can get around 5.5~6hr, depending on the battery capacity. . Turn screen up to 40% (about normal in battery mode), with WiFi on and MS Word and MS Powerpoint, a web browser working and you're looking in the 4.5hr range.
Watching moves using DVD drive - about 3.5hrs.

 

[bloojays23]

I was planning to get the netbook within 2-3weeks. My friend's has a laptop that is a Toshiba or something that had battery life of 9 hours. If thats how the battery life of most laptops are then that's fine. I'm really just looking for functionality, performance, and mobility. I don't mind having the power cord plugged in every hour or so.

 

[WR2]

Which Toshiba does he have? A $600 model?

 

[WR2]

My friend's has a laptop that is a Toshiba or something that had battery life of 9 hours.

If you find out the make/model - chances are we can find you a good price too.

 

[bloojays23]

He has the Toshiba Protege Z835. Apparently he gets around 7 1/2 to 8 hours of a moderate workload on it.

To make my preferences more specific, you could say I would want a ultrabook. I' want something light, but I do not want to spend too much money based on weight. I dont mind anything between 3-5 pound range. Lighter is preferred though.

I would also like something that has a fast CPU. Ideally I would like 2.3+Ghz on a dual core. 4GB of DDR3 Ram is a must as well.

EDIT: I will update my first post of the specs I would like to have.

 

[WR2]

TOSHIBA Portege Z835-P360 Ultrabook Intel Core i3 2367M(1.40GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 128GB SSD HDD Intel HD Graphics $830
Besides the huge 8-cell lithium ion (non-removeable) battery it's a low voltage 1.4Ghz CPU, no mechanical hard disk and no dedicated graphics card.

 

[bloojays23]

The processor seems pretty slow. 1.4Ghz? I like most of aspects of it it but the processor isn't cutting it for me. I'm currently using a Intel Centrino Core Duo processor T2050 at 1.6Ghz. Would that be faster than the old laptop I'm currently using?

 

[blazorthon]

A Sandy Bridge i3 at 1GHz is faster than a Core Duo at 1.6GHz. The i3 at 1.4GHz is a lot faster than your CPU.

However, you might want to look for something a little better, your choice.

 

[bloojays23]

Yeah I'm still searching around but it's hard to find the right one.

 

[bloojays23]

Best answer selected by bloojays23.