The Core 2 Duo's showing its age, so I'm on the hunt for an Ivy Bridge i5/i7 laptop that's ≤ 4 lbs.
1. What is your budget?
< $1000. Can bump this up slightly if justifiable.
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Preferably ≥ 15", but see #4. I haven't found any 15" laptops ≤ 4 lbs. Might settle for 14" if 15" is too heavy. 14.4" seems to be the biggest I can find, but only for weird resolutions like http
/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214881
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Ideally 16:10, but can't find any around my price.
1366x768 seems a bit small, but it looks like the only reasonable res for ~15". Having used 1280 x 1024, I'd like something w/ equal or more vertical space, but 1920x1080 seems too cramped for that screen size.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Mostly for home use, but it must be ≤ 4 lbs due to DMD (a muscle condition).
5. How much battery life do you need?
> 3 hrs would be nice, but doesn't matter too much.
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)?
Probably won't be gaming, but just in case, an Ivy Bridge should be good enough to not warrant a GPU.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Netflix, web surfing, and Word/Excel/Ppt. On rare occasions, family video editing.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
> 500 GB. SSDs would be nice, but not necessary, as longevity still seems to be an issue.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Newegg, Tigerdirect, & Costcentral seem to have good deals, but I'm open to others.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
> 3 - 5 yrs
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
≥ DVD 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.
+ Asus, Sony, Toshiba - Supposedly the most reliable laptops according to SquareTrade
+ Samsung, Lenovo - Good reputations
- Acer, HP/Compaq, Dell, Gateway - horror stories w/ recalls, customer service, and reliability
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
- As noted in #4, this HAS to be ≤ 4 lbs
- Ivy Bridge i5/i7
- Good display quality for movies; I heard that LED would be best, but I'm not sure; definitely don't want TFT
- < 30 sec startup & shutdown times
- Bluetooth
- Having used a MacBook Air for the past few years, I'd like a top-notch trackpad. Having a mouse would be better, but unfortunately, it would get in the way.
- Must not overheat easily; would be nice to have vents that aren't directly on the bottom, so it won't vacuum up food crumbs from the table or dust from the carpet.
- Should be self-contained w/o needing accessories, ie mouse or cooling pad, to compensate for shoddy craftsmanship.
- ≥ 2 USB 3.0 ports
- Media card reader (at least SD)
- 3 yr warranty would be nice, but not required
- I think all new purchases should qualify for the $15 Win 8 Pro upgrade, but correct me if I'm wrong
1. What is your budget?
< $1000. Can bump this up slightly if justifiable.
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Preferably ≥ 15", but see #4. I haven't found any 15" laptops ≤ 4 lbs. Might settle for 14" if 15" is too heavy. 14.4" seems to be the biggest I can find, but only for weird resolutions like http
/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168342148813. What screen resolution do you want?
Ideally 16:10, but can't find any around my price.
1366x768 seems a bit small, but it looks like the only reasonable res for ~15". Having used 1280 x 1024, I'd like something w/ equal or more vertical space, but 1920x1080 seems too cramped for that screen size.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Mostly for home use, but it must be ≤ 4 lbs due to DMD (a muscle condition).
5. How much battery life do you need?
> 3 hrs would be nice, but doesn't matter too much.
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)?
Probably won't be gaming, but just in case, an Ivy Bridge should be good enough to not warrant a GPU.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Netflix, web surfing, and Word/Excel/Ppt. On rare occasions, family video editing.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
> 500 GB. SSDs would be nice, but not necessary, as longevity still seems to be an issue.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Newegg, Tigerdirect, & Costcentral seem to have good deals, but I'm open to others.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
> 3 - 5 yrs
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
≥ DVD 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.
+ Asus, Sony, Toshiba - Supposedly the most reliable laptops according to SquareTrade
+ Samsung, Lenovo - Good reputations
- Acer, HP/Compaq, Dell, Gateway - horror stories w/ recalls, customer service, and reliability
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
- As noted in #4, this HAS to be ≤ 4 lbs
- Ivy Bridge i5/i7
- Good display quality for movies; I heard that LED would be best, but I'm not sure; definitely don't want TFT
- < 30 sec startup & shutdown times
- Bluetooth
- Having used a MacBook Air for the past few years, I'd like a top-notch trackpad. Having a mouse would be better, but unfortunately, it would get in the way.
- Must not overheat easily; would be nice to have vents that aren't directly on the bottom, so it won't vacuum up food crumbs from the table or dust from the carpet.
- Should be self-contained w/o needing accessories, ie mouse or cooling pad, to compensate for shoddy craftsmanship.
- ≥ 2 USB 3.0 ports
- Media card reader (at least SD)
- 3 yr warranty would be nice, but not required
- I think all new purchases should qualify for the $15 Win 8 Pro upgrade, but correct me if I'm wrong
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