Looking for a 13" Notebook

[golfguy16]

Hey Everyone I am new to posting here, but I like the browse around the forums. I am going to University of Michigan in the fall for engineering and I need some help picking out a laptop. I have nice desktop that I built two years ago and I am going to bring that with me to college so I am only looking for a 13" laptop. I might actually just bring my monitor and hook it up to the laptop but that is undecided.

So I want a small, light laptop with good battery life. Here are the ones I'm looking at, but please propose some laptops if needed. My budget is 2000 but i rather spend less. What do you guys think?

Dell Studio XPS 13"

once configured the price is $1500ish before shipping and tax
Pros - great price, I get a 7% student discount, great specs, hybrid graphics
Cons - tad heavy, not the best battery life

i have read of heat problems but with the new bios i hear it not a problem and the heat isn't as bad as some people say.



Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T-850
$650
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 1.4G
Memory Size 4GB DDR3
Hard Disk 320GB
Graphics Card Intel GMA 4500MHD

The Acer is very lightweight with awesome battery life. Its not very beefy, but I will have my desktop at college with me.


Thanks!

 

[golfguy16]

Okay I forgot about the acer and now have it pinned down between three options, Dell Studio xps 13, HP dv3t, Sony z.

All have almost same specs, HP has a slightly worse graphics card but comes with a 6 and 9 cell battery. Plus the dell has a little heat issue. So i'm thinking the HP is the best option. Any ideas or comments?

Sony Z - $2023
Dell Studio xps 13 - $1792
HP dv3t - $1670

These prices are after and education discount. The specs consist of 4 gb ram, 7200 rpm hdd and such.

 

[sewellyboy]

I was looking for a 13 inch laptop as well and I kicked around all of those same options your proposed. I ended up buying the HP DV3T through the Costco.com website. They had an option where I could customize the way I wanted, and they also offered something not many other companies offer....... You can return the laptop if it does not live up to your expectations and you do not have to pay a restocking fee. Through the HP website the same laptop was about 30 less, but the peace of mind was worth the extra cost to me. Be careful, the ability to return the laptop is only good for the first 90 days, after that you will have a 2 year manufacturers warranty through Costco.

Good Luck!

 

[golfguy16]

how did you like the dv3t? please leave your thoughts, I might buy it tomorrow