Solved! Pleaes Help: Narrowing down on what to purchase

[charmgonzo]

Hello,

I'm going to be a graduate student this coming fall and will be commuting (train/bus) and I am currently looking at two laptops. I narrowed it down after reading this forum and searching CNET, PC World, Toshiba's site reviews, etc.

I want something that's practical and portable, but also will somewhat let me watch movies occasionally (as a break when I study/do papers and such).

I'm on a tight budget and although I like the look of the Mac Book Pro 13" its price is not friendly to my wallet.

Anyway, what's the difference between these two laptops? More or less they seem similar but since I'm not a tech person I don't really know whether the difference in RAM, graphics, etc is better for one than the other.

I'm leaning towards the Toshiba Protege though, but I'm concerened about customer service, repairs (just in case), warranty, etc.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

http/reviews.cnet.com/4504-4_7-0.html?id=34449812&id=34844852&tag=compare

 

[WR2]

Between the two, the Toshiba would be my choice too.
Toshiba Portege R835-P56X Review
The Acer has longer battery life which explains a lot of it's 1lb heavier weight.
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card of the AS3830TG is more useful for gaming than for watching videos.
The glossy/glare-prone screen of both models is drawback for a commuter.

If you were starting all over again, I'd suggest the Dell Vostro 3350
Dell Vostro 3350 Subnotebook review
A pound heavier when equipped with the big 8 cell battery that you'd want to choose. (or keep a spare 4 cell battery at the office).

Performance of all three mentioned here would be very close and exceed the performance requirements for the tasks you mentioned.

 

[charmgonzo]

thanks you WR2.. I think I'll look into the dell vostro u mentioned.