Solved! Recommend a laptop for engineering student

[chknpotpie]

1. Budget: $1,000, flexible though
2. Size: Larger than a netbook but less than or equal to 15 inches.
3. Screen resolution: Best I can in that size range
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Have a desktop with extra hard drive.
5. How much battery life do you need?: 3-4 hours
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? No
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? Engineering programs. Possibly poker, but usually on my desktop.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Want to put in an SSD, so not important. But someone recommended that it have SATA 6 gb/s so I get the most from the SSD. How would I find that out?
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links: Amazon, have a 20% off coupon from these selected computers: http/www.amazon.com/s/?emi=ATVPDKIKX0DER&node=565108
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? At least 3 years.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD-RW would be nice but I mostly stream. I have a ton of blu rays, so that'd be an added bonus.
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: Good experiences with HP, bad experiences with compaq, sony. Heard Acer/Asus are decent.
13. What country do you live in?USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. Starting engineering post bac and then grad school. Will be used primarily for school and engineering programs, music, internet, etc. Possibly poker later on. I'm flexible on the budget. I want quality over low price.

Here's one that I was looking at: http/www.amazon.com/Acer-TimelineX-AS4830T-6642-14-Inch-Aluminum/dp/B0051OL9LO/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=II9E9R81UOF9X&colid=2L9LX2XKJWOFJ

Is there a way to install windows on an SSD without the original windows 7 disc? How would I find out if it has SATA 6 gb/s?

 

[tacobravo]

If you are using CAD software, it is better that you have dedicated graphics. On my laptop I have integrated graphics and while using AutoCAD LT 2011, it does lag at times while on my desktop (on dedicated graphics) it ran flawlessly.

 

[chknpotpie]

If you are using CAD software, it is better that you have dedicated graphics. On my laptop I have integrated graphics and while using AutoCAD LT 2011, it does lag at times while on my desktop (on dedicated graphics) it ran flawlessly.

Thank you for the heads up. Yes, I'll probably be using a lot of autocad I'm guessing. So if it says "Intel HD 3000 Graphics" is that integrated or dedicated?

 

[tacobravo]

That is integrated. The only integrated graphics that are worth it (since they are based on dedicated graphics core but without the dedicated memory) are the AMD A-series APUs.