Replacing Gateway MX7120 laptop

[kep55]

I'm finally seriously thinking about replacing my Gateway MX-7129 laptop. The old girl appears to be ready say goodnight permanently. The main fault is the display backlight will cut out several times before the laptop warms up. To fix the blackout, I have to close the lid several times. Any way, the current specs are:
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2.2 GHz
1.5 GB RAM (maxed out)
Win7 Home Premium 32 bit
3 USB 2 ports
1 DVD-RW
80 GB HDD
15.6" display
S-Video, RJ45, modem/RJ11

First, I have no need to watch movies on any laptop. To me that's pure foolishness. I use it for general business purposes with Open Office 3.2, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and miscellaneous utilities. I'd like to find a replacement with at least a 15.6" screen which immediately let's out those ridiculous, semi-useless netbooks. (After 15 - 20 years of the pundits complaining about small screen sizes on laptops, why are they now crowing about 10" screens?) I also want something that has more than 3 hours battery life, which the MX7120 can reach on standby going down hill with a wind to its back.

I seen many good reviews on ASUS laptops but I'm flexible. Oh, and as I'm financing my kid's college and I'm now retired, under $700. Suggestions?

 

[buwish]

Have a look at this one:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115860

It's a bit overkill, but it should future proof you for the foreseeable future, especially for your uses. Plus, it's not a bad deal on the shipping.

 

[kep55]

Best answer selected by kep55.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar