Trying to buy a laptop/netbook, help?

kooper

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May 28, 2008
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1_What is your budget?

My budget is anywhere around $300+, up to $400~ area if needed. Price is easily negotiable if performance/price ratio is good.

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

I am leaning towards the smaller, the better, the main purpose of this laptop is for use while traveling on my daily commute from Newark to Philly (about 2 hours on the train) and during classes (I am a grad student). The major needs are portability and weight so it's easy on my shoulders to carry in my bag, but I don't want something so small I need to struggle to use it uncomfortably.

3_What screen resolution do you want?

The bigger the better, if I could watch 720 sized video that would be awesome. I'd love to use it for school work but also entertainment on the train for TV shows and movies.

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portable I guess.

5_How much battery life do you need?

This is a big issue for me, not many outlets on the trains (if any) so the longer it can last, the better. I need at least 3+ hours of battery life to survive the train rides.

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)?

As much as I would love to play Crysis on this machine I will be realistic. The better it can handle gaming the happier I will be, but that would be only a bonus, it's not a requirement.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

Movie watching, internet, and typing papers/taking notes in class.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

The more the better! 100GB+ please, I'd like to fit season of a show on there at least.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.

Nothing specific, newegg is cool.

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

I'd be using this laptop for at least 1-2 years

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

No drive is necessary.

13_What country do you live in?

USA

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Looking for a laptop to write notes, watch TV/movies on on the go, for use mostly on the go on transit. Looking for easiest on my physically both weight but also with use, larger is always nicer, I don't want to go blind trying to read a document since I know how small screens can get. But I also don't want to break my back carrying this thing through the city to class.

Thanks for any suggestions, I'm very new to laptop buying, so I appreciate all the help I can get!
 

kooper

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I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but gaming is not an issue for me.
 

kooper

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It looks like it might be a bit on the bigger size though, and to find a good price point would require what seems to be some garbage component choices. However I'm not very well versed in laptop hardware abilities so please explain if you can.
 

bustapr

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http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=timeline&x=0&y=0

These laptops and netbooks are nice . If small is what you want acer timelines come small and powerful but a bit higher price than your budget. the best looking netbook seems to be the acer timeline tz1810t(ulv core 2 duo, 4 gb of ddr3, and 11.6 inches 3.1 lbs.) but it cost a nifty $600.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-Timeline-AS1810T-8679-11-6-Inch/dp/B002P8M6F2/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1256848824&sr=1-10

And this acer aspire looks pretty nice hitting your budget fair.It has ULV core 2 solo, 2 gb ddr3 ram, high res 11.6 inch led screen, 3.1 lbs, nice hdd, and 6 hours battery life, for the budget $400.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-AS1410-8414-11-6-Inch-Sapphire/dp/B002LEXA64/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1256848824&sr=1-12

But the whole Acer timeline arsenal looks great. Have a look at amazon.?^
 

kooper

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A netbook would be good I feel due to the size, portability, and battery life. The most important thing to me would be the ability to watch 720P videos
 

deadlockedworld

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I know its on the large side, but I would consider some of the low end Lenovo laptops. While netbooks are a nice size--if you can get anything with a core 2 duo it would last a lot better. I know its 14in and a bit heavy, but I would never want anything with an atom...

Lenovo IdeaPad $499
5lbs. 14" 1366x768 LED-Backlit; Intel Core Duo T4300 @ 2.1GHz; 4GB DDR3 RAM; 320GB HDD; DVD Burner; 802.11b/g; Windows 7 Home Premium; webcam ; 6-cell battery; 1yr warranty
$699.00 - $100 instant - $100 off Code: USP11EVERY (Exp 11/11) = $499 Free Shipping

The lenovo promotional deals change rapidly, but they have consistently had medium powered laptops in the $400s. (techbargains.com keeps track of the codes well)