Looking for a new notebook advice

[pinoy3000]

Hey guys... as you can see from my sig I have a pretty decent desktop. However, due to its massive size, I am looking for a notebook computer that I can use on the go just for web surfing and maybe random stuff. Do you have any suggestion for cheap ones?

I am also considering the netbooks but not a very big fan of it... I dont know much about it though so I would like to hear your guys' opinion about it as well.

And I also would like to get an Apple to and start with that trend and get used to using it... However, they cost quite a bit... but I would consider purchasing the cheapest Apple Laptop there is if its around my price range.

So any suggestions are welcome. I would like something cheap and I can use for surfing and maybe some mobile computing... not for gaming though... maybe somewhat entertainment but mostly web surfing.

 

[Jorsoft]

Sounds like you're looking for something pretty portable, then. I'd recommend something of a 12.1" size, since you'll get an nearly full sized keyboard and an okay size screen. I don't like Netbooks myself because the keyboards are darn tiny and a 9 or 10" screen just doesn't cut it for me. But I value good battery life and a high level of portability. Check this one out:
MSI Notebook Official Website

Can be bought here for under $700
Buy.com - Computers, Electronics, Digital Cameras, Books, DVDs, Music, Games, Software, Toys, Sports

Or also here if you fancy some of the additional colors (green, blue, etc.)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductList3.jsp

 

[citronbull]

Yeah you should go to Best Buy or Frys to check out netbooks. They are too small for me, keyboard and screen.

 

[Harper]

Don't make the following mistakes.

1. Purchasing a Celeron Model. The $100 you save you wind up spending on extra ram and head ache tablets.
2. Purchasing a consumer model. Eg. Compaq Persario, really cheap HP Presario, Toshiba Satellite (Satellite pros are good),
3. Purchasing a Sony Vaio thinking that you and download the drivers from Sony's website site. Because sony does not put them up there, and you are mainly paying for the name sony.

 

[pctech2]

Yeah you should go to Best Buy or Frys to check out netbooks. They are too small for me, keyboard and screen.

Really good suggestion, I those are two nice stores.

 

[thihanlin]

Sony 13.1" is cool man.
but the price is not so

 

[zmatt]

All I will say is never buy a Mac.

 

[pinoy3000]

All I will say is never buy a Mac.

I bought the MacBook Aluminum

I am loving it so far though. I'm glad that I made the purchase hehe

Good secondary computer.

Though it runs hotter than my Q6600 Gaming Rig haha

 

[TheOtis]

Nice man! Those are good looking laptops. What are you doing on it that has it running so hot?

 

[snowsurfer]

I bought mine for those same reasons plus for work while abroad: Dell XPS 1330, and it is now a beloved piece of equipment. 13.3", weighs about 4 pounds, with a T8400 Penryn (2 x 2.40 GHz), 3Gb RAM, nVidia 8400 GS graphics, HDMI out, a niftly little remote in the PC Card slot, LED display, integrated webcam, 320GB HD. The performance is absolutely incredible for such a conveniently sized package, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg. I paid around 1100€ a year ago taking advantage of several Dell special offers and also achieving a further discount after a bit of crying to the Dell rep over the phone. Highly recommended, plus they are cheaper now. You can spec it with T9xxx procs, WAN, SSDs, etc. Anything smaler than 13.3 is too small for me, and anything over 4.4 lb weighs too much, so I guess this is it. There are similar Sonys but they are more expensive and I'm not a huge fan of VAIOs. The battery life I get is about 2.5 hours with the normal pack, you can get a 9 cell bat but it weighs more then, and I don't really need more than that.

I know that Windows performance index sucks but I don't have bechmarking progs on my laptop (which I am writing this on in bed ) so here it goes: CPU 5.3, RAM 5.1, GFX 4.1, Game GFX 4.7, Main HD 5.2.

Apart from MS Office, Photoshop, etc I also have several games which run fine. The 8400 GS is not a beast but it is way way better than any integrated graphics. NWN, WoW and several others run just fine for some gaming on the move too. I believe the next update (should be called XPS 1340) is going to have an option of higher specced nVidia gfx too.

Although I understand their purpose, netbooks fail IMO: way too small keyboards, Atom and integrated graphics make them only marginally useful in my book.

EDIT: Just realised you already bought a laptop.