New Lean, mean, computing machine

[ricanflow]

Ouch...the graphics on that thing are seriously lacking.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

He never mentioned gaming so they only thing a laptop with a powerful dedicated card would give him is vastly shorter battery life.

 

[Jorsoft]

Yeah but I don't think his dad will be gaming...If he is then it's a different story, though.

 

[ricanflow]

I dunno i found intels onboard to suck even at basic tasks such as video playback.

I was thinking more of like a 9600m GS...not something highend but something that will provide graphics power for years to come. The dedicated video on my laptop from 2004 is better than todays onboard....thats sad.

This looks pretty good and its half the price of the lenovo:
Newegg.com - HP Pavilion dv4-1220us NoteBook AMD Turion X2 RM-72(2.10GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 4GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Radeon HD 3200 - Laptops / Notebooks

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The 4500MHD is the top Intel IGP so it's a lot better than the older ones most people have experience with.

That HP is larger and heavier than the Lenovo in addition to having a slower cpu and worse battery life. Also from my experience Thinkpads are much higher quality than any HP.

 

[ricanflow]

While it may be the top igp it still sucks.

5 pounds and 14" isnt big if thats what youre trying to say.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Going by Baez's Graphics Performance list the X4500 is just above a 6600gt and HD 2400 Pro. While those cards aren't exactly top of the line I doubt anyone would consider them underpowered for a non gaming system.

I have a 5lb 14" laptop and I wouldn't consider it small by any means.

Small light laptop are one of those things that are difficult to appreciate until you have owned one. I have used my 2.3lb netbook more in 10 months than I used my larger laptop in 2.5 years and I would never go back to anything larger than a 13".

As I mentioned before size isn't the Lenovo's only advantage, it has overall better hardware in addition to better battery life and superior build quality.

 

[melorock]

Here is what I have. It is perfect for what I use it for. It's ultra portable so I take it everywhere and play an occasional game or two. Empire Total War plays extremly smooth on medium settings. It can play at the next tier, but it takes a little longer to load (I'm impatient)

Newegg.com - SONY VAIO SR Series VGN-SR430J/B NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz) 13.3" Wide XGA 4GB Memory DDR2 800 320GB HDD 7200rpm Dual layer DVD Burner ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 - Laptops / Notebooks

VAIO SR Series
VGN-SR430J/B
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53G
13.3" WXGA
4GB DDR2
320GB HDD
Dual Layer DVD Burner
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
512MB

It says up to 6 hours, however thats probably at the lowest settings, I get maybe 4 hours. I leave mine plugged in most of the time. No Blu-ray drive however, don't know if that is a factor.

Hoped I helped.