New Laptop Buy!

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bpm55

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Hey guys just wanting a second opinion. I am looking at purchasing a new laptop by no later than November. I currently have a Gateway NX860X. It is a 17in with ok graphics. I have had it for a little more than 5 years. I am still in college working on a Computer Engineering degree. The reason I am getting a new laptop is the portability issue. It is quite a lot to heft around campus all day and the battery last no time at all. This is what I am thinking. Suggestions WELCOME!

Screen Size less than 15.6
weight less than 5.5lbs
battery life 6+ hours
CPU = I5
GPU dedicated would be great but integrated is ok

The lighter the better, but power is also important. I am generally in class for 6 or more hours a day and then work.

Newegg.com - ASUS U36 Series U36SD-A1 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M

or

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...ory-id=96EBC6A8C8EC47A59E95B3D5E300F333&tab=0

The link above is one of the laptops I am currently looking at. I do not want to spend over $1000. Preferably less.

Once again I would really love suggestions.
 
Out of those two, I'd definitely go for the Asus, because
1) It has a dedicated GPU - not that important admittedly but there if you need it
2) The Asus weighs 3.74lbs where the Lenovo weighs 7.76lbs. I probably should've put that as the first reason.
 
That is why I like the Asus also. I am really hoping to find so other options similar to the Asus.
 
If screen quality is a concern you may want to stay away from Asus, they tend to use the lowest quality screens possible in their laptops. If that sin;'t a concern the rest of the system is usually top notch.

You may want to see if Lenovo is running any sales on the Thinkpad x220. Aside from the dedicated gpu it will easily beat you battery life and weight requirements and many people consider it the best ultraportable released in a long time. I have a x220 with a i5 2410m and the 9 cell battery and it can easily get more than 10 hours of battery life. If you go that route I also recommend the Premium LCD screen, it is a IPS panel that puts many desktop monitors to shame.
 
bpm55 said:
I have been looking at the x220, but it starts to get expensive quick. I am hoping to squeeze a lit money from my parents to up the budget, but that is still to be determined. I am a big Lenovo fan.

Also looking at this laptop from the Microsoft store. Anyone know anything bad about it please let me know.

Microsoft Store Online - Sony VAIO VPCSA2FGX/BI
Click to expand...

That Viao does look nice if your budget permits it.

The key to getting a deal on the x220 is following Lenovo's email offers, they usually give out 10% off coupons just for signing up. I paid $932 (including tax) for my x220 with the following options.

Core i5 2410m
1x2gb of ram (get another 2gb from newegg for $15, installing it is easy)
Premium LCD screen
250gb hard drive
9 cell battery
Intel Centrino wireless N 1000 (includes WiDi)
laptop sleeve (Not worth the money)

Granted even at that price the x220 isn't exactly cheap but after using it for several months it was worth every penny. Prices on the x220 seem to have dropped slightly since then as well.
 
well I have been looking the past few days and I can get the X220 with the I7 and all the features for $980.
Do yall think it is worth the money?
I really need this computer to last. That is why I don't want to buy something that is cheap and that I will have to replace in 2 years.
 
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