New Laptop - Suggestions/Reviews
 

Laptop Gurus,

I come to you once again and am looking for some advice! I have been looking at the Asus UL30VT-A1 and it looks like a pretty bang on laptop (minus some trackpad issues), any other suggestions in the league?

Looking to spend 700-900 for the laptop. Going to need it be a PC since I won't be able to use a Mac for my needs. It will be used primarily for school and when it isn't, it will be used to stream shows/movies at home. I like the asus because it offers the best of both worlds. Anything else, would be great too. Not needing a laptop that can game. Only ones that will be good for video/movies.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...nufacture=ASUS

If you can please let me know what you think of this laptop or have other recommendations, please let me know!

Thanks!!!

that asus would be pretty good for your needs, the processor is decent enough for most tasks. should be awesome battery life as well

I got a Toshiba with the same processor and it lasts 8 hrs with wifi, movies (topgear)

Toshiba Laptops are pretty good with the price you're paying.

toshiba is alrit, they have major overheating issue.

Friend has one and the freaking laptop can get REAL HOT. the processor location gets so hot that you actually feel like its burning by resting ur palm on top.

now if u remove the laptop off the table, the same spot can be felt as if you took a hair dryer and blow at the desk for 10 minutes. thats how freaking hot it is..



sony seems alrit

i had good experience with sony and acers laps

Go Dell or Asus, They have the best warranty.

I had the same question and read a ton of reviews before deciding. I received my Dell 1558 on Fri and am impressed. It was $980 before taxes.

The absolute best thing: 1080p 15.6" monitor. 1920x1080!

I have a 2yo 1440x900 14.1" work laptop, and a 3yo 1280x800 12.1" previous home laptop. I was really disappointed to see most of the new laptops are 720p, 1368x720. It seems like a step backwards for laptops.

720 vertical resolution sucks, 800 was barely tolerable on the 12.1" and 900 on the 14.1" was nearly ideal. I tried a few out in the store first and hated the 720 vertical resolution. Even with font sizes adjusted smaller, I just couldn't get enough screen real estate.

The 1080p monitor upgrade was only $50 on the Dell Studio 150, and you could easily option it out below $900. I got the i5, 4GB of ram, and the backlit keyboard. Backlit keyboard is awesome! Oh and the touchpad supports gestures, aka pinch zoom.

I really like the HP Probook 4320S that we just got in at Staples and it's similar in size and weight to that Asus, but cheaper and with a much faster CPU.

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

On sale for $799 until closing tomorrow night (the stores should have these in stock even though the website says it's out of stock; we have 3 at my store).

Good processor, 63 Whr battery (a typical 6-cell is 47 Whr, so it lasts about 33% longer), aluminum chassis, Windows 7 Professional (32-bit and 64-bit) + Windows XP Professional 32-bit so you can dual boot or use Windows XP mode within Windows 7, comes with a really nice software package including Corel Office, HP Protect Tools (facial recognition, fingerprint reader, file encryption, lo-jack theft recovery, etc.).

Uh, most older laptops were 1280x800 (1.02 MP) and most of the newer laptops are 1366x768 (1.05 MP), so basically the same.

as i've said in numerous threads before, I wont buy anything but a Sony ever again

It's almost like you didn't read my post.

I expect newer laptops to have more resolution than older laptops. My 14" work laptop is < 2yo and has 1440x900, and my 12" laptop has more vertical resolution.

OP wants a school laptop, which implies he'll be reading/writing, and more vertical resolution is best.
Plus he wants it to watch movies, and movies in 1080p look absolutely amazing on this screen.

get the m11x :)
btw does anyone know where i can get m11x? without ordering it online?

1810TZ

why is that? care to retell the story? lol i missed out

Dell Studio XPS laptop looks good.

mine is like 3 years old at this point and the hardware outperforms brand new laptops with Vista installed, it has never once failed on me, the screen remains brighter than all my friends notebooks at 3 years old, and the computer itself remains stylish and up to date in terms of looks even though it's 3 years old

i really couldnt be happier with it, and like i said i wouldnt buy another notebook other than a sony, in my lifetime i've probably owned 13-15 desktop PC's and 3 notebooks and this sony Vaio ranks amongst the best out of all of them

thing is, i bought a higher end one at the time, the sticker price at bestbuy was 1499, and i bought the last floor model available for 999, so it was fairly high end to begin with

I have got to tell you, my HP experience has been TERRIBLE.

Other than printers and possibly monitors, I will never buy another HP product again.

I was on the phone with a rep for like 2 hours because they couldn't figure out that I was calling to have my laptop repaired due to a hardware problem and not a software issue. Not to mention, the dv line is totally and completely fucked. Worst. Laptop. Ever.

Dell XPS is very nice, except its not as thin/portable as the Asus one you suggested.

Dells are crap - I've had to repair a few that my friend's had and I had the Dell 11/12 inch XPS and the D630. Both sucked ass and were pieces of crap. I would go with an Asus or a Lenovo if you can afford/find one.

i jst ordered mine online =D
i hope its as good as ppl say =D

no one other then dell gives good customer service... NO ONE.

if you want good back end support get a dell, however I suggest their warranty. I broke my dell adamo by dropping it. They gave me the new version for FREEEE :D

thx for sharing, but i searched online apparently a lot of ppl have issue with sony's stupid two piece fan, which causes annoying noises. my friend had issues with the fan noise plus hardrive noise

I agree. Based on my laptop experience I will never buy another HP.

HP and NVidia both screwed up, yet neither were willing to admit it and recall the laptops even though it affected virtually the entire lineup of HPs at the time (DVs and TXs). If you were out of warranty, you were screwed.

The NVIdia chip would run hot, HP didn't design adequate cooling, and HP switched to "environmentally friendly" solder which has a lower melting point. Plus hibernate/sleep would keep the video chip powered and always hot. All combined it would cause the solder on the video chip would fail after 12-24 months of use. There are a number of fixes online, yet I tried them and none worked long term. Eventually I packed it in and bought my new Dell.

Dell does have a reputation lately of poor quality too, yet their customer service is always top notch.

how much did you pay?

So,

After all this debate about who to avoid, any specific laptops with similar or better specs that I should be considering? Apple has a great warranty and service as well if anyone wanted to go onto that topic.

CRS I'm in the same debate as you, but after researching the m11x seems to be everyones most popular choice.