Getting a new laptop! Questions!
 

Hey guys I'm getting a new laptop that is mainly used for school. I am planning to get the Asus U36SD from HK. Does anyone have any experience with its predecessor the U36JC? I'm really attracted by its slim body, I know the UX 21 is coming out but I don't really like the metal on it so I decided on this one.

If they still do not have the laptop in stock in HK, I will probably get the Asus U46E from BestBuy in the States. It looks like a great deal with Sandy Bridge i5, 750GB HD, 8GB RAM, and is slim/light enough for me to carry around all for $750 (I also get a $100 GC if I order it online). The only thing is that out of all the laptops I am looking at right now, it is the only one without a dedicated Graphics Card. Sorry if this is a noob question, but when would I see a difference if I had a Integrated Intel® GMA HD VS Integrated Intel® GMA HD and NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM?

Does anyone have experience with buying an Asus outside of Canada? Am I still under warranty because I see it has a "2-year limited global hardware warranty".

Also it'd be great if you could recommend me any other 13/14 inchers that are lightweight with good battery life that can last me through the day! Anything under $1100 is good.

Thanks!

My 3820TG-3022 from last yr cost $700 at Staples and its the perfect blend of power (i5 430M, switchable Intel HD w/ ATi HD5470), portability (feels like 2 lbs, very thin, 13.3" screen), price and looks. I think it's OK for school use.

Of course, these specs are a bit outdated and you can get better for less from this lineup. But don't obsess over the performance for laptops, because its simply not worth it given how fast tech advances. A good setup would be a note/netbook (as cheap as possible, long battery life, w/ screen size that doesnt strain your eyes) and a more powerful desktop at home as your back up machine.

Keep an eye out for the new AMD Llano laptops too.

that's great deal for U36SD
most likely it will be over $1k in canada
Doesn't matter where you buy, global warranty is global warranty
except buying it from Bestbuy, you dont get Asus 360

check out this one
Acer Aspire Timeline 3830TG-6494 w/ Core i5-2410M, 6GB, 750GB, 13.3in HD, GeForce GT 540M, Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit at Memory Express Computers

Inspiron 15R Laptop Details | Dell Canada

Pretty cheap..but battery life is not the best.

ASUS FOR THE WIN.

Maybe look at Lenovo?

I have had many Thinkpad in the past and none of them have any serious problem through the years.

With F&F discount taken in, they aren't too expensive.

I recently ordered one for my sis-in-law for about 1000 and after another 150 in aftermarket parts upgrades (SSD and mem) it was solid and very fast.

I highly recommend Lenovo laptops because of the build. Magnesium alloy case vs black plastic. Since the laptop is used for school, you'll be traveling with the laptop frequently, taking it in and out of the bag many times a day. You'll want something that can withstand the wear and tear.

Imagine what if your laptop breaks physically and you have an essay due tomorrow?

^

One thing I forgot to add... if you go Lenovo... buy ONLY Thinkpads. I have heard many horror stories from anything other than Thinkpads. It's simply in its own class.

I concur with the lenovo thinkpad suggestion. Asus always has really nice features and attractive pricing, but they rarely (at least for me) work well. Random blue screens, wireless adapter not working randomly and to top it off the g51j I bought a few years ago, right out of the box I couldn't install steam without having the whole laptop lock up.

Just a heads up, as I've seen a lot of friends and acquaintances with asus laptops 'working' but with a lot of random issues.

The U series from Asus are all magnesium alloy I believe. The U36SD is for sure. However I am not sure if I should get the U36SD anymore.. I put a $100HKD deposit for it to come next week. Apparently it is the first batch in HK. The thing costs $8480 which is a little over a 1K CAD. And after thinking about it all night, I'm going to settle with something in the neighbourhood of 6-7k like a U30SD/U41SV because the U36 is only 0.6 cm slimmer than its competitors within Asus and has the exact same specs.. The only other brand's laptop I am looking at is Lenovo's E420. I can get it quite cheap here. The X1/X220 are out of my price range lol

I don't really like Accer. I guess the new Timeline series is alright but the blue is not my style.