Question:
High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
I'm looking at upgrading my laptop before heading to graduate school. Here are my responses to the survey:
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
$2,000 - $2,500 (possibly going up to $2,800)
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Engineering computations (not CAD). E-mail, word processing, listening to music, lots of tasks simultaneously. Moderate gaming.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
I will be carrying it around with me between my room, office, and lab.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
I play some games: Sims 2, Oblivion, some FPS (CS:S, UT2K4). However, I am not obsessed with running at the highest resolution possible as I am getting by with Sims 2 on my T40 (1gb ram, 32 mb mobility Radeon 9000)
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I am extremely pleased with my IBM T40, the quality, form factor, and service really impresses me. I am unsure about the Lenovo transition if that has been maintained (maybe someone could enlighten me). I am leaning away from Dell since several people I know have had multiple issues.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
2 hours minimum, preferably 2.5, but not necessary (I am usually near AC power)
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Buying online is fine.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Either is fine.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
SXGA - 1400x1050
UXGA - 1600x1200
Widescreen
WSXGA+ - 1680x1050
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Doesn't matter
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
I enjoy the simple black look of the Thinkpad, but doesn't matter as long as it isn't lime green and bright red.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
I will be buying this laptop this summer and hopefully using it through grad school (4-5 years).
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
80-100GB
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW
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I'd like the computer to be somewhat future proof for games (again, running at minimum specs is ok in 2 years if possible.) I like a lighter and thinner for easier carrying around. I have looked at the new T60 and T60p, but they are so expensive. I am also considering the HP NC8430. In searching the forum, I found the Asus and am looking at a Compal Hel80, but am a little concerned about buying from a reseller in terms of warrenty and service. I'd like to get 3 years warrenty with possibly accidental coverage and also have reasonable turn around on repairs since this would be my main computer.
Answer:
Re: High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
The ASUS V6j is an option, it's pretty similiar to the ThinkPad series, just not as great(but what is?) in the keyboard area. It features a 7400 Go, which is a mainstream card, which should do fine.
However, Dell's Latitude line has always been pretty good quality, check into that as well.
Answer:
Re: High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
Well for your budget you could easily get the T60.
The resellers who sell the HEL80s are highly reputable. Check out www.powernotebooks.com. I know for a fact that they offer 3yr accidental at powernotebooks and they have great service.
Answer:
Re: High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
Or you could get a acer 5672 from newegg for $1069, buy a 2.0ghz core duo cpu, and 2 gb of ram and save yourself several hundred dollars. Youll get dual core performance, plenty of ram for your needs, lots of hdd(SATA 120gb), the size notebook you want, great gaming with a x1600 video card, bluetooth, a/b/g wifi, and gigabit lan.
With a 2.0ghz core duo, 2gb of pc667 ddr2 the total comes to $1541. Add a 3 year warranty and your still way below budget. But if you really want to spend the money for the same thing by all means go for it.
Answer:
Re: High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
Acer Ferrari 5000, if you can find one in time. You'll want the 64-bit Turion X2 given your engineering needs and 4-5 year use requirement, especially if you're going to give Linux a try. They've been announced for a while but I don't think they've made their way to America yet. It has all the toys and should be well within your budget. See the Acer forum here. I'd prefer a nVidia GPU and chipset like the HP dv6000z has but it doesn't have the screen resolution and high-end GPU that you want. It's MUCH cheaper though. MSI might come out with something appropriate too. Turion X2 production is still ramping up.
Answer:
Re: High End Laptop for Entering Graduate Student
i would personally go with the hp nc8430 b/c it seems to have the best build quality in a notebook that has an x1600 or better. you could also consider the dell m65. i believe that quadro version is similar to the 7600go.