Question:
Didn't think I'd be doing this again...
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
$1300USD maximum for the notebook itself, however, I plan on spending around $300-$500 more for accesseries and upgrades. The cap on the notebook price is placed by my mother, not me, her reasoning is it's too expensive in one bulk or something like that..
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
13"-17" is fine, I do have somewhat specific requirements for each though.
13.3" I'd like to have a dedicated card, but don't need it to please me.
14"/14.1"(Both Standard Aspect and WideScreen) Would need to have a dedicated card no lowe than GO7400/X1400.
15"/15.4" would need to have a dedicated card no lower than GO7600/X1600.
17" would need to have a dedicated card at or better than GO7600/X1600.
(Please note I have no preference to nVIDIA over ATi, I did not list them first for that, I only did it in alphabetical order.)
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
I plan on doing a lot of typing, thus a very good keyboard is required, Medium to moderate gaming thus a dedicated card is required, if I purchased one without a dedicated card I'd want it to be cheaper so I could get started on building a gaming desktop. From a gaming standpoint, playability is all I care about, so an X1400 is fine, the reason I may get a more powerful card is mainly future-proofness for later games. I plan on doing some amateur video and photo editing, or trying to at least as I've wanted to for a while, a good screen will not be required as I'd use an external monitor. Besides that, just average productivity and multimedia functions.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
I will be taking it around the house and from place to place, possibly to and from school from time to time. Mainly it will be used on a desk and sometimes when I get lazy, on my lap, most of the time it will be plugged in though. It would be in a good quality bag when taking it from place to place if that matters for this question.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes, I'd be playing Final Fantasy XI and Guild Wars along with some older games and possibly some newer ones, one I'd like to play is Halo 2 when it comes out for Vista, I also await Spore.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I like less used brands, I have nothing against big brands I just prefer to be unique and thus I like higher quality brands like IBM/Lenovo and ASUS, I do have an affinity for HP though, seeing as I have literally used their computers for my entire computing life. I also like Compal and Apple. There aren't any I really don't like.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Anything under 17 inches I would prefer to have at least 3 hours and under 14 inches I would prefer four or more. 17 inches I would prefer at least 2 hours but that's not really necessary.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Not at all, either is fine, though.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
In the USA, Huntington, West Virginia. I'm saying city in case of any local deals and such.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
I like both but prefer standard aspect for 14" notebooks and widescreen for 15", well 15.4" for it to be widescreen.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
I will seperate this one as I did screen size;
13.3" WXGA is fine.
14"/14.1" Standard Aspect SXGA is preferred.
14"/14.1" WideScreen WXGA+ is preferred but WXGA is fine.
15" Standard Aspect UXGA is preferred.
15.4" WideScreen WXGA+ Is preferred WSXGA is fine but I'd rather not WXGA if possible.
17" WXGA+ or WUXGA are preferred.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I prefer matte but good glossy screens are fine.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
I'd prefer it to look nice, but my definition of nice is different from most, personally I find Thinkpads to be beautiful machines.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Most likely within the next month.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
I would most likely get the base offered from the company and then replace it with a 100GB 7200RPM SeaGate Momentus, or possibly the HITACHI 160GB 5400RPM. Either way it'd be replaced, most likely.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I would prefer a Dual Layer DVD-RW but if it's not possible it also wouldn't be difficult to replace later for most notebooks.
As many know I'm a rather contributing member to these forums, so having done that you may be wondering why I'm asking for help on this when I should know. Well, I have it mostly figured out, I would like to buy a ThinkPad T60, I evensaid I would int he random thread, but as I have a month left before I am able to purchase it, I thought I'd see what everyone thought and maybe I'd get some incredible recommendation that would be even better for me than the Thinkpad, who knows, I sure don't, so, I thought I'd give it a go.
On a side note, I thought this would set an example for people who don't fill out the FAQ, or don't know how to, fill it out thoroughly for the best results, I believe I've done that rather well.
Answer:
Re: Didn't think I'd be doing this again...
Thanks for writing a book - I mean, completing the FAQ. ;)
Couple of options here for the respective sizes:
13.3": Could probably find a Sony SZ, although the keyboard is less than stellar.
14": You said you liked unique machines - give the Compal HGL30 a long, hard look. Excellent machine.
15": Don't really see a lot of options besides the T60.
15.4": The Compal HEL80 is well worth considering; the matte WSXGA+ screen is wonderful.
17": May be a bit tight on your budget. Consider the HP dv8000 series. Doesn't have as nice of a design as the dv9000, but is several hundred cheaper last time I looked. You could score some good deals, since they are phasing the dv8000 out.
Answer:
Re: Didn't think I'd be doing this again...
Heh, it is a bit longer than most isn't it..
Anyway, thanks for checking in Chaz, I've looked at all of those, actually. I suppose this was more for finding ones I may have missed, but I dunno if there are any that I have. I've been at this for the past several months. =/
EDIT:
Well, I looked at them all again and, I think I've decided what is my best route. Buy a notebook from CostCo so I can return it if it's bad as well as keep it if I like it, and that notebook will be the DV8000T. If I suffer those keyboard problems, I'll be mad, but at least I can return it easily, that was the main thing keeping me away from it.