Question:
Advice on Portable Laptop
Hey there,
I filled out the FAQ questions a while ago, and I got some good responses. However, I've done even more research by now, and I feel that I might as well go ahead and ask again. However, I'm not going to fill out the FAQ again, but instead outline what I am looking for.
I'm looking for a laptop that is relatively portable - 12.1" to 15.4", please. Widescreen? Maybe - what is better for office/school work? Either way, it's not a big deal at this point - I'll take suggestions from both ends of the spectrum. Essentially, I'm looking for a machine for university. It has to be something that can be transported daily on the bus!
I'm a CS major, so I'm going to need something with some power for programming/compiling. A powerful Pentium M is my processor of choice - I need battery life and power. From benchmarks I've seen, the Turion simply does not compare in either field - and I certainly don't care about 64-bit! I love AMD on the desktop, but the laptop? No thanks!
A capable graphics card would be VERY nice, but is not an absolute must. ATI or NVIDIA are both ok, I guess. None of this hyper/shared memory schtick, though.
I run a non-standard operating system (Linux), so anything that works well without tweaking is good. If you don't know what I mean by this, don't worry yourself - ignore that bit! Also, a computer that one can save money on by not getting Windows on it is great!
Battery life, like I mentioned before, is VERY important. I'm looking at about 3 hours as the BARE minimum. 4 would be decent, anything more would be great. I am open to buying an extra-cell battery and probably will (say, 12-cell as opposed to 6-cell), but it should be a laptop that gets good life anyway.
Build quality MUST be solid. Something that flexes is useless for me. Likewise with the keyboard - it must be solid and with very little to no flex.
The screen should probably be matte. It's not going to need to be a media machine, and will probably be used outside.
A DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive is good. DVD-RW is nice, but not if it costs an obscene amount of money.
Price range MUST be <$2800 CAD (without taxes), even if the laptop is some spectacular god-machine. Cheap is good, but not if build quality or keyboard is sacrificed.
Disk is no big deal. 5400 RPM or greater, I guess 60 GB or more. I get away with 40 now without that much trouble.
I guess the final thing is brands to avoid. First and foremost, NO Compaq or HP. I see them recommended around here often, but I will not touch them. The (desktop) machine I have now is a Compaq and very poorly built. My brother's HP desktop is not-so-affectionately referred to as the "Toaster", and is quite flimsy. Likewise, my Dad's HP laptop completely fried itself. Mobo and all. So, please, no HP/Compaq. Also, no Dell (I've heard of extensive quality issues) and Sony.
I've been looking mostly at the IBM Thinkpad T line and both the pre-built and built-on ASUS laptops.
Thanks to anyone who reads through this and responds!
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
Solid, light for the punch it packs, WSXGA+ and matte, P-M based, strong GPU, etc. = Asus Z70Va
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
I'm going to reccomend the Thinkpad T43 Series. Its got great performance, battery life, and an outstanding keyboard, plus IBM build quality. However, it does not offer the best graphics solution out there, but is still respectable.
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
I believe AMDvsIntel is on the right track... I think you'd do well with a Thinkpad. Bulletproof, almost!
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
On the T43 - isn't it pretty expensive for the performance you get? What is the cheapest way to order one? Keep in mind, of course, that I'm in Canada.
I love the sound of the T43, but I'm still a bit worried as to the pricing for performance.
Thanks for the replies, everyone! :)
[edit] For example, looking at CanadaSys as opposed to the Lenovo Store, I can get a much better speced ASUS laptop for cheaper. Is the Thinkpad really that good? Or is there some magical way of getting good prices on a Thinkpad? :D
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
Lenovo is having a .
Awesome deal for the T43 with SXGA+ screen and 3-year warranty. I've got an Asus Z70Va, and compared to that the T42/43 is significantly lighter, thinner, and compact. The trackpoint on the IBM is so much better than a touchpad too, IMHO, I'd be willing to pay $100 if they could add it to my laptop.
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
How about the Asus W3v which would give you the GPU you want and offers good build quality. If you want to go smaller, the Fujitsu S series is very good, but has an integrated card.
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
Thanks for the link to the sale, but it ends tomorrow. :(
The W3V is something I'll definitely look at!
The Fujitsu S series seems steeply priced, especially since a good T43 express model from the Lenovo Store seems to be cheaper with similar specs (with the x300 as well, of course). Does it really cost THAT much more to get a 13.3" Lifebook over a better-speced 14.1" Thinkpad?
I'm using the CanadaSys prices for reference.
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
ThinkPads are the best built notebooks and have 1st rate service so you have to factor that into the cost. Down here similarly speced, the S series and the T43 are in the same ballpark.
Answer:
Re: Advice on Portable Laptop
It would strike me, then, that the T43 would be the better choice there. :)
A slightly better speced T43 from Lenovo came out to about $50-100 less than the Fujitsu S series 13.3" I looked at.