Accounting Student - Need help finalizing decision / additional suggestions

[Logikal10]

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

500-900 - Canadian Dollars as I live in Canada

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

The only reason I am selecting this size is due to the addition of a dedicated numpad. The laptop MUST have a dedicated numeric keypad as it is simply too tedious entering a lot of numerical inputs with the standard row of numbers and I have read that a USB numerical keypad is cumbersome, if doing a lot of inputting on a regular basis.


3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Lenovo so far, as per my research, due to battery life
b. Dislike: Anything that comes loaded with a bunch of useless trials etc

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

If a warranty was available and the price was right yes... prefer new though

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Word Processing / Excel Spreadsheets
Web browsing
Watching some movies and listening to music
Reason 6.0 music recording via Microphone and Keyboard (Have an external sound card for this so the CPU / RAM simply needs to be sufficient to do this)

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Bringing it to school and back home, different classrooms etc.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

Never

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

Maximum possible. I have been leaning towards Lenovo with a 9 Cell battery simply because I want AT LEAST 6 hours of battery life just using it for the above described functions (aside from music editing, I would be able to plug it in to a power supply in that stage). I want to be able to use it for an entire day at school without worrying about having to plug it in.

So far, my research has led me to Lenovo for that reason.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

I don't mind buying it online and also most likely prefer to buy it online.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows 7, Home or Professional, doesn't matter.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?

Screen resolution is not too picky for me. Something decent.

I have a full 1080P monitor for my desktop computer and watch movies on my HDTV so it's not really a determinant in my decision making.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?

Prefer it to be non-glossy / antiglare

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Nope

15) When are you buying this laptop?

Any day now. Lenovo Boxing Week sale ends January 4th

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

4 years would be nice. Assuming it will be out of date speed wise anyways at that point.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

500GB should be fine.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

DVD-ROM to install programs like Office.

No burner or Blu-Ray



Additional Information

I have almost fully decided on the Lenovo T520:

Intel Core i5-2430M Processor (2.40GHz, 3M Cache)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
15.6" HD (1366 x 768) LED backlight Anti-Glare
Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor graphics with dynamic frequency
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) Cheaper to just upgrade the ram later on than through them
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) No Fingerprint Reader
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable
9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery
ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n

Comes to about 950 after taxes, maybe a bit more.


I would prefer to spend less then that.

The main reason I have chosen this model is the battery life. I have found many laptops, HP, Dell, Sony etc that are cheaper, however, the battery life is listed as 4 hours or so... and that means probably 2. Even if it was 4, that is not enough for me. Chances are that I will be able to plug it in but I want the option of running it a good 6-8 hours without having to plug it in.

A dedicated numerical keypad is a must. A long battery life is a must.

So I am here making this request as perhaps some you will have alternative suggestions for the same or a lesser price... with a solid battery life.

Edit - Future upgrade ability is a plus as well. Such as the Lenovo I have built, I like the fact that I can easily upgrade the HD / Ram

I'm very knowledgeable with computers so feel free to use all the technical terms you want

Kind Regards and thank you to all who take the time to help out (and other members who have provided invaluable information to others on this site)

[edit1754]

If you get the Lenovo Thinkpad T520, You're going to want to upgrade to the 1600x900 display. The 1600x900 screen is only a $50 upgrade, and you shouldn't upgrade anything else until you have this upgrade.

Despite having an external monitor, you're should still upgrade the screen in the laptop. For one thing, that 1366x768 display they offer as the default option is a horrible quality display. The 1600x900 display is significantly better with regards to the contrast and the overall image quality (difference between a contrast ratio of less than 200:1 and a contrast ratio of over 600:1), and the higher resolution lets you fit more onscreen at a time. 1366x768 is a poor res for a 15.6" laptop because it's the same res used standard in 12-inch laptops.

An external monitor can't really replace the internal screen completely, because the main point of a laptop is to bring it on-the-go. When you bring it with you, you're only using the internal screen, and the screen resolution is the biggest limiting factor for productivity.

Pardon the pun, but don't make 1366x768 your "new years resolution"

EDIT: also apply coupon code USPRETHINK to bring down the price.

[Logikal10]

Thank you for the prompt response.

That coupon code is not valid in Canada or at least at this time for me.

The Boxing Week code brings the price down about $150.00

I'd like to see if I can get a 3 year warranty thrown in at a reduced cost.

I'll definitely go for the display upgrade then

Pretty sure that will be the laptop I settle on unless somebody knows of a better alternative, however, it seems like it suits my needs. Just would be nice to bring the price down a bit.


Edit: It looks like the T520 does NOT have a numerical keypad

And it was the E520 I was looking at...

[mmmangoes]

Unfortunately, the T520 doesn't have a number pad-

Perhaps check out the battery life of

-Hp Probook 4530s + 9 cell battery

-Dell Latitude e5520 + 9 cell battery (1080p optional)