Business-like notebook under 1000 euros

[beyeer]

Hi guys, new here but i've been lurking for a while

Here's my form:

What is your budget?
1000 euro (little more is fine)

What country will you be buying this in?
Italy

What size notebook do you prefer?
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen) (a light 15 also ok, but 13-14 is preferred)

What brands do you like or dislike?
In love with thinkpads but they're too expensive
Dislike: Acer, HP, MSI

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Computer Programming, Output Video to TV or Large Monitor
Little vmware/virualbox, maybe flight simulator but I can live with the hd3000 integrated video card.

Where will you be using this laptop?
Mostyl it will stay on desk, carrying on plan/train about once in a month

How many hours of battery life do you need?
3 is fine

Will you be buying online or in store?
online or in store

Which OS do you prefer?
Linux 95% of the time

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900) <- preferred!

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Matte strongly preferred

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes, but not so much

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Before the end of May

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
160 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Yes, but I already own one and I want to use that one

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner, but it's not important


Very important for me, I'd like to replace the HDD with a 2.5" Crucial M4 128Gb I already have, without losing the warranty.
Other desired features:
- i5 or i7
- HDMI out
- 2 years warranty
- USB3
- Sata 3
- good keyboard

Currently I'm struggling to decide between the Toshiba Satellite R830-14F (850 euro), Tecra R840-111 (899 euro), Dell Vostro 3450 (700-1000 euro depending on the configuration) and a VAIO VPC-SA3J1E (850 euro).

The two Toshibas have a capped sata3, the Vostro has probably a bad keyboard (don't know if it's true, I read it in some online reviews), the Vaio SA seems fine except that I read on this forum it has a poor build quality.

Thank you in advance

[pepper_john]

T420 is on sale now at around $800 (US price). Not sure what is the European price.

[beyeer]

T420 is on sale now at around $800 (US price). Not sure what is the European price.

thank you for your answer.
Sadly the only T420 configuration in Italy I found under 1100 euros has an i3 cpu, no usb3 and no hdmi out

[pepper_john]

Thinkpad E430 has a hmdi outlet. I have an E420 for two years and I am happy with it.

I believe E430 is on sale now.

[beyeer]

The E430 isn't sold in Europe yet

Other brands are ok too.

Thank you.

[beyeer]

any other ideas?

Thanks.