13-14" new laptop

[flyingsilverfin]

Hi there, I'm here posting for a friend of ours in the netherlands, here's the form he filled out
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1) What is your budget?

- 1000-2000 USD

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
- Netherlands

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Asus, HP
b. Dislike:

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
- NO

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

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

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
- No Games

9) How many hours of battery life do you need? 8 hours

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?
- OK to buy without seeing

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
- Windows 8


Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.
Standard Resolutions: WXGA, HD, 720p
Actual resolutions: 1280x800 and 1366x768
Offered on larger Netbooks and Notebooks up to 16"
Midrange Resolutions: WXGA+, HD+, 900p Should be 14 inch screen
Actual resolutions: 1440x900 and 1600x900
Offered on all Notebooks. Keep in mind text will be very small on a 12" WXGA+ notebook.
Maximum Resolutions: WSXGA+, WUXGA, FHD, 1080p
Actual resolutions: 1680x1050, 1920x1200 and 1920x1080
Offered on Notebook 15" and larger


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

Build Quality and Design

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

15) When are you buying this laptop?
- end 2012

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

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
- SSD 500 GB

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

[maverick1989]

Considering you said "private tasks", I do not know what you will be doing. So for such a large budget range and without really any constraints except the SSD and BR-R, you have a host of possibilities and again, depending on what those tasks are, you don't really need to be spending two grand. Especially if you are not going to play games. If your private tasks involve heavy video editing/encoding or running other types of programs, then you might want to put in the best CPU/GPU combo you can find.

If you want style, you can go for Alienware but with the 512 gig SSD, you'd be at your budget without any other changes. In fact, that is true of most that give you stylish looks.

Like I said, you have several options - Sager, mythlogic, Alienware. You can even look at the ENVY series - I believe there is a discount on those, at least in the US. However, without info on what exactly you want to do or at least how computationally intensive it could be, it would be difficult to point out a specific model/config.

[pepper_john]

if by "private tasks" you mean business, you can consider Thinkpad T420 with enhanced graphics, though I am not sure if they comes with Blu Ray.

[flyingsilverfin]

Here's the extra info that was requested:
He will be using the laptop for powerpoint, large word documents and other office stuff. His wife does some video and picture editing along with inDesign

Also he said that 15" (max) screen would ok, and that he might using an external monitor or two.

Not flashy either.
I'm thinking along the lines of samsung series 7 or sony s 15?