Always a trade-off... 14-15" general purpose/entertainment

[fcoliver]

Congratulations, folks, on a great forum. I've been lurking for months and found it to be the most helpful and informative of all.

For up to $1200, preferably less, I want a general use/entertainment Win7 notebook for Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software (Word, Outlook, Quicken), Listening to Music, Photo Editing, (maybe Casual Gaming.)

I'm considering a 14" screen (smaller, lighter, better battery life) but lean toward 15.6" screen (more screen, number keys, which I use a lot.)

Must be matte (anti glare) and 1600x900, but would consider FHD. IPS would be nice, depending on cost and quality.

Intel i5 seems the best choice for the money, and may be overkill for my needs, but I'd consider an i7 (over-overkill) if it didn't add much cost or deduct significant battery life.

I don't expect to ever do video editing or serious gaming, so if I wait a few more weeks for the Ivy Bridge, I think the Intel 4000 integrated graphics would be adequate and eliminate the need for a discrete GPU. (Although any GPU would suffice, I lean toward Nvidia/Optimus.)

My 5-year-old HP Pavillion a1720n desktop w/ 4GB and 320GB @5400 meets my needs, but I get tired of sitting at a desk and would like to prop up in my easy chair for web surfing, reading forum blogs and news sites, etc.

Most use (90%+) would be just that - in the club chair reading blogs, watching YouTube, answering email, but I'd occasionally take it to a meeting, or sit out on the back porch, or plug in a USB GPS antenna for a car trip, and that's when the smaller, lighter, and more battery would be nice.

Expect to use > 5 years; it might ultimately replace the desktop.

I'd just go for an Ultrabook, but I don't like the sealed (non-user-replacable) battery. I'd like to prolong battery longevity by removing it when on AC power (which will be most of the time.) Maybe that's not such a big deal, but the OEM batteries are pretty pricey. OTOH, with Samsung's BatteryLifePlus anti-aging technology and 3-year/1500-charge guarantee, perhaps I'm making too much of it.

I've had difficulty (on the manufacturers' web sites and the reviews) determining which models have an easily removable/replaceable battery.

I do want 6+ hours with general use - surfing, Netflx, YouTube, etc.

I could forego the optical drive and get a USB 3.0 external drive; otherwise the DVD R/W is okay.

We only have Staples and WalMart; the nearest Best Buy is an hour's drive. I'll probably buy online (as soon as I figure out what to get... unless I wait another month for the IB notebooks.)

I really like the idea of the hybrid drives and would go for 500-750GB @ 7200 rpm with 8-16 GB of SSD (for faster sleep/hibernate/wake, boot.)

USB 3.0 (at least one) is a must. Multitouch/multigesture pad, larger is better, prefer Elan over Synaptics, prefer buttons over clickpad

Like: HP, Samsung, Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba, ASUS,
Dislike: Dell

That's a lot of information (hopefully not too much) and a lot of choices. I really look forward to hearing your responses.

You guys are great! Thanks for your help.

[ForeverZen]

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC | HP Official Store

Fully loaded for $1000 with NBP8784 coupon, enjoy.

[ZaZ]

The Vaio SE might be worth a look. It's very light for a 15" notebook.

[pepper_john]

thinkpad S430 is coming in June.

[fcoliver]

The Vaio SE might be worth a look. It's very light for a 15" notebook.

I've looked at that a couple of times and like it. IIRC it has the sealed (non-user-replacable) battery, and that concerns me. You can't remove it when on AC power (to promote battery longevity.) I also think I saw (somewhere) that the Sony replacement battery for these was ~$200+ (ouch.)

[fcoliver]

thinkpad S430 is coming in June.

As is the T530, which would probably be worth waiting for.

[fcoliver]

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC | HP Official Store

Fully loaded for $1000 with NBP8784 coupon, enjoy.

It became A3F49AV w/ anti-glare FHD, backlit keyboard, 32GB SSD, Intel wireless /w bluetooth. That took it to $1390, the coupon knocked off $460. With sales tax: $995. A very good prospect.

(How did you find the coupon, and how long is it good for?)

Thanks

[Necrovex]

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC | HP Official Store

Fully loaded for $1000 with NBP8784 coupon, enjoy.

Hot damn, that's a sexy deal. How are HP usually for gaming (i.e. Diablo 3 on high)? Also, is the hardware of quality (I remember HP had a problem with this a few years back)? After dealing with a Macbook, I'm tired of shoddy hardware.

[mariol90]

I've looked at that a couple of times and like it. IIRC it has the sealed (non-user-replacable) battery, and that concerns me. You can't remove it when on AC power (to promote battery longevity.) I also think I saw (somewhere) that the Sony replacement battery for these was ~$200+ (ouch.)

one nice thing about thinkpads is you can set battery thresholds, so if you want to keep the computer plugged in and stop the battery from charging at 60% or something, you can do that. this way you never have to worry about taking the battery out.

[pepper_john]

Hot damn, that's a sexy deal. How are HP usually for gaming (i.e. Diablo 3 on high)? Also, is the hardware of quality (I remember HP had a problem with this a few years back)? After dealing with a Macbook, I'm tired of shoddy hardware.

a hp is always a hp, somewhat more prone to overheating than others.