Secondary Computer - School, Gaming, Photos

[remlap13]

Hey guys,

So I filled out the fancy form thingy. I'll provide a bit more explanation below.

What is your budget?
$1000 - $1500

What country will you be buying this in?
Canada

What size notebook do you prefer?
Ultraportable (11 - 12-inch screen)
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Movie Streaming and Viewing, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
Diablo 3 and Civ 5 will probably be the most graphically intensive games that will get played.

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places and Will stay on desk

How many hours of battery life do you need?
6-8

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

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 08/01/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3-5 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
320 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
No


---------------------------

So here's where I'm at. I have been out of school for a year and a half now, and am about to go back in the fall to start my CMA designation. I haven't needed a decent laptop for a couple years (I limped by on my sister's old 17" monster for my last semester of school), but I figure with the amount of work that's looming for the next 2 years of my life, I could use something new.

As was said above, my primary uses will be school work (case studies, presentations, etc), watching movies, surfing the net, and the occasional gaming session. It will be transported quite a bit once my courses start up in August, and even more-so come November-December.

I have a desktop at home right now that I bought a little over 3 years ago that still runs things just fine, so I don't need this one to be a gaming powerhouse. If it can run Civ 5 and Diablo 3 at high-ish settings, I'm set.

I've been looking primarily at the Sony Vaio S Series, the New Dell XPS 14 and 15, and at some Lenovo's. I really don't have any brand preference. If it's an option though, I would be willing to do some upgrades at home (RAM and HDD) if it meant saving some money.

I hope this wasn't too long! Thanks a lot for your responses!

[remlap13]

Just to add..

It appears that a lot of the 13 and 14" screens aren't full HD or even HD+. Is this common? Do I have to go all the way up to 15 to get the higher resolution? Is the higher resolution worth it, or would the classic 768 be fine?

If I were to buy a laptop with the idea of opening it up to change RAM and HDD, does this void warranties?

[RefinedPower]

yea in general the sub 15" do not have full HD options... there are a few exceptions notably

Asus Ux32 FHD
Sony Z13 FHD

Sony S13 HD+
new Dell XPS 14 HD+
Lenovo T430/s HD+

some manufacturers will void warranty if you open up the laptop some wont... you really would have to check with the specific make/model

[remlap13]

Hmm.. Ok, good to know. I'll cross those bridges later.

Any recommendations based on my first post? Sony? Dell? Other?

[RefinedPower]

I actually went to the Sony store to play around with the S13... really liked it and its bigger brother the S15. both had nice screens, keyboards felt good (although the number pad on the S15 really threw me off). overall build quality felt nice too, although there was a good bit of screen flex which is supposedly intentional.

I will probably pick up the S13 since i cant seem to find any other sub 15" with simular GPU/CPU performance and a nice 900p screen.

nice review here if you want to read
Sony Vaio S 13.3 Review - Notebook Reviews by MobileTechReview

[remlap13]

I will probably pick up the S13 since i cant seem to find any other sub 15" with simular GPU/CPU performance and a nice 900p screen.

This is kind of my thinking, at least for right now, until I get more information/opinions. Although, I was thinking more about what I'm going to actually be using it for, and having a dedicated NumPad might actually be a semi-decent idea. Which would mean stepping up to a 15".

[remlap13]

Just bumping this one..

Does anyone have another viewpoint on this? Something other than an S 13 or 15?