Laptop for Undergrad.

[firezedge]

What is your budget?
1000-1400

What size notebook would you prefer?
Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen


Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
US, California

Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Like: Samsung
Dislike: Dell, Hp, and Apple

Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
No

What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Microsoft Office (word, pp, excel), Hw, Web surfing, Music Listening, Video/ Movie/ TV streaming, Skype, and Gaming

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

Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Torchlight 2, BF3, Total War Shogun 2, etc. etc.

How many hours of battery life do you need?
5-8 hrs

Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Doesn't really matter to me because I can see the reviews.

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

From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

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

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

When are you buying this laptop?
7/18- 9/8

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

Do you want a SSD drive?
No

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 -750 gb

Do you need an optical drive?
Nope

[NewLaw]

Look at the VAIO S (lighter, less expensive) or Dell XPS (heavier, more expensive). Both have been reported to run all of those games well.

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

Possibly check out the Lenovo Ideapad Y480 or Y580? Battery life should be at least 5 hours, and I know that the Y580 can be had with 1080p.

[firezedge]

Look at the VAIO S (lighter, less expensive) or Dell XPS (heavieler, more expensive). Both have been reported to run all of those games well.

Vaio S looks kinda overpriced and I hate dells :P. Looking for 13-14 inch (maybe 15 inch) that has an i7 and Nvidia 640- 650 graphics.

Possibly check out the Lenovo Ideapad Y480 or Y580? Battery life should be at least 5 hours, and I know that the Y580 can be had with 1080p.

My only concern is with Lenovo's build quality. Do you own one and like it?

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

Vaio S looks kinda overpriced and I hate dells :P. Looking for 13-14 inch (maybe 15 inch) that has an i7 and Nvidia 640- 650 graphics.

My only concern is with Lenovo's build quality. Do you own one and like it?

Sony's pretty much overpriced all-around, if you ask me. Then there's Sony's attitude towards customers, which has steered me away from their products, even if they were decently priced/spec-ed.

As for the Lenovo, I've had both the Y470p as well as the U310 (I receive laptops to review from time to time) and my general thought is that Ideapads are pretty well built for a consumer laptop. Of course, an Ideapad won't beat my W520 in durability, but for a consumer laptop I think they're a good brand. Feels better than the Toshiba Satellite I owned for two years, and certainly better than the 2007-2009 HP Pavilions my family members own. Considering that a lot of laptops are actually made by a small handful of ODMs (like Clevo, Quanta, Compal, etc), build quality arguments are basically reduced to consumer-class v business-class.

[monkeychef]

I was in the exact same boat as you. I was originally looking at the new vaio s, but it was flimsy and overpriced. My friend just got the new dv7 qe, but I was very wary because it was an HP product. I bought the dv6 qe, and I have to say that I am extremely happy with the purchase. I only paid $1000 for a really high spec and well built machine. I would definitely look into it. Pm me if you have any questions.

Sent from my Iconia A500 using Tapatalk 2

[firezedge]

I was in the exact same boat as you. I was originally looking at the new vaio s, but it was flimsy and overpriced. My friend just got the new dv7 qe, but I was very wary because it was an HP product. I bought the dv6 qe, and I have to say that I am extremely happy with the purchase. I only paid $1000 for a really high spec and well built machine. I would definitely look into it. Pm me if you have any questions.

Sent from my Iconia A500 using Tapatalk 2

HP seems reasonable, but there track record is really hard for me to ignore. I might wait for Samsung Series 5 or get a Lenovo. Any other thoughts guys?

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

Well, the owners of the current (and SB) dv6 laptops seem to love them, and according to what I've heard on NBR, they're not like the older Pavilion from HP's "bad years" (2007-2009, from my experience). They really are a good value, hardware-wise. I still expect HP consumer support to be garbage though.

[firezedge]

Well, the owners of the current (and SB) dv6 laptops seem to love them, and according to what I've heard on NBR, they're not like the older Pavilion from HP's "bad years" (2007-2009, from my experience). They really are a good value, hardware-wise. I still expect HP consumer support to be garbage though.

Should I wait for u2442n or just get the hp?

[NewLaw]

Vaio S looks kinda overpriced

I can promise you that this is not the case. As a new owner of a VAIO S15, the build quality is top notch. You can get an i7 and a Kepler 640 for around $1200 and a free PS3 to sell. Mine is easily running BF3, Skyrim, and Photoshop and cost me under $1000.

Additionally, all of their customer reps I have talked to have been very helpful, even moreso than Dell or HP people that I've had the displeasure of dealing with in the past.