<p>I'm looking for a decent laptop for college. I won't have a desktop, so I'd like a 15" screen. I would like a minimum of 4GB memory, at least a Core i5 (if not an i7), a discrete graphics card, and a 7200rpm hard drive. </p>
<p>I'm looking at a budget of about $1000... but I can go a couple hundred more if necessary. My main issue is finding a laptop with decent specs but also with a manageable weight/thickness and battery life. I've been looking at HP, Sony Vaio, Toshiba, and Asus, but I recently read that HPs tend to have more problems in the long run. </p>
<p>This is an example of something I was looking at: Amazon.com:</a> ASUS N61JV-X2 16-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Dark Brown): Computer & Accessories. The only issue is that it has a lower-end Core i5... I would prefer something a little faster.</p>
<p>What other laptops would you suggest? Thanks!</p>
<p>True, true, but it doesn’t have the Nvidia Optimus technology that the first laptop had. Do you know if Optimus is a considerable benefit?</p>
<p>Take a look at the Dell Latitudes and Lenovo Thinkpads.</p>
<p>They have a lot more to offer in terms of being solid because they are business laptops designed to withstand lots of abuse. I think that, by itself, is much more valuable if you’re a college student, because the laptop will take lots of abuse in your backpack.</p>
<p>I think that Asus laptop is GREAT.
The CPU dont really matter much unless it’s severely underclocked. There won’t be any noticeable difference between 2.2 vs something like 2.6 I don’t think the upper core i7 mobile dual/quad cores are worth the price. If you get a i7 mobile quad core, you’re not going to good battery life.</p>
<p>Thanks! Any other opinions, please?</p>
<p>Asus and Sony are at the top of my PC lists for powerhouses. Lenovo make amazing laptops, and honestly have the best build quality of any PC laptop, but their aesthetics are lacking.</p>
<p>Where can I buy Asus laptops besides Amazon and random websites online? Is there any big-name electronics website that sells a full line of Asus laptops?</p>
<p>@soadquake981: Newegg and Best Buy sell an extensive selection of Asus laptops.</p>
<p>Ah, okay. And if I were to go the Sony route, which line of Vaios would you suggest?</p>
<p>nVidia’s Optimus tech improves battery life. Systems with it have discrete and integrated graphics. Intel is shipping Arrandale processors now that include an integrated graphics core in the CPU die.</p>
<p>The Core i7 adds features over the i5 that the vast majority of people don’t need. Triple -channel memory is one of them - very few people need the extra bandwidth that this provides. The Core i7 is a bit of a power hog compared to the i5 too.</p>
<p>I have two Core i7 systems, a Penryn MacBook Pro (previous generation Intel chips) and a Merom Dell XPS m1330 (two generations ago) with integrated graphics. The XPS, even with cpu and graphics from two generations ago, is still quite a competent machine. Most machines today at the high-end do much more than what is needed.</p>
<p>If you have specific high performance needs such as video gaming, High-Performance Computing, Video Editing, etc. then some of the things that you listed may be important. If you are more of an average user that does Microsoft Office for homework, email, web browsing, watching movies, etc., low-end to midrange systems will be fine.</p>
<p>Okay, I would probably be classified in the “average user” category… I don’t play any video games and I don’t do any heavy media editing.</p>
<p>I’m looking at the Sony Vaio E series and F series. I can get an E series laptop with Core i5 2.4Ghz, 500GB 7200rpm HDD, 512MB discrete graphics, and a Blu-ray drive for about $1100, which I think is pretty expensive (for an i5). </p>
<p>I can also get an F series laptop with Core i7 1.6Ghz, 320GB 7200 rpm HDD, 512MB discrete graphics, backlit keyboard, and a Blu-ray drive for only about $50 more.</p>
<p>I realize that the F series is a much more powerful laptop for almost the same price, but it also has less battery life and is more than a pound heavier. What would you suggest between these two?</p>
<p>I think that you’d be fine for something on the order of a 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo or Core i5.</p>
<p>I’d go with a 5400 RPM disk instead of a 7200 RPM disk as the latter draws more power and generates more heat. If you’re not doing video games, integrated video is more than enough.</p>
<p>So there isn’t an appreciable difference between 7200rpm and 5400rpm?</p>
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<p>I’ve used excaliberpc before and can recommend them. I’ve also heard lots of good things about gentechpc. Bestbuy does have some in store, but they are generally models that are cheaper and have some lesser parts in them.</p>
<p>7200RPM will give you better HDD performance (read, write, seek times, etc) but it will decrease battery life. 5400 RPM is the opposite. You decide which one to compromise- performance or battery life. Most (if not all) desktop HDDs are 7200RPM.</p>
<p>Please do NOT get a Vaio Sony. They are horrible. I mean the 2008 one, I’m currently letting my sister use it because I absolutely do not want to bring it to school.</p>
<p>I’d stay away from Turions - they are a five-year-old design. AMD sells their mobile chips at ultra-cheap prices but you lose all of the improvements that Intel has made in the last five years.</p>
<p>Vaios and HPs are horrid. Very unreliable. Honestly from what you’ve said about what you’re needs for the laptop are…you need to get a thinkpad. All the stats you’re listing are just sexy stats. Honestly you’re not gona need a diacrete video card or an i7…in fact they’ll hurt you during college because of bad battery life, excess heat etc. Get a basic t410 for 1000 and you’ll get great build quality and very solid stats. Look it up. It also won’t break after 2 years</p>