<p>Hello! I would really appreciate any help on finding a laptop. I've been researching for two months, and all the laptops I've come across are either too good, therefore expensive, or cheap, but not too good.</p>
<p>These are my dad's criteria, and therefore inflexible:
+ huge brand names: Apple, Sony, HP, etc.
+ newest/latest models
+ "futuristic" look: glossy, sleek
+ light (his ideal notebook is the MacBook Air, but it's just WAY too expensive for us)
+ ~14-15 inches (anything around ~13 is "ugly," and anything ~17 is too much of a hassle)
+ "really fast," I have no idea what this means: but he and my brother says I need something with 2+GB something with 3-4GB memory (I am not really tech savvy)
+ good webcam, prefers built-in w/ good audio (to talk to family)</p>
<p>My criteria:
+ light, I'm a very small person, and weak ... Something less than 5-6lbs would be ideal
+ room for lots of music, movies, and graphics (apparently the MacBook is really good for thing kind of stuff, but unless I can get a NEW and cheap one, it probably won't happen)
+ last four years; I plan on getting another laptop after undergrad., but not before I graduate
+ fast, please. I hate having to wait for my graphics program to load all the time.
+ long battery life (I've heard some can last up to 10hrs?)
+ I don't like stuff I don't need nor want, so I would like to build my own laptop or get something that isn't like those early 2000s computers that come with 2490132709529 applications
+ $1500 or less</p>
<p>uh, if his ideal is the Macbook Air, why is 13" too ugly....</p>
<p>Lenovo Thinkpad something-or-other - well-built, and you have lots of choices. Dell Vostro or Latitude. Apple Macbook, though i'd advise to wait for refurbished ones to be available (though its a 13"...) </p>
<p>whatever you buy, don't get a 15" unless it's a Macbook Pro (old ones are still out), since those are on the heavy side.</p>
<p>business laptops don't come with (as much) useless software, and they're built better, so stick with those.</p>
<p>Try the student discount at a university...I know my school was running a sale for MacBook Pros at $1199 and MacBooks at $899 about a month ago (the model being phased out -- Apple will only allow stores to reduce the price on a given computer if certain conditions are met)</p>
<p>@toxic_waste: I don't think the Lenovo Thinkpads could be considered "sleek" or "glossy." They are very functional and practical machines, not eyecandy.</p>
<p>arduouspallor, I think you might want a VAIO. They are made by Sony and tend to look futuristic. Take a look at these models. They all have 3GB RAM (except the first one that has 4GB) and all have a 250 GB Hard Drive (except for the last one which has a 160 GB Hard Drive instead).</p>
<p>Forgot to add, all the laptops I listed have built-in webcams.</p>
<p>Also, since you aren't tech savvy, let me give you a few quick pointers.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Hard Drive space is what determines how much room for "lots of music, movies, and graphics" you have. Music and graphics take relatively little space, and should more than be handled by any hard disk with 100 GB of space. Movies are trickier; it depends on how many movies you have and on their quality. Lower quality movies tend to be 0.7 GB big. HD quality movies, on the other hand, can get ridiculously big (like, 25 GB). If you already have the movies, you should look at them and get an idea of how big they are. If you don't have them, how do you plan to get them?</p></li>
<li><p>How "fast" a computer is depends on the RAM and the processor. Think of the RAM as leg space; every program you are running (programs which you aren't running DO NOT take up RAM) takes up some RAM. Some programs take more RAM than others (for example, modeling software). 2 GB of RAM is the minimum you should have if you want to use Vista. 4 GB is about the most you can get now. The processor... well, that's a lot trickier. I think this should be enough for a quick intro for you.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I would not buy an alienware as they are brick-like and expensive. The only non-17in currently on offer is a 15.4in that starts at $1300, which is almost at the upper limit of the OP's budget and it has some pretty mediocre specs.</p>
<p>Lenovo ThinkPads are the best. Get a T400 or T500. All those ``sleek'' laptops suck. I bought an HP because it looked good and was cheap, and it's had a ridiculous number of hardware problems.</p>
<p>The HP dv4t is a solid choice if you want style....but otherwise like people have said, the lenovo t400 and t500 have great durability, battery life, and are extremely functional.</p>
<p>People, read the opening post. That the machine be "sleek" is a requirement of the OP's father and therefore inflexible. I would be the first one to say that function is much more important than form, but unfortunately this will not help the OP, which is the purpose of this thread.</p>
<p>^true...but her father wants sleek...while she wants long battery life and durability. There's no laptop that can fit all those unless it breaks her budget.</p>
<p>i got an hp pavillion dv4 for $500 from best buy....good deal...its sleek...250g harddrive, 4g RAM, inter core 2 duo processor...i love...i thinks its still available on best buy.com...good luck!</p>
<p>I think you would like the vaio cs series.
2.26 ghz, 3gb ram, 160 gb hdd for under 970, and it looks sleek and has many colors. and you could throw in an extended battery for another 100 bucks</p>
<p>actually nvmd, just get one of the new macbooks. thats your best option even though it may be a couple hundred more expensive</p>
<p>Again, I think that the VAIO and the Macbook satisfy the OP's needs the best. The VAIO SR series is thin, light, and sleek; the CS is less thin and light but also sleek and very flashy. And you can customize them to your specifications -- 4 GB of RAM (to make it fast), a faster processor, more hard drive space (I think they come 250 standard). You can get a good VAIO system for $1100-1300. That's if you don't mind dealing with Vista.</p>
<p>Macs are also very sleek and trendy, but sturdy, reliable, and they are protected from viruses. The Macbook Air is kind of a novelty item -- it's not worth the price. For $1800 you're getting a 1.6 GHz processor (when even the least expensive Dells and Sonys come with at least 2.0GHz), 2 GB RAM (good enough for Mac OSX, but still) and only 120 GB of hard drive space. It's only got one USB port and no CD drive. All because it fits in an envelope? ...</p>
<p>You're better off with the Macbook, if you want a Mac. They're still selling the "old" ones (glossy white) for $1000, and your university should have an Apple Education store that you can get it for $900. (You may need to do some upgrades, though -- it comes with 1 GB RAM standard, and 120 GB of space. That may be plenty or that may be too little depending on your needs, but I'd recommend at least 2 gigs of RAM). Or you can get the new all-aluminum Macbooks for $1300.</p>
<p>The transition from PC to Mac is a breeze, everything runs seamlessly and you have the bonus of being able to have both Windows and OSX installed on a mac. Mac's are the only computers legally able to do this, switching from OSX to Windows takes around 2-3 minutes at max. </p>
<p>The best of both worlds, if you need Windows that is...</p>