<p>Specs I'd like:</p>
<p>12.1 - 13.3 in. screens (14.1 is manageable, but definitely NOT 10.1)
long battery life
dual core processor (or something dependable)</p>
<p>that's about all the important things I can think of.</p>
<p>price range?</p>
<p>preferably ~$500</p>
<p>Can you define “long battery life” with some hours?</p>
<p>dual core netbook for 500?
hmm youre going to have to get a laptop</p>
<p>I hear the Asus Eee PC Seashell 1201N only has 3 hours of battery, not 5 hours as advertised. That laptop costs ~$480. I can work with 3 hour. Ideally, I’m looking for at least 4 hours of battery.</p>
<p>One more thing. Is it stupid to use a laptop to play a video game like FIFA 09?</p>
<p>for gaming, a ~$500 laptop isn’t going to run games on lowest settings going back to the late 2000’s with acceptable frame rates. When having a laptop for more basic needs, it just makes more sense to get a video game console than to attempt gaming.</p>
<p>I’m conflicted between [Amazon.com:</a> ASUS UL20A-A1 Thin and Light 12.1-Inch Silver Laptop - 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium): Computer & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PAQXAE/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002ZLOR56&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0V82W2CND6V788WW2CTT]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PAQXAE/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002ZLOR56&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0V82W2CND6V788WW2CTT) and [Amazon.com:</a> ASUS UL30A-X5K Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Laptop with Kindle for PC (Black): Computer & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-X5K-Light-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Kindle/dp/B003JZC42A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-X5K-Light-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Kindle/dp/B003JZC42A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top).</p>
<p>The ul20 offers ~5 hrs battery life, 2 GB ram, 12.1 in screen, and a cheaper price
The ul30 offers ~8 hrs battery life (no need), 4 GB ram (no need), 13.3 in screen</p>
<p>If I decide to pay the extra $60, I’m really paying for the 13.3 in screen because it’s more appealing to me than the 12.1. Can someone weigh in on a 13.3 vs a 12.1?</p>
<p>btw. the 13.3 just an inch wider, no higher.</p>
<p>Office Depot is offering the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 for $600. After research I decided to pick one up myself and it’s a work horse. It’s a 14" laptop with Intel I3 processor; get’s the job done and is excellent at multi-tasking. For me, I needed a laptop that was built for business and not entertainment. There is an optical drive to play DVDS and CDs just in case you’d like to watch a movie or listen to music. Overall, it’s a great laptop for college students; all of the ThinkPad series are.</p>
<p>Alright… Can someone explain to me the importance of the processor? Asus uses the Intel SU7300. I hear that the Intel I3 is unnecessary. Am I right to assume that there won’t be a noticeable difference between a sufficient dual core like the SU7300 when it’s compared to the I3?</p>
<p>Also, as long as I run the same OS and programs for the next 4 years, the speed shouldn’t get much slower, right?</p>
<p>Haha, we just had a minor argument about the SU7300 in a different thread. Basically, a user who owns a laptop with that processor feels it’s sufficient. However, since its a low-voltage, low-clocked processor, it’s not the same as a standard Core 2 in terms of performance. </p>
<p>It’s has about the same performance (a little less, actually) as a 2.16 GHz Core Duo from 2006, and a current 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo is about 50% faster. A 2.4 GHz Core i5 is about 2.5 times as fast.</p>
<p>Basically, they got such great battery life in this laptop by using a low-powered processor. The other user thinks it’ll be fine for four years; I have my doubts. You’re essentially buying a mid-range processor from 2006, albeit one with much lower power demands.</p>
<p>And yes, as long as you do the same stuff you do today, the speed will stay the same (setting aside any viruses or spyware you might get, as well as any “bit rot”). You may encounter issues playing HD video, which will become more prevalent in the next few years. This is less of an issue if the laptop sends the decoding to the video card. The other user could speak to this issue better than I, since he has one.</p>
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<p>Just wanted to clarify that for once, that wasn’t an argument from me, or wasn’t meant to be one at least. Sorry if you found my tone to be rude! :(</p>
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<p>The reason I think so is because most programs aren’t that demanding on the CPU. Your average student usually does word processing, spreadsheets, web surfing, music, and video on their laptops, sometimes all at once. Even all together, it’s very unlikely for these processes to take up more than 20% of your CPU processing capacity on a CULV C2D and 1GB of space on your RAM. I concur with the “mid-range processor from 2006” assessment, but like I said, your average user hardly makes a blip on these CPUs. I’d only be worried if you happen to be a power user (CAD, media editing, or gaming).</p>
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<p>I’ve no issues with HD video playback, in all honesty. From looking at the CPU workload via SpeedFan, it looks like the computer sends the decoding off to the video chip. I’d also like to add, however, that you won’t see a difference between 1080 and 720 video playback since the 13" screen is in too low a resolution to see any difference between the two.</p>
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<p>As I stated in my above post, if you’re just the average college student, you probably won’t see any difference. If you’re a “power user” as I labeled above, you might see a difference, in which case you should list out your activities so we can better gauge which CPU is better for you.</p>
<p>
As nick_scheu said, aside from virus/spyware, you probably won’t see any difference. I can’t comment on “bit rot” because Windows 7 is still too young (less than a year old) to accurately comment, but it’s still a possibility.</p>
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<p>You’d also be paying for a bigger keyboard. Personally, I find the keyboard on the UL20 to be too small, while the UL30’s keyboard is just fine (I’m 6’0 with proportionally big hands). However, this is a bit of a personal taste, so it might be worth trying before you buy, if possible.</p>
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<p>Lenovo definitely makes great laptops. The only issue I have with them are how they look. If Lenovo did a refresh of its body asthetics, it can definitely go far as a laptop manufacturer. Still crossing my fingers and waiting for that day!</p>
<p>PS: The battery life on the UL30 is more like 9-9:30 hours actual with normal processes, no video playback and wifi on; 10 hours with an SSD :)</p>
<p>Heh, I thought you took offense when I said, “You say it does, and I honestly don’t know,” by responding, “I am 100% confident other UL30 users will tell you the same thing I did.”</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to imply you were wrong or lying. I probably should have worded my comment a bit more clearly, as less of an accusation. But apparently you actually didn’t take offense, so it seems we’re all good. :-)</p>
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<p>Ok. Let see…</p>
<p>Microsoft Word
Notepad…
Firefox
Eclipse
PowerDVD
Windows Media Player
and FIFA 09 during my spare time with nothing else to do.</p>
<p>I looked up my family desktop’s passmark and it’s ~1,500. A Intel Core i3 (on the Thinkpad Edge 14) has a passmark of 2,000+. I don’t understand what kind of business apps requires that amount of work. I guess if I wanted to play Halo 3 on a laptop, but other than that, I don’t get it.</p>
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<p>While the CPU can handle everything you listed, the integrated graphics chip will not be able to play Fifa '09. You might want to look at the Asus UL30VT instead, which comes with a dedicated graphics chip that will be able to handle that game and an integrated graphics chip which will be used when not gaming to prolong the battery life.</p>
<p>UL30VT? why that costs $800! screw FIFA.</p>
<p>
I still don’t understand what kind of business apps requires that amount of work. As an engineering major, if an Core i3 process would indeed be necessary, I may get the Thinkpad edge and take it with me to grad school.</p>
<p>The ThinkPad Edge is a great laptop (a revamped and more lively ThinkPad with all the same horsepower); All of the ThinkPad series are terrific, especially the T series. They’re built with either AMD series processors or built with Intel I3 processors and have the option to upgrade to an Intel I5 processor. Check them out first, because they’re a little hard to get used to cosmetically. It’s not the most stylish laptop out there but it will get any job done.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve been pushing the Thinkpads as the best PC alternative to the MacBook Pro. If you’re not interested in a Mac, give some serious thought to the Thinkpads. But be wary of Lenovo’s other lines. They may be good, but they’re not universally lauded the way the Thinkpads are.</p>
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<p>Thinkpads are amazing for me. However, the only issue I have with them is what nmcm007 pointed out: They’re not good lookers. Personally, that’s a huge turnoff for me, but again, I’m waiting until the day Lenovo puts out some good looking thin+light machines!</p>
<p>IMO, I like the looks of the Thinkpads. Looks professional, business-grade, and pretty sturdy. I actually like the all black and classic design. The only thing that I don’t like is that almost all the thinkpads lack a discrete GPU and I would love to do some gaming.</p>