I wanted some suggestions for a laptop to buy for my wife. I myself want something that's powerful and will have alot of life in it, but since this will be mostly for my wife's use (mostly surf the web, listen to music, and watch movies), something affordable will be nice. We are looking in the $1000-$1500 range (not including warranty). She'd rather have something "cool" and aesthetically awesome than a super fast machine. I hope to keep this laptop for about 5 years.

Something she and I really liked aesthetically was the Area 51 M17X notebook. But in all reality, this is out of price range of what we really need and what we'll use it for. She doesn't game much (she might want to put Sims 3 on there when it comes out...). So that might give you an idea of how much "performance" we're looking at.

Requirements:
Something Aesthetically appealing (not just "blah" or plain) Doesn't have to be all fancy with the light up keys or anything like the alienware, but would be nice if something else like that was out there in our price range.

15.4" screen is acceptable, although a 17" would be nice. The only drawback with most 17" notebooks is weight. She would preffer something less than ~7lb. The lighter/smaller (dimensions), the better.

I don't want to run anything with an AMD setup


Would like at least 120gigs of hard drive space (prefer to have a faster 7,200rpm harddrive)
More is better, but anything more than 350gigs isn't necessary.

CD/DVD combo (don't need HD DVD).

Don't need:
Web cam/mic
Modem Ports
Any external wireless antennas or anything, unless you'd recommend it because of a package deal/discounts avail.

512mb Graphics card
3 gigs of memory. If there's a free upgrade to 4 gigs with a 64 bit system, then that's fine, but otherwise, I'm fine with just the 32 bit.

I just built this real quick to give a general idea of the most I expect. If I can get more for the same price or less, that's always welcome. Of course, not all this is needed, but is nice:

hp dv7t series
Operating system Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)

Display 17.0" diagonal WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)

Memory 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Graphics card 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Personalization HP Imprint Finish (Mesh) + Microphone + Webcam
Networking Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN
Modem Port No High speed 56K modem port
Hard drive 320GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (160GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Primary CD/DVD drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control
Primary battery 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007 Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard

HP extended service plans 3-year HP Pick Up and Return

$2,043.98


Thanks for you help TWW.

7/16/2008 11:25:56 AM

I just built this too, but jebus, still a little more than we'd like to spend. but it's nice le sigh.

Area-51® m15x

Design & Display: Silver Ripley Design
Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Fuchsia
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
Available on Windows Vista Only!
System Drive: 160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keyboard Options: AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Personalized Nameplate
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Protective Cloth Sleeve
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Smooth Mylar Touchpad
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Standard Power Plan
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On
Time Zones: (GMT - 5.00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

I always do the "it's only $50 more for this, I should get it..." the next thing I know, bam, I'm over my limit with something nicer than I really need whhhhyyyyyyyy

Actually, it looks like with this alienware, I pay more for less everything... so I guess I'm really just paying for a different look and the name alienware?

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:52 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 11:48:09 AM

Get a MacBook 13"...

Why would anyone want a 17" laptop, its do damn big you will never want to carry it anywhere.

The 13" Macbook's are a gerat choice, and only $1199 and you get a free iPod Touch that you can sell on eBay for $250, and apply that money to the price of the Macbook. Ask for the Back To School promo, its the best promo that apple runs!

7/16/2008 11:48:37 AM

Actually, I am going back to school this fall, so if that helps with any deals...

^We've looked at a few laptops together. She agrees that anything less than 15.4" is a bit small to her liking. Then again, 17" is a bit large (like you mentioned). Let's try to keep it to ~15.4" monitors (14" maybe) if you guys can.

I'll look more into those macs.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:58 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 11:53:09 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220255
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220284

Asus G-Series laptops. Aesthetically nice (not too boring, not too out there), the hardware is good. Asus's long-term quality is a bit suspect for their midrange laptops (mine has a crack, and the HD had a bit of a scare last sunday), but I don't know about their higher range models (G Series ,V Series)

Here's two of those mid-rangers if you're just looking for a good price value
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220340

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:59 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 11:56:24 AM

Quote :

"but since this will be mostly for my wife's use (mostly surf the web, listen to music, and watch movies), something affordable will be nice"

Quote :

"She'd rather have something "cool" and aesthetically awesome than a super fast machine. I hope to keep this laptop for about 5 years."

there is so much conflict going on with your interests in this post im not sure where to start in helping to suggest you stuff. You say you are looking for something mainly for your wife (web, music, movies, etc.) and it needs to be affordable and then you posting overpriced gaming laptops with 512MB nvidia 8700 cards. Kind of confused on that part.

I think your wife needs to get over the "cute" or "cool" or whatever if its going to mean youre forced to spend more on a laptop. I mean feel free to go ahead and waste money on that but the best PC laptops I have run across are certainly not spacey looking or gaming/alienware looking computers. And unless she is SUPER hung up on that factor, the "cool" factor of how it looks will be forgotten soon after you are used to having it around. Its much better to put that money into the specs or just save the money.

I dont think you need to be pushing $2k for what you are looking for. Heck I built a Lenovo that I play video games on and use photoshop along with the normal web, music, word, etc. for $900 6months ago and I expect it to last me awhile.

and yes 15.4" is perfect in my opinion 13" is too small and 17" is too big. (for me)

also, unless its changed from 6mos ago, if youre buying it from dell or hp or lenovo etc. youre generally getting ripped off when ordering a laptop to pay the manufacturer for 4GB of RAM. I just got mine with 2GB in 1 dimm and bought a solid 2GB stick from new egg for like a third of the cost the manufacturer was going to charge me.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ]

7/16/2008 12:02:45 PM

$2k is waaaaaaaaay too much

i just picked up (a few months ago, anyway) an HP dv2700 (i think) series that, all things considered, is pretty slick-looking...not revolutionary or anything, but clean lines, a pattern on the lid, touch controls (instead of buttons), and unobtrusive lighting...i couldn't care less about most of that, but it's pretty much default on that line...mine's radiance (first pic), but they also offer verve (second pic):





if she can deal with that as "cool" and leave it at that, you'll save a lot of money and get a lot more machine...for example, that HP came in around $914 after shipping and taxes and has:

- 14" widescreen (i'd never go bigger, personally)
- 2.5ghz c2d mobile T9500
- 4gb (2x2gb) RAM
- 250gb 7200rpm seagate hard drive (with PMR)
- dvd burner
- bluetooth
- integrated a/b/g/n wireless
- 6-cell high capacity (i get about 3.5 hours on it)

granted, it came with 1gb memory, but i picked up 4gb on a deal and sold the 1gb on craigslist, and it came with a 160gb 5400rpm drive, but i picked up the seagate on a deal and sold that on craigslist, as well...only took about 2 weeks for me get the upgrades and sell the old stuff, so it's definitely feasible

even so, for ~$1000, you can get a pretty awesome laptop that doesn't look like crap

7/16/2008 12:39:14 PM

Here's a dv6700t I just built.

Operating system Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5750 (2.0GHz)
Display 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)

Memory FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Graphics card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors

Personalization FREE Upgrade to HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone + Webcam
Networking Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection

Hard drive 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

Primary battery High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
HP extended service plans 3-year HP Pick Up and Return

Just under $1,100. Not bad at all. I really like it overall, and the price is pretty much where I'd like it to be (and that includes the 3-year HP warranty.)

The only thing I'd do is find a deal on a HD. Other than that... Looks great. Thanks quagmire02

7/16/2008 2:21:23 PM

yea thats a solid computer. id take that over an alienware anyday

7/16/2008 2:23:47 PM

Quote :

"Heck I built a Lenovo that I play video games on and use photoshop along with the normal web, music, word, etc. for $900 6months ago and I expect it to last me awhile."

Quote :

"She'd rather have something "cool" and aesthetically awesome than a super fast machine.I hope to keep this laptop for about 5 years."

Hmmmm...a Thinkpad will outlast the cockroaches' stay on this earth, but some say they're not aesthetically pleasing (personally I think they're the best looking laptops out there). They're also not blazingly fast but they're incredibly reliable and they indisputably come with the best onboard support (Rescue and Recovery...there's nothing even close behind it).

7/16/2008 2:43:58 PM

CalledToArms, sorry, didn't mean to miss your post somehow...

Yeah, I want to make sure this computer will be fine for her. She doesn't game much, but I know she's going to want to have Sims 3 on there for example. And possibly a few other games. I know I've decked out those gaming laptops (she loves the look of alienware), but really, I guess I'm building it for myself for what I would get. So I retract those that I've posted. Sorry to be confusing. I keep thinking "wow! it's only $100 for 500mhz and 3mb of cache more (I know, I wouldn't really notice it...)? and only $100 more for 2gb more ram? wow!" I guess I got excited about the buying and less about what I was buying (I haven't done computer stuff in a LONG time...). It's not a fact that we can't afford the $2k laptop, she just don't need it. I've put the $1-$1.5k to limit myself because I know that there's a laptop in there that will be sufficient enough performance wise and still look/feel cool. I will hardly use this so I just have to remind myself not to build it like I need it.

The last laptop I bought was almost 7 years ago. buying memory and aftermarket stuff was pretty expensive, so generally, I tried to find package deals (ie: free upgrade from 1gig to 2gig ram). It's good info to know that it's easier and cheaper to do upgrades myself. Thanks

Thanks for the Asus timswar. Good finds. I'll run them by her and see what she thinks.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 2:49 PM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 2:47:40 PM

Quote :

"Memory FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)"

they pretty much rape the consumer on memory upgrades when you have to pay for them from the manufacturer, so this is good...i would NEVER recommend upgrading through HP unless it's free, so good call

Quote :

"Graphics card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors"

i forgot about this - mine has it, as well, and it comes with an HDMI output, which is awesome for playing content on HDTVs (which i have done quite a bit, actually)...it's also DX10 compatible, and discrete graphics are WAY better than integrated, so for a laptop, this isn't bad (i can play oblivion on medium-high settings with it, and so you should be good for just about anything but hardcore gaming)

Quote :

"Personalization FREE Upgrade to HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone + Webcam"

i NEVER thought i'd care about the microphone/webcam...but heck if i didn't use it a couple of times i was out of the country...for free, i like it

7/16/2008 3:30:23 PM

"Quagmire, you're a nut."
-Peter Griffin

I think I'll run it by the wife, make sure she likes it, and see about ordering it during the tax free weekend. Hopefully they'll have some better deals on this laptop then too.

7/16/2008 4:39:35 PM

^ when is tax-free weekend? for a while there, HP was offering a $500 of $1300 coupon (which is how i got mine for ~$800 + tax and shipping)...i've seen it a couple of times since then on ben's bargains

in fact, i just checked ben's bargains by searching for "hp", and there's a $200 off $999 going on right now (assuming the limited uses aren't all gone), so you could (in theory), get that same computer for $900 + tax + shipping (your tax on $1100 would be ~$74), so you'd be better off using the coupon than waiting for the weekend

of course, it's entirely possible that you could do tax-free weekend AND use a coupon, since HP has those going on pretty regularly, so you MIGHT get your computer for ~$950 after shipping

i like shopping with other people's money

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 7:09 PM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 7:08:08 PM

i second the Asus route

i love mine and it was $1299 maxed out most options

7/16/2008 8:05:51 PM

FWIW, HP is definitely doing the $500 off $1399 deal right now (check out http://www.bensbargains.net/), and they've thrown in free shipping (i didn't get free shipping on mine)...so for less than $1k, you can buy a pretty high-end machine at the moment

7/17/2008 6:19:18 PM

you can also check notebookreview.com for coupons on laptops... they'll have the latest Dell coupon codes and offers for other online stores

7/17/2008 8:58:26 PM

just get a mac.

7/18/2008 10:22:25 AM

my buddy got a Sony Vaio laptop from best buy yesterday for 599. pretty good deal for the computer he got..and you could choose colors, he got nightfall blue.

guy at circuit city told us Acer was the best brand and leads sales in europe

7/18/2008 1:14:21 PM

Hmm... While I agree that for a reliability and just general powerhorse an Asus is great, it's not going to fly by her (just not appealing to her). But thanks for the suggestions

What's so good about Acer?

We have a friend that works for Sony Erickson. I haven't looked into Sony's yet, but I know I can arrange a deal with anything Sony.

[Edited on July 18, 2008 at 2:39 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2008 2:38:15 PM

well... we were not even interested in an acer but he wanted to show us anyway

he loaded up apollo 13 on an acer and then loaded the same movie on a sony and showed us the time difference. it was only like 1-2 seconds difference but he claimed that Acer was the computer brand of the future or somethign?

7/18/2008 5:43:45 PM

i fully admit i haven't used an acer laptop, but from acer-branded equipment that i HAVE used, i'd say they're no better than mid-range (this could have changed in the past few years, though)...i wouldn't say stay away from them, but for something as pricey as a laptop, i'd suggest going with one of the big(ger) names

7/18/2008 11:09:53 PM

Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 maybe? Not customizable (yet) hardware wise really, but out of the box one of the packages includes:

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 NV ( 2.10GHz 800MHz 3MB )
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Display type: 17.0 WUXGA TFT with integrated camera LCD
System graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB
Total memory: 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz
Hard drive: 250GB 5400
Optical device: DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max
Bluetooth: Ericsson F3507g
Communication adapter: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Weight: 8.00 lbs HEAVY
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion
Warranty: One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)
Price: $1499.00

and they're way more stylish than the ThinkPad's.




Its not perfect, but it's not awful either.

Drop it down to a 15 inch with 256 video and its down to $1000

[Edited on July 19, 2008 at 1:16 AM. Reason : .]

7/19/2008 1:12:26 AM

MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
Accessory Kit
MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB
Multi-Touch trackpad
MagSafe Power adapter
Built-in iSight (web cam)
LED backlight
Ambient Light Sensors

$2,069.00 (after education discount)

You could save probably $100 or so if you got the RAM 3rd party





[Edited on July 19, 2008 at 2:31 AM. Reason : ]

7/19/2008 2:29:48 AM

^^ Definitely the way to go.

7/19/2008 12:58:19 PM

HP has academic pricing online...might save ya 100 or so on a 6700t. You have to specify 'vet school' and use your ncsu.edu email, but I've ordered a printer off of there and saved at least 60 bux. I was pricing a 6700t the other day and the APP allowed about 100 or so.

http://www.hpshopping.com/education

7/19/2008 3:04:13 PM

Macbook FTW

7/20/2008 1:19:07 PM

no, macbook FTL...they're still over-priced for the performance

that said, if she really cares more about aesthetics (and let's be honest, most mac users are happy to pay a premium for "pretty"), they yeah, go that way...but i've got more machine than that macbook listed above, and i paid half the price...is $1k worth "pretty"?

7/21/2008 10:35:40 AM

Thanks for the input everyone

7/21/2008 11:10:09 AM

^^I'm in no way an expert on the subject, but the nice little chinese guy at best buy yesterday was telling me that even though the specs on the apples are lower, the performance will be the same or higher based on its efficiency and a much lower need to run processes on defense etc.

[Edited on July 22, 2008 at 1:14 PM. Reason : d]

7/22/2008 1:14:15 PM

as mentioned up in the thread, the HP dv2700 series, I have one of the dv2500s - I purchased one at Best Buy for $799 thats freaking awesome - I would recommend changing the video card in them, but thats about it, I don't really like AMD, but the processor is pretty damn fast for a cheap computer (I use it as backup) - I have the verve though (the one in the bottom pic)

check out the specs at http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-dv2845se-special/4507-3121_7-32976293.html?tag=specs

[Edited on July 22, 2008 at 1:45 PM. Reason : ]

7/22/2008 1:41:19 PM

^^ i'm a bit out of my field here when i say this, so if someone more knowledgeable comes along and refutes, i'll defer to them...BUT, it seems to me that if you just strip it down to the OS, they're perform ROUGHLY the same for the same processor...i know that vista would use more memory, but as has been pointed out again and again, if you HAVE the memory, why NOT let the OS use it? i initially hated vista, but running the 64-bit version (with SP1), 4gb of memory, and a 7200rpm drive has left me relatively impressed

besides, what you have to realize is that with those specs listed above, even though it's lower than what i'm running, it's STILL $1k more (so it's not like we're comparing apples to apples here)

as for the "defense" part of windows, i run 1.) spybot, 2.) ad-aware, and 3.) symantec endpoint protection and together, these keep my computer clean (thus far) and are not memory or cpu intensive

additionally, that 2.4ghz proc in the macbook will be one of three things (i think):

1.) a T7700 (65nm) with 4mb cache and 800mhz FSB or
2.) a T8300 (45nm) with 3mb cache and 800mhz FSB or
3.) a P8600 (45nm) with 3mb cache and 1066mhz FSB

regardless, my $1k cheaper machine has a T9300 (45nm) in it with an 800mhz FSB (i wish it were 1066mhz, but oh well) and 6mb cache...the larger cache helps the most (IMO) so, the slower bus speed doesn't concern me...for less money, i'd rather have more power (and don't forget the larger hard drive)

^ as for that, the AMD line is a pretty good value, but i (personally) prefer intel chips at this point in time...i doubt the OP's wife would really care all that much, though

7/22/2008 4:25:21 PM

No, I don't like AMD either. I've seen 4 AMD machines burn up (mostly from age, and 2 were personal experiences) from normal use, where-as I've never seen an intel ever really die on someone. Unless I have control with the cooling aspect (and plan on overclocking), I will never go AMD. The reliability is just an issue to me (especially in a laptop where I have less control on the cooling aspect of the system). Maybe they've changed that though since my last computer.

My wife is more about looks, and I'm more about making sure this computer is quality. She likes the macs, but don't want to pay the mac price.

Also, looking what's out there, we're aiming more for <$1000 out the door w/3 year warranty included. That's one of her requirements, but I believe we can get that easily with styles we selected and the sales/rebates going on that I didn't know exist until now. The rest is just manipulating what I want to upgrade at the store/website and what I'll upgrade afterward it leaves the store

[Edited on July 22, 2008 at 4:46 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2008 4:37:06 PM

interested in seeing what you decide on.

7/22/2008 7:57:12 PM

Well, we WOULD be getting a laptop except we just found out we're going to shell out $500+ to fix her damn AC.

I'll update this thread when we do, however. Until then, I'm just going to keep shopping.

7/22/2008 8:32:13 PM