Laptop Recommendations

[thephilosophizer]

Hey All,
So I need a new machine for work, budget is looking around $1,000. I want some that is quick, but smallish (13" or so) and light. I have a 24" screen on my desk, so I'm not worried about screen real estate. I want to have a sandy bridge chip, and I'd love to get a metal cased laptop. I have a macbook pro now, and it's just a bit too expensive for my budget. Pluses go to discrete graphics, hdmi port, and low weight.
Any thoughts?

[RayH]

You are already a Mac user. The price difference between a Windows and a Macbook Pro 13" isn't going to break the bank. The value is that you are already familiar with Mac and a new Macbook will allow you to immediately do computing and not learning a computer.

If purchased online (like from B&H), a Macbook Pro 13" could get delivered to your door for $1150 (plus AppleCare, if desired). If you can swap a hard drive and replace RAM, AppleCare might not be necessary. If prone to get a Macbook, wait unti Lion comes out in the summer and is including with the Macbook.

Come from a high sales tax state (like California with 9.5%) and you could be talking some decent savings online. People who buy laptops and feel they need warranty, I usually recommend something that has walk-in service (like Best Buy). Drop it off and let them deal with it. No phone BS and shipping back and forth. But that gets into sales tax. AppleCare is valid at any Apple store. Therefore, buy online with no sales tax and get the local warranty services no hassle.

Windows is a pig requiring more computing power and therefore, not as energy efficient. Plus you get into running anti-virus, disk cleanup, defragmentation, etc. Windows 7 is barely up and running and now Microsoft wants to get ready to change to Windows 8.

The economics change if you were talking about 15" or 17". People on a tight budget, usually recommend the dual core that's on sale for $349 or $399 at the office stores / Best Buy. It's a great little general computer. It goes south, just toss it. Keep the hard drive for an external.

Try to walk in to Best Buy and buy a Windows laptop, they just might not have any direct from the manufacturer laptop. The available laptops have some Best Buy "added value" stuff for extra charge.

Depends what set of stuff you want to deal with. I'm an old curmudgeon using XP on both my desktop as an THPC and a netbook. All the computers I need.

[habby9]

I buy my ASUS netbook from laptopspark.com. It's great!
the details about this netbook:
Model Eee PC T101MT
CPU Intel® Atom™ N450
OS Genuine Windows® 7 Starter
Graphics Intel GMA 3150
Memory 1GB DDR2 (Up to 2GB)
Hard Drive 160GB HDD + 500GB ASUS WebStorage (Starter);320GB HDD + 500GB ASUS WebStorage (Home Premium)
Motherboard Group Intel NM10
Display 10.1" LED Backlight/ Resistive Touch Panel(1024x600)
Wireless Data Network WLAN 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz
Bluetooth Bluetooth2.1+ HS
Audio Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
MIC High Quality Mic
Speaker Stereo Speakers
Camera 0.3M Pixels
I/O Port 1 x VGA Port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor)
3 x USB2.0 (or 2x USB3.0 + 1x USB2.0)
1 x LAN RJ-45(Gigabit LAN Optional)
2 x Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in)
1 x Card Reader: MMC/ SD(SDHC)
Battery 6.5 hrs, 35Wh Slim and Eco-friendly Li-polymer Battery
Dimensions 264mm(W)x181mm(D)x31mm(H)
Weight 1.3Kg

[bigBonehead]

I guess you didn't read the OP's post... I seriously doubt he wants a Netbook... "I want to have a sandy bridge chip, and I'd love to get a metal cased laptop"

Welcome aboard n00b

[RayH]

BTW, the i5 was Cnet rated as a better value than the i7 Macbook Pro 13". The i7 didn't have enough performance difference to justify the price difference unless someone else was paying for the laptop. Again, don't get into a numbers game in comparing a Mac to Windows. Macs are more efficient and need less power.

A friend is getting ready to get a 15" Macbook Pro. All he really needs is a $399 15" anything. The deciding factor: his wife WANTS a Mac. End of story. He's been married 28 years to the same woman because he knows how to keep the peace!

[thephilosophizer]

Sure, I appreciate the point about getting a mac. And the new sandy bridge models are compelling, I couldn't justify going beyond the 13" out of my office budget though. The big reason I looking is that I work for a public university and hence we've got lots of nice site license software, but the most useful stuff is limited to university, like the adobe creative suite. As a rule I bump up to the next mac every summer when they run the free ipod with purchase, that plus an ed discount means a new computer for next to nothing.
But we have some grant money for a project I'm working on, and it would be nice to not have to supply my own computer. One of the things I'm thinking about is the lenovo x series. Lots of oomph, small package.
Something else to add, just crossed my mind. The university just put up a wimax tower, for whatever reason we have some substantial spectrum holdings, and they decided to build a wimax network (strong enough that I'll get reception at home, and anywhere in town). So something with an integrated card would be nice as well.

[RayH]

In Windows machines, 13" doesn't necessarily translate to less expensive. The sweet spot for Windows laptops seems to be about 15" because of economies of scale from larger manufacturers. Search around and you will find that a handful of contractors manufacture all the laptops for all vendors. Don't exercise your brain too much.

[thephilosophizer]

I just buy a Dell Inspiron 15R, with 320gb Hdd, 3gb rem, and processor i5, with the graphic card, it is a cool device, and i have window 7 ultimate on it.

Jeebus, that beast weighs 9lbs. I need a computer that I am going to be able to carry back and forth to work everyday, I'd definitely like to stay at least under or around 5lbs.

[thephilosophizer]

In Windows machines, 13" doesn't necessarily translate to less expensive. The sweet spot for Windows laptops seems to be about 15" because of economies of scale from larger manufacturers. Search around and you will find that a handful of contractors manufacture all the laptops for all vendors. Don't exercise your brain too much.

Oh no, I just meant in terms of the larger mac. Ultimately I just don't want anything that big. I work at a university, so A. it's not a secure environment where I'm at, so I don't like leaving anything, and B. I have to get up and move around a lot, and travel a decent bit (there are lots of colleges and universities in massachusetts). So I want something light, but not slow. I have to do some graphics, as well as having many things open at once, half dozen word docs, 3-4 spreadsheets, mail, handful of pdfs, etc. So I don't want something that'll get bogged down in heavy multitasking.