$1500 range laptop?

P

plac

Gawd
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Apr 20, 2006
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$1500 range laptop?

I think my front runner is a Sony SA in a 23 or 25 variety. Looking for small screen, portability. No gaming really, but i still want a nicely fast machine, near the top of the heap.

Priced a SA23 at Frys price matched for about $1299. (asking $1399, but they were asking $1499 a day or two ago)

Intel® Core™ i5-2410M 2.30GHz2 with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.90GHz3
13.3" 1600 x 900
4GB (onboard)
AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M
128GB SSD (single disk, no RAID?)

Only thing I don't love is the disk might be hard soldered so i can't change it?

Kinda wanted an i7, but don't want a "Z" series with separate dock, plus those start way over $2000..
 
Honestly, I recommend the Macbook Air. I was a die hard windows guy (Still am actually) but the i7 Air with a 256gb is just badass. IT has the same 2.9ghz turbo boost as the i5 in the sony you're looking at, yet weighs 2.3lbs. It has more than enough horsepower for Aperture, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and video encoding. I can play portal and Counterstrike Source at high settings, full native resolution. Multitasking is awesome, and Windows 7 on it runs fantastic.

There's nothing else like it in this kind of package right now for the price. You can get a couple hundred off by ordering as an education discount (there is no verification at all, just a drop down box to choose a random school).

Coming from a long line of Lenovo's, I hate to say it but this 11in MAcbook Air is the best laptop I've ever had.
 
ya.. a year ago when i was looking i checked out an airbook in person. i just cant get over having to learn a new OS. I have no doubt its a killer laptop. i like windows, have always liked windows, and want to stay with it. Also dont really want to run windows in some "wrapper" on a Mac..

the other direction i was gonna go while i wait for that new stuff in 6-9 months.. maybe that HP DM1 little netbook thing. Its $429 after rebate, small, and faster than any other netbook. But I know it would be no where close to as fast as these Sonys.. i also need to find out if it supports SATA 3, i doubt it does.. a new SSD might make that DM1 pretty sweet..
 
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Windows is native on the Mac, you are not running it in a wrapper. There is zero difference between it and any other windows computer.
 
to be honest... browse... thats about it. but that doesnt mean i dont want an awesome top end computer. if i dont get one, ill always be wishing for more speed.
 
plac said:
to be honest... browse... thats about it. but that doesnt mean i dont want an awesome top end computer. if i dont get one, ill always be wishing for more speed.
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$1500 is a TON of money for a laptop to just browse the internet.:eek:
 
Fast boots? Just buy an SSD. MBA boots fast mainly just because of the SSD.

You don't need very much CPU just to browse. I have an i5-520M and it runs at 5% most of the time. You could probably get away with a Core Duo easily.

Spend your money on the exterior then. Keyboard quality. Screen quality. Build quality. Thinkpad X220 with the IPS option is the one to beat there. Slap in an SSD. You've got a great top notch computer.
 
Pylon said:
Fast boots? Just buy an SSD. MBA boots fast mainly just because of the SSD.

You don't need very much CPU just to browse. I have an i5-520M and it runs at 5% most of the time. You could probably get away with a Core Duo easily.

Spend your money on the exterior then. Keyboard quality. Screen quality. Build quality. Thinkpad X220 with the IPS option is the one to beat there. Slap in an SSD. You've got a great top notch computer.
Click to expand...

The macbook doesn't boot fast just because of the SSD - it's their EFI implementation. It murders my desktop, booting about four times as fast. I have four other computers with SSD's in them so you can trust me on this.

The X220 is a great machine, but it's not nearly as thin or light as the Macbook Air - while being no better at gaming. The CPU is very close in performance, with the 2.9ghz turbo ratio of the 1.8ghz i7 in the air.

To me, that makes the Air the superior machine for the OP's needs. I went from a T61 and a T400 to the Air and I also have to say that the build quality is better on the Mac, as much as I hate to admit it.
 
Pylon said:
Fast boots? Just buy an SSD. MBA boots fast mainly just because of the SSD.

You don't need very much CPU just to browse. I have an i5-520M and it runs at 5% most of the time. You could probably get away with a Core Duo easily.

Spend your money on the exterior then. Keyboard quality. Screen quality. Build quality. Thinkpad X220 with the IPS option is the one to beat there. Slap in an SSD. You've got a great top notch computer.
Click to expand...

funny you mention that.. i just read a few reviews on the X220.. gets all perfect reviews (except for gaming of course). But the screen must be amazing. I like the 12" smaller than the sony 13"'s too.. but i'd like to throw the i7 in there instead, i'd prob have to custom order. i had thinkpads for 7 years at one of my jobs. T40 type stuff back in the day.
 
Go with the X220, there is an option for i7 with usb3, i believe this laptop alo has a mini sata port, so you can use an SSD like Intel 310 and keep the mechanical drive for storage, also upgrade the screen to IPS, this would be my choice for something fast and portable.
 
not bad, with everything maxed out on a X220 im at about $1329 before shipping. that site has about $700 in discounts right now.

i dunno tho, then i compare it to a Sony SA for $200 more, which comes with a way stronger video plus an SSD drive.
 
plac said:
not bad, with everything maxed out on a X220 im at about $1329 before shipping. that site has about $700 in discounts right now.

i dunno tho, then i compare it to a Sony SA for $200 more, which comes with a way stronger video plus an SSD drive.
Click to expand...

dont upgrade anything on the lenovo site they overcharge like crazy. find the cheapest model and google for coupons. alot of ppl get their x220 for 700-800 and just upgraded ram/harddrive themselves, its much cheaper that way.
 
plac said:
not bad, with everything maxed out on a X220 im at about $1329 before shipping. that site has about $700 in discounts right now.

i dunno tho, then i compare it to a Sony SA for $200 more, which comes with a way stronger video plus an SSD drive.
Click to expand...

If you are not gaming the Intel HD 3000 is more than enough for any video rendering, it even has quick sync that depending on the apps you use to encode can make it faster. There is no reason to go to a dedicated GPU unless you would benefit from it. Personally i would use the $200 toward an mini Sata SSD, like Intel 310 Series 80GB mSATA mSATA (mini PCIe form factor) MLC Enterprise Solid State Disk SSDMAEMC080G2C1 - OEM, with it, you will end up with a very fast ultraportable with an i7 and ISP pannel monitor, capable of still holding up to 1tb of storage ( SAMSUNG Spinpoint M8 is the highest storage drives atm), all this in a 12'' laptop.
 
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