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Laptop for Programming...

E

ethraax

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
174
My current laptop is supposed to be a gaming laptop. It has a dedicated video card and decent screen, but it gets really hot, is really loud, and has no battery life. Also, the keyboard is pretty awkward.

As I spend far more time programming than gaming, I'm looking for a laptop that's good for programming. I'm looking for something relatively cheap (under $700 would be preferable), with a smaller screen (more portable), good battery life, and good keyboard. It doesn't need to have any good graphics, although it would be nice to be able to play the occasional flash game or watch the occasional HD movie. I'll be using a portable mouse in most cases, so the touchpad isn't terribly important for me.

The biggest issue is that I can't judge laptop's keyboards well when shopping online. I know that they can be pretty bad - my current laptop's keyboard (Asus G51VX) is a horrible piece of junk - some of the keys don't always register, and you have to hit the spacebar at the center or it doesn't work.

Can anyone recommend a laptop that seems to fit my requirements?
 
I think you just read my mind, I have a g51jx-x3 and Ive been thinking about buying a second laptop for school because programming isn't fun with the built in hand warmer option (gpu)
 
an alienware m17x r3 would probably get both done (has switchable GPU and about 4-5 hours of useable battery life in IGP mode)... asthetics aren't too far off, and the KB is decent, if it's anything like my m11xr1 and r2's KB :p I am a hobby game dev and a workplace code slave :(, so my m11x's KB gets an unfair amount of abuse :p
 
anything not so pricey lol , I was thinking maybe a thinkpad....
and alienware keyboards piss me off for some reason my friend has a m15x and its just bleh typing on it
 
Look into sager/clevo 8130 and 5165 both should be good options for gaming and doing all day tasks, I would wait for the GTX560m on the 8130.

If the keyboard is that important and willing to drop gaming, then consider Lenovo T420/420s.

But niether of the options above will be inside $700, good keyboards come in buisness class models and those aren't cheap.
 
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Abula said:
If the keyboard is that important and willing to drop gaming, then consider Lenovo T420/420s.

But niether of the options above will be inside $700, good keyboards come in buisness class models and those aren't cheap.
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If you are willing to wait around for a deal you might be able to get the T420 for under $700 BEFORE tax.
 
I *am* willing to drop most gaming. Whatever gaming I do will be simple puzzle games and old games from the 90s. Neither of the two require a dedicated graphics card.

The things I want are a good keyboard, a long battery life, low weight, and low(ish) budget. Hell, I've even considered getting a netbook, but I hear the keyboards are an absolute pain to type on.
 
I would say find an older IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad from a few years ago, used of course, and get the battery slice for it (whichever model you happen to find, if one is available), or even an HP business class machine from a few years ago (before they gave them the EliteBook/ProBook model names). Those almost always were compatible with that HP Ultra Extended Life battery slice that could push usage into the 15-20 hour range easily.

I had a Dell Latitude E4300 a few months back (and I miss that machine, I really do) and it was a proper Core 2 Duo CPU, not a ULV type, and with the 6 cell battery I was getting just a shade of 6 hours of usage with brightness down and the Dell Extended Battery Life power profile in effect. Paid $150 for it at a pawn shop and it would eat any "Netbook" alive. ;)

If you are interest in actual Netbooks, the ThinkPad x100e is now discontinued which means you should be able to find it relatively cheap. Pretty amazing little machine considering... and of course, nothing beats a ThinkPad keyboard, even on their Netbook-class products.

If you're not into hardcore gaming and don't require that kind of GPU power, I can't see anyone buying a brand new laptop of any kind when a used one will work just fine and save you a ton of cash you can then use towards upgrades. I'm really fond of older hardware, especially given that getting a proper 16:10 aspect ratio LCD display is for most intents and purposes impossible anymore. 16:10 forever, dammit. :D
 
ethraax said:
The things I want are a good keyboard, a long battery life, low weight, and low(ish) budget. Hell, I've even considered getting a netbook, but I hear the keyboards are an absolute pain to type on.
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Go with a thinkpad, just you probably will need to save more for T420, unless you dont mind refurb, check the outlet for T410 which was a really good machine. My dream ultraportable if i even give up gaming its a lenovo X220, its 12'' with 1366x768 + SB i5 with great battery life.
 
I think I'm going to go for the Thinkpad X120e. I've read some more reviews about it online and the reviewers seem to like it. Plus, it's incredibly affordable - only $450 for the base model (and I'll probably also buy some extra RAM, so about $475 total).
 
There's also a sub-$400 X200 at Lenovo Outlet if you don't mind refurbished and only having a Trackpoint (no touchpad). It has a Core 2 and 1GB RAM, and with some upgrades it's going to be a lot more powerful than an x120e. It also has a 7-row keyboard which is a plus.
 
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Perhaps I'm too slow. I really can't decide between the T420 for $680 or the X120e for about $450. They both seem like great deals. I should probably get the T420 though - the larger screen and keyboard, and better processor, would be nice for programming. I guess it's also portable enough.

Edit: That T420 is more than $700 with tax. With tax, it's $729.59. It's pretty bad to not mention the tax until the final checkout.
 
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T420 would be a much better choice, E350 is slightly better cpu than an ATOM, but still sucks big time compared to Sandy bridge cpus, imo the difference of $230 is more than justified, its a nice deal on the T420, $729 for a thinkpad.... =)
 
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