Need some help picking a new laptop..

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kasel23

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Nov 25, 2006
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Looking for some advice for a new laptop. It will be used for school for the most part, but I still want it to be capable of gaming. WiDi would be cool, but not really necessary. Mainly I don't want it to be some big bulky desktop replacement, so something 15" or smaller would be best, as well as a 1920x1080 screen. i5 or i7 processor preferred. I hate Macs, so MBP is not possible, but I really like the metallic body of it. Basically what I'm looking at right now are the HP Envy 14, Sony Vaio Z, and the Dell systems. Build quality is something that really annoys me about most laptop. I hate the cheap/flimsy plastic feeling and I hate keyboards that aren't solid and keys pop off.

Anyone with experience with the Vaio Z or HP Envy that can give me some input? Or is there some laptop out there I don't know about?

Budget around $2000.

Thanks!

Edit: After looking around more leaning toward an HP Envy 14 Beats edition (no headphones anymore, but supposedly better sound and I REALLY like the black/red backlit keyboard) with i5 processor after hearing the i7 drains the battery. Anyone with experience with this particular Envy model?
 
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Also get it with the HD+ monitor. I have a sense the regular "HD" monitor may refer to 1366x768.
 
Envy comes with underclock 5650, but should be fine still, but wont have a 1080p screen, i think there is an option for 1600x900. Sony Vaio Z is a very peculiar laptop, only 13'' that offers 1600x900 screen (optional 1920x1080), if you can afford it imo very nice small package, with its carbon fiber chasis wieghts 3lb with optical drive and has a dedicated gpu, but its pricey.
 
Z's got abysmal sound through the speakers. They do come with a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones, though (I guess Sony recognizes the speakers' poor quality). In other regards, there's nothing else that can touch Z's performance, style and features in 3lb category of notebooks.

BTW, dual core i7s do not consumer significantly more than i5s, just a little more since they are higher clocked.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I was pretty much set on the HP Envy 14 Beats laptop until finding out that they no longer offer a 1600x900 display. I had an Asus previously with a low res screen and I absolutely hated it, so this steers me away from the HP Envy unless they change this.

I plan on ordering my laptop within the next week, so will be looking into the Vaio Z.
 
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