Recommend Laptop <= $1200

[DarthWombaT]

Title wrong, I meant <= 1200!

You might remember my thread here, basically I told my parents my plan and they offered to buy me a laptop.

I'm looking for something which meets these specs:
- Small formfactor, not some huge 17" I'm leaning towards 14"
- Tough notebook, not flimsy
- Long battery life, 4+ hours
- Able to play games (EQ, HL1, HL2)

Basically I'm able to kill off the last option on the list (game playing) if there's really no option. I'm looking at IBMs only because I like the way they look (lol). IBMs don't really offer much the way of graphics at this price range, Im just wanting to make sure no one knows about some laptop which fits my bill perfect.

Thanks again.

 

[mitcity22]

I don't think you will find a notebook that does 4+ hours and can still play games. From your price point I would look at the ASUS S96J (15", x1600 GPU, C2D) bare bones so you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want. (I have found that Gentechpc has the best prices, but some other ASUS re-sellers do price match) The ASUS A8Js/p would probably be good for you also w/ two batteries or an extended bat. if they make them, (more expensive but is 14")

Actually this is probably your best bet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220104

Great Deal IMO.

 

[tickle_me_emo]

Mitcity22 is pretty much right on. You won't be able to find a laptop with a gaming video card that will last you 4 hours (especially with your price range). I think the max you're going to get is 3, and that's when you have it set on power saving mode and low brightness. You might be able to get 4 hours with an ati x1400 or nvidia 7400, but those are hardly gaming cards. The asus s96j is probably your best bet to fit your budget. The a8jp is $1300 not including tax or shipping.

The thing I'd like to expand is where you can buy it. IIRC, mitcity22 bought a laptop from gentechpc.

here is a list of all the known asus resellers

If that list looks rather daunting for you, then might I suggest checking out, powernotebooks and BTOtech. BTOtech usually has the best prices and has great offers going on (great deal on the 100gig 5400rpm hdd, it comes standard) and powernotebooks has a standard 3 year warranty. Both offer exceptional service.

 

[DarthWombaT]

Alright well I've been looking at Notebookcheck to see how my notebook would stand up to the performance of my PC and, like you guys said, in my price range and battery requirement there really isn't much to offer.

So in the 'small and hardy with good battery life and no gaming' category is there anything better than a 14" IBM?

 

[mitcity22]

If you want something built really well then IBM branded Lenovo Thinkpad will be a good choice, though I would also look at Dell outlet for a nice D620....IMO they are built really well, great keyboard, still has the track point thing on the keyboard and still has that business look. Honestly if I were you I would jump on the T41 w/ extra bat. and 3 a/c chargers that is in the forsale seciton for $800....either that or the T60p at notebookforums for $1200

 

[DarthWombaT]

Will buying a laptop with say an ati mobility X1400 totally kill the battery life versus the stock, and much slower, Intel integrated 950?

Ive got a laptop configured which, as I assume using the Intel 950 chipset, gets 6 hours battery life. Im wondering what Im looking at if it has an x1400 instead.

 

[mitcity22]

I can't give you exact numbers but my guess is that it will take it down considerably....also I would say don't believe what manufacturers say about battery life, make sure you find someone with the notebook you want and see what they get, (turning down the screen brightness to *1* may boost battery life by 30min, letting the notebook sit @ idle the entire time will also boost battery life, so what I'm saying is that some "reported" battery times may not be under usable circumstances.

You can always just buy an extra battery and switch them out.

Edit-Remember more things come into play (screen size, HD speed, and most of all what you are doing on the the notebook)

 

[tickle_me_emo]

Leveno t60 (ati x1400)

This Thinkpad came equipped with a 9-cell battery. Under normal use of Wi-Fi on, USB drive being used, word processor, internet surfing, and normal screen brightness it got close to 5 hours before it said it had 1min. left on the battery. If trying to conserve battery life you could easily get 5:30 hours or more. I didn’t test this because I would never really use the laptop like that. If you are trying to decide whether you want a light notebook or longer battery life, I would say go for the battery. I do not think the battery adds that much weight compared to that of a 6-cell and you will benefit in the long run from the 9 cell. (source)


leveno r60 (intel gma 950)

I opted for the six cell battery for my R60, primarily to help keep the weight down. Having the smaller screen and integrated Intel graphics card will help extend battery life. Using just the six cell battery with the screen at four of seven and WiFi on, I was able to get 3:15 minutes of battery life. I also bought the modular battery for the R60. The modular battery has three cells. I didn't run a battery test on it since I just got it, but with 50% more cells I would expect 50% more battery life. Around four and a half to five hours seems about right with both batteries. If you are a battery life fanatic, there is also a nine cell battery option. (source)


hp dv6000t (nvidia 7400)

I purchased a 6 and 12 Cell Lithium-Ion battery when I bought this notebook. The 6-Cell seems to last around 2.5 hours and when the screen is dimmed significantly it will almost make it to 3. I ended up selling the extra 12-Cell Lithium-Ion battery because I actually never used it. The 12-Cells’ should get around 6 hours or so as they are essentially two 6-Cell batteries conjoined.
(source)



hard drive speed has little to do with battery life as a 5400rpm and 7200rpm draw nearly the same amount of power, although accessing it is a different story.