Solved! Need 15 inch, I5, battery north of 6/7 hours, under $1k, good sound

[idic5]

ded. graphix card not nec.

gt or eq 4 gb ram

minimal flex and well defined KB - chiclet best.

ruled out a great laptop, asus u56e bbl5 since the sound virtually did not exist (sound at max was virtually unhearable unless you were in the quietest room in the world)

so basically I want the asus U56e-BBL5 with good speakers

 

[WR2]

Hello idic5;

Sounds (heh) like you want one of the home entertainment variety of notebooks.
In the Asus world that's the N series: ASUS N53 Series N53SN-XV1 15" laptop $900
Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 4GB RAM 640GB HDD 5400rpm 15.6" 1920x1080 LCD w/ NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M.

Let me look for some other models in the N series.

 

[WR2]

Or maybe the about to be released Asus N55SF

Actual pricing isn't available yet - looks like it could right at the top of your budget range.
Asus' N55SF Multimedia Notebook Gets Listed in Europe
It also has a poweful gaming graphics card installed.

I haven't found any alternate N53 models with a milder graphics card yet, either.

 

[WR2]

A couple other options:
2010 model: ASUS N53JF Review
Still potent Core i5-480M and a bit less GPU - GT 425M.

Dell XPS 15 L502X (Sandy Bridge) Review
with the standard Core i5-2410 and GT 525M graphics card - about $644 before any added options

 

[WR2]

Other reviews:
Dell XPS 15 review
Review Dell XPS 15 Notebook (i5-2410M & GT 540M)
Dell XPS 15 L502x: Now with Sandy Bridge

 

[idic5]

thanks for the looksees. less gpu is fine. I need more battery. the asus's you referred me to were 6 cell animals. The realgood U series that I mentioned above has a whopping 74 watt hour battery . I'd like that kind of battery with some speakers that can actually be audible. the dell 15 hasa 56 watt hr battery. not even close. dell improved on the 15 w/ the 15z , taking a page out of the mbp design with a built in battery (bad for me), but the KB was not that good. and the price was kinda high at 900. this is close, however.

 

[WR2]

Dell has the optional larger battery you probably want. The 15z speakers are a downgrade, needed to fit in the slim case, I do believe.

 

[idic5]

i really appreciate your links.

I am trying to wade thru the plethora of xps 15 's out there. there is the I5 that came before the 15z. I just discovered a 15L which seems to be a I7, which is too much power for me


here is the battery I'd want that wd satisfy my cordless req. a whopping 90 watthrs

http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&orig_s=gen&sku=312-1127&mfgpid=223452&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=2&s=hied&pmha=6&cs=RC956904

 

[WR2]

I bet you could find a coupon or bundle to knock off a good chunk of that extra battery cost.

 

[idic5]

where might one find such a coupon or bundle?

 

[WR2]

http/www.dealigg.com/ is always a good place to look.
There is a Dell Deals & Coupons section

 

[WR2]

This one might apply even though it's the Small Business section:
Save 20% off select Laptop & Desktop Accessories at Dell Small Business with Dell Coupon W2BQ$LCJSH11CN [Exp. 09/01]
The battery is a laptop accessory and they sell the XPS version in the Small Biz section as well.

 

[idic5]

This one might apply even though it's the Small Business section:
Save 20% off select Laptop & Desktop Accessories at Dell Small Business with Dell Coupon W2BQ$LCJSH11CN [Exp. 09/01]
The battery is a laptop accessory and they sell the XPS version in the Small Biz section as well.

thanks wr2, for your good tips

 

[Avro Arrow]

You want an i5 with more than 6 hours of battery life? Are you joking? That's like asking for a Mustang that gets 50mpg. AMD's Llano-based laptops far outlast Intel's SB-based laptops and only barely can do 8 hours, and even then, that's completely at idle! Even the Intel i3 can't do that. Time to change your desires. It's either the battery life you want which means an AMD A-series (Llano) APU or a MacBook or you can proudly declare to anyone who will listen (or even care) just how cool you are to have an i5. Good luck!

 

[WR2]

You want an i5 with more than 6 hours of battery life? Are you joking? That's like asking for a Mustang that gets 50mpg.

Some other options:
Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830TG-6431 Review
Core i5-2410M & GT 540M graphics tested @ 6 hours and 58min on it's own with it's standard 6cell 66 Wh battery.

Dell Latitude E6420 Review
Core i5-2540M & Intel HD Graphics 3000 tested @ 8 hours and 59 min with optional 9 cell battery.

 

[idic5]

You want an i5 with more than 6 hours of battery life? Are you joking? That's like asking for a Mustang that gets 50mpg. AMD's Llano-based laptops far outlast Intel's SB-based laptops and only barely can do 8 hours, and even then, that's completely at idle! Even the Intel i3 can't do that. Time to change your desires. It's either the battery life you want which means an AMD A-series (Llano) APU or a MacBook or you can proudly declare to anyone who will listen (or even care) just how cool you are to have an i5. Good luck!

looking for some competition to the following, which had speakers that harldy audible with room sounds going on...

asus bbl5 = i5 , 15 inch, 8 hrs batt life

http/www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388309,00.asp

the dell 15z is also an i5 w/ batt life north of 6 hrs.

 

[idic5]

Some other options:
Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830TG-6431 Review
Core i5-2410M & GT 540M graphics tested @ 6 hours and 58min on it's own with it's standard 6cell 66 Wh battery.

Dell Latitude E6420 Review
Core i5-2540M & Intel HD Graphics 3000 tested @ 8 hours and 59 min with optional 9 cell battery.

the acer is a 13 incher

the dell is a 14 incher

but good response to the mustang poster. I was even asking for more with a 15.6 inch monitor!