Please help me find a new laptop for school (FAQ used!)

mykepwnage

Honorable
Feb 19, 2012
3
0
10,510
I was accepted into a 3 year programming course at a local college and want a laptop that suits all my needs while I'm a student.

1. What is your budget?
--at least $500, up to $800

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
--15'? I've read that the larger screens are a neccesity for programming, but have been using an Aspire One for school so far.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
--no preference, but im use to 1680 x 1050 on my desktop

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
--portable

5. How much battery life do you need?
--probably wouldn't even need 6 hours, but thats what i'd shoot for. i should be able to keep it plugged in whenever i need to use it

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
--minecraft, high settings

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
--progamming/compiling, web browsing/streaming

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
--<100gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
--I'm willing to try new sites. only have ordered parts from newegg.ca before

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
--at least until im done school

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
--none

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
--i'm hesitant to buy any kind of cookie cutter laptop... sick of my Aspire One, and my more hardware savvy friends make fun of dell/hp laptops and some others.

13. What country do you live in?
--canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
--i really really appreciate your help! :)
 
Solution
A couple options:
ASUS K53E 15" notebook $570
Core i3 2330M(2.20GHz) CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics.
ASUS A53E 15" notebook $600
Core i5 2430M(2.40GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics
ASUS A73E 17" notebook $630
Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 17.3" 1600x900 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics
(might be too large to haul around to classes on a regular basis)
ASUS A53E 15" notebook $730
Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics



A couple options:
ASUS K53E 15" notebook $570
Core i3 2330M(2.20GHz) CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics.
ASUS A53E 15" notebook $600
Core i5 2430M(2.40GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics
ASUS A73E 17" notebook $630
Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 17.3" 1600x900 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics
(might be too large to haul around to classes on a regular basis)
ASUS A53E 15" notebook $730
Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) CPU, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ HD 3000 graphics



 
Solution