Looking for a programmer laptop with qualified backlit keyboard

Code42

Honorable
Jun 27, 2012
2
0
10,510
Hello, I have to choose a laptop quickly for mainly programming, but there isn't any good laptop finder in the web. So I need your experiences. My priorities are qualified backlit keyboard, qualified Full HD display and a little mobility.

1. What is your budget?
$1000 (+-300)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
13"-15.6"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Full HD. I need that resolution to watch Full HD movies and see more lines in text editors, IDEs and webpages. But 1600x900 or 1440x900 are also acceptable.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I'll both use it in classroom and as a primary computer. It should not be heavy much.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Minimum 5-6 hours under hard use. I don't want to charge it in classroom.

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)?
No.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Watching HD videos , using Photoshop Lightroom and Java IDEs.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Doesn't matter.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
No.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4 years. I want a durable and solid one.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Doesn't matter.

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.
Toshiba, Sony, Acer...

13. What country do you live in?
Turkey but I'll buy it from USA.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
A qualified and backlit keyboard is very very important that's why I seek your help. Card reader is a must. USB 3 is an important plus because I'm planning to use it in next 4 years.
It should look cool and solid. I don't want an cheap plastic material.
I think an intel core i5 and 4gb ram is exactly what I want. Graphic card isn't important.

Thanks for your suggestions.
 

iedgar10

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2010
33
0
18,580
I would suggest a Macbook Pro if you want it to last 4 years...

Although, I personally use Dell's XPS L502x and I'm in love with it simply because of the incredible audio it has. I haven't found any other laptop that has audio that even comes close. There are some HP laptops with BEATS audio that get blow out of the water. So based on my personal experience, I would recommend any of Dells XPS series laptops. Especially the L502X. It's kinda bulky though. So if you want something sleek you should try some of dells slim xps models. They look really nice. But, you will lose the premium audio.