Hello all

Lookin' for a new laptop for school/entertainment

1.) Great battery life
2.) Great wireless card (recommendations if it doesn't come with?)
3.) Ability to play FarCry,WoW,COD,BF2,HL2,etc...
4.) Able to watch DVD's with great quality
5.) Great for music production/recording/etc (Firewire,USB slots/software?RAM speed/Memory timing/HDD space +RPM/FAST PROCESSOR!)
6.) Ability to use Internet, MS Word Excel,etc; Photoshop/etc

This laptop will mainly be a production/homework purchase..Graphics should be mid-upper range (i won't spend over $2000 'before tax') unless its vital for my wants in a laptop.

So far i've looked into:
-Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro
-Acer
-Toshiba

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance. I apologize for being so broad, im new to the whole laptop scene...Please get back to me ASAP 8)

***PS. is Apple's premium price worth it? i heard they're damn good with music production...comments?

I have a Macbook Pro. I love mac for it's OSX, and it does make work easier to get done, for me. You can get a few of those games written for Mac, but it doesn't bench as high as some other laptops in that range and below. The 128mb x1600 will get a 3800 in 3dmark05. Not bad, but not a screamer either. Bootcamp runs Windows XP quite well. Battery life is aprox. 3+ hours depending on usage. 4+ is possible on light use. Is the premium worth it? If you're a mac fan there's no question. If you're on the edge consider the bonus' for music production; full size firewire 400 - 800 which means powering externals from the bus, plus express card 34.

You can get a refurb macbook pro 2.16 for 1599 at the apple store online, or a "refreshed" model at apple in person for 1749

Lookat Killernotebooks. He has the 15.4 in your price. He makes top line gaming laptops.

-express card? whats that?
-in terms of compatibility will it run with MICROSOFT programs, and all my recording software?

-What do they offer that other companies (like Apple, Toshiba, etc) don't?
-How good is customer service/reliability?
-usb ports?
-good wireless internet?
I just want to know the comparisons/maybe testimonials because i haven't bought anything nor have i heard any news about killernotebooks...

Thanks for all the input so far! Get back to me ASAP if possible!

Mark at Killer Notebooks offers top of the line porducts. He gives you the fastest HDD available without the loads of bloatware that mainstream companies incorporate. The customer service, hearing this from owners, is top notch and is run by people who speak english. The Wakizachi, 15.4 KN notebook in your price range, has 4 USB 2.0 ports. It uses Intel pro wireless so you should be fine with that.

For a review of one of his notebooks look here:
Executioner Vs. Alienware

The main reason you haven't heard of him is that he is a boutique builder and isn't mainstream like Dell, Toshiba and HP.
Hope this helped.

express card is a format for add-on pc cards.. Have you heard of pcmcia? Basically since laptops don't have the expansion desktops offer in "slots", they are given one or two ports. The advantage is expansion in your computers peripherals or capabilities. For instance you could add e-sata to a macbook pro, with an e-sata express card.

The Wakizachi at Killernotebooks is an Asus Z96j. It's available all over the net and is a great recommendation for your needs if you wan to stay under 1800. KN charges a bit more than other retailers, but adds on tweaks and personal service you won't find at other places. The x1600 is a little long in the tooth. I would personally go with an Asus G1, or A8js

I've never owned an apple (they just don't feel right to me) so I can't compare macbooks to K|N computers. I can tell you that I have owned my K|N Executioner for a few months now, and I couldn't be happier with it. Mark does indeed speek english! In fact I'd wager that it's even his primary language! The best part about the support is that when you do need help, you get to talk to the guy who actually built your system. It's nice

-UPDATED-

Alright, I'm looking to spend about $1400 (MAX) on this laptop for school.
::
- 15.4 widescreen
- Gaming (FarCry, CS, BF2, Crysis?, Quake IV)
- DVD with excellent blacks (no backlight leakage)
- excellent battery life
- excellent WiFi
- usb 2.0 (2 or more) (& firewire, unless they have USB2.0-firewire hubs...)

= so far i've found:
HP DV9000t
Apple
Lenovo
Sony VAIO FZ
HP DV6000t

have any recommendations/suggestions? thanks in advance! 8)