Need help choosing a new laptop

[Hydron]

Hi, I need a laptop for school, browsing, some games but I will get a ps3 soon so its that important. But one thing, I need something Fast and reliable, I can't stand a slow computer, it makes me angry and I wan't to hit it :) (BTW im not a violent person :p but I like my machines running fast)
Budget: 800$ to 1000$
Screen: 14"-16" I dont think a 10" screen will be enough

I live in canada so I need a Canadian online computer shop like NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection. and Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

I think this one would fit my needs, what do you think about it?
Newegg.ca - ASUS F50 Series F50Sf-X1A NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6500(2.10GHz) 16" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 220M - Laptops / Notebooks

Is it the good time to buy a Notebook or should I wait a little?
Thanks a lot for your help

[Thund3rball]

If battery power is important to you than Asus is not the machine for you. Asus usually has poor battery performance. To further that, if you want really good battery life out of any machine for school, you won't want anything with a dedicated GPU. Also, I am more partial to something 15" or smaller for packing around every day to/from school or work. A 16" laptop is imo too big for this.

So the questions are:

1. Battery life - how much do you need?
2. Portability - Are you prepared to haul around a large notebook, or would you prefer something a bit smaller
3. If you want to game, that will severely limit your battery life, so this relates to #1.
4. Is warranty important to you?

Oh and yes this is a good time to buy a notebook. Back to school and all.

[Hydron]

I think 2.5h-5h battery life is enough
Your probably right I should go for a 13.3-14" screen
What do you suggest?
New Budget 600$-1000$ ( If I can save so cash for the PS3 that would be nice but still I wan't something fast and reliable I would hate to have to send it for repair )

[geokilla]

If you can, visit the Best Buy America site. Many good ASUS laptops for under $1000 and they all fit your criteria of what you want in your laptop.

I myself prefer 15 inch laptops. I wouldn't mind getting a 14 or 16 inch laptop, so it all depends on budget.

What kinda games do you want to run? Gaming and laptop don't go really well together. Maybe look into a laptop that supports hybrid power?

[Thund3rball]

Originally Posted by Hydron

I think 2.5h-5h battery life is enough
Your probably right I should go for a 13.3-14" screen
What do you suggest?
New Budget 600$-1000$ ( If I can save so cash for the PS3 that would be nice but still I wan't something fast and reliable I would hate to have to send it for repair )

Lol, 2.5hrs - 5hrs is a pretty big range there. Which is it? You are talking the difference between a 6 cell with discrete gfx vs a 9 cell with onboard. If all you want is 2hrs than by all means, get a laptop with a 6cell and beefy GPU. But 2hrs will be your max in that scenario (maybe 2.25-2.5 on power saver with no WiFi or disc spinning). That will fly by in the course of a full day at school or work. If you have access to power than it's not a problem. But then you are also hauling around your AC adapter. This may or may not bother you, everyone is different?

For 5 hours of battery life say goodbye to discrete gfx unless you can find something with hybrid, as mentioned, but then price may become an issue. You really need to set your priorities.

[Hydron]

What do you think of this one, since gaming isn't a priority. They claim 6h battery life so it should be good for 3h to 3.5h in normal using conditions.

Newegg.ca - ASUS K40 Series K40IJ-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6400(2.00GHz) 14" 4GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel GMA 4500M - Laptops / Notebooks

[Perineum]

I hope no one minds but I'd kinda like to hijack this thread for my own purpose. I've been looking at laptops to buy and I am *completely* overwhelmed by the amount of models you can buy. Asus lists over 20, I'm sure. Dell isn't much better.

So the questions are:

1. Battery life - how much do you need?
2. Portability - Are you prepared to haul around a large notebook, or would you prefer something a bit smaller
3. If you want to game, that will severely limit your battery life, so this relates to #1.
4. Is warranty important to you?

Battery life: Well, more the better. Minimum would be 2.5 to 3 hours, enough to play an entire movie

Portability: Size and weight do not matter to me. If I'm packing around a 5lb thing it's going to be as annoying to me as a 10lb thing.

Gaming: Not a large priority. Could it fold?

Warranty: Something along the lines of a good one year warranty with accidental damage would be good.

Screen: wled or oled backlighting preferred, for battery life and screen longevity... also I'm partial to a 1080 resolution, if possible (but not absolutely necesary.)

Optical: bluray drive

Wireless: a/b/g/n + bluetooth

Processor: dual core around 2.0ghz is fine

Storage: SSD or whatever is cheapest so I can replace it with SSD

Obviously, this laptop would be for general on the road type browsing, facebook, emailing, that sort of crap. It would also double up for watching movies. I would want to replace the drive and put SSD in there. Is it possible to buy laptops with no ram and no harddrive?

Any recommendations?