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General discussion

Canadian student looking for a laptop

by rad140 Jun 28, 2009 11:35AM PDT

Hi, I'm a student looking for a laptop, for work, games and all around portability with good battery life. Here are some specs I'm looking for:

<b>Processor:</b> Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 Ghz or greater, Centrino/Centrino 2 platform would be nice
<b>RAM:</b> at least 2 GB
<b>Graphics:</b> preferably discrete graphics: at least nVidia 256mb
<b>Screen:</b> 13-16 inches
<b>Weight:</b> no more than 8 lbs.
<b>Battery:</b> at least 2 hours, the more the better.
<b>Price:</b> up to $1,500 USD
<b>OS:</b> Windows

I?m also Canadian, so any models that could be easily bought online (either from the manufacturer or else) or bought in a store here (ex. Futureshop, BestBuy) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for any help!

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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One system that might match:
by CodyG [WINDOWS-TEAM] Jun 29, 2009 6:03AM PDT

I did a quick search for a system matching your requirements using Laptop Scout at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-laptop-scout/default.aspx, and a decent match for you might be the Dell XPS 1530 (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1530?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=bundlestab). It meets all your requirements, and it looks like it is right under your budget. It clocks in at just under 6 lbs., so it?s a pretty good balance of portability and power.
Let me know what you think, or if you?d like some more suggestions!
Cheers,
Cody
Windows Outreach Team

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budget change
by rad140 Jun 29, 2009 8:44AM PDT

what if my budget dropped a little bit to around ~$1000?

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There's still a few out there. . .
by CodyG [WINDOWS-TEAM] Jun 29, 2009 9:35AM PDT

But you might have to sacrifice a little screen size to keep the specs you want. If you liked the earlier Dell I mentioned, the Laptop Scout shows that a Studio XPS 13 ($1099) or an XPS M1330 ($899) would still be a good fit.

One of the Lenovo U330 models might also be a good, more affordable substitute. Here's a link: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=8EFAD587E2724C6D8A32A8D5048982CF

Cheers,

Cody
Windows Outreach Team

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Lenovo Thinkpad
by Renegade Knight Jun 30, 2009 7:25AM PDT

You can find a Lenovo Thinkpad T400 or T500 with discrete graphics in that price range. The T400 may be available new if you skimp on some featuers that you can upgrade later (like HD and RAM).

I know you can snag one refurbished or repackaged (they have different terms for various states of sent back, repaired etc.) on the lenovo outlet site.

My Dell XPS 15XX is headed for the shop to be repaired. It's just over a year old. Good thing Dell threw in an extended warranty to cover their product. I've never had a Dell not break or meet an untimley demise.

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how about...
by rad140 Jul 7, 2009 8:08AM PDT

the Dell Studio 15?

Dell doesn't sell the M1530 in Canada anymore, and it's kinda pushing my price range.

Would the Studio 15 be a good fit?
Does Dell commonly have problems with its laptops?

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