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General discussion

Student laptop (not college)

by bach101 Jun 12, 2009 4:51AM PDT

Well I'm a high school student and my Dell XPS M1210 is crapping out on me. I've decided it's really time for an upgrade but I'm not exactly sure what to get. I'm looking to get a good balance of portability and performance, but with durability as well. The biggest problem I've had with the M1210 is its frail plastic case which is covered in holes. I've got it down to just a few choices now though, after much research: the HP Pavilion dv2z with an AMD Athlon Neo X2 @1.6GHz and 4GB DDR2 RAM ($824), the Lenovo x200 with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 @2.26GHz and 4GB DDR3 ($999), or the Asus X83Vm-X2 with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 @2.26GHz and 4GB DDR2 ($759). Since I won't have as many textbooks next year the added weight of the Asus is not a big deal.

I've reached a dilemma between these three: the Asus has the best performance but is heavier, the HP will be sexy and light but slower processor and higher heat output, and the Lenovo is a happy medium but has such deterrent features as the lack of a touchpad and integrated graphics (even the dv2z I selected has discrete ATI).

Recommendations between the three?

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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I like the Asus
by orlbuckeye Jun 12, 2009 4:56AM PDT

because of the 7200 rpm hard drives, the facial recognition security and tyhe powerfull graphics card.
But also I read the Some PC vendors and sellers will begin a coupon program on June 26 to entitle people who buy premium versions of Microsoft Windows Vista to upgrade to the new Windows 7 operating system when it arrives later this year but there may be a charge unlike it was with Vista.

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Good point about facial rec.
by bach101 Jun 12, 2009 5:07AM PDT

I didn't know the Asus had that software; interesting touch. However the X200 also has a 7200RPM hard drive (granted it is only half the capacity). And in regards to Windows 7, I will already be purchasing a copy for my desktop (this laptop will not be my main computer) and I should be able to install it myself; I will most likely also be installing Fedora Core as a secondary OS since I use Linux for programming.

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Windows 7 licensing won't allow you
by orlbuckeye Jun 12, 2009 5:16AM PDT

to legally install a retail copy on multiple pc's. I've seen today in a couplsd of publications that June 26th is the day that most vendors will put the Windows 7 coupon in the box you get the pc in. I even saw a screen print from Asus who is already including the coupon.

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Okay then...
by bach101 Jun 12, 2009 5:32AM PDT

is Asus the only manufacturer packing that coupon or do you think other manufacturers (in this case HP/Lenovo) will ship that as well?

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