Also

[alliancesjr]

I am in the market for a laptop. I don't want to spend more than a thousand on it, but that doesn't matter; anything I get will be a major upgrade from the computer I am currently using. Sorry, Felix, you plod along steadily, but I'm going to have to let you go soon.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Comments

[gendou.livejournal.com]

Everything I've read about it points to it being a remarkably good machine, particularly given the price. It has some minor flaws (screen quality, odd keyboard layout), and there are some things I'd change (Core 2 Duo is a better chipset than Turion 64 in my opinion, and I'd much rather have XP than have Vista), but for the price it's absolutely unbeatable. The closest machines to it are in the $1200-$1500 range, and they have smaller screens (usually 15.4 inches).

The only major downsides are the battery life and the weight, neither of which is a huge problem as long as you treat the machine like a portable desktop instead of treating it like a notebook. As long as you take the power cord with you and plug it in where you're going, there's no reason you couldn't play World of Warcraft in a coffee shop somewhere.

It's an amazing bargain. The few compromises it requires are far, far less than the compromises you would have to make with any other machine in that price range. The video card alone is rarely seen on machines under $1500, let alone the 17" widescreen or the dual-core 64-bit processor. Plus it comes with a single stick of 1GB RAM, which means the second RAM socket is empty and you can add a 2nd 1GB stick (for 2GB) whenever you like without having to replace the RAM that's already in there.

So considering that you're getting a portable machine with a 17" widescreen and processing and video capabilities that rival my own desktop computer, and all for under $900?

I'd jump all over it.