just upgrade to 7. that's hardly a difficult task or much of a concern when you're dropping 3 grand on a laptop.

9/4/2009 10:40:33 AM

Not to highjack the thread, but can someone explain why a "business" laptop costs more than a similarly equipped "home/home office" laptop? Is it the more durable construction of the business models? Or special/extra warranty?

9/4/2009 11:09:14 AM

more durable definitely. or they should be anyways

9/4/2009 11:30:19 AM

im not reading this whole thing but Asus makes incredible laptops outside of those little eee's they are more famous for

i have a m50sa and it cost less than half of what you're budgeted for and it hasn't so much as frozen or BSOD'd on me ever. also it runs win7 perfect.

here's what you can get for 2k
Model
Brand ASUS
Series G Series
Model G71Gx-A1
General
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 2.0G
Screen 17" WUXGA
Memory Size 6GB
Hard Disk 640GB
Optical Drive BD Combo
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Video Memory 1GB DDR3 VRAM
Dimensions 16.4" x 12" x 1.8-2.2"
Weight 8.5 lbs.
Other Features Gaming Backpack and Gaming Mouse
30days Zero Bright Dot LCD
CPU
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Quad
CPU Speed Q9000(2.00GHz)
CPU FSB 1066MHz
CPU L2 Cache 6MB
Display
Screen Size 17.0"
Wide Screen Support Yes
Display Type Wide UXGA
Resolution 1920 x 1200
Operating Systems
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Graphics
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Video Memory 1GB DDR3 VRAM
Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
HDD 640GB
HDD RPM 7200rpm
HDD Spec 2 x 320GB
Memory
Memory 6GB
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type BD Combo
Optical Drive Interface Integrated
Communications
LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN 802.11 b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth Yes
Ports
USB 4
IEEE 1394 1
Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI
Other port 1 x eSATA
Audio Ports Yes
Audio
Audio Integrated Sound card
Speaker Internal Speakers
Input Device
Touchpad Yes
Keyboard Standard
Supplemental Drive
Card Reader 8-in-1
Webcam 2.0MP
Power
Battery 8-cell lithium ion
Physical spec
Dimensions 16.4" x 12" x 1.8-2.2"
Weight 8.5 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty
Accidental Damage Warranty 1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty - Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge

yes, they offer 1 year for DROPS right off the bat AND if you register the laptop, they will extend that to 2 years for free

i cant find anybody that can beat that

9/4/2009 12:15:24 PM

^ ASUS looks very good to me too! I just wish they let you customize their laptops. I like how much dell and HP and ibuypower let you customize.

[Edited on September 4, 2009 at 12:47 PM. Reason : ]

9/4/2009 12:45:19 PM

thanks for the help everybody.

Quote :

"just upgrade to 7."

can't. XP is the only supported OS. they are moving to 7 sooner or later, but not at the moment.

every config i've been looking at, i've had to downgrade to XP.

if it doesn't have that option, I can't get it.

silly.

so far all the big boys have it, though the smaller players do not.

8lbs is too heavy, 5-6 lbs is more like it. not too much power in a package that size apparently.

9/4/2009 12:51:31 PM

ok go to newegg and just look at the Asus lineup of notebooks, there is a powerful 14" i think for like $1200

i only posted the most expensive one (besides the lambo model which is retarded)

9/4/2009 1:12:27 PM

Quote :

" XP is the only supported OS. they are moving to 7 sooner or later, but not at the moment. "

get windows 7 pro or better and run all the apps in xp mode :-)

also, lenovo is garbage. Every single laptop we bought from ibm post lenovo failed after a year. We dont use them anymore. Until recently HPs business line was pretty much no frills, cheap, and reliable. Their latest lines seem like they hired some goofy ass motherfucker to come in and fuck the design all up. They're probably still ok from a reliability and performance standpoint (if you buy the right line) but they look like a clown designed them. Like a literal clown.

The dell lattitude line was recently redesigned and while they look much better, they fucked up on some key hardware design. They followed the retarded apple style speaker setup where the speakers are right next to the keyboard. This renders the onboard mic completely worthless. By comparision, the HPs put the speakers on the front, underneath a lip. The mic is placed near the screen at the top of the keyboard. By doing this, the HP allows you to do speakerphone conversations at full volume with no feedback. The other major failing of the dell is the touchpad. Its total garbage. They swaped the standard synaptics pad out for some custom dell branded job thats just total shit. Aside from that the dell is pretty great. Backlit keyboard, esata/display port, other perhipherals. Metal case + hinges. It just sucks because the problems are significant enough to not consider them. Hopefully they get fixed soon.

I dont know if the precision line has gone through the same workover, but last i checked they had the older style ones that are pretty durable, just not super sexy looking. They are essentially desktop replacements. I dont think they get great battery life, but if you're looking for something thats going to have the power of a desktop, is portable, and isn't made by some garbage company like ibuypower, then you aren't going to find a better line of "laptops".

9/4/2009 1:35:04 PM

you seem to be the only one with such a negative experience with thinkpads...

9/4/2009 4:00:25 PM

Quote :

"isn't made by some garbage company like ibuypower"

Why are they bad?

9/4/2009 5:12:03 PM

corp level support, dawg

9/4/2009 6:26:07 PM

^ I see what you mean. Are they still fine for personal/home use? Cuz, I almost always fix my own computer problems. I don't think I'd need extensive support/warranties for my personal machine.

9/4/2009 6:31:24 PM

Still rocking my thinkpad from 2006, still works wonderfully after dailly use. Hinges, screen, all hardware is perfect. Unless things change, My next laptop will be another IBM.

The only complaint I've ever had with it is that the speakers are quiet as shit.

9/4/2009 9:29:42 PM