Buying a laptop

~InkySnowflakes Nov 12, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

For the last little while, I've been looking into getting a laptop or a netbook. I've done a little bit of research, but I really don't know where to begin looking!

My preferences are as such:

- fairly portable
- usb port(s)
- durability
- decent battery life
- a high-quality keyboard omg
- the ability to multitask

The main reason why I'm buying this is for use at school, which is why portability/durability/battery life/multitasking is important. However I also do a heavy amount of writing and I really need a solid keyboard to type on. I am hoping on using this for digital art, too, when I get my tablet (which should be within the next few months).

As a side note, we don't have that big of a budget. Less than $900 would be preferable, but I really don't know about price/quality compromisations. Quite a few people at my school use netbooks, and I've been thinking about getting one of those (my parents would prefer it, at least), but would a netbook work for what I want to use it for?

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Devious Comments

~CloudsdaleCompanion Dec 5, 2012

If it comes to keyboards, nothing can top Lenovo (formerly IBM, but the people who work there are still the same).

Take a look at the X220, it has the classical Keyboard which is a dream to type on, it also has a 12,5" IPS screen which is bigger than netbooks but smaller than normal 14" or 15" notebooks, so it's still very portable.

At only 1,4Kg with 6c battery, it won't weigh you down either. It has 3 USB Ports, fulfills military standards (VERY durable!), lasts 6h with 6c battery and 9h with the optional 9c and sports a full voltage core i processor (i3, i5 and i7), so multitasking is no problem.

~InkySnowflakes Dec 5, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I've had Lenovo recommended to me from a lot of people, so ideally they are my first choice

I'll definitely take a look into the X220. Thank you very much for the comment!

~Latin-Geek Nov 22, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I can vouch for netbooks having great battery lives, and while mine can't handle photoshop it runs Paint Tool SAI with my Bamboo Capture perfectly, and I can multitask just fine. And it's a piece of crap compared to newer netbooks. Look for something with an nVidia chip and a dual-core Atom processor.

Don't know much about notebooks, though.

~InkySnowflakes Nov 23, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you very much for your input! May I ask what brand of netbook you've got?

~Latin-Geek Nov 24, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I actually have a pretty crappy local-brand Atom N455 (single core, two threads)/ 1GB RAM / Intel GMA graphics.
Nowadays you can find models with two cores, 2 or more GB RAM (this is important for mulitasking) and nVidia graphics chips, and that's what you should be aiming at.

~jiayou12 Nov 20, 2012

The laptop processor is typically a lower-powered processor than those found in similar desktop machines, although some laptop makers have used desktop processors in their laptops to get a performance
edge. Processors designed for mobile computing generally consume less power, and thus run cooler than desktop processors. This is important because you want your battery to last a long time and you also don’t want to burn a hole through your lap. Desktop PCs typically have massive heat-sinks and fans to cool them down, but it’s hard to fit that stuff into a tiny laptop, and fans drain laptop batteries quickly.
Resources:[link]

~UnhealthY-AdDictionS Nov 17, 2012

I absolutely agree with ASUS. I always buy the top of the line but refurbished. You pay the price of the low end model for the top notch and if you buy at trust worthy sellers (I personally always have had great experience with TIGER DIRECT) you get exactly the same guaranty on a refurbished model. I got myself a ASUS gamer laptop and I am not a gamer. I always get gamer hardware with good reviews because if it can run the big games it will run everything else and
Model G60VX
Total amount of system memory 4.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2
it comes with an excellent geforce gtx 260m cuda with 1 gb of video ram and It also has two hard drive slots so you can either have more room or have the option of making a killer raid set up. The new laptops are even better.
The gaming laptops are robust and usually have very decent keyboard .Mine have lighted keys with a controllable dimmer and I have been really enjoying this feature every time I had to work in darker places... Personally I always prefer a keyboard ..I use a wacom tablet and run the complete adobe cs6 suite + complete office 2011 and loads of software and I have windows 7 pro on it and I paid much less then your budget . I paid around 675 + tax and shipping for it and bought an extra hard drive. For 900 $ if you take your time and buy at the right place you can have a very very decent machine + a tablet. One suggestion is always to read user review and pc magazine reviews of the exact model you plan on buying to avoid having a laptop that is full of bugs and problems.

~cixie Nov 13, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

ASUS , LENOVO the ACER !

*pyrohmstr Nov 12, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Netbooks won't work for multitasking and won't have a good battery life.

You should look into Lenovo Thinkpads. T series or X series would be good for you. They're great laptops for a good price with good build quality.

~InkySnowflakes Nov 20, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you very much for the recommendation! I had a look at the Lenovo and they look suitable. Thank you~

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