Looking for a new laptop

[† poetictragedy]

As the title suggests, I'm looking at getting a new laptop. I'll mainly use it for watching movies and general browsing. I don't play a lot of games, so that's not a big concern. The two things that really make or break a laptop for me are a Bluray drive and a backlit keyboard. I'd prefer a 15"-inch-ish screen with 1920x1080 resolution, but I'm willing to be flexible with that. I don't want to spend any more than $1200.

Currently, I have a Dell Studio 1555, and basically, what I'm looking for is something similar to my current laptop, plus a Bluray drive. The ones I've found that most closely match are a Dell XPS or another Dell Studio. So I guess the real question is: Are there any other brands that have the options I'm looking for? And if not, is Dell a good brand to stick with?

[Scruffy]

Well i have a networking degree... but i know razer as the mouse company is coming out with a new gaming laptop the razer blade i believe not sure how much it will be if your a gamer that is.. and i see your not

but in the past 6 months i just got the Sony Vaio i believe it was 1k plus i got a free 360 with it because i was a student

the vaio are amazing have a fantastic Display probably the best out there right now + it has what your looking for

[† poetictragedy]

but in the past 6 months i just got the Sony Vaio i believe it was 1k plus i got a free 360 with it because i was a student

the vaio are amazing have a fantastic Display probably the best out there right now + it has what your looking for

Thanks for your suggestion! I looked into the Sony Vaio series, and found that the C Series had all the things the Dell laptops did, plus it was under $1000. So I'm really leaning toward the Sony Vaio now. The only thing I don't like is the larger keyboard with numpad. My brother's laptop is like that and it's hard to type on. Though I suppose it would just take some getting used to.

I'm interested to hear if anyone else has used Sony Vaio laptops, or if there are any other suggestions. How are HP laptops?

EDIT: It looks like a lot of HP laptops have an option for Bluray drives, but not a backlit keyboard. :/

[† L4ugh]

HP isn't really a bad brand but they do often like to push bloatware on you. Any laptop you buy is going to have some, but HP can take it to far at times. I've never had a Sony but they do look like pretty good machine. I think if I had a choice between an HP and a Sony I would probably go with the Sony. I'm not really sure which I would pick between the Sony and Dell. I've never really had any problems with Dell but I have a couple friends who hate them. It would probably come down to specs and battery life on which I would choose.

Other brands you could check out might be Asus and Lenovo. I'm not sure you'd be able to get everything you want with a Lenovo, but I'm sure there is an Asus model that would fit the bill. I imagine the Asus will probably cost more then the Sony.

[Cello]

Thanks for your suggestion! I looked into the Sony Vaio series, and found that the C Series had all the things the Dell laptops did, plus it was under $1000. So I'm really leaning toward the Sony Vaio now. The only thing I don't like is the larger keyboard with numpad. My brother's laptop is like that and it's hard to type on. Though I suppose it would just take some getting used to.

I'm interested to hear if anyone else has used Sony Vaio laptops, or if there are any other suggestions. How are HP laptops?

EDIT: It looks like a lot of HP laptops have an option for Bluray drives, but not a backlit keyboard. :/

I highly suggest you don't go with an HP. I bought one over the holidays and it's put together horribly. An example: every time I type on the keyboard, the surrounding keys seem to push inward and move. This happened out of the box too. Not to mention they include a lot of unnecessary software that crowd up the machine upon setup.

Though I've never had one, I agree with magic, I've heard a lot of good things about ASUS having really good machines.

[† poetictragedy]

I looked at some ASUS laptops, but I couldn't find any that specifically said whether or not they had a back-lit keyboard.

I'm still leaning toward Sony Vaio. This is one that comes as-is, though there are customizable ones as well. What do you guys think of the specs?

I really appreciate everyone's input. I know what I want in a laptop, but I really don't know that much about specs and whatnot. I want to make sure I get a decent laptop that has what I'm looking for.

[Cello]

I looked at some ASUS laptops, but I couldn't find any that specifically said whether or not they had a back-lit keyboard.

I'm still leaning toward Sony Vaio. This is one that comes as-is, though there are customizable ones as well. What do you guys think of the specs?

I really appreciate everyone's input. I know what I want in a laptop, but I really don't know that much about specs and whatnot. I want to make sure I get a decent laptop that has what I'm looking for.

That seems like a pretty good deal for what you're looking for! It's got a dual core Intel i5 processor which is always nice for multi-tasking. That track pad is a little awkward though unless you're left handed. Usually they have them centered.

[† poetictragedy]

That track pad is a little awkward though unless you're left handed. Usually they have them centered.

The keyboard layout is the only thing I don't like about it. My current laptop doesn't have a numpad and the touchpad is centered. I guess it would just take some getting used to.

[† L4ugh]

Looks like a pretty good laptop to me. The only disappointing things I see are the battery life and the internal HD Graphics 3000. I think you'll be fine with the graphics as long as you're not intending to use it for hardcore gaming. You may be able to up the battery life with a larger replacement battery as well. If the battery life doesn't bother you, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[† poetictragedy]

Thank you so much for all of your input! I just ordered the Vaio, I'll let you know how it is in about a week's time! =)

You may be able to up the battery life with a larger replacement battery as well. If the battery life doesn't bother you, then I wouldn't worry about it.

If it bothers me enough, I might actually do this. Great idea.

[Cello]

Thank you so much for all of your input! I just ordered the Vaio, I'll let you know how it is in about a week's time! =)

If it bothers me enough, I might actually do this. Great idea.

Yay! Have fun with it! It's always fun ordering new things like a laptop.

They say when you get a new laptop you should fully charge the battery before the first boot in order to keep it working at it's best, though I don't think this applies for lithium ion batteries.

I rarely ever see a labtop that can run Windows for longer than 2 hours while on max/near max brightness and using a default theme while not plugged in. Back when I had a MacBook Pro, it was able to run for 8 hours unplugged while on max settings using Mac OSX. Whenever I dual-boot ran Windows on the MacBook it still only lasted about 1 hour and 50 minutes on the battery. It's ridiculous the amount of battery power Windows consume.

On the HP laptop I have now, I just always keep it plugged in because of how horrible of a battery life it has, though I believe that's a big no-no.

Enjoy your new laptop!

[† poetictragedy]

Okay, so I've had this laptop for a little while now, and it's pretty great! There are only a couple flaws: I don't have my media shortcuts (pause, play, skip) that I was used to on my Dell, and there's no option to toggle the backlit keyboard, but those are pretty minor.

Other than that, it's been working well! I noticed that it doesn't get nearly as hot as my Dell used to. I used to burn myself. D: I'm loving the Bluray drive and the Dolby Home Theater program, which optimizes the sound settings for videos, music, or games.

And it's really nice to start fresh with a new laptop. :3

[marksteele]

you might be able to get a third party program to create alt key shortcuts to get media player functionality like that, the other thing you could also do would be invest in a decent pair of headsets that have media controls or custom controls that will work with media player.

[† poetictragedy]

you might be able to get a third party program to create alt key shortcuts to get media player functionality like that, the other thing you could also do would be invest in a decent pair of headsets that have media controls or custom controls that will work with media player.

Ooh, I never thought of that. I might look into it! Thanks for the suggestion!

[kingofsages]

Before I get to my two cents may I say that your location selection is quite brilliant ... but that is about as off topic as I will be ... and now for my two cents

I noticed that it doesn't get nearly as hot as my Dell used to. I used to burn myself. D:

I've had experiences with Dell computers and as everybody I have worked with on fixing computers have said if a computer comes in and is messed up and it's a Dell we would always determine that the problem wasn't with anything except for the fact that it's a Dell. Having said that, the fact that your Dell got so hot it used to burn you raises the question .... When was the last time you used a can of compressed air to clean out the fan vents.

But yes, Sony is a nice laptop company too (although they have the Vaio Update and such bloatware)

Personally my current computer is an Asus laptop (which I wish had options like a backlit keyboard and such), but it has been one hell of a worthwhile purchase .... The only things I have needed repaired are 1) A stick of RAM (the ones they install during production are pieces of crap anyways) and 2) the integrated swivel webcam (which I will never use because I have a USB HD webcam) The one thing I don't like about it is the vent location .... right hand side (worst vent location possible.)

[† poetictragedy]

Before I get to my two cents may I say that your location selection is quite brilliant ...

Thank ya.

I've had experiences with Dell computers and as everybody I have worked with on fixing computers have said if a computer comes in and is messed up and it's a Dell we would always determine that the problem wasn't with anything except for the fact that it's a Dell. Having said that, the fact that your Dell got so hot it used to burn you raises the question .... When was the last time you used a can of compressed air to clean out the fan vents.

But yes, Sony is a nice laptop company too (although they have the Vaio Update and such bloatware)

I had so much trouble with it when I went to college and had to connect to their wireless network, the tech guys actually dubbed it the Laptop from Hell. And this seemed to be a frequent problem among Dells. As far as cleaning it, I never did, haha. Probably something I should do from now on, derp.

I'm enjoying the Viao so far, but yeah, there is quite a bit of bloatware. But I think I've got most of it sorted now.

[† Mute point]

I'm a bit of a Dell fangirl.. All of my current computers are Dell.. Except the netbook which is an Acer. All of the problems people scream about with Dells are usually caused either by user error, or they got the one bad one out of a batch of thousands. I've never had any trouble with them, although the fans did get annoyingly loud in my old PC before I retired it.

[† L4ugh]

Glad to see you like the new laptop. I think you also bought the last one, because I just checked the link and now it is no longer available.

Is the battery life in issue at all?

[† poetictragedy]

I have it plugged in most of the time, so I haven't tested the battery life much. I do know, however, that I haven't yet gone sprinting for the charger before the battery ran out, haha.