Dell died, need a new laptop/netbook

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omgitswes

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Yeah so my Dell crapped out on me for good, learned that I'll need a new motherboard which costs more than the laptop itself.
I already have a desktop that I use for gaming and everything else. This will only be used for class


1. What is your budget?
under 500 would be great


2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
umm less than 15 inches and light too


3. What screen resolution do you want?
doesn't really matter


4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
portable


5. How much battery life do you need?
4 or 5 hours +


6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
No games


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Just Word processing, and streaming videos so I need a HDMI port as well


8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
250 or 300, I can always buy a bigger HDD


9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
newegg if possible. If not, it doesn't really matter


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Dell crapped out in me a little less than 2 years, I have 2 more years worth of school and that's really all I need it for so lets say 3


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Don't really need one, DVD would be cool though


12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Lenovo is the main brand, would really take anything that doesn't say Dell


13. What country do you live in?
USA


14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Like I said this will mainly be for notes, but also I'm hooking it up to my TV to watch movies from. So I need a HDMI port on is as well.

 
Solution
The Thinkpad Edge is a 'business class' laptop and they do tend to be a bit heavier and chunkier (but also have better durability and longevity partly because of that).

I don't think I can get behind that single core CPU Lenovo x120e.
But the dual core E-350? That could be a serious player, like the HP Pavilion dm1.
Lenovo x120e E-350 $509 @ CDW

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e review
another ThinkPad X120e review
HP Pavilion dm1z Review see above for $420 deal

Unless you're in a super hurry you want to be paying attention to the new mobile AMD Llano APU reviews that should start showing up tomorrow. They might have models that drop in your budget range and have decent performance and battery life.

A couple more worth taking a look at over @ NewEgg:

HP Pavilion dm1-3020us sub-Notebook $450
AMD Dual-Core Processor E-350(1.6GHz) 3GB RAM 320GB HDD 7200rpm AMD 11.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ Radeon HD 6310.
Small and light - with 'just enough' power to most of the standard office/education tasks reasonably well. If you need to multi-task with MS office programs (like Word & Powerpoint) it's probably not be an ideal choice.

TOSHIBA Satellite L635 13" NoteBook $500
Pentium P6200 2.13GHz (part of the i3/i5 family) 4GB RAM 500GB HDD DVD Burner, 13.3" 1366 LCD w/ Intel HD Graphics.
 

omgitswes

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Thanks. My sister just got a Toshiba Satellite yesterday. So far it's nice but I hate how the trackpad and spacebar isn't centered.

You don't think that Thinkpad will be too heavy? Maybe it's just looks but it looks kinda clunky
 
The Thinkpad Edge is a 'business class' laptop and they do tend to be a bit heavier and chunkier (but also have better durability and longevity partly because of that).

I don't think I can get behind that single core CPU Lenovo x120e.
But the dual core E-350? That could be a serious player, like the HP Pavilion dm1.
Lenovo x120e E-350 $509 @ CDW

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e review
another ThinkPad X120e review
HP Pavilion dm1z Review see above for $420 deal

Unless you're in a super hurry you want to be paying attention to the new mobile AMD Llano APU reviews that should start showing up tomorrow. They might have models that drop in your budget range and have decent performance and battery life.

 
Solution
Just a single drive bay in these smaller models we're looking at. You can use a HDD or SDD but not both.
You CAN get an external case and use the HDD as an external HDD if you do decide to upgrade with a SSD.
 
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