Help me choose a laptop

alb

Budget: Up to about 1300.

Intended use: software dev, photo editing, (photoshop of large raw files), general day to day use. I don't intend on using it for gaming.

Mobility: 13/14/15" form factor, would like it to be relatively thin and light, but it's not a deal breaker. If 15(.6)" I want it to have a higher screen res than 1366×768 - something like 1680×1050, if not full HD.

Warranty: I usually take my chances with standard warrenty.

What Operating System do you use? I'd dual boot win 7 and ubuntu.

Here are some more specific requirements I'd like

at least 4GB RAM
An intel Core I5 2nd gen chip (sandybridge chipset). Don't need an I7 and I hear I5 will give better battery life.
128 GB SSD if possible, but not a deal breaker. HDD speed is more important to me than disk size.
a USB 3 port, this is important.
HDMI and VGA out, this is important.
not integrated graphics

One other atypical requirement I have regards the keyboard. For my dev work I really want dedicated pgup, pgdn, home, end del keys, and I'd prefer they were to the right of the keyboard, instead of along the top row. Would also like a backlit keyboard.

It's also important to me to have a high-end build quality and nice design.

The only laptop that seems to tick all my boxes so far is the new HP Envy 15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFOFB_ynztc but it's not out for a couple of weeks yet and I don't know how soon I'd be able to buy it, or if I'd be easily able to get the exact customised version I'd want (e.g. the upgraded screen). Are there any laptops currently on the market that would suit me?

danger_mouse_tm

i was given a demo of the envy a week ago. it looked like a fully loaded laptop with a backlit keyboard with proximity sensor of some kind. i liked the feature of the backlit keyboard especially for situations like the one that im in now, where the TV is on in an otherwise dark room and i'm trying to type. i stopped by the microsoft store in the Mall of America yesterday and tried out one of the new lenovo thinkpad x220 series. i don't know if the screen size would suit you but i'd love a 12.5 inch display for the mobility factor. My current HP DV6 is a bit big to be lugging around. i'm also dual booting to ubuntu and i have no problems with the hp - everything seems to work ok. The battery on this is the only let down. I would be interested in knowing what you eventually decided on.

alb

The Envy is supposed to be released tomorrow, but I'm guessing that's just in the states and it sounds like only the basic models will be released now, and the higher spec ones sometimes in q1 next year.

I've found one other contender though, the Samsung 14" series 7 looks neat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLNJdxf1g54

I found mention of it being released back in October, but can't seem to find it for sale in europe either. Is this due to stock shortages from the Thai floods? It seems to be a bad time to be buying a laptop with the spec I'm looking for

alb

Resurrecting this just in case anyone is interested in what I finally bought: a Lenovo Thinkpad T420s with the following specs

• 14" 1600x900 res
• 6GB RAM
• 128 GB SSD
• Core i5 i5-2520M
• Optical drive
• USB 3
• VGA and display port out (can easily get an adapter for display port -> HDMI)
• Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics.
• Has dedicated navigation keys (and Thinkpad keyboards are highly regarded generally)
• Great build quality, should last a few years.

I also got a secondary battery which can be easily swapped in instead of the optical drive. I also love that an additional harddrive can be added instead via a special bay accessory too.

So the compromises from what I initially wanted were:

• It's not as thin and light as new ultrabooks are, but it's by no means a clunky or heavy laptop as 14" form factors go.
• It's not as good looking as most of the other recent high end laptops.
• Battery life could be better (though with my additional battery, I'll get over 8 hours I believe)
• No backlight in the keyboard

I got tired of waiting on other models that turned out to have flaws once reviewed and ended up being unavailable from European retailers anyway. After one day with the T420s I'm happy so far.

Keith186

Congrats. How much was it?

Still can't make my mind up after months on what one to get, not in a mad rush though really.

alb

The base model is around a grand I think and mine was about 1400 with all the extras (SSD, battery, RAM). You can spec one out and check the price at lenovo.ie