Is this worth my tuition money?

Hey I'm new to this site, I'm starting school this week and just wanted to make sure that I'm putting my hard earned cash towards something that will hold its value through school? I've been researching for awhile and this is what I came up with that fit my budget:

Asus N53JSV-A1 15.6" HD/i7-2630QM

Optical Drive: 8X DVDRW DL Super Multi
Screen: 15.6 inch 16:9 1366 x 768 WXGA glossy
IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound on CPU/GPU
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
WiFi: Intel Advanced-N 6200 802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless LAN
RAM: 8GB PC3-1333Mhz DDR3 (2GBx4)
Primary Hard Drive: 500GB Seagate XT 7200RPM Hybrid Drive
CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM, 2.0~2.8GHz,32nm, 6MB, 45W
GPU: nVidia GeForce GT 540M 1GB GDDR3


From what i've read the new SB core series are supposed to be pretty amazing, and although I dont have the cash to spring for the 2720qm or higher, the 2630 should do fine right? I don't play games very often but it would be nice if I could(if I could ever find the time) but what I really need is a multitasking machine. I know that no computer is perfect, but for this being a HUGE investment for me I need it to be close enough... Any input would be really appreciated!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html

 

That sounds like horrible battery life......
Not worth tuition money at all......

I would get an i3 comp..... UL80..

or i5 MAX for a laptop you really dont want a big cpu.... that graphics might be too good also....

a laptop is meant to be portable.... i7 comps are not portable.

also..... dont get anything higher than 15.6 youll regret it.... perfect size is 14

but its all preference..... those were my two cents.

 

^^ I bought my asus in my sig for school/games. Its a pain to lug around with all my books. Kinda wish sometimes that i bought a 14", this thing is huge and hefty. However when i game i dont regret it at all lmao.

 

Besides from the specs, if you would like to use it for more than 2 years (which is the case unless your school is shorter than that) you should get the additional "extended warranty".


--

 

Dang, if you don't care a lot about batt life, that is
one hell of a laptop right there!

 

Seriously? Crap!! Just HOW short of battery life are we talking? I was hoping to get the best of both worlds between battery life and smoking fast performance from the SB CPU... Guess that's a little naive...

 

TBH hold out for the G73SW

 

Can I expect at least an hour out of it? 90 min? Less?... This sucks... I spent weeks looking for a good school comp and thought I'd found a jewel, but It's useless if it cant last me an afternoon at school?

 

Like I've said..... if i were you i would settle with an i3 or i5, but not i7.
Also 5400 rpm HDD (would be better unless your needs make you get the 7200)
graphics.... thats whole different level.

but yeah, you can except from 1 - 2 hours max of usage.... but remember that battery life gets shortened as you use it....so by a year of use it will last even less..... and so on.

if you want a gaming laptop, i hope you already know that they are not portable and weight as much as an elephant

14' is the best size. 15'6 is standard.

 

Why don't you fill this out: http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html (as suggested) and then post in the What Notebook Should I Buy forum?

 

Resolution is too low for that screen size

 

As suggested, there is a form and different area for parts on this, but I'll put a few comments on it:

I've copied a review of it below - take with a pinch of salt but it appears that it'll offer as close to futureproof in most parts as you'll find. The weak spot is the battery at only 48whr only lasts a bit over 2 hours, if you could find a 80-90 whr that could be up to 5 hours of intensely powerful usage...

Review Asus N53SV Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Get a UL series laptop - 13 inches is perfect for work, great battery life.

 

Why do you say this when there is nothing wrong with an i7. You do know there are two types of i7, dual core 18W all the way up to 45W quad cores?

 

Yeah but from what I've seen most high end computers (above $1000) are quad cores, well the gaming ones. Atleast for now, i dont think an i7 would be worth it on a laptop. just get a high end i5 dual core if you really need that much power. My opinion ofcourse.

I believe laptops should be portable and have long battery life, however, we dont all have the same needs. but this guy is saying he will use it for school, so i assume he has the same needs as me. Note: I know some people dont care if their laptop will give them 20 mins battery life.... this guy does not state that.

 

.... Well I already ordered 2 of them(one for my wife and I), so I've got a great feeling(something like a rock in my gut) knowing that these things are useless away from an outlet...
So I paid top dollar for useless performance that I'll likely never need to use... Any chance some company is going to come out with a battery that will actually get me through the afternoon?

 

A lot of companies have batteries that can last an afternoon.

As suggested, FILL OUT THIS FORM http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html AND SOMEONE CAN SUGGEST SOMETHING TO YOU.

Hopefully you won't waste your money again.

 

Don't get these mistaken with the old quad cores. Sandy Bridge brings the following improvements to battery life:

1) 45nm shrink --> 32nm
2) Integrated Graphics on-die (i.e. Dedicated GPU doesn't always need to be running)
3) New architecture (i.e. half the idle power usage, etc)

Notebookcheck's review had 2-3 hours battery life with a weak battery. If you can find a high-capacity 8-9 cell battery you could get 4-5 hours usage.

This will have huge advantages in futureproofed laptops - but will be above what typical consumers need right now. Things like the UL or U series give good bang for buck and combine portability with good battery life.

 

WTH are you basing these crazy assumptions on?

The N53SV is going to have excellent battery life. For one, it has one of the new, energy efficient Sandy Bidge CPUs. Secondly, it has Optimus technology to save power.

 

pfff... optimus is a good idea with a terrible implementation. Terrible drivers