Laptop for College

Hello, after many useless posts in the what computer sub forums, I come here. I am going into college, for the sciences. I am mostly looking at asus, lenovo, and sony. Budget of $800 or so, less is more.

I really dont like the FAQs, so here I go:

Screen size 13"-15" (Im leaning towards bigger- why not, for writing papers, games, internet, movies, etc)

A processor more powerful than a ULV. seriously. I live on my computer, so nothing that will struggle with what I do (like written above, but maybe some photoshop, games like elderscrolls 4, sims, theme park games). I do not know how well business gpu's will compare.

While I hate judging a computer by its ability to game, that would be the most demanding thing, and thus the hardest test on it. Or if there is a great laptop but no gaming, so be it. I really should not allow myself to be distracted in college. But it would be a great + for my free time.

Battery life, right now my old acer is about 20 minutes. And that sucks. I would want to be able to take it to the library or student union, and not have to bring my power cord. But then I would only be on aim, office, and chrome. Nothing too demanding.

I suppose outlet models work, as long as the hardware will not age for a few years.

 

Try the Asus UL80JT. Corei CULV that will be equivalent with C2D's but with better battery life.

 

Get a T500 with EPP or CPP. Outlet is probably cheaper though.

 

Well you really can't beat the quality of a business laptop from Lenovo. A Thinkpad T series will last you your entire 4 years in college. I am a senior now and my Thinkpad has been carried to every class with me as well as exposed to some pretty nasty stuff in my SAE shop and machine shop.

Another really nice thing about the Thinkpads is you get a much higher resolution screen then you do with consumer laptops.

 

A nice T410 should be perfect for your college needs

 

You can get a high res screen, but OP needs to be aware of the crap ton of T series screen options. W500 is highest res though at 1920x1200 I think...?

 

CULV = cheap
Core i7 ULV = expensive

ArsTechnica says that UL80JT will be available at a price just above $1000, which is substantially above OP's price limit.

(On that note, W500 is also out of OP's price range.)

 

T400 or T500 are the best bet for the 800 dollars price mark.

 

Agreed and the T500's GPU is about twice as powerful as the one in the T400. Neither are that powerful though.

 

Even so, either one will easily handle the games you have listed. My T500 can even handle Mass Effect 1 & 2 (1440x900, max settings), Bioshock (1440x900, max settings), and Crysis (forgot exact settings).