Can You Recommend a Good Laptop?

i'm looking to buy a good sony laptop. can you guys recommend one with the following specs?

- i7 intel processor
- at least 2.3 Ghz
- 4 GB ram
- Nvidia Geforce (at least M640 or enough to play games smoothly)
- 15.5 inch screen
- non-click touchpad
- MUST HAVE backlit keyboard
- great screen
- webcam, bluetooth, HDMI
- fast bootup speed
- SSD (optional but would be nice if the price is right)

its got to be low priced around $850 - $1000

 

Check Asus K55. It only has HDD, but you can replace that with an SSD.

 

I'd recommend this: PowerPro R 11:36-670 Gaming Laptop
It's a bit more future-proof since you can upgrade the GPU pretty well, and you can contact meaker on the forum for a better deal.

 

Sony S15 (about $1000 for a GT640M LE, Core i7, IPS display version). Lenovo Y500 if you want a slightly better graphics card (GT650M).

 

FWIW, the OP specifically requested a recommendation of a SONY laptop, though other suggestions are certainly worth looking at. That said, I think that the S15 better meets his specs than any of the others mentioned, particularly due to the IPS screen (now that non-orangegate models are avaialble) and the stated need for only a moderately strong GPU - especially when the 640 in the S15 can be OCd as I understand it to perform closer to a 650. Plus it's lighter and thinner by far than the others mentioned - even though the OP did not specify that, who wouldn't prefer it? Let's see, there's also the sheet battery which brings battery life above all competitors as I understand it. And let's not forget Sony's award-winning customer support - er, let's DO forget it.

Best of all, you can buy it from Sony online or in a store and get 30 days to try and return for refund if you don't like it. I don't think any of the others offer that.

 

I'm a fan of the S15, just ordered one myself. However, it should be noted that the newer Windows 8 models do not work with the BIOS hack to make the 640 GPU perform at higher rates. At least not yet.

 

You guys have any theories on when the next gen s15 would be released?

 

After intel's new CPU's probably.

 

There should be a refresh soon.

 

Can you downgrade to W7 and also downgrade the BIOS?

 

I would be stoked to see an option, from Sony, that enabled us to either purchase a laptop with W7 or W8 - instead of just W8.

Does anyone have any more info on when we can "realistically" expect to see a S 13/15 refresh?

Does anyone believe we'll see a stronger GPU than the realtively weaker gt640m LE?

Thank you,