I have had the same Fujitsu Lifebook for years now, it's an awesome machine. Since 2004 or so. It got me through college, law school and the Bar.

New job and all - and it's time for the Lifebook to retire.

Need one that's portable(not a desktop replacement laptop), as I'll need to bring it in to work, but I'd still like it to be across-the-board useful, even though I've got a nice desktop PC as well.

I was going to check out this week's Fry's ad, see if they have anything interesting - but I figure I'd ask you lot too.

Hoping to keep it under $1000, if at all possible.

Any favored brands these days? I haven't followed the laptop market in years, so I'm really out of it.

 

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What do you mean by across the board useful? I.E. getting gaming performance adds a lot of cost that could be put elsewhere. Decide what the most demanding game is that you want to play.

 

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http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-15416-laptops-ct-95_51_149.html

 

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Across the board useful - as in, can play games if I really want to - but that's not the primary purpose.

I have a desktop for that.

I just want it to be a capable machine.

I think the most "demanding" game I have on PC is Deus Ex:HR. if I want "performance demanding" I buy it for one of my consoles.

 

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I checked out the notebook forum I've used and it seems some knowledgeable people agreed on a laptop from the site Hibby Linked.

This one in particular, starting at 936$

http://www.xoticpc.com/force-16f2012-msi-16f2-p-3376.html

If you want you can post on their forum to get more specific suggestions, this thread was for someone in your same price range (900-1000)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/what-notebook-should-i-buy/644265-buying-new-laptop-soon.html

 

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The laptop I just got today is an ASUS Zenbook UX31. Specs are more or less identical to a Macbook Air, but with better resolution, and it's $1050 from Newegg right now. Some people have had issues with the keyboard -- if you're a sort who types lightly, you might have trouble consistently depressing the keys -- so don't buy it unless you've checked it out in person. Personally, I have no issues with the keyboard (except that keyboard shortcuts I've grown used to are difficult to use when some of the keys require you to be holding Fn), so I'm totally happy with it so far.

I know it's a bit over your budget, but in the 14" and under range, I think it's the best deal currently available. The other option would be a Lenovo ThinkPad T420, which is a bit uglier (okay a lot uglier if you don't like the old-school ThinkPad vibe), and you can't get as nice of a screen, but you can keep it well under $1k if you want to forego the SSD option.

The only other thing I'd consider would be the HP Folio 13, but its screen is a lower resolution and dimmer, so it wasn't even in the running for me.

I just did all of the research I needed to buy a new laptop in the past two weeks, and, really, unless you want to spend a bit less to get a lot less, these are the only three things I'd even consider. (Well, maybe the Dell XPS 13, though it's got its own set of issues, including the same screen issues as the Folio.)

[Edit: Just noticed you want to play games. None of my recommendations will work for that. The only option you have in the small, $1k-ish market space, if you want to play games, is the Alienware M11x. I'd recommend skipping the games and just buying an otherwise solid laptop. Though, I suppose you could do some light gaming on a Sandy Bridge/HD3000 combo, if you lowered the resolution a bit. DX:HR is actually fairly demanding, though, so...]

 

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This isn't true at all

 

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Watch slickdeals.net and eventually a really good deal with come down the pipe on a laptop. There isnt much there now but usually there is something going on in the portable arena. I dont remember a month without a really slick computer deal showing up.

 

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I can't find anything at all on the size of the one you linked, but based on the model number, I'm guessing 16". That's not exactly small.

Gaming laptops typically involve far too many compromises, too: Lower battery life or lower screen resolution or excessive heat generation or... yeah.

 

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Thanks all.

I'll do more research this weekend, and probably just buy a really business oriented machine, because the games just aren't important.

 

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