NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › The Impossible Laptop: Light, Fast, and Long lasting
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Impossible Laptop: Light, Fast, and Long lasting

post #1 of 14
7/25/06 at 10:21pm
Thread Starter 
I have been lurking these forums and other sites looking for my perfect laptop for college.
I've been searching for weeks so I thought I'd just post what I want and see if anyone had any suggestions.
I wrote a long winded explanation of why these are important but this is the shorter version:
Proc: Core Duo
Weight: <2kg
Screen: 13 - 14.1 inches, wide screen would be cool but not needed
Battery life: at least 3.5, but the longer the better
Video Card: I'd like to be able to run HL1 mods at least, so either a good integrated (haha) or an nvidia
Stuff: Needs an optical drive, Wifi, Bluetooth, and biometric is ++++
Price: Pretty loose, it's a grad present. 2k max, unless it's perfect than 2.5
And it would be nice if it was pretty...

And to make it even more fun, I plan on running some flavor or another of debian.
I am willing to work on this part, so having to recompile the kernel or patch something isn't an issue but I'd like the drivers to atleast exist.

Here are the laptops I've been considering and why I'm still hesitating.
Sony SZ2xx:
Pros: Weight, Proc, Screen, Biometric, Cool switching vid card, Wifi
Cons: Sony, So-So Battery life, lack of wifi/media buttons (not a show stopper)
Linux support takes work, but looks doable

Asus W7J:
Pros: Everything but...
Cons: Poor battery life, and no biometric thingy
And + it's not Sony

Macbooks:
The non-pros are fugly, no right click and no biometric
The pros are too big, no right click, no biometric

I've looked at a lot but those are the main ones.
If I don't find anything I like at this size I may move up to a 15" HP,
several of my friends have them and love them but i really want something smaller.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance,
I'm running out of time and I'm still can't decide.

-freecheeseman
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 14
7/25/06 at 10:32pm
answer:
dont get sony

for the weak performace you want and strong reliability get a lenovo(ibm) thinkpad
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 14
7/25/06 at 10:45pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not looking for a desktop replacement,
but I'm not looking for weak either.
a 2ghz duo with 1-2gb of ram isn't exactly weak,
I just don't want a big, hot, heavy brick to lug around.

I had looked at Lenovo,
but couldn't find a light weight one with a optical drive.
They are reliable but are either underpowered or too heavy,
as far as I can tell.

And as much as i don't like sony,
Their laptop is the best match to what I want that i've found so far.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 14
7/25/06 at 11:54pm
I was at work one day and very bored so i grabbed a few magazines to read. One of them was a scientific magazine. Scientists are inventing new batteries that are paper thin and carries 40 times more battery than regular ones. I forgot which ones they compared to. But they said, if they put something like that into a laptop, we definitely going to see a longer lasting laptop. The new battery is made of viruses. Somehow they modified the viruses' dna to be able to carry battery charges. Now these viruses are 40 times stronger than laptop battery if i remember correctly. It is still in a testing stage, but expect it to come out within the next 3 to 5 years.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 14
7/26/06 at 1:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCloud99
I was at work one day and very bored so i grabbed a few magazines to read. One of them was a scientific magazine. Scientists are inventing new batteries that are paper thin and carries 40 times more battery than regular ones. I forgot which ones they compared to. But they said, if they put something like that into a laptop, we definitely going to see a longer lasting laptop. The new battery is made of viruses. Somehow they modified the viruses' dna to be able to carry battery charges. Now these viruses are 40 times stronger than laptop battery if i remember correctly. It is still in a testing stage, but expect it to come out within the next 3 to 5 years.
That sounds very interesting. I'm almost afraid of that idea, with the viruses and stuff. lol
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 14
7/26/06 at 4:27am
Hmm... where did I read that.. I read that exact same thing.. OH! it was in National geographic. Im pretty sure I can fins something about that tomorrow.

The new batteries are made of bacteria not viruses (I guess they could be considered the same thing)

Oh and to freecheeseman check out fujitsu and toshiba. Im pretty sure all of their laptops come with biometrics, a good proc, and long battery life (3+ hours)
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 14
7/26/06 at 4:13pm
have a look at the samsung x11. Not available in the US though.

Pretty much everything you want i think except no biometric. Around $1700 or so i think too.

I have the x10 (previous generation), and it`s been the most reliable, unstoppable laptop i`ve ever owned. It`s put up with so much abuse without so much as a whisper of complaint or the slightest issue. First laptop to survive 2 years with me.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 14
7/26/06 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kazkek
The new batteries are made of bacteria not viruses (I guess they could be considered the same thing)

Sorry for getting off-topic but no, they couldn't almost be considered the same thing. Viruses aren't even considered living organisms by almost all scientists. They can both make people sick, but the similarities pretty much end there.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 14
7/27/06 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
Hey, cool battery tech but any other solid laptop suggestions?

and Kazkek, any particular toshiba?
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 14
7/27/06 at 8:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by birdman829
Sorry for getting off-topic but no, they couldn't almost be considered the same thing. Viruses aren't even considered living organisms by almost all scientists. They can both make people sick, but the similarities pretty much end there.

You are correct.. Viruses are made up of protien and just protien and a surrounding capsle. The bacteria is a living organism some made of of single or mutliple cells. Bacterias have cells and virus do not. Thats just an overview :P

I had to put that in cause i was going to study virulogy until I found work in the field is fairly limited in my country
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 14
7/27/06 at 9:07pm
Id take another look at Lenovo. The T60 at 14.1" is light (just over 2.1kg), good battery, superfast and reliable as they come and is under 2k.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 14
7/28/06 at 1:48am
Thread Starter 
derekmac, i think the 14" T60 with 6 cell+opti drive comes to 5.2 pounds(link). if i go up to that weight, i can get a dv1/2000 which has a better screen, good durability, and is vastly cheaper for only .1 pounds more.

cemak, i like it but the lack of us availability says to me that i won't be able to get support, either officially or for linux. really nice looking though.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 14
7/30/06 at 12:19am
Thread Starter 
I ended up getting a SZ260P/C for an ungodly amount of money, even after rebates. I really like it but it charges hella slow. Really really slow. Other than that so far I'm loving it.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 14
7/30/06 at 1:03am
Sony is doarksaidid.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › The Impossible Laptop: Light, Fast, and Long lasting