Buying New Laptop, need advice/recommendations

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I will not be using it for gaming.

You will want a Discrete graphics card from either ATI or Nvidia. The Probook will not be good for gaming compared to even the lowest cards from both of those companies because it has an intel gma graphics processor.

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I want it to have great processing power, ram, etc. (so I can multi-task).

Either go with the intel core 2 duo P series or an AMD Turion x2 Ultra ZM series.
You will not notice a difference between ddr2 at 800mhz or ddr3 at 1066 despite what you may think.
The Laptops in your price range only come in dual core so for multi tasking that's really your only option.

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I want it to have a fairly high battery life.

Unless you buy a 12-cell or 6-cell battery somewhere else you will not find a gaming laptop with good battery life. I'd suggest picking up an extra 6-cell for when you are out and about.

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I want it to be compatible with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

As long as you buy a laptop with a dvd drive and any processor other than an Intel Atom you'll be fine. It may not come with windows 7 but it will be compatible.

What games will you be playing?

I said I would NOT be using it for gaming - Supernova could you please post your recommendation again with that in mind?

Thanks.

I am deciding between the Lenovo Thinkpad T500 and the Lenovo Enhanced Thinkpad T500.

The enhanced is more eXpensive but from what I gather, the only difference is that the enhanced has the business version of Vista, dvd burner, and a different wifi card. The business version of Vista is irrelevant because I am going to get Windows 7 Pro 64 bit from my school. The dvd burner I can live without. And the different wifi card.. I think the Thinkpad Wifi is better even though the Intel one costs more. Therefore I'm going with the the regular T500, which is 160$ cheaper.

Here is a link for the model:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?vt=5&GroupID=37&Code=T500_AMD&hide_menu_area=true

It is 939$ - but I am thinking about doing a few upgrades, I put my justifications in parenthesis below, let me know if you think the upgrades are a good deal:

+ hard drive upgrade from 160 5400 RPM > 320 GB 7200 RPM (+50$) (faster and larger HD)

+ 15.4" WSXGA+TFT, w/CCFL Backlight (+75$ - this is so I can get 1680 X 1050 resolution and a better screen)

+ 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM (32.50$) (this is so I can utilize a 64 bit operating system)

+ 9 cell - Li-Ion Battery (70$) (much better battery life)

So after doing all that, the total comes out to:

$1,166.50 cents

After a coupon code (USPSEARCH), I save 175$, so it goes down below 1000$. After tax, it is back up to $1053.50 - that is the total after everything. This coupon code is very nice! It expires in two days though.


Is this a good deal? Any customizations that I included that are not worth it? Any additional customizations that I should consider?


One other concern I have is that in the customization screen, it says the current version of vista for this laptop is not eligible for a Windows 7 Upgrade. I'm pretty sure this means that they will not provide a free upgrade to Windows 7, which is fine because I get one through my school anyway. But I just wanted to make sure that by "not eligible" they do not mean that it is impossible for me to upgrade because of hardware limitations or something. This is not the case right? If I upgrade to Vista premium for 50 more bucks, then I am eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade.

I missed that the WSXGA+ had CCFL backlighting and not the LED. LED screens supposedly improve battery life and offers screen clarity, but the 1680 by 1050 resolution is also great, and only the + has that. I'm not sure which one to get anymore, based on this thread of people analyzing which one is better, there are mixed reviews of either choice. Some people think the LED screen is washed out.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=320218

I am leaning towards sticking with the WSxGA+ just because of the resolution, and I do not think I will be that picky about a CCFL vs LED screen.

For the warranty, I'm considering getting the "Mobile 1Yr Depot to Total 2Yr Depot Warranty" - which adds 69$

The return policy is not great - they charge a 15% restocking fee.

Also, I'm going to add the bluetooth incase I need to sync my contacts or something like that, and the camera in case I ever need that (total of +50$ for both)

The video card is a sweet deal if he's planning on doing cad or cg work or anything like that but from the OP it doesnt seem to be the case.