Help me chose a new laptop.

[Symbol]

Okay I used to be fine working from home on my desktop(3-4yrs)
(Intel core 2 quad,8gb ram, Ati 4650)
Due to moving around town for work, I've been using my dell mini(sister gave it to me).

I have a few old laptops at home but they're old and have bad batteries, and the dell mini is so slow for simple stuff like editing documents on word/being on for extended periods of time.

I am looking for a laptop(not netbook) somewhere between $500-$600.

I read on google's chrome OS but there is no way to tether my blackberry to it so that is a deal breaker
Macs are out of the question due to budget

so what do you guys recommend?

forgot to mention: looking with something with a decent graphics chipset, I sometimes play minecraft on my desktop, so I will probably do the same on the laptop

 

[Symbol]

I meant evo instead of blackberry, have pdanet on both

 

[diogen]

From a common sense angle (I'm not a gamer) you need either the latest Intel i3/i5-based laptop (and then you can get away with the onboard graphics; barely) or a laptop with a discrete graphics card and previous generation CPU. I don't think the i3/i5 can be had in laptops under $600. Something like Dell Inspiron 15R should qualify.

You definitely won't have too many options...

Diogen.

 

[Ilya]

Check out Dell.com - they do have some 15R Inspirons under $600 (2nd Gen i3, 4GB, 500GB HDD)
That's with Intel integrated graphics. Or should you decide to go with AMD Radeon HD 6470M for gaming, then it's $75 more.

 

[Symbol]

Hmm, tomorrow I will be going to my sony style store, I have a $50 gift card I'm willing to spend if I find something nice in the vaio lineup.

and yes, a few buds told me ATI graphics or nvidia is the way to go when looking for a good laptop

 

[Symbol]

Intel® Core™ i5-480M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz (Save $80 in Cart)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Gunmetal Black
320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
14" VAIO Display with LED backlight (1366 x 768)
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD with Intel® Wireless Display technology
CD/DVD Player / Burner
High capacity battery
No Engraving
No Fresh Start
Adobe Bundle (Free - $448 value)
Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial)


total is $729.99 + the gift card brings it down to aprox. $680

Only thing I'm worried about is the graphics chip

 

[isaacmorseMI]

Intel® Core™ i5-480M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz (Save $80 in Cart)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Gunmetal Black
320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
14" VAIO Display with LED backlight (1366 x 768)
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD with Intel® Wireless Display technology
CD/DVD Player / Burner
High capacity battery
No Engraving
No Fresh Start
Adobe Bundle (Free - $448 value)
Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial)


total is $729.99 + the gift card brings it down to aprox. $680

Only thing I'm worried about is the graphics chip

How much more is a dedicated graphics card? Gaming and Intel Integrated Graphics does not mix well.

 

[isaacmorseMI]

There's this one from HP.

Upgrade to a 1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6490M Graphics Card for 100 dollars more.

9 cell Battery for 21 dollars more.
HP Pavilion dv6 and dv6t series | HP® Official Store

 

[isaacmorseMI]

This Toshiba one looks like a good choice. NVIDIA GeForce graphics.

Toshiba Direct | satellite A660 Laptops & Notebooks

 

[Ilya]

i5-480m is a first generation Core processor, and you don't want to use integrated graphics with that. The second generation core has a much better Intel graphics.

I thought your budget was under $600. If you are willing to pay more than that, then you should definitely go with a second-generation CPU and/or dedicated graphics. Sony looks nice, but the specs are not that great. You can find better specs for the money elsewhere.

 

[diogen]

Just announced (to be shipped in July) AMD-based laptops.
HP upgrades 11 Pavilion and ProBook laptops to AMD Llano APUs -- Engadget
You might find something...

Diogen.

 

[diogen]

Liano gets good reviews.
My favorite reviewing site has a nice write-up
AnandTech - The AMD Llano Notebook Review: Competing in the Mobile Market

If you’re after a good all-around laptop for $500-$600, Llano should have just what you need; and for gaming,
it will likely power some of the best sub-$700 gaming capable laptops you're going to find right now...

Diogen.

 

[Symbol]

Sorry, I've been gone for a few days, but I did infact see an HP very similar to the one posted by isaac at bestbuy and it looks like a great choice!

But...I started to play with the macs at the store and I really loved how well designed they were.

Right now I am between the HP, the white macbook($999) and the low end macbook pro($1199). Don't know what I'm gonna do about my budget but damn the unibody is sexy! but though it may look sexy they have crappy specs for the price compared to the upcoming llano by amd

 

[Ilya]

You are like my wife choosing a car: the color is the most important criteria for her!

You started with a $500-600 budget, and now you are looking at a $1200 computer. And you are not even sure if you need a PC or a Mac?! Oh boy!!

It's hard to give you an advice if you don't know what you need. I think you should step back and make a list of what you need this computer for. Also, make a prioritized list of features and requirements (looking sexy, could be one of them). What kind of software you are going to use on it? The choice of software will help determine the proper operating system, as well as some other specs.

 

[Symbol]

Well if I manage a job in the upcoming months it can be a mac, but I need it asap so yeah scratch that , So, wait for the Llano to come out? the HP looks tempting!

 

[diogen]

First Liano laptops on sale
Toshiba's quad-core Satellite L750D goes on sale for $699 as one of the first available Llano laptops -- Engadget

Just $700 for a laptop with a 65xx ATI GPU - that will certainly be in competition with $700 Intel offers...

Diogen.