$1200 Laptop

[sallystudios]

I'm planning on buying a new 15" (ish) laptop for school, right now its probably between a dell xps or an ibuypower battalion, unless there's other stuff out there I missed! Budget is around $1200.

Primary uses will be browsing / movies / some gaming / office
(No video / audio editing or photo shopping though)

Any recommendations on these or other brands? Hard to find relevant reviews online.

I would like something with sandy bridge / nvidia graphics and a backlit keyboard, with a resolution greater than 720p (1680x1050 to 1080p ideal)

Also how is the performance difference between geforce 400 series and 500 series? I'm assuming 500 is the latest generation and is faster for the most part... but then again I never know...

Dell XPS - http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-l502x/pd

ibuypower battalion - http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Battalio ... ing_Laptop

Thanks!

[koc]

have you check sager laptops , they have many brands of laptops , and they are all customizable

http://www.xoticpc.com/

[Serra]

I would probably look at an i3 or an i5 for school use. Besides just not needing an i7 for office-type work, fan noise starts to become an issue with higher TDP chips. It's embarrassing and distracting when you start up a laptop that sounds like a jet engine during a lecture.

I'd probably look at a Dell 15R (i3 or i5/720p screen) or, if you really want to spend a more, an XPS 15z (i5/1080p). This particular XPS 15z should still be under $1200 with tax, though barely.

To me the additional low noise and portability of the 15R make the case (quieter, less power draw, etc), but that's just personal opinion.

[perkam]

Wait for Llano laptops.

With new quad 32nm Stars core, Turbo Core 2.0, new IMC with native support for DDR3 1866 and on-chip HD 6550, they're going to leave a large dent in the notebook industry when they are launched next month.