Best Aluminum Chassis Notebooks

[ATLien_0]

So today I have decided to start researching for a new laptop.

My current toshiba tecra m4 is slowing dying from an overheating video card (long story, posted here a while back) , ended up reinstalling Vista on it from Win 7 RC, didn't seem reasonable to buy Win 7 full for a dying laptop. I have a Dell XPS 200 desktop with Win 7 on it currently from Win741.com

Basically I am starting to realize how much more I use my laptop on a day to day basis as to my desktop which I may just turn into a Media Center only computer.

I have used Windows pretty much my entire life, but also Macs as well at school and work however with Windows 7 I am thinking of just sticking with a PC even though I am going into a design field.

The one thing that has always gotten me with PC laptops is the creaky cheap plastic shells so I want to see whats out there in Aluminum besides obviously the Macbook Pros which I have not ruled out

So far I have found the

Dell Adamo

Hp Envy

Asus?

Does anyone else know of some good laptops that are Aluminum. The HP Envy and Dell Adamo are both nice, but don't have an optical drive. My experience with HP in the past has been iffy, they always seem to break quickly.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

I'd get the MacBook Pro regardless, to be honest. The other choices are simply not as good.

[ATLien_0]

Im not ruling out the MacBook Pro, but do want to look at other options. The Dell Studio XPS line does look pretty nice even though its not Aluminum.

Quality wise I know Apple is at the top there and also never had any issues with Dell or Sony in the past. Toshiba and HP have always been a hassle for me.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

If you specifically want an Alimunium laptop I'd go with the HP Envy. But the Dell Studio XPS is a very nice machine, very good looking, nice tactile keys. Overall a great computer.

[sundayx Veteran]

Envy seems like a strong contender to the Macs

[greenwizard88]

There's also the Dell Vistro V13. It's mostly zinc and aluminum, and about 1/2 the price of a MBP.

There's also the Dell Vostro V13. It's mostly zinc and aluminum, and about 1/2 the price of a MBP.

[greenwizard88]

There's also the Dell Vostro V13. It's mostly zinc and aluminum, and about 1/2 the price of a MBP.

[Boz]

I'd get the MacBook Pro regardless, to be honest. The other choices are simply not as good.

How do you mean not as good?

MacBook Pro first is still a core 2 duo laptop. The new ones will probably be i5 based.

Dell XPS Studio is absolutely fantastic. I have ordered the new one and I sold my older one.. $2200 of absolute beast

Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish

Intel? Core? i7-820QM Quad Core Processor 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)

8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)

Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)

Full HD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP

ATI Mobility RADEON? HD 4670 ? 1GB

85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB

Intel? 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card

Integrated 10/100 Network Card

[ATLien_0]

The Vostra V13 looks nice as well, looks like the business version of the Adamo

Basically like I said Aluminum would be nice, I am looking for quality here, price wise thats pretty open, but I am a design student so I will be running a lot of Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and also doing some 3d modeling possibly with Solidworks

The studio XPS is a solid machine and dells engineering and design teams look like the have stepped it up.

HP I am still a bit iffy with, there machines have always felt cheap engineering wise for me, but the Envy doesn't look bad.

What does HP have to compare to the Studio XPS?

I may also look into Sony, but there prices have always been pretty high

[NeoXY]

I'd go with the Envy as well. Its getting some pretty fantastic reviews.

[GreenInspiration]

I think you can install windows 7 on mac pro. The only problem my Toshiba laptop gave me is sometime it won't turn on. But it's fixed.

[ATLien_0]

i was thinking about that, but ive never been one to float between the 2. The obvious thing is that if I have to use solidworks it would be on windows. I plan on going by the Apple store in a few days to do some research.

[zagor]

If you need a well-built, sturdy and dependable notebook, I would suggest a thinkpad. You have to live with a magnesium alloy chassis though. But hey, you can run over it with a truck :-) They are, I believe somewhat lighter than Macbooks. And they come with a lot of options. I recently put an order for a T410. It has core i7 cpu, discrete gpu, gps, finger print reader, tpm module and lotsa other goodies...

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

How do you mean not as good?

MacBook Pro first is still a core 2 duo laptop. The new ones will probably be i5 based.

I see nothing in his post about specs. I'm just going off the build materials.

You can't beat the unibody chassis. :p