Recommend a Laptop / Ultrabook

[cfaice]

Afternoon all,

I'm in the market for a new laptop / ultrabook to replace an aging Dell M1330. The market appears to be saturated with new devices, so much so I find myself unable to make a decision on what to purchase. Below I have listed the specifications for what I am looking for, along with some nice to haves. I'd appreciate it if you could spare a few moments to recommend a device or two.

Required:

• 13? ? 15? Display
  
• 1600x900 + Resolution
  
• Intel Core i7
  
• 8GB RAM +
  
• USB 3.0
  

Options:

• GPU ? not a hard-core gamer, but would like something reasonably good that is achievable within the above requirements.
  
• Optical drive not required, however if included slot loading preferred.
  
• Backlit keyboard would be a nice to have.
  

Price is not an issue, I'd just like a device that can over off as much of the above as possible.

Thanks in advance.

[Douglas_C]

Maybe the Lenovo Thinkpad T420s?

It's got a 14" 1600x900 screen, can have an i7, up to 8GB of RAM and has a USB 3.0 port. It has an optical drive (DVD burner, tray loading) but you can swap it out for another battery or you can buy a caddy and put another hard drive or an SSD in instead easily enough. It doesn't have a backlit keyboard but has a little light embedded in the top of the screen that shines down on the keyboard. A nVidia Quadro GPU is available as an option... from what I can gather they're not as good as a GeForce for gaming but they're better than the standard Intel chipset.

My next suggestion would have been the Edge but for some reason Lenovo UK doesn't offer them with an i7 (which is a pity, because a topend Edge here in Aussieland with i7, 500GB HDD, AMD graphics, 8GB RAM, etc, regularly sells for about $850-$950 which makes it pretty damn good value).

Lenovo often have discounts and sales (particularly on long weekends here in Australia, not sure about overseas) so it may be worth holding out until then if your Dell can cope.

[Hum]

Look at this:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-G53SX-DH71-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B005PAJHU4/ref=de_a_smtd

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

New Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook (Y) if you are leaning towards a smaller form factor

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Have you looked into the Lenovo X1? I am not sure if it meets your screen resolution specs, but if you are looking for an ultrabook-type PC, it is definitely an option. The newly-announced T430u is another possibility, although I am fairly certain it does not have a high enough screen resolution.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky