need $800-1000 Windows7 laptop recommendations

I'm looking to upgrade to a new laptop and was hoping someone can give me a head start on what to look for. Here are some things I've already decided:

1) max price $1000 but would prefer something around $800
2) Windows 7 64-bit
3) general purpose (15" screen or larger)
4) at least two USB ports
5) one firewire/1394 port preferred but not required
6) 1Gb LAN would be nice
7) eSata would be nice

I plan to run DPP, Photoshop Elements, and occasionally Premiere Elements for non-HD video editing. I'm not a video-gamer. I might use LR at some point.

In the past I've always purchased Dell computers since I can customize them with what I want. However, I'm sure there are other brands that are better or cheaper.

I have no idea about processors, but it sounds like the newer Intel i3, i5, and i7 are the best. I'm also not sure whether I need a separate graphics card or not. I'm not worried about disk capacity, and I assume I'll get 4GB of memory at a minimum.

I know a desktop would be better performing and cheaper, but I like the portability of laptops and I'm ok waiting a bit longer for DPP to perform RAW conversions. Any new laptop is going to be much better than my old Dell laptop.

Anyone have suggestions?

I was looking at the Dell Studio 17 earlier. It is on sale for $750. Is that a good deal?

PROCESSOR NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i3-350M 2.26GHz (3M cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
VIDEO CARD Intel® HD Graphics
WIRELESS CARDS Dell 1501 Wireless-N
HD DISPLAY 17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

shaftmaster wrote in post #10537267
I'm looking to upgrade to a new laptop and was hoping someone can give me a head start on what to look for. Here are some things I've already decided:

1) max price $1000 but would prefer something around $800
2) Windows 7 64-bit
3) general purpose (15" screen or larger)
4) at least two USB ports
5) one firewire/1394 port preferred but not required
6) 1Gb LAN would be nice
7) eSata would be nice

I plan to run DPP, Photoshop Elements, and occasionally Premiere Elements for non-HD video editing. I'm not a video-gamer. I might use LR at some point.

In the past I've always purchased Dell computers since I can customize them with what I want. However, I'm sure there are other brands that are better or cheaper.

I have no idea about processors, but it sounds like the newer Intel i3, i5, and i7 are the best. I'm also not sure whether I need a separate graphics card or not. I'm not worried about disk capacity, and I assume I'll get 4GB of memory at a minimum.

I know a desktop would be better performing and cheaper, but I like the portability of laptops and I'm ok waiting a bit longer for DPP to perform RAW conversions. Any new laptop is going to be much better than my old Dell laptop.

Anyone have suggestions?

That's right in the Dell Studio 15 range. Have you played around with that model configurations? I'd give it a try and see what happens.

shaftmaster wrote in post #10537290
I was looking at the Dell Studio 17 earlier. It is on sale for $750. Is that a good deal?

PROCESSOR NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i3-350M 2.26GHz (3M cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
VIDEO CARD Intel® HD Graphics
WIRELESS CARDS Dell 1501 Wireless-N
HD DISPLAY 17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

I don't know. That i3 and Intel video would make me think twice. An i3 isn't very future proof, especially if it cannot be upgraded (no idea if it can or not).

I can upgrade the Studio 17 to the i5-450M for $100 and to the ATI Radeon HD 5650 1GB graphics card for another $200. I'm just not sure if I need either of these upgrades. I guess I could upgrade the processor now and add the graphics card later.

The Dell Studio 15 with i5 processor is also on sale for $750. I'll take a close look at that one. The Studio 15 with i7 and ATI graphics option is on sale for $950, so that might be the best deal.

Any suggestions for other brands? Asus? Toshiba? Sony? HP?

fwiw... lenovo has a few 15" i5 laptops for under $1000


J.

I don't have the time to do the research, but Asus and Toshiba are also very good brands with a good track record. Avoid HP/Compaq and Gateway laptops as they don't have a great track record. Lenovo is OK (I own a netbook Lenovo). These companies are all going to be around the same price with HP and Dell having pretty good prices (HP undercuts the competition a lot - but you get what you pay for). Sony's are good, but they put a premium on their products because they use better parts. If you get Sony, buy the longest warranty. Sony motherboards cost more to replace than a brand new laptop. I don't think you'll do better than a Studio 15. You can check out the Dell Outlet for referbs and open box deals. Back to school sales are starting now, so look around for coupon's.

I've got a "loaded" Dell Studio 1555, just prior to i5 / i7, its got a dual core 8600 ish, processor, 1080P display, 4GBs, 512mb dedicated video card, etc... and a 2year warranty. I got it for around $1100 delivered (including tax, shipping, etc) last summer. I run LR3, CS5, and such on it. It's not as snappy as my desktop, but it is no slouch.

Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning towards the Studio 15 with i7 and ATI graphics card. My only question is whether I need the i7 versus the i5 or the ATI graphics card. Time to do a little more research.

shaftmaster wrote in post #10549328
Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning towards the Studio 15 with i7 and ATI graphics card. My only question is whether I need the i7 versus the i5 or the ATI graphics card. Time to do a little more research.

Depends on the i7 and what you want to do with the computer. If you spend a lot of time in photoshop, an i5 system is fine. Lightroom exporting? i7 720 or better processor. If you only have an option between i5 and i7 620/640, save your money.

And graphics cards are more or less pointless in photoshop/lightroom. Only video editing and 3d modeling programs would benefit (since even the best cards today suck for gaming)

basroil wrote in post #10549535
And graphics cards are more or less pointless in photoshop/lightroom. Only video editing and 3d modeling programs would benefit (since even the best cards today suck for gaming)

i like to think that they still help in a way that graphics cards don't steal from your system memory.


J.

Overall, basroil is right. However, Windows Vista and 7 GUI's do take some video card power to push out. Add rendering large photoshop files and some OpenGL - cheap video cards will start becoming the limiter. You don't need anything powerful though. Just make sure it doesn't use system memory, isn't Intel and can do at least some 3D without fizzling.

If you will be doing video I would skip looking at the i3 processors.Any of the i5s will do what you described, and very well at that. But if you can swing it I would go with an i7 (wish I had now) as they will run cooler then the i5s. The Dell Studio is a nice laptop, also take a look at Tiger Direct and New Egg and see what they have, sometimes they will have some good sales going on.

I ordered a refurbished Dell Studio 15 ( 1558 ) from the Dell Outlet store. Here's what I ended up getting:

Intel Core i5-430M Processor (2.26GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.53Ghz,3M cache)
6GB dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 1GB graphics card
500GB SATA 7200rpm hard drive
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
9-cell battery

It came to $950 including tax (free shipping). It seemed like a pretty good deal.

Dell studio xps 16. nuff said