Laptop Advice Needed

[forthewinwin]

Hi, I apologize if this is the wrong section to post this, but I couldn't find a "Mobile" section or anything along those lines.

I'm a student looking to purchase a laptop for University for schoolwork with the following criteria:

- I occasionly use Photoshop CS5 to edit my photographs, usually 15MP and down
- Battery life is the most important, 5+ hours is essential so I don't have to scramble for power outlets
- 13.3" screen size- I take 5 courses and have their respective textbooks, so I don't want to lug around too much additional weight+size that the popular 15.4" will involve.
- I will not settle for Atom

This laptop (Approx 730 USD after tax + environmental fees) is what I've been looking at, but it was released over 2 years ago and been only slightly more expensive in that time.

My question is- should I really be paying $730 for aged technology that is already being phased out by i3, i5, etc. ? If it was $550 USD.. then I would probably not hesitate.

My budget is around this mark. The newer i3 model of this laptop is ~$980 USD (better processor, and also has dedicated graphics that I don't care too much for), which is beyond my budget.

Thanks if anyone can provide some input

[sttubs]

At that price point the one you linked to is about the best thing you can get comparing the others listed at NCIX, otherwise you'll have to cough up some more money for newer & faster technology.

[blu3flannel]

I think this will suit your needs. i3, 4GB DDR3, 13.3" screen, 8 hour battery life.

The rating is deceptive; the two-egg one is a shame on Newegg and not on the product itself. It should be fine.

[HXL492]

Perhaps wait for availability on Fusion Notebooks to improve

[AsRock]

5 hours really ?. Better see if ya can get one with a 9 cell at least. And don't believe it when they say how long it last as they all ways say upto x hours.

I get 2 hours(6 cell) out of mine and it's using intels on board. And then ya talking running CS5 so i bet that will make the graphics card run at max speeds which i surly cut into the battery life some.

I think best bet you need to find what v card you need to run CS5 and not over do it as you want to conserve as much battery life as possible and recommend a 9 cell battery or even 2 which are not cheap..

BTW i am using a Inspiron 17" 1764. And never tried running CS5 so cannot say if it's enough.

[forthewinwin]

Originally Posted by blu3flannel

I think this will suit your needs. i3, 4GB DDR3, 13.3" screen, 8 hour battery life.

The rating is deceptive; the two-egg one is a shame on Newegg and not on the product itself. It should be fine.

Thank you. Too bad they don't ship to Canada.. well I guess newegg.ca might have it, but they'll obviously rip me off regardless of the CAD-> USD exchange rate ATM.

Originally Posted by AsRock

5 hours really ?. Better see if ya can get one with a 9 cell at least. And don't believe it when they say how long it last as they all ways say upto x hours.

I get 2 hours(6 cell) out of mine and it's using intels on board. And then ya talking running CS5 so i bet that will make the graphics card run at max speeds which i surly cut into the battery life some.

I think best bet you need to find what v card you need to run CS5 and not over do it as you want to conserve as much battery life as possible and recommend a 9 cell battery or even 2 which are not cheap..

BTW i am using a Inspiron 17" 1764. And never tried running CS5 so cannot say if it's enough.

THe one I linked to is rated at 12 hours, but realisticly I've been hearing it's 8-9. The 5V CPU enables this (vs the standard ~25-30W)

I'll be doing my heavy CS5 stuff on my desktop. I just want to be able to at least run it in those times I want to just quickly edit one photo. CS5 should be fine on your Inspiron. It works on my Inspiron 15 with a T5450.

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by forthewinwin

Thank you. Too bad they don't ship to Canada.. well I guess newegg.ca might have it, but they'll obviously rip me off regardless of the CAD-> USD exchange rate ATM.



THe one I linked to is rated at 12 hours, but realisticly I've been hearing it's 8-9. The 5V CPU enables this (vs the standard ~25-30W)

I'll be doing my heavy CS5 stuff on my desktop. I just want to be able to at least run it in those times I want to just quickly edit one photo. CS5 should be fine on your Inspiron. It works on my Inspiron 15 with a T5450.

What kinda time does your Inspiron 15 get ?. Maybe just a 9 cell battery would give you enough time ?. And you could always take the other battery with you too.

[forthewinwin]

Originally Posted by AsRock

What kinda time does your Inspiron 15 get ?. Maybe just a 9 cell battery would give you enough time ?. And you could always take the other battery with you too.

The laptop is pretty beat-up and old, and too bulky for me. It feels like another one of my large textbooks.

[AsRock]

Well if you think the Inspiron 15 would do the job with a extra battery and only thing thats stopping you is that it's a little old and beat up maybe just get one of their newer ones with a 9 cell ( if possible ) or with a extra battery. .

[forthewinwin]

Well, the main question in general I'm just trying to get answered is: Is it a good idea to buy outdated technology (SU7300 laptop) for $730 USD?

[overclocker]

thats not out dated i3 is the same speed as my core 2 duo clock for clock and i5 is only a little faster. MY friend owns a laptop with a i5 and I ran some cpu bench marks and they where so close about 2300 points on the i5 running at 2.200mhz and my core 2 duo at 2.200mhz got 2200 points.

[forthewinwin]

Originally Posted by overclocker

thats not out dated i3 is the same speed as my core 2 duo clock for clock and i5 is only a little faster. MY friend owns a laptop with a i5 and I ran some cpu bench marks and they where so close about 2300 points on the i5 running at 2.200mhz and my core 2 duo at 2.200mhz got 2200 points.

I meant the SU7300 in my original post which I linked to, not the i3.

[AsRock]

The newer Ispirons are i3\i5\i7's now. They came out with another not so long ago which they moved a few things around and added a R to the name plus a newer chipset.

[forthewinwin]

Originally Posted by AsRock

The newer Ispirons are i3\i5\i7's now. They came out with another not so long ago which they moved a few things around and added a R to the name plus a newer chipset.

Hmm I looked them up, but the battery life is nowhere near the ASUS
On the bright side the financing looks promising

[AsRock]

Maybe you should grab it then.. Was just reading some reviews on it it seems that people get like 6-10 hours out of it.

http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-A2-Light...NU?ref=prid-20