Laptop Recommendations for the parents

[djemzine]

Hi Guys,

So my parents' laptop finally went through its last bit of life yesterday, an HP laptop I had passed them back in 2009 in which I had bought it in 2006 for university. Yes I did a test for RAM, battery/power, but those all passed. Even the HD was fine, but luckily I took it out and used it on my enclosure and was able to recover the data.

That being said, they are in the market for a new laptop, but until then they are borrowing my laptop at the moment.

They can use their iPad 2 but it has some limitations as for watching flash videos (mom watches her Indian shows), and dad would like to play his prayer CDs and such.

Ideally they're looking for:

1) Something that's not too big, not too small, ideally 13" to 15"
2) A laptop with an optical drive ( I see that the Asus ones at Canada Computers have no ODD http://canadacomputers.com/search_result.php?keywords=&manu=ASUS&search=1&ccid=367&cPath=710_577_367&x=27&y=15&checkVal0=1&checkVal1=1&checkVal2=1&checkVal3=1&checkVal4=1&checkVal5=1&pagePos=0)
3) A laptop with an SSD would be nice
4) Dedicated graphics not needed
5) Great battery life
6) Something that won't die on them and will last them for a good while
7) Budget wise, I'd say max $1350 to $1400 taxes in.

Now I was thinking of getting a current gen MBP 13" but wasn't too sure if the current gen MBPs have SSDs? Or do they have them? I also read that newer MBPs are coming out this year with USB 3.0. Ivy Bridge CPUs, SSDs, retina display, better battery. However I read that they may not have an optical drive. http://easternmorningherald.com/macbook-pro-2012-to-be-slimmer-but-not-air-inspired/127056/

Do you all think the current gen MBPs will drop in price once the new one comes out or wait till the new ones come out? When will they be out by the way?

Any other brand suggestions? Not interested in HP, Acer, Toshiba, Sony and LG.

I heard IBMs are pretty solid BUT expensive?

Thanks

[cloakster]

In terms of a SSD, the 13-14" laptops only have room for 1 HD bay so you would have to go with a 120-160gb SSD to keep it affordable. Would that be enough hard drive space for them? If not, you can always add one of the Seagate hybrid drives later on and make the old HDD into an external.

My suggestion would be either the Lenovo T420 from their EPP: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/lenovo-thinkpad-ideapad-epp-discounted-coupons-no-min-777107/
or this Asus: http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_369&item_id=044371 or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230317CVF
It says the Asus has a 2 year warranty, but im pretty sure its just a 1 year.

The Asus is lighter and has their accidental damage warranty, but the Lenovo can be customized with a SSD and a better 1600x900 screen.

[djemzine]

In terms of a SSD, the 13-14" laptops only have room for 1 HD bay so you would have to go with a 120-160gb SSD to keep it affordable. Would that be enough hard drive space for them? If not, you can always add one of the Seagate hybrid drives later on and make the old HDD into an external.

My suggestion would be either the Lenovo T420 from their EPP: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/lenovo-thinkpad-ideapad-epp-discounted-coupons-no-min-777107/
or this Asus: http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_369&item_id=044371 or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230317CVF
It says the Asus has a 2 year warranty, but im pretty sure its just a 1 year.

The Asus is lighter and has their accidental damage warranty, but the Lenovo can be customized with a SSD and a better 1600x900 screen.

Thanks for the recommendations. Will check it out. 120GB is fine for them. They don't have much on any laptop by the way.

Also the ones you recommended I take it they have no SSD? Or do you know which ones come with one?

[gnuman]

Hi Guys,
That being said, they are in the market for a new laptop, but until then they are borrowing my laptop at the moment.

They can use their iPad 2 but it has some limitations as for watching flash videos (mom watches her Indian shows), and dad would like to play his prayer CDs and such.

Ideally they're looking for:

1) Something that's not too big, not too small, ideally 13" to 15"
2) A laptop with an optical drive ( I see that the Asus ones at Canada Computers have no ODD http://canadacomputers.com/search_result.php?keywords=&manu=ASUS&search=1&ccid=367&cPath=710_577_367&x=27&y=15&checkVal0=1&checkVal1=1&checkVal2=1&checkVal3=1&checkVal4=1&checkVal5=1&pagePos=0)
3) A laptop with an SSD would be nice
4) Dedicated graphics not needed
5) Great battery life
6) Something that won't die on them and will last them for a good while
7) Budget wise, I'd say max $1350 to $1400 taxes in.

Now I was thinking of getting a current gen MBP 13" but wasn't too sure if the current gen MBPs have SSDs? Or do they have them? I also read that newer MBPs are coming out this year with USB 3.0. Ivy Bridge CPUs, SSDs, retina display, better battery. However I read that they may not have an optical drive. http://easternmorningherald.com/macbook-pro-2012-to-be-slimmer-but-not-air-inspired/127056/

Do you all think the current gen MBPs will drop in price once the new one comes out or wait till the new ones come out? When will they be out by the way?

Any other brand suggestions? Not interested in HP, Acer, Toshiba, Sony and LG.

I heard IBMs are pretty solid BUT expensive?

Thanks

You said Lenovos are expensive but buying them a MBP isn't? I don't see your logic there. Why are you spending $1400 on a laptop that will basically be used to watch streamed videos and play a CD?

Here's a good spec'd Asus laptop that will more than do the job: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230244CVF

Adding an SSD is easy, but why bother with that for them? I understand it will slightly improve battery life and increase performance but it's not needed for what they use it for.

[djemzine]

You said Lenovos are expensive but buying them a MBP isn't? I don't see your logic there. Why are you spending $1400 on a laptop that will basically be used to watch streamed videos and play a CD?

Here's a good spec'd Asus laptop that will more than do the job: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230244CVF

Adding an SSD is easy, but why bother with that for them? I understand it will slightly improve battery life and increase performance but it's not needed for what they use it for.

They don't mind investing in a Lenovo link I said that their budget is $1400 tops. I was just making a point that in general they're expensive that's all. Have no reason to say that we/I can't afford them.

One thing is that, my parents or myself don't crap out on spending when it comes to electronics.

As for SSD, well it has a better life than a regular mechanical drive, hence it won't crap out on them. As for usage, yes you are right that they won't need it BUT there are instances that they might utilize it. Doesn't hurt to throw one in there right?

I'll check the Asus link out, however it would be nice to check out some of those Asus laptops in person before buying it online and such.

Edit: So I saw that Asus and it has only a 6 cell battery. Based on that, what's the battery life like in terms of hours?