Hello guys,

been a while... how's everyone?

I'm starting a new course at university in about a month so I have been thinking about buying a new laptop... But there is just so much out there!!!

I've always heard that asus is good so I've had a look at a few and the M51sn looks like a good model... Is Asus good or would you recommend something else? I'm willing to spend about $1000usd and keep in mind that I work for an electronics retailer so I can get everything at cost price...

I have had LG and thats been quite good but fairly expensive... Also have had Toshiba but the battery is shocking!

I need something thats got a good battery life as I will need to use it for taking notes for upto 3 hours non-stop...

These are the features of the Asus...

Model: ASUS M51SN-AP003G
CPU: Inter Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz
RAM: 2GB
HDD: 250GB
Screen: 15.4"
Optics: DVD Burner
OS: Vista Ultimate
Graphics: 512MB Dedicated (I assume Geforce 9M Series)
Additional Features: Intel Santa Rosa Platform (Centrino), Express Card, Carry Bag, Mouse, webcam and Remote Control.
Warranty: 2 Years

Link HERE

Other options are HP, which I heard are ok but I have always used asus parts in my desktop computer and they have been great!

I'm open to any suggestions

Thanks in advance

Do not buy cheap. Do not buy anything that does not offer a 3 year warranty... even if you only get the one year warranty.
ASUS laptops are not the same quality as ASUS boards... they are basic high failure items.
Avoid eMachines, Acer, Compaq low end, HP low end, Toshiba and Gateway low end.
If you are looking for long life, get a Lenovo, high end Dell, or high end HP. The extra money will be worth it in the long run.
Most important factor: Cooling channels. Be sure they are a lot.
Fancy and thin laptops are not good choices for longevity.

I'd determine how thin I want the laptop by what cpu's are available for it.

For reliability, dependability, and long life, the CPU doesn't count for much. It is the fans, the cooling channels, and construction of the motherboard, that makes my decision easier. CPU's seldom fail, and seldom make much real difference in use.

Yeah i understand that u get what u pay for but unfortunately, being a student i don.t have much to spend on it... For a fairly basic laptop, what brand would you recommend? It'll be used for a bit of drafting as well so thats why i was hoping for a fairly decent graphics card... I know it'll be best for me to go and just have a look but haven't got a lot of time atm unfortunately! Thanks for your replies.

if u wanna play games, so u have to buy a good one at least 3 gb ram and 512 mb graphic. but i advice u to buy 4 gb ram and 1 gb graphic card intel core 2 duo search this features for casper

Depends on whether you go with WXP or VISTa. You only have access to 3 GB to sometimes 3.5 GB of memory with WXPH o rWXPP... so why get more. Hardly any machines use the 1 GB of memory in a graphics card. 512 MB is plenty.
For Core 2 Duo, with the right processor, it is still the software that is the most important.

But we are mixing this up... between Desktop and Laptop machines.... Laptops hardly ever use 1 gb of video graphics...

I strongly recomend Asus, I have one right now and it makes my old dell[[ that I used for notes and battery didnt last for more than 2 hrs] look like... like a... thing... that looks bad. The Toshiba satalite laptops are worh taking a gander at, they have average to good specs and the battery life is pretty good. Asus and toshiba are worth investing in, Dell, compag, acer, hp, gateway, are all[[in my opinion]] horrible unless all you want it for is notes[doubt it]