Laptop suggestions

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I'm about to start my Masters program and am in the market for a laptop. I've checked out Dell, Apple, Toshiba, and IBM. I don't need a gaming setup, but probably something not too far off of that. My M.S. will be in Educational and Instructional Technology. Here are some things I'd like in a laptop:

-RELABILITY!!!
-will need internet (wireless and integrated)as my courses are all online
-Multimedia capability is important
-fairly decent battery life
-screen resolution as high as possible
-screen size between 15-17"
-a CD and DVD burning drive

I can't think of any other things at the moment, but I'm sure there are others. After looking at the above mentioned brands and pricing different setups, I know that I'd like to keep the price somwhere between $1500 and $2000 if possible. We may be able to up the max limit a bit, but won't know for a few weeks.
 
Over the past couple of hrs I've been reading a lot about the following laptop:

ASUS G1


It seems to be a good fit for me. To sum up most of the reviews I've read..."Its the best system you can get for the money"

What can you all here tell me about it? (opinions, reviews, etc)

The one Con that I've read about which bugs me is that the warranty offerings are minimal...2yrs and not much coverage at that.
 
2 years isn't that bad really for parts and labour? The battery will only be under a 3 month warranty, usually the case with most suppliers.

Personally, for reliability I would recommend a Toshiba, either a Satellite Pro or a Tecra, as with mine and my others in the past they have proven to be real workhorses. Mine is now 2.5 years young, and she doesn't look like stopping anytime soon! :) Grab a portege if you can afford it ... very sleek :)

I got 3.5 years out of my previous laptop, which was a hand-me-down within my company. I had it all up for 6 months and she's still operational ...

Hard Drives and RAM will die when they want to die. Hardware failures like that shouldn't deter your thinking of a particular manufacturer. The real tests come with the day to day running that you will put it through. I don't really like ASUS laptops too much, but they are good for their price and seem to be quite spec'd up! I have had problems with them in the past (2x power problems on mobo) but if you buy warranty (parts and labour) then it's all good in that someone will come out and replace anything faulty.

Ted's right though ... buy what you can afford. If you can't afford a sexy little Vaio, everything is second best after them so don't worry! (in my eyes) :grinthumb
 
I have and Asus that I put together with the Verified By Intel program. And it has received ALOT of abuse. As a college student it is always being brought around. I spilled a glass of coke on the keyboard while eating my lunch about 2 months ago, it got sticky but no problems. I recommend them 100%.
 
my toshiba's still runn'n after 2 years and it's here with me in combat. (although I've done a GI paintjob on the cover to protect it - duct tape!) or as we like to call it 100mph tape.
 
Ive built and ordered several systems for myself (Dell E1705) and clients (Mainly Dell's and HP's). Im a tech and a college student and screen resolution was something very important for me as I do alot at a time and utilize every inch of my 1920x1280 widescreen. As far a reliabilty and quality, If you can, the best qualities are going to be in the Sony Vaio's and even Toshiba's. The Satallite Pro is a really nice machine imo.

As far as price/product goes Dell's and Hp's are just fine and not really much of a difference considering these days most of the manufacturing techniques and quality controls are pretty much the same.

If your in the states the best bang for your buck that Ive seen is either going be online or at a large retailer like costco. Even costco's website has some good deals on the HP's and Dell's prebuilt with normally extremely high specs as long as ur not looking for a high end graphics card or HD audio or anything like that.
 
I have a "refurbished" Toshiba Pentium M that I got as a replacement for a Toshiba Celeron M. The celeron M was a nightmare (sent in 5 times in a year for the same problem). Toshiba replaced the bad machine with my present Pentium M upgrade. Needless to say, I have fallen in love with this machine. I thanked Toshiba for this wonderful machine and am very satisfied so you can get bad and good with the same brand. It is my belief that one of the most vulnerable parts on a laptop is the connection between the case and the power supply (on the case). If this connection is not good you will have all kinds of problems including not charging the battery and a very difficult time diagnosing the problem.
 
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