I was recently asked by a good friend of mine what recommendations I had for a new laptop, and here were her list of requirements:
- HIGH resolution
- good audio volume
- backlit keyboard
I was surprised to see backlit keyboard as 3rd on a list of things desired in a laptop. Apparently this is becoming a more mainstream request as so many people are now computing from their recliners. I know even though I don't look at a keyboard I hate typing in the dark, I sometimes need to look for a seldom used key or find home row again, and to "speed" type I look down which seems to focus my fingers.
Anyway this request gave me two ideas, 1) create this blog to start sharing all of the research I do for others to benefit from, and 2) find something to compete with the first computer that popped into my head (MAC Book).
Here are the Top 5 laptops I found, with price and a bit of a review from me. Unfortunately none of the manufacturers below would send me their product for free to do a very thorough review, so my recommendations are based on price, specifications, owners reviews, and gut feelings.
5) HP Pavilion dv6z Select Edition Notebook PC.
 | Quick Specs:
- AMD Phenom 2 Quad-Core N950 2.1GHz (AMAZINGLY FAST)
- 15.6" Diagonal HD LED Display w/ TouchScreen!
- 8GB DDR3 Memory
- 640GB Hard Drive
- Blu-Ray player & DVD burner
- 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD graphics HDMI/VGA
- Backlit Keyboard
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- around $1400 retail.
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This is an amazingly powerful machine. However it's price tag makes it an amazing waste of money! I am not sure I would spend that much on a laptop if I was using benjamins to light my cigars.
4) Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6084
 | Quick Specs:
- AMD Phenom 2 Quad-Core P940 1.7GHz
- 16" Diagonal HD LED Display native 720p
- 4GB DDR3 Memory
- 500GB Hard Drive
- DVD burner/ multi-drive w/Label Flash
- 256MB-1917MB shared memory (meaning it steals from memory above)
- Backlit Keyboard
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- around $750 retail.
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Much more "reasonably" priced machine. Besides the things mentioned above which are obviously lower the audio quality of this laptop is going to be a bit lower, but I recommend taking the money saved and buying a pair of Bose Q3 headphones, and you'll still have LOTS of cash left over. This one is still a bit out of my price range, but I don't look for features like this out of a laptop for my use.
3) Macbook Pro 15 inch.
 | Quick Specs:
- Intel i5 2.53GHz CPU
- 15" Diagonal Screen
- 4GB DDR3 Memory
- 500GB Hard Drive
- SD Card Slot
- 256MB NVIDIA Graphics
- Backlit Keyboard
- OSX Snow Leopard
- starts at $2000 retail.
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Just way fucking overpriced. I hate Macs! I hate their stuckup attitude. They are like those kids that were too good to talk to you in high school. Sorry, but I will never give these things a good review, I hate my iPhone, I'll change to a droid as soon as I have a chance. I could go on for an entire post about how stupid it is to waste money on these "flashy" gadgets. I am not pushing Microsoft with my hatrid of Mac, just that the hardware that makes up a mac is the same as the hardware that makes up a PC... in fact I have ran snow leopard ON a PC. they are nothing special, just proprietary and because people are willing to spend the money they can keep their products priced about 100% over competitive retail. One last note if you are in the market for an iPad give the exoPC a look, it's way more powerful and on open architecture for the same price.
2) Dell Alienware M17x10
 | Quick Specs:
- Intel Core i7-740QM 1.73 GHz, L2 cache 6 MB
- 17.0 in WideXGA+ dual CCFL backlit (1440 x 900)
- 8GB DDR3 Memory
- 1TB Hard Drive 7200RPM (bad ass)
- Blu-Ray player & DVD burner
- 8-in-1 memory card reader
- High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound
- ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 2 GB graphics memory
- Backlit Keyboard
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- around $2150 retail.
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If I had money to piss away, if I were lighting my cigars with benjamins I would totally own this machine. it's so amazing it will open up applications so fast you haven't even hit the BUTTON yet. You can't beat this machine in this price range, the price range however is so damn high that no one can afford it! but since I am including a MAC in this review I have to include it's closest competitor in price. Alienware is what all the mac fanboys really want out of a machine but are too scared to touch. This is that hot ass chick from high school that even those mac kids wouldn't talk too because she would destroy their entire clique.
1) ACER ASPIRE AS5745-7833
 | Quick Specs:
- Intel i3-370M 2.4GHz
- CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768) TFT display
- 4GB DDR3 Memory
- 500GB Hard Drive
- Blu-Ray player & DVD burner
- Intel HD Graphics
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- around $700 retail.
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I didn't see anything on this one about backlit keyboard, so why does it make the #1 spot? because it's a great machine. I will almost always (for this year) recommend an acer or emachines for laptops. I am not sure what it is, but these machines are amazingly well built. I own one myself and it passes the smell test. I have had it apart, my 2 year old has ripped keys off of it. Still rockin it.
Acer bought eMachines and now brings two great names to the market when it comes to laptop computers. You can always add backlit features, but if it's a must #2 on the list is comparable in price and is my second favorite family of laptops. My daughters each have a satellite and again the 2 year old has had a go at those two laptops as well!