Laptop Shopping

[dark_drake]

Well, I've finally decided to cave in and start shopping for a new laptop. I'd like to get it between now and the end of the year (and don't tell me to go to black Friday. Saving $50-80 really isn't worth it). Does any have any recommendations?

Budget: ~$500. I'm leery of spending much more than this because I'll probably be laptop shopping again in 3-4 years.
Uses: Nothing too heavy. If it can play games from 2005, run Excel and Aspen Plus, and surf the web, I'll be happy. It'll be tethered to my workstation for the most part.
Size: 13"-16"
Processor: I'd prefer AMD. But processors have changed so much since I last bought a laptop that I'm really not sure. I was intrigued by AMD's APUs, though.
Battery life: 2-3 hours running Microsoft Office or the browsing the web.

This Gateway looked good. But like I said, I'm really not sure what's good anymore.

[rabbit]

I have an older model of this.  It's pretty smooth, although the mono speaker is kinda super shitty.

[dark_drake]

I have an older model of this.  It's pretty smooth, although the mono speaker is kinda super shitty.

Do you happen to know how big the difference between the Phenom II and A-6 is performance-wise?

[rabbit]

Nope!

[Falcon]

Please consider an Intel processor instead of AMD, AMD is about 5 years behind Intel right now. The equivalent Intel processor is faster and uses less power.

[Blaze]

And way more expensive! 

[dark_drake]

Please consider an Intel processor instead of AMD, AMD is about 5 years behind Intel right now. The equivalent Intel processor is faster and uses less power.

Even at my price range? I'm not going for a high-end machine, and the low-to-mid range is where AMD seems to be competing really well right now.

[Chavo]

Core i3-2xxx (2nd gen) processors are pretty solid.  The integrated GPU is sufficient for everything except modern games and definitely low power.  I've heard that AMD is having some production issues with their latest Bulldozer chipset, but AMD does generally compete well at the budget end...I doubt you can go wrong with a budget processor either way.  You can always check the charts on tomshardware or anandtech to get the best bang for your buck.

By the way, now is probably a bad time to buy a budget laptop due to HDD shortages.  Most vendors are anticipating stock issues and prices are going up to match the increase in HDD prices.  Once those are resolved, I would recommend looking at Asus.  They are my current favorite laptop manufacturer for a simple reason: better quality than toshiba/gateway/dell/acer, lower price than lenovo/apple.  MSI is a newer player (in the branded laptop market) that I think could possibly hit this sweet spot as well.

[Newby]

blah blah blah new laptop. I'd like to get it between now and the end of the year (and don't tell me to go to black Friday. Saving $50-80 really isn't worth it). Does any have any recommendations?

same story basically. Except my laptop died. =(

[while1]

Woot! and SlickDeals.net frequently have some good deals under $500 laptops.  If I was in the market for one and wasn't looking for the best and greatest, I'd probably go that route. 

http://slickdeals.net/deals/computers/

[Falcon]

Please consider an Intel processor instead of AMD, AMD is about 5 years behind Intel right now. The equivalent Intel processor is faster and uses less power.

Even at my price range? I'm not going for a high-end machine, and the low-to-mid range is where AMD seems to be competing really well right now.

The Core i-3s and i-5s are around the same price range as the A6 and are solid alternatives. The integrated GPU isn't on par with the AMD Radeon but the CPU makes up for it, and you mentioned you don't need that powerful of a GPU anyway. It's really personal preference but I'd go with Intel over AMD anyday, seeing how the latest bulldozer was a major disappointment AMD is pretty far behind Intel.