Best 15-incher for $2000

[tdoggette]

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General Questions

1) What is your budget?

$2000 USD

2) What size notebook would you prefer?c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

No Sony or Compaq, but I'm really looking at the brands XoticPC offers.

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?

Note-taking, gaming, surfing, watching videos.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

Carrying it with me.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?

Yes, Orange Box, Spore, whatever's coming out.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

3hr+

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?

If there are reviews, sure.

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Irrelevant; I'm installing myself anyway.

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?

Widescreen.

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? (more details below)WXGA+ or higher
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non glossy screen?

Matte, unless the glossy is LED backlit. Not a dealbreaker either way.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Yes, but I could live with a brick if it was awesome. Thinner is better.

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

Now; four years.

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 500GB?

160GB or more, 7200RPM preferred.

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

I'd like one, doesn't matter what kind.

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Thanks!

[Anewbus]

Most if not all the laptops XoticPC has are Widescreen

As to the Matte screen or Glossy unless its LED. I think you will be hard-pressed to find LED in anything but a Lenovo at this time. Actually, Glossy high res is better as it offers greater contrast, color and clarity. Especially for gaming and watching video.
You also mentioned that you want about 3 hours battery life. You can get that, but you have to keep the Proc at a lower power consumption (35w is fine 25w is better) and the HD to 5400rpm. 7200 rpm is nice on a smaller HD, but it eats battery and runs hotter.

I'm just offering up the following 4 configs for you based on what you posted. There are just my opinions, but maybe they will at least get you started down the road you want.
Any of these machines will do very well for you.
I configured these with a little higher Proc with 25W where I could. Also I went with a 320GB 5400rpm HD. Believe it or not this will outperform the lower 7200rpm HDs. The 320GB 5400rpm is constructed differently in the platters and makes a much more efficient drive for file transfer and better battery life. (If your gaming your doing a lot of file transfering)
I also assumed you would be loading XP since you didn't mention which OS you will be using. If your loading Vista just change the RAM to 4GB.

(I threw in the NP8660 with a matte screen just to show you).
Ok, her are the example configs for your consideration:

Sager NP2096 Custom Laptop (Built on the Compal JHL90)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050) `
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9600M GT DDR2 DX10
- ~ 2,048MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- Sager 3 Year Parts & Labor Warranty, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Support

TOTAL = $1392.92

FORCE 3298 v2 (Built on COMPAL JFL92 WSXGA+)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -Intel® T8300 45nm "Penryn" Core™2 Duo 2.4GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
- - 2,048MB (2 SODIMMS) ~ Kingston HyperX CL4 Low Latency ~ DDR2 667MHz Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 320GB 3GB/S SATA II 5400RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- 3 Year Complete Care Full Parts / Labor Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Tech Support

TOTAL = $1268.76

FORCE 3310 (Built on COMPAL JHL90)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050) `
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9600M GT DDR2 DX10
- - 3,072MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 320GB 3GB/S SATA II 5400RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- 3 Year Complete Care Full Parts / Labor Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Tech Support

TOTAL = $1454.03

Sager NP8660 (Built on Clevo M860TU) PRE ORDER
- 15.4" WUXGA "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.26GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 2,048MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- None Standard
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

TOTAL = $1888.59

All prices you see are with Cash discount, but do not incl shipping.

XoticPc is the best place to get your lappy. They have support that is unmatched. They off the best warranties around and the machines are all top shelf! They make sure of that! The service and support of XoticPc is like none I have ever experienced. I don't work for them directly, I'm just a customer. I was so blown away by the service I received I became active in the forums and I tell everyone about XoticPC. No cheap parts like you find in Sony, Compaq, Dell and the rest. Actually with the exception of Sony and Lenovo the rest all use the same manufacture. Take a look at the article about "who really makes laptops". also you can go read real comments from real customers if you click on one of the reseller ratings buttons. I read 165 of them before I ordered my lappy. I imagine there may be more by now. Every one of them has nothing but great things to say. just like you'll find with the other folks on the forums. We are all customers of XoticPC and we are all grateful that we found this wonderful place to get our lappies.

Feel free with any other questions, we are all here to help.