Need laptop recommendations

[Accname]

Hi guys.

I am thinking about buying a laptop to code while I am traveling (or at the university, or somewhere away from home).
As a matter of fact, i really dont know much about laptop brands and the quality behind the names.
I will use the laptop mainly for coding; good graphics are not needed.

Here is, what I am looking for:
1). Good screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 would be best.
2). Preferred OS: Windows 7 (or linux if need be)
3). Fast start up, best with a solid state drive.
4). At least 4gb of RAM. (trivial I think...)
5). Price should not exceed 700€.

I am mainly using eclipse and coding in java. I really dont need it to play any games or anything. A super fast graphics card or processor is not needed at all. High disc space isnt needed either; I could live with a mere 128GB if need be.

Battery life should be good too, but I dont have too high hopes in this regard...

Thank you guys very much!

 

[Darthfett]

I like ASUS laptops, they're pretty reliable, if a bit on the more expensive side. There's quite a few on amazon for ASUS' Zenbook series (they have smaller screens so you can also get decent battery life). However, I don't know how Amazon handles shipping to where you live.

Most of the new laptops will come with Windows 8, not 7, so you'll either have to buy a copy of 7, downgrade via Microsoft somehow, or install linux (or just get used to Windows 8). I was able to find several with a 128gb SSD, a 1920x1080 screen, 4gb of RAM, for under $900 (about the equivalent of 700€).

 

[Accname]

I would probably prefer linux over windows 8.
I just wanted windows 7 because that is what I use at my desktop pc. Would make things a little bit easier to switch between them. Also, most people I work with use windows 7.

 

[Ghan]

I just installed Classic Shell on my Windows 8 laptop and I'm fine. Might give it a try. Desktop, too, actually.

 

[Accname]

Can you guys give me a link or a name or something? I cant seem to find a good laptop which meets my needs.

 

[Slapshot136]

+1 for the zenbook prime - either that or a thinkpad, depending on how portable you want it to be

windows 8 pro comes with "downgrade rights" which means you have a license for windows 7 for when you decide to upgrade to it

Can you guys give me a link or a name or something? I cant seem to find a good laptop which meets my needs.

what stores can you buy from? giving you a link to something that only ships to the US wouldn't help too much

 

[Accname]

Well, everything that ships to europe.
Ebay, amazon, anything of that nature.

What do you guys say about this:
Asus Zenbook UX31E-RY009V 33,8 cm (13,3 Zoll) Ultrabook (Intel Core i5 2557M, 1,7GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Intel 3000 HD, Win 7 HP)

for just 600€.

The CPU is kinda weak, but everything else looks pretty good for the money. I would just be running eclipse and some simple, self-made java applications on it.

What about this one?
Samsung Series 5 Ultra 530U3C A0L 33,8 cm (13,3 Zoll) Ultrabook (Intel Core i7 3517U, 1,9GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Intel HD 4000, Win 8)

Slightly stronger CPU and graphics card and 700€.

 

[Accname]

I think I will be going with the asus zenbook.
It has a screen resolution of 1600x900 which is far better then the pitiful 1366x768 of the samsung.

 

[Blackveiled]

I use http://www.amazon.com/computers-accessories/dp/B00AWJX7JU

However, I did not spend $959 on it, I got it for a lot cheaper on sale and it's a great laptop. I know it didn't meet a lot of the requirements which you wanted but it's a pretty good laptop for what you pay. It's capable of playing most games aswell too, which is nice even if you are not a huge gamer since you never know when a good game you want to play will come out.

My only actual feedback to what you want in a laptop is I understand why you want an SSD and why you want Windows 7, but if you want faster start up time why don't you use Windows 8? My laptop starts up including starting windows, booting...etc in 20 seconds, and that's because Windows 8 starts up FAST. SSDs just aren't worth the money yet in my opinion until they do not cost so much for space. Also, why are you looking for a laptop with such high resolution yet a good battery life? The laptop I use has pretty good battery life, and it has a battery saving mode for when you're off the charge and it can last up to 10 hours off the charger, depending on what applications you use.

 

[Accname]

My win7 desktop starts up in about 15 seconds the last time I counted. If I am at university I am constantly on stop and go. I need the laptop to be flexible.
The display resolution must be big for coding. You just cant code with a small resolution; its horrible. Especially after working with 1920x1080 for some time now.

I dont want to play any games on it at all. I dont play games in my free time. I just need opengl 3.2 support for my self written programs.

I went with the: Asus Zenbook UX31E-RY009V for 600€. Its a really good price for a new laptop with these specs. The product description is claiming a 2 seconds start up time which would be perfect. 1600x900 display resolution is pretty good as well.
A long battery life is of course always nice to have but not 100% neccessary; there are alot of opportunities to charge the laptop at university.

Anyways, thanks for your help guys.

 

[Slapshot136]

@blackveiled, there are reasons for a high-resolution screen, and likewise for SSD's - you really can't compare purely on boot times

 

[thewrongvine]

I just recently bought a Dell Inspiron 17R Special Edition.

Inspiron 17R Special Edition Non-Touch
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM processor (6MB cache, up to 3.4 GHz)
Windows 8, 64-bit, English
17.3" Full High Definition (1080p) LED Display with Anti-Glare
8GB3 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
1TB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GDDR5 2GB

With a student discount and tax it was around $900. It's okay, works for what I need.