I'm looking for a light notebook to carry around campus but still has a dedicated graphics card and good battery life. I could only spend around 1200, less is better. I'll be using this notebook like I said for taking notes in class but would also like to play CS:S and BF2 on it. Something with 3hours+ battery life would be awesome too.
You can search for it on Newegg but it might be hard to find a laptop that meets those specs for under 1200. My grandpa got an ACER laptop with a dedicated X700 for about 1200.
For about $1300 you can do this http://powernotebooks.com/product.php?itemId=783 6600go, P-M 1.73ghz, wifi, 512Mb of ram, xp home, 4 hrs bat life, 3 year warrenty (I consider this a requirement with notebooks), 5400RPM hd, 6.5lbs http://powernotebooks.com/product.php?itemId=956 This one is really nice too. Same price, higher res, and 7.1 sound, and really nice looking, however, the basic battery has less life.
I believe this is the laptop. Nice looking setup. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115196 You won't get one for much cheaper if you want to play those kinds of games on it. The Acer doesn't have spectacular battery life (half of what my iBook does) but it will get you by as long as you bring the power adapter along. It's the best for your budget and uses. However, for what you get with it, it's an excellent deal.
trust me finding such a beast is very hard. I spent months looking. I first got the Dell 600m. I liked it A LOT. Very light, centrino, 14" normal screen and has a Radeon 9000 video card. Sure it isn't spectactular performance wise but it could handle BF1942, EQ1 an UT2004 without a problem. Plus I got it for $950 with a coupon. But I sent it back 2 weeks later cause I got the Inspiron 6000 for $150 less, and it has a much better video card (plus bigger hd and more warranty for the price). I am not as happy with the 6000 as I was with the 600m but I put up with the size for the much increased performance.
I think I've come to realize that some 17" notebooks such as the Dell 9300 doesn't really weigh that much more than most 15.4" laptops, that acer travelmate is only a pound lighter than the Dell 9300 and you get better graphics card for about the same price.
I carried around my Dad's 17'' Compaq R3000 for three months last year. You would be correct. They weigh a ton. Acer is a solid brand and definately the best bang for your buck.
