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There was a thread about this earlier but it seemed to much like necro so here we go.
I'll be heading overseas for a year soon and I'm looking to get a laptop, while I've been doing research on my own I'm curious as to what the SDN denizens would recommend. It'll mostly be used for word-processing etc, though I'd like to play the odd bit of EVE Online on it. Price range is around the AUS$1500 mark.
Any brands to avoid like the plague?

Lenovo Australia has the Thinkpad R500 (with discrete GPU) on sale though it's close to your budget.

In terms of brands in general I've found Asus to be pretty good.

Find one with an accidental damage protection warranty. also choose something that is sold in the countries you will be visiting, if the model series isn't sold there and you need to have a repair done there will be a parts availability issue and you may have to send the computer back to the country of origin. that's something also to remember when purchasing computers from some where other than your home country.

Does anyone have experience with the Dell XPS or Studio 14z series? (13 or 14 inch laptops)?
I'm planning to get something like that for next year (i'll be travelling in between campuses via buses on a daily basis), and I need something portable. (that can still be usable, so no netbooks )

The Grim Squeaker wrote:Does anyone have experience with the Dell XPS or Studio 14z series? (13 or 14 inch laptops)?
I'm planning to get something like that for next year (i'll be travelling in between campuses via buses on a daily basis), and I need something portable. (that can still be usable, so no netbooks )

The XPS is an absolute bitch to fix, that's what I can tell you.

As for the OP, avoid HP like the plague. Most of their models have really terrible problems with manufacturing quality, you can reasonably expect a DV or Compaq to crap out on you inside a year, and HP has a habit of denying warranty.

PeZook wrote:As for the OP, avoid HP like the plague. Most of their models have really terrible problems with manufacturing quality, you can reasonably expect a DV or Compaq to crap out on you inside a year, and HP has a habit of denying warranty.

HP's business-line laptops are well-regarded.

phongn wrote:

PeZook wrote:As for the OP, avoid HP like the plague. Most of their models have really terrible problems with manufacturing quality, you can reasonably expect a DV or Compaq to crap out on you inside a year, and HP has a habit of denying warranty.

HP's business-line laptops are well-regarded.

Yes, their business laptops are quite good. They get abused all the time here at work, and I've never seen one crap out. But if one is to spend business-class money on a laptop, Lenovo Thinkpads are still one's best bet.

phongn wrote: HP's business-line laptops are well-regarded.

Yeah, but I don't think you can buy those new for 1500$. Their magnesium roll cage really helps with harsh treatment, and their cooling systems are typically much better than the damn DVs (those were all the rage in the consumer market here a couple years back...not so much now )

It seems typical of business line models from any company, to be honest.