[Dragon]

I've recently started university and it already becomes obvious that a laptop computer would make my life much, much easier. Since my birthday is coming up, I decided to start looking. I'd like to know your guys' opinions on the matter.
I want a laptop for light work and calculations, not a heavy-duty gaming machine.
-Screen should be 15", no more. Otherwise, it won't fit in the attache case I carry my stuff in. I don't want it much smaller, either.
-CPU needs to be able to handle Mathematica (I'm gonna use it a lot), and that's about it.
-Memory doesn't really need to be anything stellar either, but I'd still like a hefty amount. If there's a game I'm going to play on it, it'll be KSP, and I mod heavily.
-I'd like to run Win 8.1 64bit, because I can have a license for free thanks to my university. But I can also have any other version I want, so if 8 doesn't work, it's not an issue.
-A built-in Wi-Fi receiver would be very useful.
-Battery should last for a few hours of non-intensive work (simple Mathematica operations).
-Price. Generally, I don't want anything too expensive. Polish Zloty isn't any less worthless now than it was when I was buying a phone. The cheaper, the better, but without compromising functionality. I'll probably be looking for used ones because I'm a cheapskate.

TL;DR, I want a cheap 15" laptop that wouldn't be a complete piece of junk. What can you guys recommend?

[Herra Tohtori]

Being able to properly run KSP is mutually exclusive with the rest of your criteria.


Wait for 5-10 years so that the general performance of cheap laptops has reached the level of current gaming laptops, then you can have a cheap laptop that can run KSP and do the other things.

If you can tolerate the fact that it'll have about as good battery life as a standard EVA unit.

[MP-Ryan]

Aside from the gaming applications, you might want to check out the various Windows 8 tablet PCs.  They're pretty neat.  I've been demoing a Lenovo Thinkpad2 and I have to say I'm kind of impressed.

[Fury]

Sounds like what you want isn't a laptop, but tablet. Look for ones that have convenient physical keyboard included. I don't know any particular models to recommend though.

[Nuke]

got to a strip club and use your money for a lap dance.

[Dragon]

Wait for 5-10 years so that the general performance of cheap laptops has reached the level of current gaming laptops, then you can have a cheap laptop that can run KSP and do the other things.

I'll be out of college by that time, probably trying to go for a PhD somewhere in the US. I'll probably think about upgrading then, but it'll probably have to run KSP2: Jeb's Legacy (or whatever they're gonna call it) then.
That said, I can live with ugly graphics and medicore performance. Heck, it doesn't even need to run KSP at all, I just need a reliable, cheap laptop. It absolutely has to have a real keyboard, BTW, and I'd really like a 15" screen. I don't need a touchscreen, either, but it also has to accept DVDs and USB devices (I want to use a normal mouse). I don't know what's the difference between a laptop and a tablet with big screen, keyboard and a DVD drive, but something tells me that a tablet is gonna be more expensive than a comparable laptop. I don't need fingerprint scanners, cameras or any other gadgets like this, too.

[Klaustrophobia]

i absolutely do NOT recommend a tablet (referring to the ipad-like things, not the original tablet laptops that are full laptops with a touchscreen) for college use.  i got an at the time high end lenovo when i started in 2006, and i am typing this post on it right now.  school work would have been hell on an ipad.  there's really no substitute for a proper PC.  that said, i've been out of the laptop scene for too long to offer any further recommendations.  except maybe watch out for screen resolution.  last time i was in a store and browsed the laptop section, not a single one had a screen res higher than 1600x900. 

[FreeSpaceFreak]

I'm partial to business-grade laptops, such as the HP Elitebook or Dell Latitude lines. From what I've seen, they tend to be more reliable and have a better build quality than consumer laptops. Of course, you pay for that quality if you buy them new - but if you can pick up a used one, such a business machine could last you (much) longer than a comparable consumer machine. They usually come with Windows 7, too - which is probably a good thing if you don't have a touchscreen.

[Mikes]

Haswell is pretty gaming capable (some 6000 3dmarks in 06)....  which means that we are finally seeing business notebooks and even some tablets that you can game on.


Maybe not the most demanding games ... but pretty much anything that was developed with the current console generation in mind should run just fine on it.

Screen resolution is a double edged sword.... on the one hand higher res gives you more desktop real estate for work ... but on the other hand less resolution means you can run more demanding games in native resolution instead of downscaled. Screen size should also be taken into account ... full HD on a tiny screen is kinda stupid all things considered lol.

[Dragon]

OK, so I've got two good offers. Dell Latitudes: E6500 and D610. The latter is cheaper, but less capable. Does anyone has any experiences with those?
Also, the former looks like it could run KSP quite well. 4GB RAM is what I have now in my main computer, and this dual-core CPU seems quite good, too. Windows 7 is offered with them, but I'd like to install Win 8.1 if possible.

[Klaustrophobia]

if you want 8.1, it'll probably be cheaper in total to get one that comes with it.

[Dragon]

Nope, I can get Windows 8.1 for no price at all. Gotta love my university. It's just a matter of support. In fact, that particular computer I'd like to buy doesn't come with any OS installed. This can save me a bunch of money.

[Grizzly]

If you manage to snoop up a laptop with an AMD A series processor, chances are you do have limited gaming capabilities, and I have seen 15 inchers around.

[Dragon]

Went for Dell E6500. Used, but in good condition and, from what I've read about it, very though, so I'm not worried about it. It's specs are strangely close to my desktop PC. I guess it's about time for an upgrade...
Anyway, judging by the reviews, it's also very modular and I think it'll serve me well. As a bonus, it looks really professional and should snugly fit inside my briefcase. It was a nice deal, about 334$ (1020 zlotys, not that small of a sum here), give or take.