Any suggestions on the best laptop available for =< 2000$?

MacBook. They're simple have no no obtrusive ports like some Window's laptops and they can dual-boot Windows.

Though, if you're going for a Windows choice go with the VooDoo Envy 133. It's the cleanest - as well as the thinnest - PC Laptop I know; Clean as in no unwanted serial ports and what not.

Instead of the fan venting air through the bottom or sides of the laptop, like most laptops, the Envy vents the air out the keyboard which is the largest, unobstructed area around the computer, I can only imagine how it feels on cold winter days!

Macbook: No thanks

Voodoo: Looks slick and very nice for on the go use but not quite the memory and power i'm looking for.

BTW the minimum requirements for this machine are:
Processor
Intel 2.4ghz or Dual-Core 1.6ghz
Hard Drive
100GB
Screen
Any
Memory
2 GB
Optical Drive
Multi-Burner or Virtual
Wireless
802.11 g/n
Operating System
Vista Business / Ultimate
Battery
3 hour
Weight
Any
Expansion
USB 2.0 and 1394

If you get a macbook we'll all mock you. Go for a small and light laptop. Max screen size 13.3". You'll hardly ever need extra power, and the portability will totally outweigh any perceived lack of power.

Well this will be the laptop I finish high school with and take to college, so I'd like to get more than I need now, so it will be average later.

That's not the point. You'll regret lugging around that "more than I need" every day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220404

Seconded. Besides laptops can still be upgraded as far as I'm aware. When I got my laptop I upgraded to 4GB's of RAM and a bigger HDD. While I don't mind the larger HDD, I really have no use for the extra RAM since I keep all my gaming on my PS3 since I'm not that big of a gamer; Granted I do have some games on my Laptop to kill time before class and stuff but none of them are memory intensive and are meant to be played thirty or so minutes at a time.

My biggest drain is PhotoShop. Which is why I went with 4GB's. But most the time I'm finding that I rarely go over 2GB's. A bigger HDD is always nice, though 80 is pretty close to 100. When it comes to school and college that'll be more than enough room - unless you have 100GB's of Photos like me - 20GB's from this year alone so far, half of which is probably school related.

I wanted to be prepared for the new average as well. And what you're really doing is overpaying now for the average system by the start of college. By then you can upgrade your processor and RAM for less.

Although the comment about upgrading is is a good point, I disagree with both of you on the size minimization thing. I got a huge, massive, totally oversized laptop year and a half ago (it's not actually that big, just 17 inches. I know they make bigger than that), and I have carried it around with me along with books, papers, and accessories (enormous power adapter, gamepads, miscellaneous input devices, just-in-case-equipment, etc.) every day (minus the school breaks, I suppose) for that time period. Sure, it's heavy to haul all that stuff, but I think it's worth it to be able to have my primary computer anywhere. I don't ever have to wait to do something or try something. I can do it all from what I bring with me.

Don't tell me that it will give me back problems or make me tired or something, because I have carried it with me almost every day for more than a year, and I haven't had any problems with it. Sure, I look crazy hauling around such bloated bags, but I don't mind.

Now, that's not to say that you can't have a powerful 15 inch laptop or something. I had a 15.4 incher before this one, and it was fine by my standards for its day. My recommendation to you basically is that you need to consider how much this laptop will be your primary computer, and what kinds of things you can and can't expect to be doing on it.

I got a netbook so I could have something portable to write papers with and facebook on. I found out once I got it that I can do pretty much anything I want on it. The tiny screen bites for programming, but other than that, I really don't 'require' my desktop for anything.

Next year my school is becoming a laptop school, my current backpack that I lug around every day is about 20lbs, anything less than that is cool. And that's just about everything. That Asus looks great, are there any that are more expensive that have better performance?

I have to apologize in advance, I'm going to sound not very nice at times
I carry my laptop around with me too. And yes, it's nice to have your primary computer everywhere. All my accesories are bluetooth, practically. My mouse doesn't take up a USB slot and my keyboard (which I will acquire shortly) won't as well. For me, a computer has to have Bluetooth, having not to untangle all those cords is a virtue. I mean sure, I have USB accessories too, but those are the items I use less often than my mouse and don't carry with me 100% of the time.

Don't worry no one will. A majority of people here probably carry the same stuff you do. You may not mind but what about people who have to trip around them or find another isle to walk down because your bags are blocking the isle they first intended to walk down? And seriously, gamepads? I'm sure the sides of your laptop looks like back of a Desktop. How long does it take you to untangle and put everything away? Seven minutes? Takes me one minute, including the time it takes me to unplug and wind the cord around my tablet if I had to use it - shutting my laptop sleeps my bluetooth device(s), my power cord is held in by a magnet so that detaches once the tension pulls it out and wrapping it up takes a few seconds. My whole gig weighs about two pounds and just as functional without all the gaming because seriously, why do you want to game at school unless you have hours between classes or a really boring study hall - but that's where passing notes and chatting with other people help pass time.

I totally understand your position. It's not like I don't see the benefits of what you are saying. Yes, it does take me a very long time to pack it all up when I take it all out. But like I said, I prefer having it all then absolute convenience. My situation is certainly on the extreme end of things, I'll give you that.

My point was just that everyone seemed to be pushing for the barely-more-than-a-netbook line of thinking, so I just felt like stepping in and proposing my personal opinion.

To an extent, it is a social thing. If one of my friends carried all this sort of stuff, then I wouldn't. As it is, I am the one that has the extension cord when someone needs it. I am the one who has something to do during an off moment (or free period, or whatever). I'm almost like the old lady with the bottomless purse. It sounds strange and unnecessary to pretty much everyone, but once someone has experienced the "gifts" of my pack-mule-ieness, they rarely question it again.

So it's probably not the ideal solution for everyone. Not many people seem to play 6+ player games on one computer, for instance. I just wanted to bring up the idea and point out that if you want better performance, sometimes you have to be willing to go big.

Oh, one more thing: I guess having lots of ports is a bad thing to you, but that having lots of ports is one of the deciding factors for me, because I use the laptop as my primary computer.

Seconded. Even programming works fine on a 800x600 framebuffer in vim with screen. My only complaint is battery life. Given how easy it is to have the thing around all the time, I'd rather have more uptime per charge (I get about 2 hours per charge right now) at the cost of a little more weight. That just means I need to get a 6 or 9-cell battery, though.

I've got a Acer Aspire One, for the record, and intend to continue using for next year at the very least (first year of college).

I don't intend to have anything plugged in except a USB drive, a mouse, and occasionally Ethernet or perhaps a cord to a projector.

I've got an Acer Aspire One, as well. I want to spring for the 9cell, but I just don't have the money for it right now. I get about 2 hours in windows xp and an hour and a half in CrunchBang. I do 90% of my coding in emacs in a terminal window. It's fine if I'm working on something small, but if I'm building a class or something, I like to keep my implementation file, header file, and driver file all open and visible. For that, I go crazy when I'm stuck without my dual 19" monitors.

Did you just quote lack of ports as a design feature? Is there something wrong with your brain?

I was about to call him out on the same thing. You *know* someone has been drinking the Apple koolaid when fewer ports == improvement

I love my Asus 15.4in. I carry around a 15.4in every day, its not too big, bulky, or heavy. Packs plenty of power, too. The single complaint I have with it is that 15.4in is a tad bit too big for airplane travel (as in, you can't type, but watching a movie or listening to music is fine). Not a big deal, though, as that is what my smartphone + PSP is for

Oh, and having DVI *and* VGA *and* S-Video is awesome. As is having 4 USB ports. Nothing sucks more than a laptop with a half dozen adapters, hubs, etc...

So I have to second Ult Dev's recommendation of the Asus G50VT-A1.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4aZPOJNx3m5mN5nW5N1KhFbm4mQD96T5FJO0

Having extra ports is great. I could see the fewer ports argument if you have a docking station at home though, just pop the laptop in and have a second monitor and all ready to go.

I personally carry around a Kohjinsha SC3 in my pocket; it's stupidly small (about the size of a manga volume), but fast enough for web browsing/coding/watching videos, etc. (everything else I use my desktop for anyways). It has a touchscreen, bluetooth, GPS, and lasts ~3 hours on a single charge. Total cost was $800+s/h from Japan





There are, but none that would justify an additional $400.