Looking for a laptop for college use!

(I'm copying this post in from another forum where I've asked the same question.)

What is your budget?
$1000

What country will you be buying this in?
USA

What size notebook do you prefer?
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: Dell

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
Maybe

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Computer Programming, Movie Streaming and Viewing, 3D CAD Design, Casual Gaming

I will only be doing light gaming (if that), but I still think a dedicated graphics card is important because I am going into an engineering-type field.. Of course, I may be wrong about needing something dedicated, so if I am let me know!

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places and Will stay on desk

How many hours of battery life do you need?
5+

Will you be buying online or in store?
online

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes (I want something sturdy so that it can withstand 4+ years better)

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 07/14/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
4 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner

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I also wish to have a number pad.. I will be carrying this laptop around with me to various places, mainly the library, but I heavily doubt that I'll use it for note taking (I've always liked using paper notebooks instead). Of course, I might still need to bring it with me if the class requires it. I also want something that has wireless N capabilities.. A laptop lock included wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I mainly want something that is fast, light, and has a good battery life; but not so much so that it cannot run some heavier programs that I may require to use on it (in other words, I don't want a netbook). Oh, and the cheaper, the better. Even though I have a stated budget, I would much rather spend $800 on something if it has everything I need on it.

Thank you guys in advance!

ASUS N56VZ-ES71 - This laptop should be able to meet all your needs easily and in my opinion it has a great value in it for under $1000.

Hmm I appreciate the help but I read that the battery life is rather poor.. Besides, gaming is not really a concern for me; I just initially assumed that a dedicated graphics card would be beneficial for some of the heavier programs that I might be using. The graphics card doesn't need to be that great, I was just hoping for something that is not integrated.

SAMSUNG NP700Z5A-S06US- The battery should approximately last 7.8 hours and has a decent gpu.

Wow.. We might have a winner! The only bad thing I see about this laptop is that I cannot seem to find very many reviews.. But it's even lightweight, considering it's size! I just hope that it's durable. Does anyone else have any opinions on this laptop?

I do see user reviews here for a similar Samsung here

Maybe that will help?

Roger

Thanks for the reviews! It seems that this laptop (or that one mentioned above, anyway,) is a hit-or-miss in regards to hardware quality.. Do you guys think that the S06US is still worth buying?

For the price of it, hell yeah

Part of the reliability problem as I see it is that people buy a ultralight or slim laptop and expect it to be as durable as a regular laptop. It won't be.

With everything that slim and lightweight I would expect that the laptop flexes more and that this leads to more hardware problems. Flexing can cause broken solder joints. If the screen flexes to much the possibility exists for a cracked screen. I recently had the bottom off of a ultra thin Toshiba. I had to replace the DC in Jack cable as it was intermittent. The battery could not be changed without opening the laptop. No swapping a spare battery if the old one runs down. The keyboard and touchpad are glued in with doublesided sticky tape and if removed need to be replaced. No DVD drive.

It was small, light, pretty and not for me.

I expect other brands to be the same. Small super thin battery etc.

I might buy such as laptop if I had to carry one all over all day long to save my shoulder, for that reason only.

Roger

Thanks for the advice! I'll make sure to be careful when carrying it around (for I do want something that's lightweight).

Also, the day I'm back in town (today, as of posting this), it figures that the laptop is out of stock! Should I wait for it to come back in, or should I be looking at other laptops? I'm not sure how quick Newegg is in restocking their laptops..

I have been using HP Pavilion series for quite some time now.It is amazing and very light and portable.The Battery life is also Good.

Ugh.. Now Newegg deactivated the SAMSUNG NP700Z5A-S06US. Guys, I really need your help, as I need to buy a laptop really soon now! Are there any other laptops that you know of that have similar specs to the one mentioned above?

EDIT: I've come across the ASUS B53S-XH51, do you guys have any particular thoughts on it? The only bad part is that there's is no keypad, but I can manage enough without it. Also, I don't know if I should spend the extra money to upgrade to 6GB.. I mean the computer I'm using now has 4, and that seems plenty to me, but I don't if the extra 2GB will be helpful for MATLAB and other stuff I'll need.

@Smith, thanks for the thoughts!

Are you sure it's deactivated? I had a look and it still said there was stock.

Well yesterday Newegg claimed that it was deactivated and may or may not be back in stock, but today it just says that it is out of stock. Plus, there's a bad review for it now, and Newegg seems to be the only place where I can (or could) order it from.. Does anyone have any thoughts on the ASUS model?

EDIT: I've stumbled upon another model, the HP ProBook 4530s B5N72UT. It only claims to have six hours of battery life, but it has a full keyboard.. Thoughts?

Bump.. Please guys hahaha