Help to find relatively powerful, modern looking laptop (~13")

[Dr_Grip]

Originally Posted by thevictor390

Try a BIOS update for Vista, and for XP, you need to slipstream in SATA drivers (since XP came out before SATA).

Or you simply turn on legacy IDE mode in the bios 'till after you got all the drivers installed.

[PacketCollision]

Slipstreaming ftw with XP, especially since it will only load extra drivers off of a floppy during install, and none of my computers have had floppies for years.

Back to the original discussion, I just bought a Studio XPS 13 (2.53Ghz C2D, 4G RAM, 500GB HD), and the build quality seems quite good, the battery life is about 4.5 hrs running Ubuntu and using the 90wh battery, 3 with the 60wh stock one. Keyboard is nice and comfortable, and the screen is gorgeous. The wifi range seems normal, and SSDs are available for it. Try to get it through your uni if you can. I saved about $550 on mine.

I highly recommend the "Complete Care" warranty, especially if you carry it around in a backpack every day like I do. Dell's accidental damage coverage is one of the main reasons I haven't switched to a mac.

Edit:
In case you like alternate operating systems, be aware that while Linux works well, you will have to use closed-source drivers for the graphics card and wifi. Unfortunately the linux drivers do not yet support Hybrid SLI, so you only get the power of the onboard GPU (I think), but that at least means the battery life is decent. Ubuntu Karmic will be coming out in a couple days though, and it seems to get along well with the computer. OSX does not fare so well. The graphics are supported, but neither the wifi nor the ethernet are, so you'd have to replace the broadcom 4322 with an Atheros card if you wanted a usable system.

[ahpadt]

After I watched this clip on youtube last night, I think I've made up my mind:

+ YouTube Video

Watch the whole thing before you judge him. Very open-minded.