Laptop purchasing

[Somebody Else]

So, my current laptop has gone and rendered itself a useless heap of junk. Shame, it was only just over a year old.

Anyway, I'm a performance laptop kinda guy - I like my fast processors, big graphics cards, screens &c.

I would get a laptop, but my situation demands something a little more portable (though, essentially I want a desktop replacement)

I've been on Dells, but they keep dying on me - they don't seem too reliable.

I've had all sorts of things recommended - IBM/Lenovo for the reliability, ditto HP. A friend of mine reckons Rockdirect (or something like that) would provide the sort of power I'm after, he also recommends Asus (though, a computer techie I spoke to isn't so keen on them). Alienware I know to be quite beastlike too - but they're generally far too gaudy for my tastes.

What I'm after is a maker of reliable, understated, reliable laptops that will blow the socks off anything I throw at them. Any suggestions?

*N.B I'll be in Hong Kong in a couple of months, so something that I can acquire there would be handy - cheaper and so forth, nay?

[TevashSzat]

Lenovo is really popular in mainland China at least, so I think if you went to any shops that sold electronic equipment like computers, you could probably find at least some Lenovo notebooks and some of them might even have great deals. Be warned though, in China if they see anyone that looks American or European, they will try to jack up the price. Remember to bargain pretty hard because normally, the listed price is actually maybe 10 - 20% higher than what the seller might accept

[Somebody Else]

Jah, there is that. Don't worry about the technicalities of haggling - I've lived in Peking nearly all my life.

Lenovo's problem for me is the dinky screen size. I fear I suffer from some sort of Freudian envy when I see my friend's 20 inch laptop...

[Somebody Else]

Now that I'm in Hong Kong, *bump*

[Lemur]

I've got an Asus laptop, and it's quite nice. However, I did not plan to game on it, so it's got a silly little GMA 950 powering the graphics.

What's your intention with the laptop? Is it meant to be carried everywhere (meaning svelte and light), or is it meant to be a gaming machine (meaning 8-9 pounds and one-hour battery life)?

[Somebody Else]

Beast! The only way to go...