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Haven't bought one of these in 6-7 years, and the last one was one from Dell. Don't care for it too much (and now it's literally falling apart) but don't know **** about newer ones.

I'm guessing stuff like HDMI outputs and maybe even blu-ray players are becoming the norm nowadays, but not sure.

I'm looking to spend about $500-$1000 tops. Debating on the ultrabooks for their battery life, although there are only a few models out there. Also would prefer a 15" or bigger screen, but it seems the ultra's only come in a 15-15.6" (at least the ones on bestbuy.com.) I'd prefer to get it on BB.com because of the no interest but would debate on other places.


I also don't know which of the brands are decent anymore (HP, Dell, Gateway, Samsung, Toshiba, etc) and I'd prefer not to build my own.... unless the money saving really is worth it.



I can rip a car apart and put it back together without an issue but when it comes to laptops, I'm lost.