General

[quote=Jimmy985]Did so with a vacuum, still didn't work very well. Without the warranty the laptop will cost a very large amount to run, not to mention how painful it is to use.[/quote]
Taking out/apart the fan assembly is ideal when cleaning up the laptop, as you would be ensure that all of the dust that is in there is gone and not tightly glued onto the heatsink. Taking out the fan assembly will also require a thermal paste replacement in that laptop of yours.

[quote=Jimmy985]It can't really be denied, Alienwares look pretty nice. However, as said frequently I believe they are quite overpriced. Apparently they are not all they are cracked up to be. I would like somebody to prove me wrong though.[/quote]

Personally, I don't like the looks of the Alienware. AW offer good systems, but they are overpriced as you generally are able to get a similar performing laptop at a more competitive price. A lot of people will likely say these ultrabook are quite over priced as well, due to the lower specs configuration that many people are used to at the $1000-$1200 priced range.

don't get toshiba, just don't. I believe there is a fault in the toshiba series (esp. the satelite series) that the graphics card screw up a lot. So ever hour or so it needs a force shut down and restart. The only way to fix this is to use it without the cable.But since this happens about the 4-5year range, the battery life isn't that long anymore. It happens to my current Toshiba Satellite A3 somthing.

Alienware systems are overpriced. The M14x and M18x are also silly heavy due to the large cooling system required for the internal components.

[quote=nukemissilev]keep your old laptop. double your ram. reinstall windows. and clean the dust from the fans[/quote]

Did so with a vacuum, still didn't work very well. Without the warranty the laptop will cost a very large amount to run, not to mention how painful it is to use.

[quote=Macka]Alienware M14 or M17 or M18 depends on your budget, the numbers are the dimension of the screen M14 = 14 inchecs dimension
they are pretty good but there better ones out there but this is worth the buy becaues they look bad 'but'...
if only all laptops could look like alienware ones, all the good ones are just boxes[/quote]

It can't really be denied, Alienwares look pretty nice. However, as said frequently I believe they are quite overpriced. Apparently they are not all they are cracked up to be. I would like somebody to prove me wrong though.

[url=http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-n411z/pd.aspx?~ck=anav]DELL Inspiron 14z[/url]
[url=http://www.dell.com/us/p/Xps-L412Z/pd.aspx]DELL XPS 14z[/url]
[url=http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air]Macbook Air 11" and 13"[/url]
[url=http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro]Macbook Pro 13"[/url]
[url=http://computers.pricegrabber.com/laptop/Portege-Z835-ST8305-Notebook-Laptop-Intel-i3-2367M-140GHz-4GB-RAM-128GB-Solid-State-Drive-HD-inch-display/m931378156.html]Toshiba Portege Z835-ST8305[/url]
[url=http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/LX.RSF02.079]Acer S3[/url]

[quote=Jimmy985]The laptop I am currently using is very poorly made. E.g. Frequently needs screen replacements. Just had to replace the sound card last week. From what I have seen they seem to be very unreliable. Everyone with the laptop at school knows this.[/quote]

Yes, I'm aware that you have trouble with it. Provided that it is a legitimate problem due to the laptop itself is malfunctioning (meaning no outside factor that lead up to it causing problems for you), then problems that you have on a laptop you had bought 3 years ago may not necessary going to be the same today. For example, one of the issue regarding build quality on the A600 is that it use a thin plastic casing in order to achieve its low weight. On the other hand, the R835 model maintain it low weight and used a more durable magnesium alloy casing. My point is rather than going off by past events, it would be best you done research on current models.

Other laptops you could consider is the Samsung 9 Series. The pricing is more close to the MBA; however it got a 3-year warranty.

Anyways, I don't really look at these ultra-portable laptops too often, so other then those, I can't really recommend anything. Personally, I find the price too high for these types of laptops.

Here's another review on the Asus Zenbook: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-Zenbook-UX31E-DH52B-Laptop-Review.65718.0.html

[quote=qwan456][/quote]The laptop I am currently using is very poorly made. E.g. Frequently needs screen replacements. Just had to replace the sound card last week. From what I have seen they seem to be very unreliable. Everyone with the laptop at school knows this.

[quote=djpinc19][/quote]By portability I am looking for lightweight and a screen size preferably no larger then about 13-14.

If there are any more details you need, feel free to ask. I appreciate all help.

These ultra books seem to be precisely what I am looking for, any opinions on them?
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/13/lenovo-ideapad-u300s-review/

Portability is vague. What are you looking at? Weight? Diagonal size?

[quote=Jimmy985]Well sorry If I said something wrong, I didn't expect such an aggressive response. My current laptop used to overheat to the point where it would just switch off automatically.[/quote]

3 years of usage on a laptop? When was the first time that you started to noticed that it shuts off? If you have not once open up your laptop (or bought it in to have it serviced), a build up of dust can cause it to overheat. This issue can be a problem for any brand.

And like DJP said, frequent movement will raise the risk of having a HDD failure. And FWIW, Toshiba get their HDDs from the same manufacturer as other laptop vendors, so you could say you have an equal risk of of having a HDD failure by going with other brands too.

[quote=Jimmy985]The most important thing is portability so the laptops you listed do not meet that requirement.[/quote]

Technically, her requirement does meet the requirement of "portability", but I'm guessing you looking for something very light-weighted, has long battery life, and more compact than an 15.6" laptop? The Toshiba Portege R835 meet this requirement quite nicely. 13.3" screen, 3.2lb, has an optical drive despite its weight, and up to 9 hours of battery life.

If you going to get that laptop, an MBA, or MBP (both the 13.3" version), do know that it will not be very good in game, but it will be more than enough for games like MS.

[quote=Jimmy985]Money doesn't really matter too much as It wouldn't even compare to the cost my schooling does. The mac-book air seems to be quite popular among other students. However, It is usually only used by people who are involved in 'the arts.' I really am looking for alternatives to a mac-book air. e.g. I've heard some things about ultra books?[/quote]

TBH, even if the cost of the laptop is much less than your school tuition, you shouldn't make it a habit to pay a premium price for something when it is not needed.

Anyways, I haven't really look at the new Asus Zenbook, but specs wise, they are very similar (on the cheapest 13.3" model, they both have the i5-2557M CULV processor, same amount of SSD storage, weight is comparable, but the Asus is slightly more light). The Asus is set a a cheaper price and also has a longer warranty (2-years warranty with a 1-year Accidental coverage (which require a registration, so be sure to do this if you end up buying it)).

Im getting [url=http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644784018]this[/url]

It has short battery life, so ima take the battery out, plug in the charger, and use it as desktop when I need longer use. It will limit my maple playtime too

Laptops are a waste of money
Get a Netbook

Yeah, I suppose I could just partition the HD to run a windows OS right? Or does maple have a hardware problem of running on macs?

If you want to play maple, i suggest you don't get a mac. Yes it is a good laptop but like you said, it's mainly used by students in the arts programs.
In my opinion i suggest you get a sony laptop, but that's just me.

[quote=djpinc19]Hard drive failures are more likely to happen in a computer that moves substantially. Failures become even more likely if the computer is moved while powered on. "Overheating" is a symptom that gets tossed around too much to the point I doubt the claims made by posters. Real overheats will shut down the system before escalating temperatures can damage the components. A computer can be "hot" but that doesn't make it unusable. Other more common problems such as malware must be ruled out as a cause before I can assume poor thermal design. Given the low-power CPU used in your current laptop based on the first link, I assume overheating is unlikely.

Your four requirements conflict with each other to the point that the balanced combination of portability, battery life, performance, and durability limit the options to more expensive laptops. Those four requirements are so vaguely defined that I could recommend you a Macbook Air just because it can fulfill all those parameters.

...but I won't because a modern computer for school and Maplestory doesn't need to cost more than $550 to its job. [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822]1[/url] [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215194]2[/url] [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168342301273]3[/url][/quote]

Well sorry If I said something wrong, I didn't expect such an aggressive response. My current laptop used to overheat to the point where it would just switch off automatically. The most important thing is portability so the laptops you listed do not meet that requirement. Money doesn't really matter too much as It wouldn't even compare to the cost my schooling does. The mac-book air seems to be quite popular among other students. However, It is usually only used by people who are involved in 'the arts.' I really am looking for alternatives to a mac-book air. e.g. I've heard some things about ultra books?

Hard drive failures are more likely to happen in a computer that moves substantially. Failures become even more likely if the computer is moved while powered on. "Overheating" is a symptom that gets tossed around too much to the point I doubt the claims made by posters. Real overheats will shut down the system before escalating temperatures can damage the components. A computer can be "hot" but that doesn't make it unusable. Other more common problems such as malware must be ruled out as a cause before I can assume poor thermal design. Given the low-power CPU used in your current laptop based on the first link, I assume overheating is unlikely.

Your four requirements conflict with each other to the point that the balanced combination of portability, battery life, performance, and durability limit the options to more expensive laptops. Those four requirements are so vaguely defined that I could recommend you a Macbook Air just because it can fulfill all those parameters.

...but I won't because a modern computer for school and Maplestory doesn't need to cost more than $550 to its job. [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822]1[/url] [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215194]2[/url] [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168342301273]3[/url]