The first thing to know about Windows 7 is that if you have new hardware there is no reason to go all blind on it. Commercials tell us it has new user interface, easier ways to do everything, stuff like that, but what they don't tell is what they've actually done to Vista's core to create the Seven. The thing is that it makes better use of new hardware. Wiser multi-core processor management, improved SSD support, the lot. And if you install Windows 7 after Vista you will feel the difference in performance immediately and find longer battery life on notebooks particularly useful. So, if we are done with the arguments, let's cut to some of the best Windows 7 laptop deals from major manufacturers. Since it's a modern trend to build laptops on 64-bit architecture, we thought it would be a good thing to lop off variants with less than 4GB of RAM. Let's start with more affordable ones and get neatly to more interesting.
Acer AS5738Z-4111 – $549.99
With 549.99 dollars on the tag Acer AS5738Z-4111 is here to make you think hard over whether you want a netbook or a full-size laptop because the price is really tempting. 2.1GHz Intel Pentium T4300 processor in tandem with 4GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM should do most of daily work flawlessly apart from graphic intensive applications only. Intel GMA 4500M shouldn't really sort anything other than Windows Aero or a DVD as I see it. So if that is what you need you'll like this Acer. AS5738Z-4111 is quite a looker next to some of the others. Light too. In just over 6 pounds it houses 320GB 5400rpm SATA drive, 15.6 inch display and enough charge for 4 hours of work. Operating system, like on all the others, is Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.Lenovo Ideapad U-350 – $576.99
Here is a first sub 2GHz laptop in our list. 1.3GHz Intel Pentium is, of course, enough to run Win7, but it is just enough so you should probably walk by it if you foresee flexing its muscles really hard. On the other hand, Ideapad U-350 has some indeed sweet features. 4 Gigs of memory run DDR3 fast making processor squeeze every last bit from it which is a low voltage unit. Sharing same spec HDD, graphics adapter with Acer and having smaller 13.3 inch screen it manages to be almost half as light (3.52lbs) but will keep running up to 5 hours till the battery goes flat.ASUS UL30A-X5 - $699.99
Slow processors and fast memory sticks are back. With 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and maxed out amount of DDR3 RAM ASUS UL30A-X5 is almost like Lenovo Ideapad U-350. So why would you ask it cost a fifth of its price more? Well eventually there is a point – weighting as near as makes no difference the same with Lenovo in question, UL30A-X5 has whooping 12 hours of battery life, 500GB HDD and bit more equipment. All for a hundred and a bit dollars over the Ideapad. And while we are on the subject, the rest of specs is next to identical – same 13.3 inch display and 64-bit Windows 7 sitting in it. We didn't want notebooks we picked out to compete with each other but it really is the question of budget only here.Gateway NV5820u - $699.99
And we are back to two Gigahertz plus processors. Gateway NV5820u has a fairly modern processing unit – a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600. Paired with 4GB 667MHz DDR2 system memory it gives out performance enough to fearlessly rely on it if the main rig is unavailable. But not for long unfortunately. Three and a half hours is all Gateway NV5820u can squeeze out of its batteries and that's a shame because when the Gateway NV series was first presented back in the late June we liked it, and, what's even more important, you liked it. It's a shame also that NV5820u comes with Intel's 4500MHD GMA. On the other hand it is well stacked with optional equipment, has 500GB hard drive and 15.6 inch screen and weighs less than six pounds.HP Pavilion DV7-3060US - $779.99
This one brings needed diversity in this list. Pavilion DV7 is the only one with AMD 2.4GHz Turion II Ultra Dual-Core processor and this is not necessarily a bad thing because it allows you to buy a 17.3 inch widescreen laptop with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 (512MB) for under eight hundred dollars without really compromising anything. Other specs include fast 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, 4GB of DDR2 RAM expandable to 8GB and 4.5 hours of battery life. That big 1600 x 900 resolution screen and graphic card consume a lot of energy, so Hewlett-Packard Pavilion DV7 weighs ten and a half pounds.Sony VAIO VPC-CW13FX/B - $799.99
Adding another sixteen dollars you may end up choosing from the last two of our Windows 7 laptops list. There is even less compromise here but still not everything is lined up perfectly well. This Sony VAIO VPC-CW13FX/B for example, has the same processor as the Dell Studio 1555 following it - T6600 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. But everything else is a bit worse - NVIDIA GeForce G210M 256MB graphic card, or say, hard drive - 320GB 5400rpm SATA. Dell has 7200rpm. OK, no matter. DDR2 system memory expandable from 4GB in stock up 8GB. Dell has DDR3. And despite having GeForce G210M, Sony VAIO has a smaller 14 inch screen. Plusses are that it is smaller overall and much lighter than the Studio 1555 but will run its battery flat after 4 hours. So you will like this particular Sony VAIO more than Dell Studio 1555 only if you are going to carry it around a lot and if RAM performance doesn't bother too much.Dell Studio 1555 - $799.99
So, here it is, the best whole rounder of the Amazon Windows 7 laptop range. As it was mentioned before that 1555 has 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo heart and 4GB DDR3 brains. Again, as the Pavilion, 7200rpm HDD but its not that big – 320GB. Display is sensible 15.6 inch with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 working on the image with 512MB of dedicated memory at its disposal. The only thing we consider could be a problem is 12 pounds of weight, but than it has enough charge in batteries to stay on the whole working day (the official figures indicate 8 hours and 3 minutes). Studio 1555 is slim, slick and joy to own so it is on the top of laptops that don't push extremes of user experience. For anything like that brace yourself to through in a thousand.
