I'm starting college next month. I would take my desktop with me but as it's a 8 hour drive, I decided against it.

For the laptop, I basically want it to do everything: gaming, multimedia, burn, graphics, etc. Basically a desktop-replacement laptop. I do not really care about battery life (as long as it's above 2 hours).

My main questions:
1) A lot of laptops on Newegg comes with Vista. Would it be advisable to replace Vista with TinyXP or reg. XP Pro?

2) Monitor size - is 15.4" too small for your tastes? I think it would be for me.

I did some poking around on Newegg and found these two laptops:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220308
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115457

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I love TinyXP. Definitely replace vista with it.

Get an external monitor. A nice 22"

I haven't thought about using an external monitor...that's definitely something to explore. I have a decent CRT that I could use.

For college, I'll be in the dorms every other quarter so I will be moving in and out a lot. That's why I would prefer minimal extra equipment (laptop, printer, ext. mouse).

I don't think TinyXP works well, if at all, with battery-powered PCs. Is that correct?

Also, could anyone check out the links to see if the laptops I found are decent?

If size and power over battery life and portability is where you're at I would go with the Asus any day. 4GB of RAM will be nice and the improved graphics over stock will do well for gaming.

Also, most of the reviews are good.

RDP

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tinyXP on a powerfull laptop is well pointless, and asking for trouble.

Dell xps m1530 with the 8600GT and something like the t8300, good battery life and plenty of power on tap so get the best of both worlds...

15.4" is fine IMO, I have a 17" and it is a bit cumbersome

edit just what ever you get make sure the graphics card is not below the 8600GT every other card below that is pointless (inc. 8600gs). There are also DDR2 &DDR3 versions, try to get the DDR3 one it has a 35% performance increase

Have you checked Alienware? I think they offer great 15.4" gaming notebooks. But I guess, they are a bit pricey.

You can also try checking Sager notebooks. They also offer great gaming notebooks.

TinyXP is tiny because it removes drivers. This fucks you over for laptops. And for a lot of printers. And other input devices. And networking functionality...

TinyXP is NOT for laptops. XP Pro SP3 doesn't take up more than 2 gb, why not go with it then customize it down to your needs? at least you know it will work.

1. No, I'd keep Vista. I know lots of people running it with absolutely no complaints. I’ve had Vista on one of my box's since it was introduced and I haven’t had any problems with it whatsoever. Yes it eats up resources, but since you’re getting 3- 4 gigs of RAM that shouldn’t be a problem.

2. If you’re happy with a 15.4” that’s all that counts.

Both of the laptops you linked to look fine to me.

I forgot that TinyXP is shit for laptops

I'm running it on about 6 desktops and haven't had any problems.

Update:

Just bought the Asus (first link). Should arrive by tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

I also got a 8 gig flash drive and a cooling pad.