New Laptop Needed: Thoughts, Comments, Experience

[chubrock07]

Greetings all,

I am on the market for a new Laptop. I would like to purchase from Tigerdirect.com as I have a 15% cash back, but thats neither here nor there when it comes to the laptop's innards. I would like help making sure I don't purchase a ticking time bomb or something that will not react as quickly as I would like.

Uses

• 
  -Web browsing, multiple tabs, multiple downloads, video streaming
  -Future courses in programming, things like Basic, SQL, Office
  -Music player, Light Gaming

I have a tower I built two years ago for hardcore gaming and most all of my music is stored there. The laptop will be for quick web browsing, schooling, and work. I would like this to last me a good while, I don't foresee this being my "daily driver" so to speak. But I would like it to be able to handle that if it turns out I am in class every day.

-I need decent battery life, HDMI port is a must, and above all the ability to multi task.
-I am a fan of smaller screens, previously had a Macbook.
-I have a 1tb external hard drive so I am not too worried about space if it will help drive the cost down.

I did a bit of looking today and found that if I search for a middle of the pack laptop I am looking at, let me know this sounds accurate;
-i5 processor (What GHz should I look for for my multitasking?)
-4GB RAM (no problem upgrading later)
-HDD 5400rpm

Thanks in advance for the advice

Some Laptops I've inspected today;
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8245389&Sku=T70-150113
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131408
or
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8009583&csid=_61#tabs however I hear HP's overheat like it's their job.

 

[LummusMaximus]

Look for Lenovo's T440p or T540p. They come with weak dedicated nvidia cards (with the right model), but everything else is good. With the extended battery, you can make ~15 hours of light usage. As a business machine it has every sort of port you can think of, probably, and Lenovo does great keyboards.