The Best 13 inch Laptops
There used to be a time when performance would have to be scarified for form factor in terms of notebooks. Thankfully those days are over and it’s becoming more common to find great specs in the 13” notebook arena. So based on personal experiences and doing quite a bit of reviewing and hands on I decided to put together a list of the best 13” notebooks out there.
All notebooks reviewed here carry CD/DVD drives and some carry the option for Blu-ray. Since screen space is always a factor, they all come with HDMI and or VGA out ports so you can take full potential of the features they have to offer on a bigger display. Notebooks were rated based on value, price and price and maybe a little more.
Dell Studio XPS
I promised myself I would never look at Dell computers (in terms of styling), that was before I saw the Studio XPS line. Needless to say I was impressed by what I saw and decided to pick one up at the local Best Buy and put it through the paces. Five months later I have my verdict.
PROS: The pros of the system are pretty extensive as it offers everything from DDR3 RAM (expandable up to 8GB), standard 320GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9500 graphics chipset, LED-backlit screen, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, Draft N wireless, backlit keyboard and more. You would think I am reading the specs from the box of a MacBook Pro 13” but believe it or not this is a Dell. In fact it matches the baseline MacBook Pro 13” on every feature and then some. I don’t have time to go into all the features, but if you have any doubt about this system, you can match both side by side for yourself. And because you can pick one up for as little as $900.00 you can use that extra dough to buy some great software or an extended warranty.
CONS: The system can run a little hot due to the fact that the air is piped out from the back left of the system, and when the screen is opened it can block the airflow causing heat to back up in the system. Firmware update is a must if you are buying one of the earlier models as the firmware can lead to system crashes. The system is on the heavy side and although its weight is not extreme it is the heaviest on this list. Lacking CF card support is not that bad but with only 2 USB 2.0 ports I have to say this is a little disappointing.
HP dv3t Series
Another solid choice is the HP dv3t. Having used this system extensively (family member owns one) I can confess that it is a solid system. There is a reason why its one of HP’s best selling systems as well as the Editors Choice on numerous blogs and magazines.
PROS: Offers a wide selection of customization options including 512MB of dedicated video memory via NVIDIA’s GeForce G 105M graphics card. Backlit keyboard, Blu-ray ROM options and countless memory, hard drive and wireless configurations. And with a starting price of just $650 you will have plenty of cash to pack on the features before you pass that $1,000 mark.
CONS: Although HP makes great systems, they have been plagued with build qualities and the HP dv3t is no exception. I’m not saying this is the case for every system they ship, but a certain family member of mine has noticed the screen connection to be splitting less then a year into owning the system. Another problem is overheating. This thing could set your balls on fire if given the chance, so hot weather and the dv3t are definitely not friends. That said, the system is solid and offers a myriad of configurations for a great price that cannot be easily matched.
Apple MacBook Pro 13”
No doubt you were expecting to see this appear somewhere on the list. But before I go into the pros and cons of the systems let me explain why it didn’t top the list. Other then the fact that the MacBook is overpriced (check the Dell Studio XPS 13), it offers neither performance or quality over most of the other notebooks on this list that could justify the steep price. That said it’s still a great system and one that offers some great options.
PROS: Everything is here including DDR3 RAM, backlit keyboard, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and more. Thanks to an array of ports it’s easy to expand the capabilities of this system. Basically almost everything you could want is here and because it can not only run OSX but Window’s as well, you can get the best of both worlds.
CONS: Price is our biggest issue with this system (and basically everything else from Apple excluding software). But if you have $1,300, and can afford it, I would suggest no other system. The only other problems I had was its lack of Blu-ray support, meager hard drive space (yes it can be upgraded though), as well as lack of an integrated card reader. Also the glossy screen can be very distracting as it doubles as a mirror.
Sony SR Series
Sony makes the sexiest Windows notebooks (and netbooks) hands down, so its no surprise that the SR series rivals both the Dell Studio XPS 13 and MacBook Pro 13” in styling. But it was its spec sheet that got it into the list.
PROS: To be honest, there isn’t much that stands out about the SR series that the others on this list aren’t packing. But it still comes with Blu-ray support, up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 Series graphics with 512MB VRAM and a beautiful 13.3 inch LED backlit screen.
CONS: My only major problem with this system is price and for that reason it ranks number 3 on this list. For the price of this you can get better options from HP and Dell. But it still is a great system and offers style and portability in a sexy package.
Satellite M500-ST6421
Toshiba is notorious for providing some of the best business notebooks in the industry, but they also have a good selection of consumer models and the Satellite M500-ST6421 is one of those. Being a former owner of a Toshiba laptop, while they might not be the most stylish on the market, they still offer great performance.
PROS: This system carries a good array of options such as LED-backlit keyboard, up to 4GB of RAM, Windows Vista Ultimate and 2.80GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and up to half a terabyte of hard drive space.
CONS: I couldn’t find much complaints with this system, other then the fact that it can run hot at times, it’s a little weighty and thick for this form factor and does not come with any big performance difference then most of the others mentioned.
Sony Z Series
Arguably the sexiest laptop on this list, the Sony Z series sits at the pinnacle of both design and performance. There isn’t much to say about this system except it outperforms every other 13 inch notebook. Unfortunately the reason why it ranks last is its price tag which starts at $1700+.
PROS: Everything you could think of is all here including discrete and integrated graphics options, Blu-ray support as well as DDR3 RAM and SSD plus HDD for RAID support. Reading through the feature list would remind you of a MacBook Pro 17” or the Sony AR series.
CONS: The only major strike against the Z series is price, as said before, is this system clocks in at $1700+ for the base model. But if you have the dough and want the best performance you could possibly get from a 13.3” system then by all means check out the Sony Z series.
