I am looking to buy a new laptop.  Soon.

I had planned on using my current laptop for about 4-5 years in total.  I paid a premium for it, but it was worth it in the long run.  However, since the backlight on my laptop display gave up, I’ve moved up my plans to get a new laptop.  End-August is my current target since the best back-to-school deals show up then.

I was going to buy a new one by early August, but Intel’s Centrino 2 processors have been delayed, consequently delaying my purchase.  My plan for early August was also influenced by rumblings of new mobile GeForce graphics cards coming out in June/July.  I’ve heard nothing on those so far, however.  I’m hoping for a 9600M GT with 512MB or more memory.  Since the 9500 series is based on the 8600 series, the 9600 should be based on the 8700 or the 8800 series.  This would provide a significant boost in gaming performance compared to the current 256MB 8600M GT card that’s become a standard on mid-high end machines.

Which laptops am I looking at right now?  There are very few contenders.  I have no laptops from Sony, Toshiba, or HP in my shortlist.  I’m looking at a couple of ASUS offerings, particularly the G1 series, and the Dell XPS M1530.  I could consider a 14.1″ screen if the rest of the configuration is enticing.  I’m leaning towards the Dell since I’m not very confident in ASUS’s tech support setup in the US.  Granted, Dell might not have the best tech support around, but ASUS is still relatively new and doesn’t have an extensive setup.  Further, I don’t know anyone who owns an ASUS laptop.  A friend of mine just ordered an M1530 with the LED-backlit display so I’ll get my grimy hands on it soon.

I am also tempted to get a MacBook Pro.  The only thing holding me back is the price - the student discount doesn’t help much at all.  I can get the same config in the Dell for a lot less, even though I wouldn’t have Mac OS X.  Plus, I would install XP and/or Vista on it anyway, so that it can run my games and other apps not made for OS X.  So what’s the point really?

There’s also the question of what I’ll do with my current laptop once I get the new one.  I doubt anyone would buy it since the display doesn’t work right.  I might use it as a Linux box or some kind of storage server or something.