[BenWhit]

The laptop I have now..or had..is an HP Dv7. I missed the recall date on the Motherboard problems and it just recently died on me. It lasted about 2 years but I'd like to avoid HP's if I can. I added the last part about linux distro because its why I tend to avoid Macs (the price too), but what about running a VM instead of dual-boot?

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions!

[autotravis]

VMs are always an option, but I'm also an efficiency maniac, so running two OS's and the decrease in battery life that comes with that bothers me.