Hi. I made it through my undergraduate using a macbook, but now I've had enough of it. I'm looking to purchase a laptop and have it dual boot between linux and windows.

I plan on using some rather intensive computational and graphics programs (finite element packages, 3D modeling, and some games, too ).
I guess I'd prefer a 13 - 15" screen, though that's not really super important.

My budget max is $2000, but something around $1000 (USD) would be preferred.

Any suggestions on what to get or where to look? Google didn't help me too much.

Thanks

If you can, get a liveCD of CAELinux and take it with you to BestBuy or some such place and try it in one of the machines to see if you can avoid hardware gotchas. You might need to find a sympathetic salesman and be persuasive in order for that to work. Still, I ve heard it can be done. Personally, I'd avoid Dell and I'd get an i5 or i7 processor based machine. NewEgg or TigerDirect have decent prices, but I personally prefer a brick and mortar shop.

Lenova has excellent hardware compatibility with linux , I have a W series which is phenomenal check out specs

Regards,
JKZfixme

+1 for W510, well suited for engineering studies.

not cheap, but wait for a sale like 'employee pricing'
should cost about 1300 + tax

edit: add your own RAM, lenovo is a overpriced
the full-hd screen will add to cost