I have had this 18.4" notebook for about 4 years new and its got a proven track record. It pretty inexpensive when I bought it compared to other brands. Its bulky to travel with but really is worth the effort if really plan to use a computer while you travel.
I don't run windows 7, but it did come with windows 7 so I would assume it runs just fine.
I have upgraded the ram to 8GB and the HDs to a 250mb SSD and 1TB hybrid drive. With that and windows 8.1 it really still seems relevant. It also helps that a lot more software is tuned for multiple threads which was not the case when I bought the notrbook. After I loaded windows 8.1 and updated the BIOS the computer started running a lot faster, tropically never drops below 2GHZ under full load which is pretty neat because its only a 1.7ghz GPU.
It has Harmon Kardon speakers which sound great still, but I'm currently upset with Harmon Kardon for other unrelated reasons.
The only downside to this notebook other than the weight and size (including the 180watt power supply brick) is that its typical for the fans to start making all sorts of rattling noises which does not effect the operation of the notebook and usually go away as the computer warms up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214051
