1st Laptop - $1,000 budget

[majax]

1) What is your budget?

$1,000

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Screen Size: 15.6"

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

United States

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Lenovo
b. Dislike: APPLE , MSI, or ACER (not really a fan of Dell either)
c. Maybe: Asus, HP, Sony, Alienware

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

I will be surfing the web (emailng, etc…), Doing lots of school work in Word, watching movies/videos, and just other random stuff people do with laptops.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

I will mostly be using it my bedroom, where my desktop is. I will occasionally take it somewhere.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

I will only play old games like Doom and casual games from Big Fish.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

As much as I can get I suppose.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Buying Online Only.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows 7 Home Premium

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.

1920x1080 display

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?

I don’t care.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Yes.

15) When are you buying this laptop?

This week online only.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

At least a few years. I don’t like having to buy upgraded things constantly.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

Hard Drive: 7200 RPM SATA 500 GB minimum; I would like an SSD drive but can buy later as long as there is a spot to put it.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

Eh, I’m not really sure on this one.

Here’s a list of MUST HAVE FEATURES:

Screen Size: 15.6" LCD/LED
Processor: i5 or i7 intel processor Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen)
Hard Drive: 7200 RPM SATA 500 GB Minimum
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Memory (RAM): 6-8 GB DDR3 RAM
Outputs: HDMI output
Backlit Keyboard

Right now I’m seriously looking at the Lenovo Y580. I heard the Dell 15” have heat issues and Lenovo is supposed to make a better quality laptop.

Important: I don't want Windows 8. Can I 'downgrade' the Lenovo Y580?

 

[majax]

you can get it from costco with Windows7 according to this but you can also just install a windows 7 - you have a license so what does it matter?

I just wasn't sure if there would be Windows 7 drivers for the laptop.

 

[Labrynthian]

Best laptop under $1,000 is the Lenovo Y580. It has a 3rd gen core i7 processor, 8GB RAM and a 2GB NVIDIA GTX 660M graphics card. It's a really good package deal as it comes with the latest i7 technology and a mid level class 1 graphics card which will play all of your games on medium-high settings without a problem. Depending on how you customize it, you may or may not be able to upgrade the RAM. But even in the non-upgradable version, it's max RAM is 8GB, which is more than enough. This laptop offers really good specs for it's price. It's a 15.6 inch screen with a 1920x1080 resolution.
Take a look

http/shop.lenovo.com/us/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y580

http/www.lenovo.com/products/us/tech-specs/laptop/ideapad/y-series/y580/

 

[majax]

Best answer selected by majax.