NML6

Honorable
Nov 15, 2013
15
0
10,560
1. What is your budget?

<=$900 USD

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

<=15.6"

3. What screen resolution do you want?

1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portable without sacrificing power.

5. How much battery life do you need?

Any is fine.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

No gaming

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Watch Netflix

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

<=500gb I don't want HDD size to drive up the price. Id rather have the money spent elsewhere in the computer. Or have a smaller but faster SSD.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Any reliable websites. I'd prefer to walk into the store to purchase it.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

It doesn't have to have an optical drive.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

I'm not a big fan of Toshiba, that is the type of laptop I have now and it doesn't perform as well as I'd like.

13. What country do you live in?

US

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I don't need the laptop for gaming so instead of having the price go up due to larger screens, HDD sizes, optical drives, and high end graphics cards, I'd like to use the money for a faster processor, more RAM, and SSD or hybrid SSD/HDD combo rather than HDD alone. Also a touchscreen would be a cool bonus!

Thanks!
 
Solution
I would get the following Lenovo ThinkPad L540 which starts at $740. It's a relatively new series meant for business and is not as expensive as the well renowned ThinkPad T series.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l540/

The i3-4000m CPU can be upgrade... all the way to the quad core i7-4702MQ or dual core i7-4600m, but that will push it beyond your budget. The Core i5-4300m should do nicely for $50.

It comes standard with a 1920x1080 resolution screen.

It has an option for a free 16GB "micro hard drive" which is basically a M.2 SSD cache. However, you must select it otherwise you don't get for free (obviously), but additionally the motherboard will not have a M.2 slot which means you that a M.2 SSD cannot be...

V0RTEX

Honorable
Nov 13, 2013
12
0
10,570
Hey NML6!
Since you're not really a gamer it isn't that hard to find a laptop. I would suggest the Lenovo IdeaPad U510 Laptop. It looks great and performs just as well.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/u-series/u510/
 

NML6

Honorable
Nov 15, 2013
15
0
10,560


I like the lenovo brand, the build quality seems great. The only things I don't like about your selection is that it seems kind of bulky (not a huge problem) but has a 3rd gen intel rather than a 4th gen, 6gb of RAM rather than 8gb(im sure 6gb is still enough), 768p screen, and 500 gb HDD no SSD available. Is there a version with a smaller screen size but with SSD?
 

NML6

Honorable
Nov 15, 2013
15
0
10,560


I think I like this one a little more, its a smaller screen but has a touchscreen, and 8gb of RAM.
 

NML6

Honorable
Nov 15, 2013
15
0
10,560


When I go to the U510 page, then click "models" it only shows one, but when I click on the "Tech Specs" tab, it shows that there are multiple options to choose from including 8gb RAM and 24-32GB SSD options. If I can choose what options I want, then your choice of the U510 is spot on!
 
I would get the following Lenovo ThinkPad L540 which starts at $740. It's a relatively new series meant for business and is not as expensive as the well renowned ThinkPad T series.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l540/

The i3-4000m CPU can be upgrade... all the way to the quad core i7-4702MQ or dual core i7-4600m, but that will push it beyond your budget. The Core i5-4300m should do nicely for $50.

It comes standard with a 1920x1080 resolution screen.

It has an option for a free 16GB "micro hard drive" which is basically a M.2 SSD cache. However, you must select it otherwise you don't get for free (obviously), but additionally the motherboard will not have a M.2 slot which means you that a M.2 SSD cannot be added later.

If you do not like Win 8, then you have the option to have Win 7 installed for $50.

4GB of RAM is adequate, but 8GB is better. Unless you are squeamish about figuring out how to install RAM, it's cheaper to buy your own stick of 4GB RAM and install it yourself. I think that should cost you around $45 - $50.


I'm thinking about buying a ThinkPad T540 sometime next year.
 
Solution