Best laptop for my cash?

[TheBlackWidower]

So I'm heading back to school soon and I need a new laptop. My current crappy Asus one is well.....crappy. My previous computers have also been from Asus and unless they can make a god laptop for the money I wont buy from them. My budget is 1200$ but the more I save the better. As a engineering student, you dont really have time for a part time job. The requirements are a 256 SSD and a i5U series CPU at the minimum. It also should have USB 3.0 connectors. From what I gathered, the Razer Blade Stealth, XPS 13, and Venom Black Book 13 are my main options. The razer blade has the RGB back lighting and is also the lightest of the 3 AND has a QHD but the 256GB one starts at 1200$, the XPS 13 has the infinity display and is relatively small due to such the 256GB model starting at 1150$, and the Venom Black book has a dual harddrive slot and the 1K version has a 128GB SSD and a 500GB HDD. The Black Book looks the most future proof spec wise with the extra storage but the price of SSD's are going down so it wont be a issue. I am stuck and I want the best for my money.


Thanks,
TBW

 

[geofelt]

Take a look at the Lenovo thinkpad series. In particular, the T460s which is a lighter version.
They have the best keyboards in the business.
Pay attention to the display; you want one with a IPS panel which gives a better image. I see no value in the more expensive touch screens.
It is very easy to change out a hard drive or ssd for a large ssd if you need to.
A 500gb Samsung evo is about $150.
Here is a link, and look for sales which are common.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t460s/

 

[TheBlackWidower]

Yeah I did look at them but they don't offer anything special compared to the competitors,(ie. Razer's QHD display + RGB back lighting, Dell XPS infinity Display or VenomBook's dual HDD solution). Now some of them like the RGB lighting is kind of useless the question is why not, QHD dose make a difference, even at 13'' and the infinity display on the XPS makes it a smaller laptop all together. The Venombook's is quite self explanitory. I don't see anything "different" in the lenovo thinkpad series and I do expect something "special" or "different" than JUST a laptop at 1200$, even 1K.

 

[geofelt]

Do you want to be able to play some games also?
What screen size?
How important is light weight?

The Lenovo laptops are usually customizable Most have a QHD display option.
Another nice series is the Y700 series.
Discrete graphics chip, Gen 6 skylake, QHD, dual ssd storage, backlit keyboard, good sound.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/

Watch for sales on these.

 

[TheBlackWidower]

Do you want to be able to play some games also?
What screen size?
How important is light weight?

The Lenovo laptops are usually customizable Most have a QHD display option.
Another nice series is the Y700 series.
Discrete graphics chip, Gen 6 skylake, QHD, dual ssd storage, backlit keyboard, good sound.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/

Watch for sales on these.

What I mean by lightweight is under 3 pounds. The Y700 series is a gaming series and weigh in around 4-5 pounds. The discrete GPU is good but it has a average battery life of 4 hours. I also already have a desktop at home with a i5 4670k OC and a r9 270x OC. Its more than enough for gaming and I can rest my head for the 40 minuet bus ride back to my apartment. For screen size I would prefer 13 or 12 inches(No Macbook). Their Yoga line up is light but its quite big due to the bezels( I have a small backpack its just meant for note taking and working out problems in class). Lenovo is good but the only one that attracts me is the X series and for the price they don't offer much.

 

[Purpletalon55]

Do you want to be able to play some games also?
What screen size?
How important is light weight?

The Lenovo laptops are usually customizable Most have a QHD display option.
Another nice series is the Y700 series.
Discrete graphics chip, Gen 6 skylake, QHD, dual ssd storage, backlit keyboard, good sound.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/

Watch for sales on these.

What I mean by lightweight is under 3 pounds. The Y700 series is a gaming series and weigh in around 4-5 pounds. The discrete GPU is good but it has a average battery life of 4 hours. I also already have a desktop at home with a i5 4670k OC and a r9 270x OC. Its more than enough for gaming and I can rest my head for the 40 minuet bus ride back to my apartment. For screen size I would prefer 13 or 12 inches(No Macbook). Their Yoga line up is light but its quite big due to the bezels( I have a small backpack its just meant for note taking and working out problems in class). Lenovo is good but the only one that attracts me is the X series and for the price they don't offer much.

The X series is better than what the competition offers, it is designed to be portable and is very lightweight and has stupid good battery life. I would highly recommend that you buy one. They offer quite a lot of customization.

Thinkpads are not just another laptop, they are the best laptops made. They are nearly impossible to break.

 

[TheBlackWidower]

Do you want to be able to play some games also?
What screen size?
How important is light weight?

The Lenovo laptops are usually customizable Most have a QHD display option.
Another nice series is the Y700 series.
Discrete graphics chip, Gen 6 skylake, QHD, dual ssd storage, backlit keyboard, good sound.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/

Watch for sales on these.

What I mean by lightweight is under 3 pounds. The Y700 series is a gaming series and weigh in around 4-5 pounds. The discrete GPU is good but it has a average battery life of 4 hours. I also already have a desktop at home with a i5 4670k OC and a r9 270x OC. Its more than enough for gaming and I can rest my head for the 40 minuet bus ride back to my apartment. For screen size I would prefer 13 or 12 inches(No Macbook). Their Yoga line up is light but its quite big due to the bezels( I have a small backpack its just meant for note taking and working out problems in class). Lenovo is good but the only one that attracts me is the X series and for the price they don't offer much.

The X series is better than what the competition offers, it is designed to be portable and is very lightweight and has stupid good battery life. I would highly recommend that you buy one. They offer quite a lot of customization.

Thinkpads are not just another laptop, they are the best laptops made. They are nearly impossible to break.

I would take the X1 if it was not 1400$ for a 256GB

 

[Purpletalon55]

Do you want to be able to play some games also?
What screen size?
How important is light weight?

The Lenovo laptops are usually customizable Most have a QHD display option.
Another nice series is the Y700 series.
Discrete graphics chip, Gen 6 skylake, QHD, dual ssd storage, backlit keyboard, good sound.
http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/

Watch for sales on these.

What I mean by lightweight is under 3 pounds. The Y700 series is a gaming series and weigh in around 4-5 pounds. The discrete GPU is good but it has a average battery life of 4 hours. I also already have a desktop at home with a i5 4670k OC and a r9 270x OC. Its more than enough for gaming and I can rest my head for the 40 minuet bus ride back to my apartment. For screen size I would prefer 13 or 12 inches(No Macbook). Their Yoga line up is light but its quite big due to the bezels( I have a small backpack its just meant for note taking and working out problems in class). Lenovo is good but the only one that attracts me is the X series and for the price they don't offer much.

The X series is better than what the competition offers, it is designed to be portable and is very lightweight and has stupid good battery life. I would highly recommend that you buy one. They offer quite a lot of customization.

Thinkpads are not just another laptop, they are the best laptops made. They are nearly impossible to break.

I would take the X1 if it was not 1400$ for a 256GB

Well the X1 uses a new SSD, so the cost is pretty high, just get a SSD on your own its a lot cheapr.