Best ultrabook for 1000-1500 CAD?

BboyDfresh

Honorable
Jul 28, 2013
6
0
10,510
So I'm going to be a college student in a year and I need a new laptop. My problem is, I haven't used Windows laptops in a while. I've been using Macs, so I'm used to the long battery life and reliability of the laptops. Now I'm looking to port back to Windows, but don't know which laptop to buy. I'm looking for something portable and has long battery life. I also need it to be reliable. My budget is around 1000-1500 Canadian dollars. I've been looking at the ASUS Zenbook and Thinkpads lately.
 

Dblkk

Honorable
Oct 30, 2013
323
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11,010
Samsung ativ book 8 is what I own and love it. Offers quad core i7, 8gb ram, 1tb hhd, amd discrete 8770m gpu, 15" 1080p touch screen. I got 8 hours easy of battery before my ssd swap, now I get anywhere from 8-10 depending what I do. Budget US $1200
 

IDontUnderstand

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Dec 29, 2012
165
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10,660
What are you planning on doing on the laptop? For example gaming?
Any screen preference?
Weight preference?

If you don't game or do anything processor intensive and without screen preference. I personally, really really recommend a chromebook. It does everything a college student need, I'm a college student and am jealous of others who purchased a chromebook.
Pros:
- Cheap as hell
- Light weight
- Long battery life
- Fast boot up
- 100 GB of Google Drive for 2 years
- Easy to use (No update 24/7 and the hardware doesn't require much update either)

Cons
- Always in need of wireless connection (solved by being on campus with Wi-Fi everywhere)
- Not Windows, can't install any Windows software

If you don't want a Chromebook after reading this and considering it, then I'll help you find the right one, after you answer my questions up top.
 

BboyDfresh

Honorable
Jul 28, 2013
6
0
10,510


I'm going to be bringing my custom rig to uni to handle all the graphically intensive programs. I'm going to be studying computer engineering, so I'll be running programs such as CAD, C++, Java, etc. on the desktop. But I need the laptop to be semi powerful just in case I don't have access to the desktop. I need the laptop to be under 4 pounds since I'll be carrying alot of textbooks as well. I prefer 13"-14" Screens.
 

BboyDfresh

Honorable
Jul 28, 2013
6
0
10,510


Actually, would you recommend I bring my gaming/work rig to university paired with a Chromebook as a setup?
My rig:
i5 4670k
MSI GTX 770
8GB RAM
Remember I am going for engineering.