Laptop for School (No gaming)

[Jineus]

Hi!

I am a college student. I just need a laptop for schoolwork. I'm do not need to run any sophisticated programs or play games. I only need the laptop for browsing internet and using Microsoft office basically.

The only catch is that I like to multitask a lot, so I may have 15 tabs open and several documents at the same time. I also want a laptop that can respond fast. I am too used to my gaming desktop so I've gotten spoiled to instant response times.

1. What is your budget? $600-800

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 14-15 inches

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1920x1080 would be ideal, if there is one (it was hard to find)

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

5. How much battery life do you need? longer the better, but not a big deal

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

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Just schoolwork (no sophisticated programs or anything)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 256GB-1TB

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

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 2-3 years

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

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. No preference

13. What country do you live in? USA

Here are two laptops I'm looking at. Could you tell me the pros and cons and maybe other suggestions?

http/www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-763BLK-Full-HD-GeForce/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1454106838&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_n_feature_fourteen_browse-bin%3A2057441011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011

http/www.amazon.com/dp/B0146DD02G/ref=psdc_565108_t1_B015PYYDMQ

Thank you guys!

 

[Gingerbread]

If you are doing no gaming and nothing intensive then spending money on a gtx 960m and a quad core is a waste.
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-573G-75B3-15-6-Inch-Charcoal/dp/B00X13YVC6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455610816&sr=1-3&refinements=p_36%3A2421888011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011
Something like this will be more than you actually need. A mid range i5-i7 dual core with 8gb ram is more than you will ever need. Of course if you plan on playing games here and there then you have the options with i7-6700hq, DDR4 ram and gtx 960m.

 

[Jineus]

If you are doing no gaming and nothing intensive then spending money on a gtx 960m and a quad core is a waste.
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-573G-75B3-15-6-Inch-Charcoal/dp/B00X13YVC6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455610816&sr=1-3&refinements=p_36%3A2421888011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011
Something like this will be more than you actually need. A mid range i5-i7 dual core with 8gb ram is more than you will ever need. Of course if you plan on playing games here and there then you have the options with i7-6700hq, DDR4 ram and gtx 960m.

I totally think so too! It's just that I couldn't find a laptop with an SSD. I would install one on my own, but I'm afraid it would void the warranty or insurance that I'll get with it.

 

[Gingerbread]

Most likely it will, that's why I advice against using amazon. Depending where you live there is a pc/laptop retailer for sure who will most likely have better prices, not to mention will sell SSDs as well. The fact that you have access to amazon means that you have way more shops like this. For example where I live there are at least 10 shops which sell laptops along with computer parts so what I did was just buy a laptop + ssd from them and tell them to install the SSD so it doesn't void the warranty. And they did just that, asked at 4 different places, all said they will do the job and won't even charge extra (since after all I am making them more money by buying both a laptop and an ssd). Not to mention I live in a 3rd world country. So in my eyes you should look for an alternative to amazon.

 

[Jineus]

Most likely it will, that's why I advice against using amazon. Depending where you live there is a pc/laptop retailer for sure who will most likely have better prices, not to mention will sell SSDs as well. The fact that you have access to amazon means that you have way more shops like this. For example where I live there are at least 10 shops which sell laptops along with computer parts so what I did was just buy a laptop + ssd from them and tell them to install the SSD so it doesn't void the warranty. And they did just that, asked at 4 different places, all said they will do the job and won't even charge extra (since after all I am making them more money by buying both a laptop and an ssd). Not to mention I live in a 3rd world country. So in my eyes you should look for an alternative to amazon.

Well I have a $600 gift card from Amazon that I'm trying to use so local stores won't work. But not having an SSD isn't a huge deal... Do you know of any more laptops like the one you suggested? I really like it except that it has no backlit keyboard. Thanks a lot!

 

[Gingerbread]

Well there is like one, it has an ssd as well, if you think it is worth it to spend $150 extra for an ssd and gtx 950m and backlit keyboard then this is the one:
http/www.amazon.com/K501UX-15-inch-Gaming-Processor-Windows/dp/B0146DD02G/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455614705&sr=1-1&refinements=p_36%3A60000-80000%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_five_browse-bin%3A8105772011

However in my eyes 800$ just for an ssd and backlit is kind of a waste.