Laptop WITHOUT dedicated GPU under $800?

[iSweatMusic]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a laptop without a dedicated graphics card but a powerful CPU. I don't intend on gaming, but I need the processing power for music production, audio work, and simple school tasks.

-Haswell i7
-1080p screen minimum!
-Touchscreen would be great, would pay more for this
-3 or more USB ports for music hardware
-No dedicated GPU to save costs?
-Sleek appearance. This is pretty important!
-I'm willing to manually upgrade RAM and/or harddrive

If ultrabooks can handle the heat, Id consider one. I've been looking at some Asus laptops and they seem like a winner, but I don't have a good feel for the laptop/ultrabolk market.

Any suggestions? Also the holiday season is right around the corner. Is it worth waiting to snag up a deal?

 

[filippi]

Check this great ASUS for $700 at Newegg:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231323

 

[iSweatMusic]

Check this great ASUS for $700 at Newegg:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231323

This looks perfect, except for the fact that the processor is an Ivy Bridge. Is this laptop available with a Haswell i7? I can't seem to find it.

 

[jaguarskx]

Lenovo Z510 $799 configuration.

However, no touchscreen.

http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/z-series/z510/#customize

 

[jaguarskx]

HP ENVY TouchSmart 15t-j100 Quad Edition Notebook PC - $800

-You need to add $50 for the 1920x1080 resolution screen.
-4 USB ports.

http/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/E2E33AV?HP-ENVY-TouchSmart-15t-j100-Quad-Edition-Notebook-PC-ENERGY-STAR-&aid=38293&pbid=l5MmDwcmvOk&aoid=35252&siteid=l5MmDwcmvOk-hgnVq_kX7i4shaX3yRoUTA

 

[filippi]

Imho this i7-3632QM is a very good CPU and chances are that will be as good as any Haswell i7 in this price range.

Ref. http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-3632QM-Notebook-Processor.80049.0.html

For instance, Intel Core i7-4600M is a Haswell i7 but it has just 2 cores and 4 threads. So i7-3632QM will be far superior in multi-threading tasks.

 

[RayinMaui]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a laptop without a dedicated graphics card but a powerful CPU. I don't intend on gaming, but I need the processing power for music production, audio work, and simple school tasks.

-Haswell i7
-1080p screen minimum!
-Touchscreen would be great, would pay more for this
-3 or more USB ports for music hardware
-No dedicated GPU to save costs?
-Sleek appearance. This is pretty important!
-I'm willing to manually upgrade RAM and/or harddrive

If ultrabooks can handle the heat, Id consider one. I've been looking at some Asus laptops and they seem like a winner, but I don't have a good feel for the laptop/ultrabolk market.

Any suggestions? Also the holiday season is right around the corner. Is it worth waiting to snag up a deal?

Also, watch some of the deal sites. I always watch Groupon & Woot

https/www.woot.com/plus/laptops-4

Good Luck!

 

[iSweatMusic]

Imho this i7-3632QM is a very good CPU and chances are that will be as good as any Haswell i7 in this price range.

Ref. http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-3632QM-Notebook-Processor.80049.0.html

For instance, Intel Core i7-4600M is a Haswell i7 but it has just 2 cores and 4 threads. So i7-3632QM will be far superior in multi-threading tasks.

Thanks alot! This info pretty much sold me on your suggestion. I didn't realize this i7 is rated at only 35 watts, compared to the 47 watts of the i7 4700mq, which I see in a few newer laptops. I assumed Haswell meant better efficiency and lower heat, but I guess not in this case.. although the added power is there with Haswell.

Unfortunately, the Asus you linked jumped $200 since I last checked If the price drops again, I'll grab this one. Until then, my research continues.

For the others, I've been told to stay away from HP. Lenovo's Z series looks pretty nice. Their only touchscreen model is the 14" one, but no 1080p screen option with that. I really need the 1080p resolution for workspace.

Any other suggestions just above the $800 mark?

 

[jaguarskx]

Part of the reason why Haswell CPUs have higher TDP (watts) is because the voltage regulator module that was formerly part of the motherboard is now integrated into the CPU itself. The other reason is because the integrated graphics core is more powerful than what's in Ivy Bridge generation CPUs.

 

[iSweatMusic]

Part of the reason why Haswell CPUs have higher TDP (watts) is because the voltage regulator module that was formerly part of the motherboard is now integrated into the CPU itself. The other reason is because the integrated graphics core is more powerful than what's in Ivy Bridge generation CPUs.

Ah, so it's not as simple as comparing TDPs. Thanks for that.

Any opinion on Intel's ULV processors? I understand they're undervolted, but how do they compare with the power of the non-ULV processors? It's quite easy for me to find the perfect laptop/ultrabook with a ULV processor, but not so much with others.

I guess another question is this: do I really need that much processing power for music production and post-production?

 

[filippi]

http/www.amazon.com/Q500A-BHI7T05-Touch-Screen-Laptop-Memory/dp/B00AU8KQ5G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top