Solved! Looking for a Laptop with good construction (no hinge issues), audio, and portability, form filled out

[aniemiec]

1. What is your budget? $1000 or less

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15.6" Screen

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1920 x 1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable, I am a student and I take it everywhere

5. How much battery life do you need? Does not matter, I always have a place to plug in.

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 Games

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Watching videos and listening to music, I want something with good sound and I know that the term "good sound" is subjective. I currently have an HP Envy, and hinges tightened up and wrecked the case so I do not want another HP but the Beats Audio system in this thing has 6 speakers and sounds amazing for a laptop, I want my new one to have good sound as well. I will also load up AutoCAD onto the computer, automotive tuning software, and maybe Photoshop.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Does not matter, I have a Samsung Evo 850 Sata drive I will install in new unit. New machine has to have a SATA drive bay to take my existing drive.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Site does not matter

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 4-6 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Do not need 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. Do not want another HP, they seem to have too many hinge issues and they are not helping me with my hinge issues, the only thing they want me to do is buy another computer from them instead of helping me fix the computer I have. No apple, don't care for their OS or prices. Open to all others. Want something that will hold up, something that I won't have to get rid of because of hinge engineering defects.

13. What country do you live in? United States

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Ideally I want something thin and light with good speakers that will last me until I want to get rid of it, not until design defects show up. I know this is a tall order but I have been looking for a while and the two I have come up with is a dell latitude 3590 and a lenovo P51s because they offer sturdy construction. However, they do not seem like they would be thin and light like my HP Envy and also do not seem like they would have good audio like my HP Envy, I really just want another Envy like the one I have but the new ones have poor audio quality and after my experience with HP support I really do not want to buy another HP product. In terms of a processor, I am looking for an i5 or higher.

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[okcnaline]

Why not just go entirely audiophile?

If you need strong construction, go for ThinkPads. Scratched for $500 a pop.

 

[aniemiec]

The thinkpad T570 was on my list until I saw that the P51s is pretty much the same thing and you can get them for around the same price with a dedicated graphics card and upgrade to an i7 for just a little extra. If I have to compromise on sound and portability I will for durability, but it would be nice to try and get it all if such a laptop exists

 

[photonboy]

AUDIO:
For the most part I would think you would use:
a) desktop speakers, or
b) headphones

Even the best sounding laptops sounds far worse to me than some $20 desktop speakers.

 

[aniemiec]

I have a nice set of speakers for when I am in the office hooked up to my docking station but I only use it when I am connected to my docking station part of the time, the rest of the time I like to listen to news, watch videos, listen to music and I don't like being strapped to the thing with headphones, just never been a fan of them I suppose. My Envy has the Beats audio with six speakers and if I could find a replacement that sounds as good as my computer does now I would be thrilled.

 

[okcnaline]

Quantity doesn't matter, it's quality. 6 speaker is meaningless if it's oriented incorrectly or if it's poor sounding. As I said, if you want good sound, just use a headphone or get a proper set of speakers along with a light DAC.

The most intense of your work is AutoCAD. A scratch-and-dent or even refurbed ThinkPad with 1080p will do you fine provided it's at least an i3.

 

[aniemiec]

Thank you for all of the advice, just to clarify on the sound aspect of my computer wishes. I currently have the HP Envy with the Beats Audio, it has 6 speakers and it sounds great. I would like to find a replacement that also sounds great and will not self-destruct due to poor quality engineering / materials like the Envy has. I am aware of the physics of laptop speakers and their limitations due to size and power constraints.

Thank you for the Thinkpad suggestion as that is on my short list.