Recommend me a great 2 in 1 laptop for work

[mystvearn]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend me a great laptop.


1. What is your budget?
< 1.5K USD

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
<15" screen size

3. What screen resolution do you want?

1080p is adequate with me

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
No. This is going to be my third pc. Will mainly use it for portability/powerpoint presentation.


5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 6 hours or more.

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. I don't play games. However I open DICOM files and view 3D objects for work. My current laptop has a Nvidia 540M card in it. Something slightly better or on par with this will suffice.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

I use it to view and see lots of 3D obj/ply files. I do use photoshop but only 30 layers (max)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
512 GB SSD or SSHD would be fine with me.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
None.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
5 years or more.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Don't need a dvd 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.
I don't have a brand preference though I am unable to get the latest Huawei matebook x pro. So that is excluded. Other laptops are easy to get.

13. What country do you live in?
Malaysia

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

My current laptop (Asus U46SV) specs are:
512 GB SSD-crucial M5 (I think-self upgrade)
Intel i5-2410M
W7 Pro (Upgraded to Win X Pro for free)
16 GB RAM (self upgrade)
Nvidia GT-540M
2.5kg plus weight (8 cell battery)
Easy to upgrade myself, SSD, RAM upgraded myself. Battery is also removable.
Current battery life is 2hrs+, when new I think around 4-5 hours.
DVDRW
14"laptop
SD card reader

Can anyone recommend me a laptop with at least:

13-14" laptop.
512 GB SSD (or easy option to upgrade to higher SSD-if cheaper to upgrade myself)
I don't mind intel/AMD.
Win X
16 GB RAM (or easy option to upgrade to higher RAM-if cheaper to upgrade myself)
Power of at least NVidia GT540M or better. I don't play games, but I use a lot of 3D programs which need to show rendered 3D objects. So far this current card is ok. If intel HD graphics is good, it is fine with me.
6 hrs + battery life.
I don't need the DVDRW since it is quite rare now.
Touchscreen.
Stylus with ability to house stylus (optional)-I use Onenote with S-pen on Samsung tablet and Samsung Note 3. Can be detachable laptop or something that can fold. If it does not come with a stylus, but can use the stylus from my Note 3 and note tablet, that is fine too. I can reuse the pen.
Lightweight, can use in tablet mode or tent mode. <1.6 kg
Ability to hook VGA projector. I don't think laptops now come with VGA, so if it is dongle then it is fine.
USB-A is a nice bonus since most people still use thumbdrives, no need to use dongle.
Good speakers. My current laptop has poor speakers
Good monitor, my current asus has poor viewing angles
Good keyboard like the Asus.
SD card reader is nice to have actually (optional).

I need to purchase it immediately as my employer is giving me a 2 week window to buy and claim from them. My current Asus U46SV is fine, though since they are giving me a USD 650 fund (if I exceed, I need to topup myself), I might as well use it.


So far, I am not sure what to get. Lenovo 930 or 730 or Asus UX330UA or HP Spectre X360. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Evvvvv]

Well you noted the best ones and they fit your price range. I prefer Lenovo honestly but none of those is bad either. i7 8550u integrated graphics alone are better than GT540M. So my pick would be Lenovo > Spectre > Asus. Except also Spectre has dedicated graphics, which are more powerful than those in that i7.. But its also more expensive, so take your pick bud

 

[mystvearn]

Thanks. So, it comes down to preference then. Will see scrutinise each more carefully

 

[Alabalcho]

Have you considered any of Surface Pro models?

 

[mystvearn]

Have you considered any of Surface Pro models?

Was considering after surface launch, however MS is quite slow in updating their hardware. I do not want to pay a premium for MS and Apple products if the same specs can found somewhere else. The current surface book 2 lineup in my country is not that favourable. The i5 is last gen and the i7 is too expensive.

I also do not believe the surface or surface book form factor as a solution for a productivity/tablet form factor. To me, the keyboard has to be main part of the laptop (with the motherboard) and the overall weight must be light. Top heavy screen is not stable. Having a hinge does not work since you cannot place the laptop stable on your lap. The surface 2 works, though the price is prohibitive for me. I already have a 10" tablet if I want just a tablet experience.

 

[Alabalcho]

You've explicitly said you wanted 2-in-1 product, with detachable screen part. In this design, you can't make keyboard "the main part", since there's almost nothing to be placed there for weight (I have yet to see 2-in-1 design where keyboard holds additional battery).

I am not advocating to MS/Apple/anyone, I've just offered you a variant.

 

[mystvearn]

You've explicitly said you wanted 2-in-1 product, with detachable screen part. In this design, you can't make keyboard "the main part", since there's almost nothing to be placed there for weight (I have yet to see 2-in-1 design where keyboard holds additional battery).

I am not advocating to MS/Apple/anyone, I've just offered you a variant.

Thanks for the recommendation.