~$1000 15.6" laptop

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Eagle156

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Jan 21, 2006
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I'm a student and need a reasonably mobile laptop for work (programming and engineering), music production, and occasional gaming (I mostly play CS:GO). I want
-good performance
-good quality (I need something that will last for years)
-good screen
-looks decent
-prefer to buy on amazon as I have a $200 giftcard
I've been researching for several weeks and have several finalists...

Asus N56VZ - This looks like a good design and people say it is well constructed and has a good screen. However most models come with a slow 5400rpm hard drive or some other shortcoming and the 7200RPM model on amazon is almost $1300, I think I could maybe find something better for the price.

Samsung Series7 - I love how it looks but I've read that the materials are thin and a little flimsy (could make the screen susceptible to breaking). I've also read that it can be susceptible to overheating and the screen is poor. Also it only has 3 usb ports (the more the better for me).

Lenovo Y580 - Awesome graphics card but bad design. It apparently suffers from flaws in workmanship and is not very pretty. Also it has a glossy screen (bad).

So what are your thoughts on this? Any laptops that I'm missing? I'm leaning towards the ASUS...
 
If the HDD is your only draw back on the Asus, put a SSD in it or replace the HDD for cheap for a 7200rpm.

Just don't stick with a 5400rpm... its painful.

I use an HP DV6 which is awesome, paid $850, its durable, comes with a great screen, awesome performance. Don't think you will find one you like on amazon though, could be wrong!
 
If you want it to last for years of student treatment, I'd be looking at something from the business lines like a Thinkpad, latitude, probook ect. You usually won't get the cutting edge graphics cards, but the build quality is better than your typical consumer lines. The thinkpad T530 for instance is built on a solid magnesium roll cage, and can be had with a 1080p display for under $1k, but the NVS5400 graphics are nothing special.
 
If I were in your position I would seriously consider the Thinkpad T530 and the W530. They are more than capable of casual gaming but the graphics cards in them are really designed for more work-type things.

They're very solid machines and should last years.
 
1. http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/gaming-laptops-under-1000/

You forgot the HP dv6t-7000 select edition or quad edition that with current coupons and you get 32GB mSSD too with good matte FullHD screen (read reviews inside).

The Y580 design flaws are mainly its outer lid that is described as soft. It's also not that cool but frankly - I didn't see other laptops with such a performance and for that price that are cool.

2. +1 for the one above me. If all you want is 'casual gaming' you should consider going for a a laptop with a lower performance.
Look at the CS:GO performance:
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Benchmarkcheck-Counter-Strike-Global-Offensive.80416.0.html

Even with the 7660G it will run on FullHD resolution and highest settings quite smoothly.
So, would you prefer to save some money?
 
I recommend Lenovo Y580, you can see here, at this price, there are many great laptop, but the y580 is the best,

Here's why I settled for the Y580:

- Not the prettiest or lightest looking laptop, but had the most value for the price. Also, purchasing an extended warranty through Lenovo is fairly cheap.
- Glossy display, but accurately displays colors including red. According to Noteebook check, the display covers 91% of the sRGB spectrum, which is impressive for a consumer level notebook. Since I do photo and video editing on the side, this was pleasing to hear.
- Room for self-upgrades. It has an mSATA slot if you want to install your own. It gets SATA 3 speeds, unless you decide to remove the OD and install a HD in its place; if you do that, you'll only get SATA 2. Otherwise, the mSATA and primary HD bay get SATA 3.
- Memory is upgradeable to 16GB
- Amazing sound quality with the JBL Speakers
- Strongest discrete GPU of the laptops I tested
- Backlit keyboard was amazing, with good tactile feedback, travel, and little flex.
- Good cooling. I was scared at first to try it out since some owners reported problems with temperatures during heavy usage, but I'd have to disagree. After gaming for multiple hours and doing some heavy rendering, my temps were only warm and never got too dangerous to damage internal components.
- Battery life. Although it only comes with a 6 cell battery, on a full charge under power saving profiles and normal usage, I can get around 4.5 - 5 hrs, which is impressive for a laptop that has so much power.
 
I specced out a T530 with an i7, 1080p screen and 7200RPM hard drive and it came out to almost $1500. I am not sure if it is worth it. You guys are saying if I buy an Asus it will crap out in a year? Also does anyone know what the battery life of these machines is? I want to be able to stuff it in my backpack and be able to code for at least 4 hours...
 
Eagle156 said:
I specced out a T530 with an i7, 1080p screen and 7200RPM hard drive and it came out to almost $1500. I am not sure if it is worth it. You guys are saying if I buy an Asus it will crap out in a year? Also does anyone know what the battery life of these machines is? I want to be able to stuff it in my backpack and be able to code for at least 4 hours...
Click to expand...

1. Go for the lowest RAM they offer and buy RAM and upgrade yourself. It's a lot cheaper.
2. Do you need 1080p? 1600x900 might do.
3. Instead of a 7200RPM you could buy a 64 gig SSD and an Ultrabay HDD adapter and swap out the optical drive for a HDD.
 
I ended up using the barnes & nobles discount and it came out to around $1300 with tax (I added the 9 cell battery, 3 year warranty, and several other options), which is reasonable I guess. Hope I made the right choice haha.
 
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