Sub $700 General use laptop

Is there a definitive choice for a laptop that costs less than $700 with decent battery life?

My main requirements are:
15in or smaller
1080p or better screen
8gigs ram or 4 with ability to upgrade to 8 at a later time
I3 or better processor
3+ hours of battery life
user replaceable hdd that won't void the warranty

Thank you for your comments!

So far I have looked at the Asus Zenbook UX305FA which seems almost perfect, but the cpu could be a bit slow and build quality? Does anyone have experience with one of these?

Malecoda said:

So far I have looked at the Asus Zenbook UX305FA which seems almost perfect, but the cpu could be a bit slow and build quality? Does anyone have experience with one of these?

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Reviews seem very positive, even though the core m processor is a bit slow. Also that model lacks backlit keys if that's important to you.

Malecoda said:

Is there a definitive choice for a laptop that costs less than $700 with decent battery life?

My main requirements are:
15in or smaller
1080p or better screen
8gigs ram or 4 with ability to upgrade to 8 at a later time
I3 or better processor
3+ hours of battery life
user replaceable hdd that won't void the warranty

Thank you for your comments!

Click to expand...

Off-lease Dell Precision on Ebay. Around December of 2014, $355 got me:

- Core i7 quad 720
- 4GB RAM
- 250GB HDD
- Windows 7 pro
- 1080p (15 inches)
- 3 hrs battery life

Looking on ebay from the same seller, I now see Sandy-bridge Precisions with all of that and more:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M4600-Intel-i7-Quad-2820QM-2-3GHz-8GB-320GB-HDD-DVDRW-Wind-7-Pro-/151389508787?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233f8494b3

I upgraded my machine's RAM and hard drive to an SSD. It's a very capable computer. I suspect the Sandy-based notebook will be that much better (especially since the video card has more oomph).

That looks pretty nice. I was thinking more along the lines of intel integrated graphics for improved battery life. I have also had quite a bit of trouble getting upgraded laptop gfx drivers for dell laptops with the discreet + integrated combo.

Malecoda said:

That looks pretty nice. I was thinking more along the lines of intel integrated graphics for improved battery life. I have also had quite a bit of trouble getting upgraded laptop gfx drivers for dell laptops with the discreet + integrated combo.

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Well, I can't speak for that particular model, but my M4500 has been a breeze. I downloaded the latest Nvidia Quadro Mobile driver that I could for my chipset from their site, and setting it up was short and sweet. The experience was exactly like my desktop. I didn't even need to touch a Dell driver, and I suspect the Sandy-based notebooks that I linked you to are probably the same.

Also - not sure if you care that much - but I remember reading something about the M6600 having an upgradable video card because it's modular (whereas my M4500's video card is soldered on to the motherboard). Some food for thought.

FRZ said:

Reviews seem very positive, even though the core m processor is a bit slow. Also that model lacks backlit keys if that's important to you.

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Yeah I am not a fan of the new core M processors. I would avoid them.

As someone who moved from i5-4300U to Core M 5Y10 it's not slow. It's actually faster under sustained load since it doesn't throttle. Playing Trine 2 on i5-4300U it eventually throttles down to <10 fps @ 720p. On Core M it maintains a consistent near 30 fps @ 720p and it's fanless so you don't have to worry about diminishing cooling effectiveness as the internal fan is clogged with dust/debris over time or fails. Core M 5Y10 at 1080p is a nice balance for very usable performance.