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Best laptop for $1100

O

orgcaptnemo

Junior Member
Hi all,

I've had an account for years, but it's linked to an email address that no longer works so I had to make a new one! Ha.

I'm writing because a group of my friends all pitched in money ($1100 total) and we're going to use it to buy mutual friend a laptop for their birthday. They currently have the cheapest Dell available that's been provided by their work, but that job will end soon.

We're looking for something with the following characteristics, in no particular order
  • Speed (Core i5/7, at least 4 GB RAM, but 8 would be ideal)
  • Discrete graphics card
  • Better than 1366x768 resolution
  • SSD or HD + SSD hybrid
  • Excellent build quality
  • Good trackpad

I'v done research myself and it looks like Asus has some good offerings, and if we had a bit more money to work with the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 would be the ideal laptop.

What do you guys think? What would you buy on an $1100 budget?

Thank you!
 
That Asus is a little small IMO. isn't it a 13" unit. If you're going to have one box to do it all, get a 15" unit.

Lenovo Y580 can be had loaded to the gills for $933...apparently though a barnes and noble affiliate link to Lenovo's store. Nvidia 660m vid card Ivy bridge i7 8G of RAM. HD + small SSD, etc.

Asus N560VM is on sale at Microcenter for 999. everything you're asking for including Nvidia 650M vid card. Doesn't have the second drive bay for an SSD like the Lenovo does.

You could scrounge through the dell XPS line or go with an Inspiron SE if you prefer function over form.
 
If you're set on the ultrabook form factor, I say skip the discrete graphics and go with the Asus ux31a.

The discrete card in the ux32vd isn't anything to write about for gaming, and somehow I doubt CAD or 3D modeling are going to be major considerations for this laptop.

IMO, the largest impact it will have on general usage is adding bulk while reducing battery life.

Otherwise there are certainly better, thicker options as mentioned.
 
Last edited:
marcplante said:
That Asus is a little small IMO. isn't it a 13" unit. If you're going to have one box to do it all, get a 15" unit.

Lenovo Y580 can be had loaded to the gills for $933...apparently though a barnes and noble affiliate link to Lenovo's store. Nvidia 660m vid card Ivy bridge i7 8G of RAM. HD + small SSD, etc.

Asus N560VM is on sale at Microcenter for 999. everything you're asking for including Nvidia 650M vid card. Doesn't have the second drive bay for an SSD like the Lenovo does.

You could scrounge through the dell XPS line or go with an Inspiron SE if you prefer function over form.
Click to expand...

The Y580 looks really good for the price. Thank you for the suggestion. Wow! Definitely not small, but under 6 lbs and 1.5 inches so it's not a behemoth either.
 
marcplante said:
That Asus is a little small IMO. isn't it a 13" unit. If you're going to have one box to do it all, get a 15" unit.

Lenovo Y580 can be had loaded to the gills for $933...apparently though a barnes and noble affiliate link to Lenovo's store. Nvidia 660m vid card Ivy bridge i7 8G of RAM. HD + small SSD, etc.

Asus N560VM is on sale at Microcenter for 999. everything you're asking for including Nvidia 650M vid card. Doesn't have the second drive bay for an SSD like the Lenovo does.

You could scrounge through the dell XPS line or go with an Inspiron SE if you prefer function over form.
Click to expand...

Also, do you have any more information about the Barnes and Noble affiliate deal?
 
Just lurk and watch the pricing for a few weeks...You WILL see the top model with the little SSD for $933-950 if you wait a couple weeks. Otherwise, you can get any of the 580s with less HD for under 1000, maybe close to 800 if you go with a LOW end HD and just buy a bolt in 120gb SSD for $90 today.
 
I googled Barnes and Noble Lenovo deals and created an account to see the deals. The pricing seems to have gone up. As I said...watch and wait, and you can get a 1080 Y580 for less than 1k
 
At that price just stay away from the plastic units. Even give up some features if you have to, stay away from flimsy computers.
 
I just spent $1100 on my new work laptop, but I would only recommend it if you want a large screen. In any case, I bought a Dell Inspiron 17R Special edition. I travel a LOT (all around the world) and my last Inspiron 17" is still running great after 6 years. It even took a 6' foot drop without any issues. In the mean time, several of my co-workers more "professional" models of laptops (Lattitudes and Probooks) have fallen apart.

The case is plastic with some carbon fiber. It feels a bit cheap, but is sturdy enough. The track pad is pretty large, but could be better. The video card and sound are pretty good. It came with a 1 TB drive + 30 GB SSD Cache, but I put in 2 SSDs, and converted the mSATA drive to a spare SSD (so I have 3 SSDs installed).


SYSTEM Inspiron 17R Notebook (Inspiron 7720)
PROCESSOR i7-3610QM processor (6M Cache, up to 3.3 GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-Bit, English
MEMORY 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
HARD DRIVE 1TB SATA HDD + 32GB mSATA SSD w/ Intel Smart Response
VIDEO CARD Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 2GB
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
DISPLAY 17.3" Full High Definition (1080p) LED Display with Anti-Glare
BATTERY OPTIONS 48 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Centrino® Wireless 2230, 2x2 bgn + Bluetooth
SOUND Skullcandy Speakers with WaveMaxx 4.0
NETWORK CARD Integrated 10/100 Network Card
KEYBOARD Dell Backlit Keyboard with Multi-touch Touchpad, English-Int'l
WIRELESS DRIVER Intel® Centrino® Wireless 2230, 2x2 bgn + Bluetooth
 
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