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I need to buy a new laptop

I

iamgenius

Senior member
Hi to all.


I'm going to start some college courses and will be going back & forth between work and the university I'm currently enrolled in. I already have a laptop that is super fast actually, but it is not ganna serve me well for the university because of its weight and my back already hurts. The being said, I think I will need to go below 14" for the screen unless there are super light laptops with 14 inch displays.

I have a Lenovo thinkpad W520.

Quick specs are:

15.4 inch display
i7 CPU
16GB of Ram
2GB dedicated graphics
256 GB Samsung 840 pro


I want to sell this laptop and buy another new one that is light weight but still powerful and speedy. For me, when it comes to computers, I don't compromise on speed. After all I'm an enthusiastic who always overclocks his desktop. Dedicated graphics is good but not necessary as i'm not going to play games with it. Battery life is important to me and that' why I'm leaning toward apple's mac air but it lacks in specs. I have always felt that apple laptops have great batteries.

I'm aware that there many options, and this is one reason i'm seeking your recommendation. It is not a super tough decision or investment for me, but I hate to pull the trigger before consulting anandtech forums.

I have a spare 840 pro which I'm ganna install into this laptop. So maybe I should buy a fast one without an SSD to save on the $$, but what will I do the HDD? I don't know!

International warranty is nice, and money isn't really an issue.

To wrap up: Fast and light laptop with a long lasting battery. What would you guys suggest me?
 
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Budget?

Preference of Windows 7 or 8?

Do you have a Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter or CostCo near you?
 
RossMAN said:
Budget?

Preference of Windows 7 or 8?

Do you have a Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter or CostCo near you?
Click to expand...

Like I said above budget is fine. I can go up to 2000$ no problem. But of course there is no need for an overkill (That's just my wise brain interfering ^_^ )

Windows 8 is better for me. I have already dealt it with its shortcomings long ago. This is no bigie anyways, you can always load the laptop with whichever OS you prefer even it is a linux distr.

And no to all your other questions. I think I'll buy off ebay.

And I think I'll ditch the apple idea, I'll have problems with their laptop's keyboard layout.

I'll need to take some rest now. I'll come back later.

Thanks to all
 
I got little confused because there is an older XPS 13 it seems with a different shape and less battery life.

This one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-XPS-13...868?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566e29e14c

It usually comes with 8GB of Ram.

I think I'll go with this one with no touch screen:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2015-De...541?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa0d0999d

Or this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2015-De...443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4ae8068b


Also, while I was in a computer shop I looked into the new lenovo yoga 3 pro. I really liked it but its battery isn't impressive.
 
Just curious, why are you buying the laptop off eBay?

Outside the USA? Have a bazillion eBay dollars to use? Just weird?
 
RossMAN said:
Just curious, why are you buying the laptop off eBay?

Outside the USA? Have a bazillion eBay dollars to use? Just weird?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm currently outside the US ):


As an alternative, you can send me one for free from there ! Will you?
 
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RossMAN said:
Ahh that makes sense.

When you buy the newer Dell XPS 13, make sure to inquire if the RAM and hard drive are soldered to the motherboard or can they be user upgradeable?
Click to expand...

RAM is soldered unfortunately but the SSD is easily upgradeable.
 
RossMAN said:
Ahh that makes sense.

When you buy the newer Dell XPS 13, make sure to inquire if the RAM and hard drive are soldered to the motherboard or can they be user upgradeable?
Click to expand...

Cobalt said:
RAM is soldered unfortunately but the SSD is easily upgradeable.
Click to expand...

Ohhh, I was ganna ask whether I can upgrade the RAM. That's a negative but not a showstopper. If the SSD wasn't upgradable, now that would suck big time. I'll ask anyways to double check and report back here.
 
iamgenius said:
It is true. Ram is soldered. SSD is not.
Click to expand...

Yeah I checked on this before ordering, thankfully 8GB will be enough for my usage needs so I can manage. A 16GB option would of been nice but this will suffice. Hopefully will have mine delivered by next week, will post my opinions about it then if you have not found anything yet. Hopefully it will help!
 
I'm now torn between the very nice XPS 13 you guys suggested and other convertible options. I'm thinking I might need a tablet as well so why not go with a convertible device?

Or maybe I should just rely on my iphone 6 plus as my tablet?

That lenovo yoga 3 pro is really sexy by the way!
 
If you wand lighter, look at the Lenovo U series. Also my wife LOVES her Samsung ATIV9 notebook. They make a 13" model, though she has the 15" which seems light enough. Macbook Air thin and super fast with 8 G of RAM and an SSD and very long battery life (like 8-10 hrs.) Unfortunately, when you get into the ultrabook, you go to the M.2 form factor for SSDs which is a little more expensive, though I bolted a 512 GB drive into my wife's notebook very easily for 220 USD. Very easy to do. easy to remove back and drive was under a cover held in place by 2 screws. 1500 +200 to upgrade the small SSD. gets you a nice, fast unit with a 1080 touch screen.
 
If you want convertible. The new Lenovo Yogas seem to get decent press.

Your 520 is a monster, especially with an extended battery. My back would hurt too, though I use a 430, which isn't that much smaller.
 
marcplante said:
If you want convertible. The new Lenovo Yogas seem to get decent press.

Your 520 is a monster, especially with an extended battery. My back would hurt too, though I use a 430, which isn't that much smaller.
Click to expand...

Monster!? It actually served its purpose. But for moving around very often isn't something you would do with it!

And yeah I like the yogas. I'll see
 
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