Looking for a decent laptop

[shadenone]

I'm coming to the experts (you guys) for this because I'm not up-to-date when it comes to laptops and specs. Learning all the different laptop processors and then the differences between laptop processors vs desktop processors and their respective boards is just something that is beyond me at this point. I know this for a fact because I already screwed up about a year ago when I got my last laptop and the PoS is already more useless than an inflatable dartboard.

So here's the deal: I'm looking for convertible laptop, or at least one that can be used like a tablet that I can write on, that's not going to break the budget, but is still pretty responsive.

-I'm looking for around $500 with a $100 margin in either direction. Though the cheaper, the better, since I'm on a tight budget.
-This is to be my college laptop, so battery life of around 4 hours or better would be a plus.
-Going for a Computer Science major, so something that can handle a lot of multitasking and tabs is a must.
-I'll likely use it for minor gaming and such as well. Nothing crazy, but some Steam games and such. I won't be playing Call of Duty or anything crazy like that on it.
-And I really don't want to have to worry about it falling apart on me halfway through my degree. Something that will last for 3-4 years without too many issues.


Other than that, I don't have any real preferences. I've been looking around, but I'm drowning in options that I don't understand. If someone could start pointing me in the right direction and/or give me some ideas on what I should be looking for would be incredibly helpful. Thanks!

 

[giantpandaman2]

Best you could probably do is a Surface Pro 3. There might still be some deals around. Good convertibles are mostly in the 1k+ range.

 

[shadenone]

So that's it then? Unless I want to drop $1k, I'm screwed? That is not all that helpful of advice.

 

[blankslate]

Unless the college insists on intel cpus or you yourself are worried about the odd remote chance of some incompatibility issue you might try looking at laptops with an AMD APU. They're usually cheaper, but the battery life requirement you have might make them an issue compared to Intel mobile cpus


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[shadenone]

If I'm willing to sacrifice some of the battery life, will that open up my options some more? I said 4 hours because I don't want to be tethered to the wall whenever I'm doing homework or between classes, but I'm willing to sacrifice some of that if it helps.

Thanks. I'll definitely look into them. I've been mainly looking at intel because that's what I use in my desktop, but even then, I'm confused. There's just so many different types (atoms, celerion, etc) and it seems like even the typical iX models are different in comparison.

But I'm not hellbent on intel. If AMD is worth looking at for laptops, then I'm more than willing to go there.

 

[paperwastage]

for that price point, something has to give.

For me, I would sacrifice the tablet functionality to get a solid laptop (with decent cpu/battery life/portability). A tablet/hybrid at this price point has certain compromises that I personally won't want to live with

eg:
http://slickdeals.net/f/8458663-len...-6-1080p-4gb-ddr3-128gb-ssd-450-free-shipping

11.6" convertiable laptop in your price range... light gaming is possible but RAM+ battery life issues (aka don't buy it, but it's something to look at)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3geGwfViY9g (same integrated m3-6Y30 + integrated HD 515, but more RAM)
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=81529435&postcount=110

gaming - the standard Intel GPU is pretty good, you don't really have to look at AMD APU
eg-> BF4 on an ultrabook CPU with integrated HD 5500
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j8azQlnsXk

 

[shadenone]

I considered going with a straight laptop, but I plan on taking my notes on it as well (I've actually been using my Note 5 for that purpose right now), so the tablet functionality is something that I will get a lot of use out of.

I found this one on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-1...p/B014X4UAUI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Since I have Student Prime, it's at the very top of my budget at $599, but it seems like it's worthwhile? I don't know how reliable HP laptops are right now. Is this one even worth considering?

While it's a bit difficult to get to the insides, I'd probably replace the HD that's in there with a larger one eventually and probably upgrade the ram at that time too, but that's all moot if the rest of the laptop is crap. :/

I also found this one, which is much more reasonable as far as my budget goes ($499), but again, I don't know if it's up to my multitasking needs. http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...n-Generation/dp/B015PZ00A4/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
Funnily enough, people who bought it also bought additional ram for it, so that's one upgrade I'd definitely be doing!

 

[crashtech]

If you were my client, I'd want to supply you with something like a used X230 (with SSD) and you could use the rest of your budget to find a tablet to take notes on, etc. Finding something in the form factor you want to do everything you want well is pretty expensive, imo.

 

[shadenone]

Well, this has been up for a couple days now and the consensus seems to be that I'm asking for too much. That's fine, but I could've used a little bit more of an idea of what types of things I should be looking for in a laptop. That way, I could make a more informed decision on what I could sacrifice and what I couldn't. Guess I'm on my own on this one.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to at least keep me from probably purchasing something that I would wind up being dissatisfied with. At least I found out that my request was unreasonable, even if that was all I learned....

 

[Buttercream]

-Snip-

I know this for a fact because I already screwed up about a year ago when I got my last laptop and the PoS is already more useless than an inflatable dartboard.

OP, could you tell me more about your last laptop and why are you not happy with it? Often times a lackluster experience can be trace back to hardware specification, and this will help you avoid making the same choice with your new purchase.

The HP you were looking at before seems like a good choice, and has quite a few things going for it (full HD screen, skylake processor, 8GB of ram, SSD). I can't comment on durability since I don't own one, but it ticks the rest of your boxes. Also, Amazon is offering it quite a bit lower than HP's site when spec-ed similarly.

 

[paperwastage]

That's fine, but I could've used a little bit more of an idea of what types of things I should be looking for in a laptop.

price, quality/durability, weight, features

choose three of the four

crashtech recommends the x230 because it's a known workhorse(powerful, light, durable, will last a while)

you want a hybrid(features) at a cheap price....

either it'll be heavy (you won't hold it up like an iPad taking notes, only on top of a table, which might be disappointing to you), or questions about reliability/quality (using plastic to save weight would make it bulky)

eg: for the HP laptop you linked, someone said

1) slightly thicker and heavier by about 1lb...

 

[Raduque]

Up your budget by a couple hundred and get a Surface 3. Not a Pro3, but the regular Surface 3 128/4, a keyboard and pen. You can get them in a bundle with all 3 for around $700.