Need a laptop for college, can't decide

[Bubbleawsome]

Hey guys, I'm going off to college in August (Yay!) and I'm choosing a laptop to take with me. I don't need it until early August, but looking at upcoming tech it doesn't look like much new stuff is scheduled before that, much less early enough to make it into laptops, so I figured I'd start narrowing it down.

What I would really love is the unicorn of laptops, cheap, fast, light, and long battery life. Priority lies with lighter than 5lbs though, and a fair battery life. Also under $1,600 for sure.

I'm thinking of the MSI GS43VR Phantom Pro but I'd consider the bigger version of it (GS63VR Stealth Pro) if I could find it discounted, or the older Stealth pro with the 6700HQ instead of the 7700HQ. That's only a 0.3Ghz difference so I might look into that more.

I know there are so many more options out there, but it's honestly kinda overwhelming, as someone who has always been able to choose exactly what they want in their PC, to have to compare all these very similar pre-made ones.

Any of these I can try in-store I will.

 

[NostaSeronx]

My recommends for i7-7700HQ;
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1329565-REG/msi_gp62x_leopard_pro_1045_i7_7700hq.html
4.8 lbs (has NVME SSD)
or
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...h_pro_016_gs63_stealth_i7_7700_gtx1050ti.html
3.96 lbs (has SATA SSD)

1050 ti is good enough for 1080p. 1060 6 GB should target 4K or 1440p.

Then for a joke:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1304855-REG/samsung_np900x3n_k04us_13_3_notebook_9_light.html
i7-7500u w/ only integrated 620.
1.8 lbs. (has NVME SSD)

Another joke:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1328130-REG/lenovo_80xe002aus_12_2_ips_fhd_1920x1200.html
i7-7500u w/ only integrated 620 and single channel?
1.9 lbs. (Is tablet.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Aren't there going to be 10nm CPUs for laptops coming up soon? Not CoffeeLake, but CannonLake? Desktop is getting 14nm++ CoffeeLake, but mobile is getting 10nm CannonLake. At least, I think so.

Might be worth waiting for, if it fits your schedule, for the battery life increase from the lower-powered 10nm process. Then again, supposedly, 10nm isn't going so well, and the Server products are going to be on 10nm+.

Edit: But I do think MSI makes some pretty decent laptops. Had an MSI Core2-era laptop, with NVidia G8200 IGP in the chipset. Ran pretty good. Still have it, don't use it much. It was a little bit bulky.

 

[edcoolio]

All signs point to an Intel release before the end of the year. If you don't start school till August and have $1600 bucks to burn, I would say to keep your powder dry for as long as you can.

Buying is easy. Selling is tough.

Regardless, the prices will only drop. I believe Newegg has what you're looking for. In fact, there are is a couple of open box deals for under your price range, at least for the 6700HQ.

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.newegg.com/Open-Box-Sale/EventSaleStore/ID-184?cm_sp=Homepage-Top2016-_-P4_nepro/17-3201-_-http://promotions.newegg.com/nepro/17-3201/1920x360.jpg&icid=398811&Order=PRICED

ASUS 15.6" 4K/UHD ZenBook Pro UX501VW-DS71T Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 16 GB Memory 512 GB SSD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop
OPEN BOX

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232930R&ignorebbr=1

 

[Valantar]

I'm inclined to think the gaming laptop segment will heat up this fall when Ryzen Mobile and Vega (mobile?) start showing up, in addition to Cannonlake. Hold your horses.