Non-apple laptop comparable to a MBP?

[TeamZero]

I'm looking for a non-apple replacement for my MBP. I'd really like it to have a comparable screen density and resolution. High speed SSD and decent CPU/RAM.

Good video performance not required, but is a plus.
~$2k or less would be ideal.
15" form factor gets my preference. 13" is a little small, 17" is acceptable but tends to be large for travel.

The only thing I've seen that meets this criteria is the ASUS Zenbook, is there anything else or anything better?

I am a programmer so I'm kinda picky about keyboards too. Soft/mushy keyboards and I do not get along.

Thanks!

*edit* I don't like windows 8, but I realize it's difficult to avoid. I also don't want t a touchscreen but can live with it if I have to.

 

[parsy]

I would suggesting looking at the dell xps range.

I'm not sure exactly how suitable they are for your requirement, but I would recommend at least looking at them.

 

[Accord99]

XPS15/Precision M3800.

The keyboard isn't as good as the Thinkpad I had before but the QHD+ screen and Visual Studio is a spectacular combination.

 

[Mushkins]

Are you totally set on a laptop? I picked up a Surface Pro 3 i7 with the type cover and it's pretty sweet stuff. Doesn't qualify if you need a discrete GPU though.

 

[Calista]

Are you totally set on a laptop? I picked up a Surface Pro 3 i7 with the type cover and it's pretty sweet stuff. Doesn't qualify if you need a discrete GPU though.

"15" form factor gets my preference. 13" is a little small, 17" is acceptable but tends to be large for travel."

 

[GreenMeters]

"15" form factor gets my preference. 13" is a little small, 17" is acceptable but tends to be large for travel."

I am 100% convinced MS is astroturfing, paying people to shill for the S*rface.

I need a cheap tablet for basic web browsing and sketching. "Get a S*rface!" I want a laptop that'll support moderate gaming, so discrete GPU required. "Get a S*rface!" Looking for a 15-17" laptop. "Get a S*rface!"

It's gotten to the point where I won't be surprised when we start seeing: What's a good upgrade to my Galaxy S Phone. "Get a S*rface!" Looking for a tower server that'll support 20 TB raid for small business file storage. "Get a S*rface!"

 

[InfiniteLurker]

I am 100% convinced MS is astroturfing, paying people to shill for the S*rface.

I need a cheap tablet for basic web browsing and sketching. "Get a S*rface!" I want a laptop that'll support moderate gaming, so discrete GPU required. "Get a S*rface!" Looking for a 15-17" laptop. "Get a S*rface!"

It's gotten to the point where I won't be surprised when we start seeing: What's a good upgrade to my Galaxy S Phone. "Get a S*rface!" Looking for a tower server that'll support 20 TB raid for small business file storage. "Get a S*rface!"

For what it's worth, I'm a full time developer, and I absolutely love my Surface Pro 3.

80%+ of the time, I'm using a large external monitor, keyboard and mouse at home or at the office. For when I need to be on the go, the screen and type cover is more than adequate for me to get the job done, and the form factor/weight is fantastic. It all depends on your use case.

 

[GreenMeters]

^^^ case in point. S*rface already been rejected? Who cares, keep shilling!

OP, do you have experience with "retina" pixel density on Win7/Win8, or more to the point, high DPI on laptop-sized screens? Reviews of those Zenbooks mention that unlike Mac, scaling in Windows (and Linux) isn't quite there yet. You'll have some applications that are fine and some that are a mishmash of scaled and unscaled widgets and text.

Or are you just looking for 1080p instead of the 900p or 720p crap screens on so many Windows laptops?

 

[InfiniteLurker]

Whatever, keep on hatin' if that floats your boat

I didn't see a post where the Surface was rejected, only that 15" was the preference and 13" was on the smaller side of what the poster wanted. Amazing how sometimes hearing additional information can help shape an informed opinion as compared to your zero-help trolling.