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Question

Suggest a Laptop for Me

May 1, 2015 1:23AM PDT

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Country of purchase: USA
Budget range: Under 1500 after 3(preferably 4) year warranty+service
Purpose: Student use, Computer Science Minor
Screen size preference: none, though if those of you who have done the whole college thing disagree here, please let me know. I'm not exactly well-built (120 lbs), so hauling a 17 in. may not be as easy as I'm thinking.
OS preference (Windows/Mac/Linux): Windows (any version) with enough HDD space for dual-boot to be convenient.
Gaming requirements (example games and desired fps/settings): I probably won't have time to do much gaming, but FSX being runnable at above 5-FPS at minimum setting would be nice, but I think that's most laptops of today.
Other performance requirements (video editing, CAD, etc.): Computer Science department says I need 16GB of RAM. I have a hard time believing that, but my sister (graduated through same program) said she ran into problems with 8, so I'd rather play it safe.
Brand preferences and reasons (already owned accessories, familiarity, business compatibility): Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba. 16% discount at all of the above. Other brands are great if they still meet the price requirement though.
Any particular style that you like (examples are great): Fashion doesn't particularly matter to me, though a metal (or faux-metal) case would be much appreciated over the plastic-shelled laptops I've owned in the past.
Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one, two, or balanced)
Long battery life -vs- Low weight -vs- High performance: Battery Life
Build quality -vs- Low price -vs- High performance: High Performance
Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: High Performance
Which features would you pay a premium for?
High resolution screen: Would be nice, not really necessary. Don't need 4k for anything.
A great keyboard: Numberpad would be nice, not necessary.
A great touchpad/mouse buttons: I plan on packing a mouse for my dorm, as long as touchpad is usable, I'll be fine.
Great audio: Headphone user, don't care.
List any features that are critical:16 GB of RAM, 512 GB HDD, 3-4-Year warranty+service must be available.

If you scanned the above form, I'll point out again that the budget constraint is after the warranty and the 16% discount at the listed brands. Many thanks for reading this whole thing and I look forward to the replies! I've failed to get any response that actually gives me a hint that this was read in the three other places I've posted this, so maybe this one will be the charm.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Frankly? I've yet to find any great touchpad.
May 1, 2015 1:29AM PDT

The Apple ones came close but I was back to using a mouse in minutes.

Your comment about battery life is concerning. Even today these batteries peter out if a person runs on battery daily, charges at night in about a year. No Warranty I know covers the battery past the first year. Sort of like tires on a car.

The second area of the battery is that long run times crater when we run intensive apps. On average it's a 6 to 1 drop. That is, a 6 hour battery time is easy to find but that's for surfing and such. Do something intensive like a video game and it may fail to get 1 hour.
Bob

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PS. The office supplied this one.
May 1, 2015 1:39AM PDT

Lenovo y510p with 16GB RAM, 1080 screen, dual sli video (I disabled one to cut power, heat and fan noise, still great!).

If I had to replace it, I'd get the office to cough up one of the y50 models or maybe the Dell XPS.
Bob