New Laptop, $1000 budget

[NotSoSavvy]

1. What is your budget?
$1000

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6 inch (mainstream)

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Preferably 1600x900 or 1900x1080, no standard resolution please

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Again, mainstream size. It will serve as my main computer but I will be taking it to school to every now and then (maybe twice a week)

5. How much battery life do you need?
3+ hours is fine, more is better (duh!)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I want to be able to do some gaming, but not too intensive. I typically play WoW, League of Legends, Sims 3, and Skyrim. I would love to be able to play BF3 on medium or so but it isn't necessary. A GPU like the Geforce GT650M or higher will be great.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
I'm an engineering major so I will do some modeling designs. I will be using some software programs like SolidWorks SDK, Dreamspark, and possibly AutoCAD.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Preferably 1T HDD

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I don't know much about online sites. I usually go to retail stores like BestBuy, Fry's, Costco, Microcenter, etc.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4+ years (throughout college)

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Not needed, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to have (I know it will add some weight)

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I don't know much about brands, but I've heard good things about HP and Lenovo.
I don't want a Mac due to program limitations.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I need a durable yet powerful laptop that is still somewhat portable. I guess I'm kinda asking for a lot. I want to buy a business class laptop due to the durability and build quality, but all of them come with professional GPUs and I'm not sure if I'll be able to play games at all. At the same time, I'm not sure if a gaming GPU will suffice for my college programs. I know a professional laptop will cost more (over $1000) but is it better for my purposes? I was looking at the Lenovo Y510 but I heard gaming laptops don't last long, even less than normal consumer laptops. Durability/performance is #1 for me.
Lastly the specs I want are:
i7 4th gen 4700MQ (2.4GHz is fine)
8G DDR3 ram
1T HDD
A solid GPU

I know this is a lot and thank you for reading all of this. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Zodiark1593]

I think you're a perfect candidate for that Lenovo Y500. (the one with SLI 750s on the cheap, may be wrong on the name though)

 

[khel]

I think you're a perfect candidate for that Lenovo Y500. (the one with SLI 750s on the cheap, may be wrong on the name though)

I think its y510p for the SLI version and y510 for regular. But yes this is a good choice for less than 1k

 

[raildogg]

I think you're a perfect candidate for that Lenovo Y500. (the one with SLI 750s on the cheap, may be wrong on the name though)

Since he is not a big gamer, why the need for the Y500 or Y510?

There are many choices out there.

If you want durability and something that lasts a long time, check into the Dell Latitudes or Lenovo Thinkpads. Even if you purchase the Dell Latitude from Dell's Business outlet (which would be a good thing), you automatically get a 3 year warranty. I believe it's onsite warranty or you can probably upgrade it to onsite for not so much more.

Try to see if you can get a good deal on a new laptop but also check out Dell's and Lenovo's outlets. Keep in mind that Dell's Latitudes, even through the outlet, come with 3 year warranties while Lenovo's outlet purchases have 1 year.

Dell's new Latitude E6540 comes with an AMD 8790m gpu. Since it's a newly released laptop, it may not be available in great quantities on Dell's outlet. You can check and see from the links below.

Here is a video of it playing games in high quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6tfrCJGq9s

Check out these places if you don't mind buying from an outlet:

http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/?dgc=IR&cid=260728&lid=4691847
outlet.lenovo.com

 

[Hero1711]

^ and Dell Outlet Business is currently having 30% off on Latitude devices:
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/28/...?c=us&l=en&s=dfb&dgc=SM&cid=63952&lid=4942073

Latitude E6530 with NVIDIA NVS 5200M 1GB is likely your best choice here, it can go up to 8 hours on battery.
Review for NVS 5200M http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-NVS-5200M.76732.0.html
Review for Latitude E6530 with Intel Core i5-3360M and NVIDIA NVS 5200M http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Latitude-E6530-Notebook.88073.0.html

Currently on Dell Business Outlet:

Latitude E6530:
[B][U]Scratch & Dent for $1,039.00 ($727.3 after coupon)[/U][/B]
[B][U]Certified Refurbished for $1,099.00 ($769.3 after coupon)[/U][/B]

•Processor: Intel Core 3rd Generation i7-3720QM Processor (2.6GHz, 6M cache, Upgradable to Intel vPro technology) 
•Windows 7 Professional 
•128 GB Dell Mobility Solid State Drive 
•4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz (2 DIMMs) 
•15.6inch HD+ (1600x900) Wide View Anti-Glare WLED-backlit 
•8X DVD +/- RW Drive 
•NVIDIA NVS 5200M (GDDR5 1GB) Discrete Graphic with Optimus

• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 802.11n 2x2 Half Mini Card
• 125V Power Cord  
• 90W AC Adapter
• LCD Cover  
• Modem Cable
• NO INTEL VPRO TECHNOLOGY ADV MGMT FEATURES  
• No Dell ControlVault, No Fingerprint Reader, No Smartcard Reader and No Contactless Smartcard Reader
• Optical Drive Bezel  
• Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32-Bit Operating System DVD
• Internal Modem  
• Light Sensitive Webcam and Noise Cancelling Digital Array Mic
• Microsoft Office 365 - 1 Month Trial (Internet access required to install & activate)  
• Trend Micro 16.6 PC-cillin 30 Day
• 9-cell 3 Year Warranty (87WH) Primary Lithium Ion Battery

There are cheaper ones with the NVS 5200M and i5 too.
They all come with "3 Year Basic Hardware Service with 3 year Mail-in Service", and you can upgrade to "3 Year Basic Support and 3 Year Next Business Day on-site service after remote diagnosis" for $67.32.

 

[NotSoSavvy]

Do you really think I need a workstation though? Would I benefit from it?

 

[raildogg]

Do you really think I need a workstation though? Would I benefit from it?

If you want a sturdy laptop that will last a while, look into those kind of laptops. A Latitude E65xx series is not a real workstation - it's more of a powerful business laptop. If you want a workstation, look into Dell Precision or Lenovo's W Thinkpad series. The Latitude E65xx is well made and has a long warranty though. Same for Lenovo's other Thinkpads.

This is not to say that other laptops won't last long. It all depends on how you take care of your laptops.