Laptops under $1000

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Azure

After a bit more digging around, I don't think I want the hybrid. The time I would actually use the tablet part of the 'hybrid' is pretty low. I think I would just prefer to good laptop with good battery life, 15" screen, 8GB or more RAM, decent video card and SSD drive. I think I could save a lot of money by not going with the hybrid.

EDIT: I should mention it would be nice if it had windows 7 or 10 pro.

I seriously suggest you consider Badger's Lenovo then. I haven't dealt with him personally, but seem to always see other users with high praise in their dealings with him.

But if not that... I'd suggest Lenovo over basic HP laptops. The XPS line you mentioned too isn't a bad model to consider as well.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Dell XPS are business grade models and perform a bit better than consumer grade lines like Inspiron for instance because they use higher quality parts than the consumer options. The XPS is not a bad option. It's worth considering. As with all electronics, you randomly run into lemons. Dell is pretty good at replacing things though.

CroFlames discussing the HP Elite book is another business grade option along with the Probook. Those aren't bad as well.

Toshiba has the Tecra line.

Lenovo has the X and T series which are my personal favourite.

Usually swapping out the hard drive yourself for an SSD is the cheapest way to go. My personal favourite is the Samsung 840 (250GB) and 850 EVO (500GB) which are great price, reliability and speed.

The keyboard thing isn't a huge deal. There's just some ultraportables being made these days with super cramped keyboard that are flimsy feeling and overly sensitive IMO. Many business grade laptops make sure the keyboard is easy to use over long periods of time. Many commercial grade laptops don't care and give you cramped keyboards with num pads so they can list it as a "bonus" on the spec sheet.

Got the XPS 13 Non-Touch 256 SSD laptop, can't wait to see how it turns out.

You're probably right I might have been able to get a lower price model to swap out with my own SSD but I thought I'd give this one a whirl...will update when I receive to give my thoughts.

Thanks .

[Azure]

How does one know if we can swap the HDD out for a SSD? There are a lot of good deals on laptops out there with standard HDDs and there is not even an option to switch to a SSD.

If the Surface Pro 3 or Surface Pro 4 had a 13 or 14" screen I'd go for it. The 12" seems small.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Azure

How does one know if we can swap the HDD out for a SSD? There are a lot of good deals on laptops out there with standard HDDs and there is not even an option to switch to a SSD.

If the Surface Pro 3 or Surface Pro 4 had a 13 or 14" screen I'd go for it. The 12" seems small.

If it can carry a standard 2.5" laptop hard disk then it will fit a standard SSD. If the manufacturer doesn't have a swap option on their build page that's fine because what I would recommend is leaving the mechanical drive in there for storing big files like movies, etc. and checking if there is an mSATA expansion slot inside the laptop. If so you can get an mSATA SSD which can be just as good but much smaller size and allow you to have dual drives in your laptop.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX56539

The other option is that some laptops have the option to replace the optical drive with an HDD caddy so you can have another mechanical drive in addition to the SSD.

SSDs can be really cheap if you wait for sales or look in clearance. I got a refurbished Crucial MX200 250GB for my parents laptop for $70 at MemEx two weeks ago. I don't know the history of the drive or how many write cycles its gone through but for $70, I can't complain.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Azure

How does one know if we can swap the HDD out for a SSD? There are a lot of good deals on laptops out there with standard HDDs and there is not even an option to switch to a SSD.

If the Surface Pro 3 or Surface Pro 4 had a 13 or 14" screen I'd go for it. The 12" seems small.

Most manufacturers' laptops you can replace the HDD with an SSD yourself without voiding warranty (no stupid stickers locking in the HDD saying "if seal broken warranty void"). If you have to send in your laptop and you're super worried, just put the old mechanical drive back in.

Doing this takes perhaps about 40 minutes the first time, then 20 to 10 minutes in later times. Doing this is like doing an oil change yourself. Takes a bit of time to figure out at first and you perhaps worry you'll mess up, but after the first few times, you don't really care to overpay for someone to do it for you.

I did some quick digging and I'm not sure if all the models have it, but it looks like some of the new Dell XPS are all pure mSATA options that Hack&Lube mentioned. These are smaller than "regular" SSD. However, if a laptop comes with a regular HDD, you can swap in a regular 2.5" SSD no problem.

[Azure]

What about this one?

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX60599

Windows 7 Pro is nice as well since I'll need it anyways. No SSD, but I will probably buy one and add it. For now it has at least a 7200RPM HDD. Also 6th gen i7, and a decent graphics card. I can also add up to 16GB RAM, as it has 8GB now.

The ThinkPad is a good name correct in terms of build quality? The other thing I like is there is a Memory Express store in Winnipeg that I can physically return it if I have warranty issues which is super nice.

I don't need much HDD space at all, so thinking of buying this SSD to put in from the start.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55511

Can it be added, or is it just a replacement from the original HDD?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Azure

What about this one?

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX60599

Windows 7 Pro is nice as well since I'll need it anyways. No SSD, but I will probably buy one and add it. For now it has at least a 7200RPM HDD. Also 6th gen i7, and a decent graphics card. I can also add up to 16GB RAM, as it has 8GB now.

The ThinkPad is a good name correct in terms of build quality? The other thing I like is there is a Memory Express store in Winnipeg that I can physically return it if I have warranty issues which is super nice.

I don't need much HDD space at all, so thinking of buying this SSD to put in from the start.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55511

Can it be added, or is it just a replacement from the original HDD?

I think it looks like a pretty good option. Lenovo is usually good, consumer or business. I haven't used that specific line though so I can't say from experience.

Usually, dual hard drive laptops are 17". I wouldn't hold my breath on having both the HDD and SSD together.

However, you may be able to expand the storage slightly by buying a decent sized SD card for cheap to leave nearly permanently in the SD card slot if storage is an issue and you don't want to have USB drives sticking out of your laptop all the time.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Azure

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55511

Can it be added, or is it just a replacement from the original HDD?

Had a quick Google and only see one hard drive bay and don't see an mSATA slot. I may be wrong though.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I think it looks like a pretty good option. Lenovo is usually good, consumer or business. I haven't used that specific line though so I can't say from experience.

Usually, dual hard drive laptops are 17". I wouldn't hold my breath on having both the HDD and SSD together.

However, you may be able to expand the storage slightly by buying a decent sized SD card for cheap to leave nearly permanently in the SD card slot if storage is an issue and you don't want to have USB drives sticking out of your laptop all the time.

I purchased the e560 this morning and bought a 250GB Samsung evo SSD along with it. I think that is enough space for me.

I like the 6th gen processor and added video card. Looks like a pretty good deal.

[Vulcan]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but you can get CD adapter for another HD.

http://www.amazon.com/Protronix-Opti.../dp/B004XIU4T2

[Traditional_Ale]

Here's a dilemma I'm having:

The only video game I play is FIFA, and until my laptop conked out I'd been happily playing with a wired Xbox controller.

Does it make more sense for me to invest in a new laptop for $800-$1000 when I'm not really missing having the old one, other than for FIFA, or buy the XBOX One for $400 or whatever it is, to play one single game?

*The laptop would need to be in the $800-$1000 range because I need it to have enough power for audio/recording applications. My primary studio machines are desktops, obviously, but it would be nice to have some mobile solutions for audio work.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Here's a dilemma I'm having:

The only video game I play is FIFA, and until my laptop conked out I'd been happily playing with a wired Xbox controller.

Does it make more sense for me to invest in a new laptop for $800-$1000 when I'm not really missing having the old one, other than for FIFA, or buy the XBOX One for $400 or whatever it is, to play one single game?

*The laptop would need to be in the $800-$1000 range because I need it to have enough power for audio/recording applications. My primary studio machines are desktops, obviously, but it would be nice to have some mobile solutions for audio work.

Why not play FIFA on your studio desktops?

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Why not play FIFA on your studio desktops?

They're both still running on XP.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Here's a dilemma I'm having:

The only video game I play is FIFA, and until my laptop conked out I'd been happily playing with a wired Xbox controller.

Does it make more sense for me to invest in a new laptop for $800-$1000 when I'm not really missing having the old one, other than for FIFA, or buy the XBOX One for $400 or whatever it is, to play one single game?

*The laptop would need to be in the $800-$1000 range because I need it to have enough power for audio/recording applications. My primary studio machines are desktops, obviously, but it would be nice to have some mobile solutions for audio work.

XBOX, not portable.

Laptop, portable + can hook up to TV + other applications other than just FIFA. 2x the price.

Assuming games for you are somewhat equal, in some senses, you're paying just paying whatever is over the cost of the XBOX for additional functionality and the ability for portable audio work.

I'd personally go laptop but I'm unsure if it'd fit your usage habits and budget.

[Aleks]

I ended up with an HP ENVY from Costco the other day. It was on sale for $80 off, so for $820 its a 14" (which I think is the perfect size, I came from a 13.3 9 year old macbook). Specs are decent as well I think for the price point. Build is actually really nice, aluminum top and lid, very mac like keyboard (square chiclet style keys, slightly longer throw, but identical layout and backlit)

6th generation i5-6200 processor @2.3 (but apparently can clock to 2.8?), 12gb RAM, 1tb HDD, 1080p screen, Bang & Olufsen sound (for the most part underwhelming in terms of volume, very good range), SD card reader, USB 3.0 ports, no optical drive.

It really has the look and feel of a macbook, which I really like. Windows 10 isn't bad, I'm coming from an entire OSX ecosystem (2 macbooks and an iMac) that is aging and I didn't want to replace. I like how the mac's run like day 1 all the time, regardless of whats on them, and I'm wary of how Windows still handles uninstalls and programs but I think its been great so far. I like the biometric scanner for swipe scanning into websites and into the computer.

Overall very happy with the laptop as it is. I see its $899 now though. I really only use it for some mild word processing, some moderate to light photo post processing using rawTherapee and Gimp. Would recommend this laptop to anyone based on quality feel and overall performance.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Aleks

I ended up with an HP ENVY from Costco the other day. It was on sale for $80 off, so for $820 its a 14" (which I think is the perfect size, I came from a 13.3 9 year old macbook). Specs are decent as well I think for the price point. Build is actually really nice, aluminum top and lid, very mac like keyboard (square chiclet style keys, slightly longer throw, but identical layout and backlit)

6th generation i5-6200 processor @2.3 (but apparently can clock to 2.8?), 12gb RAM, 1tb HDD, 1080p screen, Bang & Olufsen sound (for the most part underwhelming in terms of volume, very good range), SD card reader, USB 3.0 ports, no optical drive.

It really has the look and feel of a macbook, which I really like. Windows 10 isn't bad, I'm coming from an entire OSX ecosystem (2 macbooks and an iMac) that is aging and I didn't want to replace. I like how the mac's run like day 1 all the time, regardless of whats on them, and I'm wary of how Windows still handles uninstalls and programs but I think its been great so far. I like the biometric scanner for swipe scanning into websites and into the computer.

Overall very happy with the laptop as it is. I see its $899 now though. I really only use it for some mild word processing, some moderate to light photo post processing using rawTherapee and Gimp. Would recommend this laptop to anyone based on quality feel and overall performance.

I have an Envy 17". I like it, but some friends who borrow my laptop think the keys are too flimsy. They keys have held up to a lot of typing so far in the 2 ish years or so I've owned it.

After about 1.5 years of use, an internal clip or hinge on the plastic part that meets the aluminum part broke. It didn't come apart or anything. Just makes a clicky sound when pressure is put on the laptop (ie: Typing) It didn't more than a small drop of crazy glue to fix.

Are you sure it's B&O speakers on the Envy now? Mine are Beats speakers.

[Azure]

So I went with the Lenovo E560. Initial reviews are good.

Waiting for my SSD to show up so I can swap it.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Azure

So I went with the Lenovo E560. Initial reviews are good.

Waiting for my SSD to show up so I can swap it.

Do you plan to install Windows from scratch or clone the drive? There's quite a few extra steps to clone to SSD and set Windows for optimal SSD performance that won't damage the flash from excessive writes.

[Azure]

I am planning on cloning it actually as I don't want to have to reinstall everything.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

Got the XPS 13 Non-Touch 256 SSD laptop, can't wait to see how it turns out.

You're probably right I might have been able to get a lower price model to swap out with my own SSD but I thought I'd give this one a whirl...will update when I receive to give my thoughts.

Thanks .

So looking for some advice:

I got my XPS 13 and so far it's great, however I need some help/advice on what to do for my connection outputs.

I have 2 USB and 1 Thunderbolt 3.0 outputs on the laptop.

1. Preferably I'd like to have 2 USB connections for my wireless mouse/keyboard and another that I use interchangeably for other devices.

2. Then I'd like to connect a VGA and HDMI monitor to have a triple monitor set-up (laptop and 2 external monitors).

I purchased this from Monoprice to help with the second point USB 3.0 MultiPort Adapter with DVI, HDMI and GigaBit Ethernet but I must have misread the info because all it does is it allows me to extend my laptop to one monitor which then duplicates onto both external monitors vs. extending for a triple monitor set-up.

Any help on both points above that doesn't break the bank either would be really helpful, thanks!