Please help me to select laptop from this list for my Education.

[gameplan]

Hi guys, after days of researching and suggestions from friends, I have selected few models but still confused to make a decision because of reviews which varies on pros and cons of laptops!  

 

Hello Everyone, I'm student and I'm looking for Laptop for my animation, 3D modeling and lite rendering purpose (maybe little gaming but not neccssary). My budget anywhere between $900 - 1600$ (US) and I'm looking for lite weight and very portable laptop - Please Help me to choose and I really do appreciate your help, Thanks.

 

Requirement,

Budget $900 - 1600$

Lite weigh Laptop

No 17 inch

Battery 4 hrs+  

 

 

Application I use, 

 

Maya 2014

Zbrush

Photoshop

Nuke and After Effects

Mari 

3ds Max

 

Your suggestions welcome and Thanks in advance 

 

 

Things changed from above is my budget which now i can stretch upto 1800$!

 

Here is list models i have selected based on my needs,

 

1. Dell Precision m3800 - $1750 (Factory Refurbished) 

 

Os: Windows 8.1

CPU: Intel Core i7-4702HQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.20GHz)

Video: NVIDIA Quadro K1100M w/2GB GDDR5 and Intel HD 4600

Hard Drive: 256GB mSATA SSD

2nd HDD: none but can add 

Wireless: Intel 7260 Dual Band Wireless-AC w/ Bluetooth 4.0 

Battery: 6-cell (61Wh) Lithium Ion battery

Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM (2 DIMMs) 

Webcam: HD Webcam with Microphone 

Screen: 15.6 inch LED Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800)

Keyboard: Backlit full size keyboard & Gesture enabled

Weight: 1.88kg

 

 

2. MSI GS60 - $1647.99 (New)

 

Os: Windows 8.1

CPU: Intel Core i7-4702HQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.20GHz)

Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 2GB GDDR5

Hard Drive: 128GB m2SATA SSD + 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive

2nd HDD: none but can be add 

Wireless: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260

Battery: 6-cell 

Memory: 16GB DDR3L 1600MHz System Memory

Webcam: HD Webcam with Microphone 

Screen: 15.6" Full HD eDP Wide View Angle Display (1920x1080; 16:9)

Keyboard: Full Color Programmable Backlit Keyboard by SteelSeries

Weight: 1.97kg

 

 

3. Hp Zbook 14 - $ 1300 (new)

 

Os: Windows 8 Pro

CPU: 1.9 GHz Intel Core i5-4300U Dual Core

Video: AMD FirePro M4100 Graphics (1GB)

Hard Drive: 750GB 7200rpm HDD

2nd HDD: none but can be add (i guess)

Wireless: Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260AN 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2) WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo

Battery: 3-Cell Lithium-Polymer (50Wh)

Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L RAM

Webcam: HD Webcam with Microphone 

Screen: 14" Antiglare LED-Backlit Touchscreen 1600 x 900 Native Resolution

Keyboard: Backlight

Weight: 1.62kg

 

4. Lenovo Y40 - $1149 with student discount!  

 

Os: Windows 8.1

CPU: 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4510U Processor (2.00GHz 1600 MHz 4MB)

Video: AMD Radeon R9 M275 4GB 

Hard Drive: 512GB SSD

Wireless: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 w/ Bluetooth 4.0 

Battery: 4 Cell 48 Watt Hour Lithium-Ion

Memory: 16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz

Webcam: HD Webcam with Microphone 

Screen: 14.0" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)

Keyboard: Backlit

Weight: 2.2kg

 

5. Lenovo Y50 - $1409 with student discount!  

 

Os: Windows 8.1

CPU: 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor (2.50GHz 1600MHz 6MB)

Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 4GB

Hard Drive: 512GB SSD

Wireless: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 w/ Bluetooth 4.0 

Battery: 4 Cell 54 Watt Hour Lithium-Ion

Memory: 16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz

Webcam: HD Webcam with Microphone 

Screen: 15.6" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)

Keyboard: Backlit

Weight: 2.4kg

 

6. Razer blade 14 2013 model - new $1600

OS: Windows 8.1

CPU: Intel Core i7-4702HQ 2.2GHz

Screen: 14"

Memory 8GB DDR3

Hard Disk 512GB SSD

Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M Video Memory 2GB GDDR5

Weight 4.14 lbs.

 

Please help me to select laptop for my needs from above list or your suggestions welcome! 

 

Here is my questions i have, 

1. Is it worth buying manufacturer refurbished laptop with one year same warranty that we get from new laptop?

 

2. I really confused about graphics card, i don't which is good for my 3d animation work? GeForce or AMD firepro or Quadro K1100M? 

 

3. If i'm buying manufacturer refurbished laptop, what should i check and ask before buying?

 

4. If i'm buying manufacturer refurbished laptop, what should i check after receiving? 

 

 

Please help me and I really thank you for your help. 

[mrdhale2]

Just get a 13" macbook air then you get 12hrs battery life ,pcie ssd and very light

[Coombzy]

I pick 1 the others are more suited for gaming not rendering.

[Mao_Zedong]

I pick 1 the others are more suited for gaming not rendering.

@gameplan I agree, it has a high resolution screen, a quadro (I am 95% sure it would perform better), and is super light. If you need mass storage, just add a 1tb hdd.

Question one: personally, yes, you get way better specs for the price that way.

Question two: I think it would be quadro>firepro>GeForce.

Question three: it should be fine, just make sure it has a good warrenty.

Question four: it may be scratched a little, that is normal. I am not sure what you should really do.

[gameplan]

@Coombzy - Thank you! 

 

@Nathaniel- Thanks lot, this helps me lot! 

 

And more question, buying manufacturer refurbished laptop with one year manufacturer warranty from ebay is advisable?