Good Laptop Under $700.

[AlanAlan]

I am looking for a new laptop for work I want it be light and thin. I mainly use it for Microsoft office and light photo and video editing. I would prefer it to be bought from best buy so I can check it out before I buy it. 

[TheGlenlivet]

If it's really just office and occasional photo/video then anything with an i5 and an SSD will work for you.  Go to best buy and test drive.  Buy the best one you can afford that you like.

[mpsparrow]

15 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

If it's really just office and occasional photo/video then anything with an i5 and an SSD will work for you.  Go to best buy and test drive.  Buy the best one you can afford that you like.

Best Buy.... falls over

[AlanAlan]

21 minutes ago, mpsparrow said:

Best Buy.... falls over

 

37 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

If it's really just office and occasional photo/video then anything with an i5 and an SSD will work for you.  Go to best buy and test drive.  Buy the best one you can afford that you like.

I was planning on to buy a macbook pro. 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-13-display-intel-core-i5-8-gb-memory-256gb-flash-storage-space-gray/5465700.p?skuId=5465700

 

,but I was hopping that I can find a cheaper windows alternative that can be just as powerful as the macbook for less.

 

How about this one?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavilion-x360-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-gold/5618119.p?skuId=5618119

 

Do you guys have any recommendations?

[genexis_x]

Dell XPS 15 or Lenovo Yoga 720 15 inch, solid performance with quad core CPU

[edit1754]

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Yoga-710-15-i5-6200U/dp/B01H8XXX7I/

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Yoga-15-6-Inch-Convertible-Touchscreen/dp/B01ISOO3S4/
 

Lenovo Yoga 710 15. 256GB SSD and 1920x1080 IPS display with good sRGB coverage.

 

Currently less cheap in Best Buy, but they should still have a floor model you can try out before buying one of these.

 

Edit: If you can find a 14" version that would be a good choice as well for more portability.

[AlanAlan]

On July 17, 2017 at 1:40 PM, edit1754 said:

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Yoga-710-15-i5-6200U/dp/B01H8XXX7I/

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Yoga-15-6-Inch-Convertible-Touchscreen/dp/B01ISOO3S4/
 

Lenovo Yoga 710 15. 256GB SSD and 1920x1080 IPS display with good sRGB coverage.

 

Currently less cheap in Best Buy, but they should still have a floor model you can try out before buying one of these.

 

Edit: If you can find a 14" version that would be a good choice as well for more portability.

Is the ram upgradeable?

[edit1754]

Yes but it seems to only have one slot. From what I gather, it's one slot and no onboard, meaning to upgrade it to 16GB you'd have to replace the whole existing 8GB module with a 16GB.

- https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-Yoga-Series-Notebooks/Yoga-710-15-quot-RAM-Upgrade/td-p/3370497

- http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Lenovo/yoga-710-(15-inch)

 

You may not need to though.

[AlanAlan]

21 hours ago, edit1754 said:

Yes but it seems to only have one slot. From what I gather, it's one slot and no onboard, meaning to upgrade it to 16GB you'd have to replace the whole existing 8GB module with a 16GB.

- https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-Yoga-Series-Notebooks/Yoga-710-15-quot-RAM-Upgrade/td-p/3370497

- http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Lenovo/yoga-710-(15-inch)

 

You may not need to though.

Is a used or refurbished laptop with ram and hard drive upgradability a better choice?

[edit1754]

20 minutes ago, AlanAlan said:

Is a used or refurbished laptop with ram and hard drive upgradability a better choice?

It could be depending on its other things. If you're willing to replace parts you could also go for a cheap one and also DIY replace the screen with one that has 91% sRGB. https://www.amazon.com/AU-OPTRONICS-B156HAN01-2-SUBSTITUTE-REPLACEMENT/product-reviews/B00JMM89NC/

 

Like the Acer E-series models. Swap definitely works on the 1920x1080 models, very likely works on the 1366x768 models (I don't think they skimped on the eDP lanes in the display cable, I saw that more when LVDS was the standard, and LVDS lanes took more wires) but that hasn't been verified yet.