Buying Guide for Laptops

[kungpaogao]

LAST UPDATE: 1/5/2015

As you guys all know, a lot of people request what kind of laptop to purchase in this "Mobile Devices" category. So, I thought it would be a good idea to make an one-stop location to find what laptops to buy. I am hoping that this post will be very helpful down the road!

Naturally, I don't know all the good laptops, and I am not an expert, so please help me by suggesting laptops that go under each category. I plan to organize this by screen size, then purpose, then price, and then other specifics. I also need help to decide what the most effective organization method is.

Let's get this started!

*Links and prices are US, I'll prob add others when I find the time/need to

*All “prices” are those that are listed on the OEM’s websites [or Amazon, if the OEM doesn't provide it] and may not be the cheapest

SCREEN SIZE

Purpose

Alienware 13 - 999 USD [Dell][Amazon]

Aorus X3 - ??? USD [Aorus][Amazon]

MacBook Pro 13” - 1299 USD [Apple][Amazon]

 

MacBook Air - 899 USD [Apple][Amazon]

Purpose

Lenovo Y40 - 669 USD [Lenovo][Amazon]

Razer Blade - 1949 USD [Razer][Amazon]

Aorus X3 Plus - ??? USD [Aorus][Amazon]

 

 

 

Purpose

Lenovo Y50 - 949 USD [Lenovo][Amazon]

 

MacBook Pro 15” - 1999 USD [Apple][Amazon]

 

Purpose

Asus ROG G751 - 1499 USD [Asus][Amazon]

Lenovo Y70 Touch - 1199 USD [Lenovo][Amazon]

 

 

 

[Clyne]

At least don't put a HP Pavilion because those suffer from overheating because lack of cooling.

[kungpaogao]

At least don't put a HP Pavilion because those suffer from overheating because lack of cooling.

Alright, I'll make sure to keep that in mind!

[EpicAdom]

Alienware 13 for 13 inch gaming, Razer Blade for 14 inch gaming, and Lenovo Y50 for 15 inch gaming

[kungpaogao]

Alienware 13 for 13 inch gaming, Razer Blade for 14 inch gaming, and Lenovo Y50 for 15 inch gaming

Thanks for the suggestions, added them in

[Guest]

MacBook Air for School/General Media in 13" and under.

 

MacBook Pro 15 for School/General Media/Productivity in the 15" category.

 

I feel like the 13" MacBook Pro can be left out for various reasons. Most of which that it lacks the power and isn't large enough to really be good for productivity even with scaling and is more expensive than the Air. All of them have excellent battery life, however. The 15 is anemic in the GPU department for gaming but they're equipped rather well in the CPU and ram department. SSDs all standard as well. Both are super thin and light weight. 

[Techteen14]

MacBook Air for School/General Media in 13" and under.

 

MacBook Pro 15 for School/General Media/Productivity in the 15" category.

 

I feel like the 13" MacBook Pro can be left out for various reasons. Most of which that it lacks the power and isn't large enough to really be good for productivity even with scaling and is more expensive than the Air. All of them have excellent battery life, however. The 15 is anemic in the GPU department for gaming but they're equipped rather well in the CPU and ram department. SSDs all standard as well. Both are super thin and light weight.

But the 13" Pro has a MUCH better screen and 65% more powerful CPU for less than $100 than a comparable Air.

[F0xX]

13" gaming aorus x3 14" gaming aorus x3 plus

[kungpaogao]

MacBook Air for School/General Media in 13" and under.

 

MacBook Pro 15 for School/General Media/Productivity in the 15" category.

 

I feel like the 13" MacBook Pro can be left out for various reasons. Most of which that it lacks the power and isn't large enough to really be good for productivity even with scaling and is more expensive than the Air. All of them have excellent battery life, however. The 15 is anemic in the GPU department for gaming but they're equipped rather well in the CPU and ram department. SSDs all standard as well. Both are super thin and light weight. 

But the 13" Pro has a MUCH better screen and 65% more powerful CPU for less than $100 than a comparable Air.

To kind of satisfy both arguments, I'm putting the 13" Pro under "General Media Consumption" mainly due to its screen. I will also include the MBA, except it will be under "School/Travel" because, IMO, it's most applicable there.

[kungpaogao]

I'm back! Please continue to suggest some laptops

[CostcoSamples]

I just picked up an Asus ROG G751 17".  It is an outstanding product!  GTX 970m, i7-4710, 1080p IPS display (75hz), 16 GB RAM, 2TB HDD, BD-ROM,  fantastic cooling and runs quiet under load.  Can be found on sale as low as $1500 USD.  It's also available with GTX 980m, 512GB ssd etc.  lots of upgrades available if you want to pay $2000.

 

Highly recommended!