$800 laptop

[Mao_Zedong]

One of my friends is shopping for a laptop, and he asked me to help him. His budget is $800 and these are his requirements:

• >$800, no more no matter what.
• 1tb hdd
• 8gb ram
• Ethernet is preferable
• 15.6” (touchscreen is an almost requirement)
• Optical drive is a plus, but not required

 

These are the laptops I have seen that look ok:

 

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GP60-LEOPARD-472-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00N1YPR8C/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1425656297&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop

This one is great, but it doesn't have a touchscreen, which is a major negative point. It has a quad core i7 and a 1080p display which are huge pluses though.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V3-572G-76EM-15-6-Inch-Platinum/dp/B00R45U20W/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

This one seems like it is the best, though I'm not sure if the display is IPS or not. It also has a broadwell i7 which is really nice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Q550LF-BSI7T21-Touchscreen-Nvidia-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00S9ZC8I0/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1425656517&sr=1-3

This one looks amazing, though it is refurbished and there are reports of problems with it.

 

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-5547-laptop/pd

This is what he was looking at first, it seems ok, but not exceptional.

 

I am also open to other suggestions for him, these are just what I have seen. Thanks.

[TheKDub]

I'd go for the MSI.

[Mao_Zedong]

I'd go for the MSI.

The single negative is the lack of a touchscreen, but that is pretty important for him.