Need help deciding between various ultrabooks.

[CarterBeals]

TL;DR at bottom for those that don't like reading walls of text.

 

As I enter my senior year of high school, I've been considering what kinds of things I feel that I need to do to prepare for college, and one of the things on that list is acquire a laptop. I'm the type of person that heavily researches things before I purchase them, and in this case, that tendency is coming back to bite me, as all my research has made me incredibly indecisive.

So first, let me explain exactly what it is I'm looking for. I intend to be using my laptop for school, work, and leisure. I'm at the point now where I can type faster than I can write, so I'm going to be doing a lot of note taking for school. Additionally, I dabble in music and video production, so I need something that has a decent GPU and processor. Lastly, I don't intend to be doing any intense gaming on this, I'd rather build a desktop system for that. However, I do like to play some lighter games every once in awhile, things like Starcraft, Modded Minecraft, World of Tanks, etc.  

 

So in a list, this would be some of the specific things I would want. 

 

-16 GB of RAM for audio production and video editing, as well as light gaming.
-Solid processor for same reasons listed above, preferably i7.
-Lightweight and portable 
-Good keyboard for typing all day for classes
-Decent battery life for if I am on the move and can't be by an outlet 
-Dedicated graphics card would be nice, although I'm not opposed to integrated if it's the best option. 
-Large enough screen to be comfortable looking at for extended periods of time.
-Resolution doesn't matter to me. 4K is nice, but 1080p has longer battery life.
-Ideal budget between $1,000 and $1,500 USD
-While not a deal breaker, I like my technology to be sexy and look nice as well.

 

Lastly, I really like the idea of a 2-in-1. While it may not be useful all of the time, I could see having the option to work in tablet mode come in really handy in some situations. And no, I'm not interested in the Surface. 

With all things above considered, I've narrowed my choices down to a few options, and all have good and bad things about them. I will list each one, and say what I feel appeals to me and dissuades me from each particular ultrabook.  

 

Option 1) Lenovo Yoga 900(16GB RAM i7 512 GB SSD) ($1400)
Pros: 
-Best specs for money
-Hinge is sturdy

Cons: 
-In reading reviews, I've heard people mention that the build quality of the Yoga is average at best, with lots of plastic. I've also heard mixed reviews of the keyboard. 

 

Option 2) HP Spectre x360 (16GB RAM i7 512 GB SSD) ($1500)
Pros: 
-Premium feel with Ash Silver/Copper accents
-Reviews speak highly of build quality and keyboard
-Large trackpad
-Most aesthetically attractive, in my opinion, of all options.

Cons: 
-There has been talk of heat management being an issue, that the keyboard can get uncomfortably warm. 
-Also $100 more than Yoga for same specs

 

Option 3) Dell XPS 15 (8 GB RAM i7 256 GB SSD) ($1500)
Pros: 
-Highly acclaimed in reviews. 
-Large 15" display
-Expandable memory, both RAM (Up to 32 GB) and SSD
-Dedicated graphics card (GTX 960M)

Cons: 
-Expensive. $1500 for base i7 model, with only 8 GB of RAM and 256 SSD. Model with same specs as Yoga and Spectre (16GB RAM 512 SSD) costs $1830. I could buy the parts separately and add them myself when I got the laptop, as both memory types are expandable, but at a base price with an i7 of $1500, it's already at the upper end of my preferred budget. 
-Not an 2-in-1

 

Option 4) Razer Blade Stealth (8GB RAM i7 256 GB SSD QHD Display ) ($1200)
Pros: 
-Solid construction and build quality
-RGB Keyboard (I'm a sucker for LEDs)
-Least expensive of all presented options

Cons: 
-Smaller 12.5 inch screen
-Limited to 8GB RAM
-Also not a 2-in-1 

 

TL;DR

 

Each of these options appeals to me in it's own way, which is what makes this decision so difficult for me. 

The Yoga gives me the specs I want, as well as being a 2-in-1, for the cheapest price, but has what some have called sub-par build quality.

The Spectre, while slightly more expensive, has a solid build quality and beautiful aesthetic, but possible heat problems. 

The XPS 15 looks good, and having a bigger screen and a dedicated graphics card would be awesome, but it comes at a much steeper price.

The Razer Stealth leaves me room in my budget to buy some peripherals in the same purchase, but has a smaller screen and less RAM.

 

So after that essay, I'm open to any and all opinions and suggestions. What would you buy if you were in my situation? Are there other options that I haven't considered or researched yet? Thanks for reading and responding.   
 

[unleashedtails]

Just heads up with Lenovo, it will likely have defects appearing at around the 1 year mark, and issues surfacing nearing the 2 year mark. I know from personal experience with the Y50-70 (non 4k), that now has 2 screws lost and 2 small cracks at the bottom after 20 months (used as a primary device for gaming and photoshop). The performance has not faltered though, the only issues being drivers from nVidia. I also had a y510p, which is full of small defects but somehow still maintaining its performance.

[unleashedtails]

Personally, I am waiting for the surface pro 5. I would recommend the razer for you though, it can pair with the core for the extra horse power you needed. I'm going to presume you have seen LTT's video on it, so here's someone else's thoughts:

 

[unleashedtails]

2 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

If I wanted an ultrabook, this is how I would buy;

 

Form factor: Thin and light

Screen: IPS 1080p, hopefully thin bezels. Who needs more on such a puny device?

Processor: Latest gen for better iGPU and power savings

Memory: Upgradeable 8GB RAM and SSD

Discrete GPU: Sod off, leave my battery alone. I game only on my PC

Convertable: Don't care. Its Windows. I need a keyboard.

 

Maximum mobility and longevity. Ultrabook.

But video editing is pretty horrendous with iGPU, I have tried. While I agree with having a built tower for games and such, the blade stealth is great for people who don't want an entire different machine to use.

[unleashedtails]

2 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

I doubt he'd want to carry around a loaded Razer Core

And then the price of the Core and GPU...

 

It'd be nice if the ultrabook could also give me a blowjob

Well, let him decide.

[CarterBeals]

18 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

I doubt he'd want to carry around a loaded Razer Core

And then the price of the Core and GPU...

 

It'd be nice if the ultrabook could also give me a blowjob

Yea you hit the nail on the head here. My main priority is portability, with power at a close second. I wouldn't want to carry around a Core all day. And for $600, that could take a nice chunk out of a new desktop system. I'm more concerned about the performance of the Blade Stealth WITHOUT the Core, and how it compares to the other options. 

[Pendragon]

The Dell XPS15 you listed is more powerful than anything else you listed, because everything else has a dual-core i7. So when you say if you match the specs of all the other things to the XPS15, it's not exactly accurate because the 15 is alot more powerful. The XPS15 has a quad core. There's really only two ways to go here, budget gaming laptop or the XPS15 line. 

 

1) The dual-cores i7's (everything but the XPS15) you've listed are all going to chug through audio and video production

2) None of them have a dGPU so even if you have a GPU accelerated codac, it won't be any use and encoding will take actually forever

 

If your main purpose is audio and video production on the fly, you'll need that quadcore and a dGPU. All your other suggestions while decent ultrabooks will be killed by your needs. There is actually no way to edit video on Windows decently without a dGPU.

 

1) XPS15

- Great build quality with 960m

- Most expensive out of the bunch

- Looks sexy

- Your paying tons for the build and look of the machine

 

2) Y700

- Has a slight gamery look, but if you turn off the red backlighting, it's decent looking

- Best value of the bunch has the exact same specs as the XPS15, but doesn't look as good or built as "sexy"

 

3) Macbook Pro 13

- Better audio and video editor than any windows machine due to how OSX works. If you don't mind using Macs, they will give you unparralleed video and audio editing compared to anything else on their proprietary software (Final Cut Pro etc.)

- Best battery life

- Best build quality

- Best support

 

tl;dr

Dell XPS15 for the looks and windows $1500ish

Lenovo Y700 for the value and windows $1000ish

Macbook Pro is actually the best here, but only on the condition that your workflow allows for OSX. It's below 1500 depending what spec you get.

[Dackzy]

Aww FFS I think we have been over the shitty Razer blades way too often now. I cannot say a single good thing about it because it is so crap that it belongs in the trash.

 

- Thermal throttles, yep they got a 15w CPU to thermal throttle.

- Build "quality", they use nice materiales, but a 4 year old can put them nicer together.

- Quality control, they have none so you might get one that is okay, but you might also get one that is broken from the start.

- Keyboard, what you should get on a 600$ laptop not 2000$ laptop.

- Support, their support should get fired and should never be allowed to work as support again, they are that bad.