Quad-core CPU Laptop for $1000

[I-Baton]

I'm looking for a Quad-core (i5 or i7) laptop for around $1000 USD, it must have an optical drive (that can read blue ray, DVD's and CD's), have a greater than 16" Full HD screen with dedicated graphics and a 1TB HDD and 8GB-16GB or RAM.

This is for a multipurpose Machine including audio production, minimal gaming (Not running crisis or anything, just things like KSP, CIV5 etc.) and I'm also doing Engineering So I'll be running CAD programmes on it. I realise a desktop would be better with a daily driver laptop, but it is a lot less convenient and I wouldn't get the use out of a desktop. 

Any suggestions would be lovely. 

[ShadySocks]

I don't think you need dedicated graphics. Kaby Lake's integrated graphics is pretty capable.

[The Sloth]

dell Inspiron with a 1050 ti  

[Mark77]

Find a Dell Latitude E6440 on eBay (will have your required optical drive).  Throw out the CPU it comes with and buy an i7-4600M/i7-4610M and retrofit accordingly.  You'll probably have to upgrade the PSU to the 90W or 120W model as well.

 

Should get you into a true quad core for less than $700 all-in with your specs.  You might need to order a RAM upgrade as well. 

 

 

[Mark77]

Oh sorry, didn't see your big screen requirement.  An E6540 is 15.6" and you could do all the same. 

[I-Baton]

I want the dedicated graphics because I'm doing Engineering and will be running some CAD programmes on it. (forgot to mention that in the question)

How would a Duel Core with 4 logical cores compare to a Physical Quad Core processor? I.e, The i5 7200U vs i5-6300HQ 

[GDRRiley]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834154492 everything you want 

[The Sloth]

5 minutes ago, I-Baton said:

I want the dedicated graphics because I'm doing Engineering and will be running some CAD programmes on it. (forgot to mention that in the question)

How would a Duel Core with 4 logical cores compare to a Physical Quad Core processor? I.e, The i5 7200U vs i5-6300HQ 

2

mech engineer here, if you want something minimum get a thinkpad with 940mx gfx, AutoCAD and other programs like this uses cuda acceleration. a dell Inspiron with a 1050ti will be good. 

[The Sloth]

5 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834154492 everything you want 

you know he has to carry that right? 

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

you know he has to carry that right? 

yeah 6lbs isn't bad. 

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, GDRRiley said:

yeah 6lbs isn't bad. 

yes it is, my friend Alienware 15 inch lasted him a week in uni before he returned it. it depends on the person but a small light ultrabook is the way to go. engineering programs dont need that much horsepower a 940mx can handle everything gpu accelerated. 

[I-Baton]

15 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

you know he has to carry that right? 

I currently have a reasonably heavy HP Pavilion as my daily driver that's 6lb's (Although I live in Australia, so I had to google what on earth 6lb's is) So that's no problem. 

I love the larger screen, although the battery life isn't fantastic I use it for media consumption, and anything smaller would suck. 

[The Sloth]

2 minutes ago, I-Baton said:

I currently have a reasonably heavy HP Pavilion as my daily driver that's 6lb's (Although I live in Australia, so I had to google what on earth 6lb's is) So that's no problem. 

I love the larger screen, although the battery life isn't fantastic I use it for media consumption, and anything smaller would suck. 

 

the Inspiron is 15 inch, remember that you have to walk to class and walk to your friends house during group projects. 

[I-Baton]

Anybody have opinions of external optical drives? That would sort out a lot of difficulties I'm having finding Laptops that meet my needs. 

Do their speeds suffer compared to an inbuilt optical drives, if so, then how much? 

 

[edit1754]

A Quad i5/i7 and GTX 1050 Ti can be a nice combo, however I would steer clear of the Dell Inspiron 7567 due to poor display quality. I think you'll find the difference between a good quality display and a not-so-good one to be one of the most noticeable things. Performance related specs have increased steadily over the years, however display quality is still a sticking point in a number of laptops, and the Inspiron 7567 is one of them.

 

The GTX 1050 Ti equipped laptop I usually recommend is the Eluktronics N850HK1 (a Clevo). Similar performance specs, but a significantly better quality display. No optical drive, but it leaves that out in order to give you a bigger battery and more ports. You can get an external. EDIT: Model I linked as the $899 1080p+1TB model which is sold out. Currently redirects to the 4K model, which uses a PenTile not-true-4K display. I would recommend waiting until the 1080p+1TB model comes back in stock.

 

However I'm uncertain of the need for a GTX 1050 Ti in this case. You may very well be able to get by with a Lenovo Ideapad 700.  A Thinkpad P50 could be a nice too, for that Thinkpad durability.

 

The Inspiron 7567's display, compared to a good display. The viewing angles are poor, but that isn't the main issue. Its main issue its inability to produce dark colors, and the resulting poor contrast causing a 'washed out' look. This isn't because it's TN, but because it's a particular low quality type of TN.

[TheDankKoosh]

13 hours ago, edit1754 said:

A Quad i5/i7 and GTX 1050 Ti can be a nice combo, however I would steer clear of the Dell Inspiron 7567 due to poor display quality. I think you'll find the difference between a good quality display and a not-so-good one to be one of the most noticeable things. Performance related specs have increased steadily over the years, however display quality is still a sticking point in a number of laptops, and the Inspiron 7567 is one of them.

 

The GTX 1050 Ti equipped laptop I usually recommend is the Eluktronics N850HK1 (a Clevo). Similar performance specs, but a significantly better quality display. No optical drive, but it leaves that out in order to give you a bigger battery and more ports. You can get an external.

 

However I'm uncertain of the need for a GTX 1050 Ti in this case. You may very well be able to get by with a Lenovo Ideapad 700.  A Thinkpad P50 could be a nice too, for that Thinkpad durability.

 

The Inspiron 7567's display, compared to a good display. The viewing angles are poor, but that isn't the main issue. Its main issue its inability to produce dark colors, and the resulting poor contrast causing a 'washed out' look. This isn't because it's TN, but because it's a particular low quality type of TN.

I don't know why you want people to steer clear of these when a $40 dollar LG panel off of ebay and 5 minutes of your time can be spent putting in a decent ips screen.

[TheDankKoosh]

23 hours ago, I-Baton said:

I'm looking for a Quad-core (i5 or i7) laptop for around $1000 USD, it must have an optical drive (that can read blue ray, DVD's and CD's), have a greater than 16" Full HD screen with dedicated graphics and a 1TB HDD and 8GB-16GB or RAM.

This is for a multipurpose Machine including audio production, minimal gaming (Not running crisis or anything, just things like KSP, CIV5 etc.) and I'm also doing Engineering So I'll be running CAD programmes on it. I realise a desktop would be better with a daily driver laptop, but it is a lot less convenient and I wouldn't get the use out of a desktop. 

Any suggestions would be lovely. 

Grab this and do these 2 things http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop/fncwf514s

1. Source a decent 7200 rpm hdd for it.

2. Switch out the terrible panel for something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-PHILIPS-LP156WF4-SPJ1-15-6-LED-DISPLAY-PANEL-eDP-/121888953585?hash=item1c6125d4f1:g:5n4AAOSwA3dYgolr

This will still total under 1k and give you the best laptop for the money.

[edit1754]

If you plan to do that then yes I would recommend it. Might start suggesting that in my posts, actually, to those willing to do it.

 

Also looks like that listing ships a "compatible" non-IPS screen, but finding a cheap IPS screen shouldn't be an issue.

[Galm]

1 hour ago, edit1754 said:

If you plan to do that then yes I would recommend it. Might start suggesting that in my posts, actually, to those willing to do it.

 

Also looks like that listing ships a "compatible" non-IPS screen, but finding a cheap IPS screen shouldn't be an issue.

I think like a Power User field would be nice in the forms people fill out.  So we know from the get go if they are willing to mess with the machine.  That would actually help a lot on like Alienware recommendations where the machine has potential but needs work.