College Ultra-book Recommendations.

[Windows2000]

So my budget is anywhere between $500-$1000 USD (I live in SoCal), and I'm looking for a laptop that is light with decent build quality (The cheaper the better!). This will mostly be for note-taking and productivity related tasks, with some light audio production, Photoshop, and some light league. Now, I realized that laptops have diminished in price and you get more bang for the buck these days. Just 3 years ago, I remember an i5 laptop with a tiny SSD costing $1000+. Man the times have changed. /shrug
 

Specs I want goes something like this

1. i5 -Kaby/Skylake (Heard the difference is minimal but Kaby is preferred)
2. 256GB SSD or a HDD+SDD combo
3. 8-12GB of RAM
4. Decent Display, preferably with IPS. 13-15"
5. Graphics Cards are optional. iGPUs should be enough to handle league at 1080p.

Laptops like the Zenbook or the Insprions with decent specs (Gaming edition) caught my eye recently, but not too sure what would give me the most bang for the buck.

Preferred vendors are Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon. 

 

Thanks guys

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-gray/5606400.p?skuId=5606400
This looks great specs/price wise, but the design looks tacky.

EDIT: No Surfaces please. They are too expensive for what they offer. 

[Bazilias]

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Intel-Core/dp/B01606IDL0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1501567671&sr=8-6&keywords=microsoft+surface+pro+4
Asus Zenbook 3: https://www.amazon.com/UX330UA-AH5Q-13-3-inch-Ultra-Slim-Processor-Fingerprint/dp/B06XSZC11D/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501567621&sr=1-3&keywords=asus+zenbook+ux330ua

[LienusLateTips]

This isn't thin and light, but it's good for gaming:

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-Gaming-GeForce-VX5-591G-75RM/dp/B01N12YZ7B/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1501567740&sr=1-16&keywords=ultrabook&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_36%3A-100000

 

 

Otherwise go for this Zenbook, with a 960M. The 960M is pretty decent, I'm using it right now. I don't know about League, but I can play Cities: Skylines at 60-70fps.

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX510UW-RB71-i7-6500U-NVIDIA-Windows/dp/B01IHHGSUS/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1501567822&sr=1-9&keywords=zenbook

 

 

 

[dizmo]

XPS 13 gets my vote. Excellent battery life, which is really likely your sole concern if it's for Uni.

[Windows2000]

29 minutes ago, dizmo said:

XPS 13 gets my vote. Excellent battery life, which is really likely your sole concern if it's for Uni.

Yes, the XPS13 is one sexy machine but I don't think I would spend a grand for what it offers. 

 

Any other suggestions? I'm leaning towards the Zenbook @RaptorCandy suggested.

[LienusLateTips]

29 minutes ago, Windows2000 said:

Yes, the XPS13 is one sexy machine but I don't think I would spend a grand for what it offers. 

 

Any other suggestions? I'm leaning towards the Zenbook @RaptorCandy suggested.

The Zenbook I recommended. It has a (last gen) i7, 16GB RAM and a pretty good GPU.

[genexis_x]

Lenovo Yoga 720 15 inch, Dell XPS 13/15, Asus new Vivobook (with HQ CPU and GTX 1050)