Stuck with Choosing a Laptop

[Furioe]

After a long time of consideration, I've basically narrowed my search for a decent laptop to six choices:

• Asus Vivobook S14 S410UN-NS74 -$800
• Asus Zenbook 13 UX331UN-WS51T - $1000
• Asus Zenbook Flip 14 UX461UN-DS74T - $1300
• Acer Swift 3 SF314-52G-55WQ - $650
• Dell XPS 13 9365 - $1050
• HP Spectre x360 15-BL152NR -$1100 refurbished, $1400 new

I'm stuck. I am actually mostly looking at the Asus Vivbook and the Asus Zenbook 13. For the vivobook, the price looks very good for the specs it offers. However, the zenbook is still a pretty good value and has better portability. I also heard good things about dell XPS 13 and was impressed by it when I tested it out at microcenter. As for the zenbook flip, it was a similar experience. For the acer swift 3, I saw a lot of videos about it, good reviews, saw the good value and the solid specs, and was also impressed by it at microcenter by the build quality relative to its price. Finally for the HP Spectre, as I was browsing Amazon, I instantly fell in love with it, especially the design and specs. When I tested it out in Bestbuy, I was truly impressed, but the price holds me back as it is the most expensive in the list.

So the real questions are:

• to what extent does the thickness, weight, and size matter?
• to what extent does touchscreen or 2 in 1 matter, especially in the future?
• to what extent do processors and ram matter?
  • for me ssd and a dedicated graphics is almost a necessity.
• what is the best choice out of the six?

If you have any other recommendations for a laptop, I would gladly consider.

Just know that I would prefer at least an i5, dedicated graphics(mx150 preferably)(Im fine with integrated if it comes to it though), thin, 8gb of ram, ssd, ips panel, decent price, and less then 14 inches(unless very impressive like hp spectre)

And please not the acer aspire as I just don't like tn panels on laptops.

[genexis_x]

3 minutes ago, Furioe said:

So the real questions are:

• to what extent does the thickness, weight, and size matter?
• to what extent does touchscreen or 2 in 1 matter, especially in the future?
• to what extent do processors and ram matter?
  • for me ssd and a dedicated graphics is almost a necessity.
• what is the best choice out of the six?

You forgot about build quality. Vivobooks have mediocre build quality and battery life in general so avoid them.

 

To answer your questions, it really depends on your usage. You must tell me your usage first so that I can choose the best choice for you.

4 minutes ago, Furioe said:

And please not the acer aspire as I just don't like tn panels on laptops.

Aspire 5 17 (FHD model) has a great IPS panel. Not all Aspire 5 laptops have TN panel. Brand name doesn't really matter

[Slottr]

Knowing what you are doing with the laptop would help narrow it down

[Furioe]

1 hour ago, ZM Fong said:

You forgot about build quality. Vivobooks have mediocre build quality and battery life in general so avoid them.

 

To answer your questions, it really depends on your usage. You must tell me your usage first so that I can choose the best choice for you.

Aspire 5 17 (FHD model) has a great IPS panel. Not all Aspire 5 laptops have TN panel. Brand name doesn't really matter

I'm going to do some light gaming, school work, sometimes video editing, etc.  I do go on a vacation to Korea every summer so I need a laptop.

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, Furioe said:

Just know that I would prefer at least an i5, dedicated graphics(mx150 preferably)(Im fine with integrated if it comes to it though), thin, 8gb of ram, ssd, ips panel, decent price, and less then 14 inches(unless very impressive like hp spectre)

14 inch: Asus UX430UN*, Asus UX461UN*, Lenovo Ideapad 720s 14* (all have soldered RAM)

 

13 inch: HP Envy 13*, Asus UX331UN* (all have mediocre cooling and soldered RAM due to size limitation)

 

If you don't mind 15 inch: HP Spectre x360 15 (KBL-R+MX150 or KBL-G), Dell XPS 15 2 in 1 (KBL-G), Lenovo Yoga 730 15 (8250U+1050, smaller battery), Lenovo Yoga 720 15 (7700HQ+1050), Lenovo Ideapad 720s 15 (7700HQ+1050TI MQ)

 

Business laptops with MX150: Thinkpad T480, T480s*, T580. Entry level IPS panel, go for high resolution option if you want a better display quality

 

Budget options with entry level IPS FHD panel: Acer Swift 3 14 (8250U+MX150) - non-upgradable RAM (new model SF314-54G has upgradable RAM and HDD slot). HP Envy x360 (8250U+MX150) - 2 in 1

 

*means low powered MX150. KBL-R and KBL-G need undervolting to perform better