Best laptop under $700?

Hey, I’m looking to pick up a new laptop for around $1500, though I might be able to stretch the budget a bit if it makes sense... It’ll mostly be for office work, coding, some light video editing on the side, plus the usual web surfing and the occasional movie, though I don't watch much TV these days. Since I'm constantly on the move, I'd prefer a 15.6" screen and a battery that can actually last at least 4 hours—not that it should be an issue with a modern machine—and obviously, I want something lightweight. Also, I'll need to run Windows alongside a Unix setup for work requirements

I've been eyeing this specific laptop, especially since I'm already used to my old Dell (the only headache was when the hard drive died on me)... I'm just wondering if there's a way to snag a better processor for this kind of cash? Having 12 GB of RAM would definitely be a nice upgrade over the 8 GB I'm rocking right now. As for the graphics, they look more than sufficient for what I need since Notebookcheck lists them under mid-range Graphics Cards
http://www.bestbuy.com/products/...p-nx-mleex-086

Honestly, I wouldn't call that much of a deal. Just look at this one, or this Dell E5 model that comes with a 4-year warranty—plus, you can barely get 8GB of SODIMM for even $100 more than that. You’d actually end up with a better processor and a stronger graphics card than what you linked
.
Think about it this way: if you grab something like this featuring an i5 and 8GB of RAM, then just toss in a budget-friendly 120GB SSD (like a Patriot Blast or HyperX, for instance),
you'll come out ahead.

hey, this Asus one looks pretty interesting, it’s definitely making the shortlist 👍

I was checking Notebookcheck and it looks like the CPU and GPU on those other two Dells actually outperform the one I posted earlier

but honestly, whatever laptop I end up grabbing, I'll just swap in my own SSD anyway...

You can head over to Notebookcheck to obsess over mid-range Graphics Cards performance, yet you somehow missed the massive stickied thread meant for everyone buying a laptop here. 😬

Yeah, Kimberly Gomez34 is right. I don't get why you're fixated on anything other than the 12GB of RAM, which—let's be real—is easy to upgrade on basically any laptop, and they've been dirt cheap lately anyway...

Regarding SSD-ov, first off, more and more setups come with an SSD pre-installed these days. Second, if you’re planning an upgrade, you actually have to check if the laptop even has a DVD drive you can swap out for an SSD to keep your HDD running too. Most laptops barely have an M2 slot, and almost none of them give you enough room for two drives at once...

If you had just read that main thread and answered a few basic questions—like what you're actually doing with the machine, how much CPU power you really need, whether you need dedicated graphics or if integrated is fine (based on what you said, integrated should be plenty), whether you need Windows, or if FullHD is a requirement or just a nice-to-have—you would've gotten way better advice...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example2
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example3
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example4
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example5
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example6
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/example7
http://www.bestbuy.com/product/example8
http://www.bestbuy.com/product/example9
http://www.bestbuy.com/product/example10

http://www.bestbuy.com/product/example11

I didn't even realize I was looking for that thread until I stumbled onto it later... 😁

Windows isn't really my main concern since I've got an original installer ready to go. Same goes for a DVD drive; I hardly ever touch one. Most of my stuff lives in the cloud, on an external hard drive, or just sitting on the laptop itself, so that extra storage doesn't mean much to me either. Honestly, I think a 120 or 240 GB SSD would be plenty...
FullHD is a nice perk, but it's not a dealbreaker. As for the processor, the better the better, because like I mentioned, I'll be doing a ton of programming, database management, and general office work—and usually, I'll have at least two of those running at once

If you’re prioritizing CPU power, check out that last Toshiba link with the i7 processor... Just grab some extra RAM, swap the DVD drive for an SSD caddy, and you're good to go. That Toshiba comes with a 24-month warranty, plus you can register it on their site for no matter What during the first year.

Hey there. I need a laptop in this price range, preferably something on the smaller side, though I want it to actually last me a few years. I'll be carrying it around a lot, so weight is a big deal. My main use will be browsing, YouTube, movies—it definitely needs an HDMI port because I want to hook my desktop up to my TV for films—and League of Legends. From what I gather, LoL isn't exactly a resource hog, so I’m hoping I won't have to deal with those annoying battery removal hacks or overheating issues. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. Ideally, the battery should hit at least 4 hours. I don't use Windows. Is it even realistic to find a 17-inch laptop that isn't a total brick? It'd be nice to play LoL on a bigger screen, but I don't know. I'm paying cash, no installments, and I'm fine buying online. One thing I'm stuck on: if something breaks, where do I go for the warranty if the online shop is based in some random city halfway across the country? If the warranty process is easy, then I don't care which web shop or city it comes from, as long as they meet my specs. Thanks.