Reddit mentions of ASUS ZenBook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10), Titanium Gold

Asus Zenbook UX305UA

749$ on amazon


13 inches, 1920x1080, Core i5 6200, 8 GB Ram, 256 GB SSD, realistic 10 hour battery life.


Bought one this week. Love it. Identical in appearance to a Macbook Air, but running the latest hardware (i5 6200)... Here is a review of a similar model, but the review's battery life is based on a model running a 4k screen, where as I linked / bought a 1080p screen model.

I think you'll have a hard time selling it then, since it's 750 on amazon

Windows laptop: ASUS Zenbook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10), Titanium Gold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EUNpxbVK8FWRH

Mac: Whatever their latest 13 inch is.

13 is a nice sweet spot for screen size and portability. Asus is nice for price, and the zenbook line comes with a free year of accidental damage warranty, which is what makes it top pick for my recommendation to students. My brother got a core M version, so less powerful, little cheaper, but does everything he needs. Macs are Macs. No gaming on either really, if you care. 1080/full HD is generally fine on a 13 inch, and saves on battery vs high res.

Dell XPS 13s are going for a decent price now too. I have a high end developer edition (Linux) and really like its form factor and power. The normal line comes with Windows of course. Going with an i5 w/ 8 gigs of RAM should be fine for any work you're doing.

As other posters have pointed out, if you want good colour you're going to want an IPS display. You will be disappointed with a TN or VA display.

Anyways, from reading some of your replies to other posts: you're looking for something under $800 for travelling. Most laptops come with IPS displays standard, and you could totally find one within your budget. If a laptop doesnt have an IPS panel its either a super cheap pile of shit or a very expensive gaming rig.

A lot of "budget" laptops have less than FHD displays, but $800 puts you well within the mid range/upper-mid range so for most of the ones in your budget you'll get a 1920x1080 display. That said, a smaller 1920x1080 display will probably look better than a larger one (pixel density) If you wanted to stretch your budget just a little bit you could probably get yourself into a QHD display which would offer higher resolution, but on a 13in screen you're probably not going to be able to tell that big of a difference.

Asus 17in 8gb ram i7 5500 - $789

HP 15.6in 8gb i7 6700 - $660

Asus 13in 8gb - $680 It has a gimp processor compared the other two, but it has a solid state drive and comes in more of a MacBook Air form factor. This may not be the best workhorse but it would be a lot more travel friendly.

Asus Zenbook 13in 8gb i5 6200 - $799 This combines the best of both worlds. It has an actual CPU in it, solid state drive, and comes in a sexy well-designed package. It is at the upper end of your budget.

edit- if I were in your shoes and had $800 to drop on a laptop for travelling, I would seriously consider the Zenbook. It looks pretty decent from a specs standpoint, it is reasonably priced, comes in a nice form factor, and it has a nice screen.

But, please PLEASE don't just take my word for it. There are TONS of resources on the web for buying a laptop this sort of thing- youtube, google, forums, reviews. Go to bestbuy and play around with them. Don't just take my advice for it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BMERZJ6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469392878&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=asus+ux305&dpPl=1&dpID=41vZl7Pe2HL&ref=plSrch#nav-search-keywords

Solid laptop with decent performance at a good price

How does this look https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMERZJ6/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_4, for the price seems like a good deal. The cheapest comparable lenovo (display ssd etc) costs 980 with a 3 cell battery. The cheapest dell xps is 900 with half of the ssd size. Its really up to you, but to me that seems like the best deal for a portable machine atm. Also good luck in school!

Have you taken a look at the ASUS ZenBook UX305UA ?
It would do an awesome job for you, and sure your wife will very much like it's sleek and sexy design , its performance and of course, its overall build quality.

I would recommend either The ZenBook-UX305UA because it comes with 13.3-Inch Full-HD IPS which the perfect size and recommended screen size for a college laptop, Intel Core i5 6200U which is powerful enough for most college usage and kinda the standard on these kind of laptop, 8 GB RAM which is enough ram for smooth multi tasking(multiple chrome tabs, while watching videos/listening to music and such, 256 GB SSD very good for faster booting and and overall performance, great battery life expect 7-10 Hours Battery Life with light to medium usage,great build quality with all-aluminum body, very light at 2.9 lbs which is one of the lightest in this category, doesn't come with a backlit keyboard or USB tybe C though which is a con if you have a use/need for them.

Pro tip: you can save about a 100 if you are ok with buying from the warehouse deals.

The Acer Swift 3 because it comes with 14" Full HD, Intel Core i5-6200U which is powerful enough for most college usage , 8GB DDR4 which is enough ram for smooth multi tasking, 256GB SSD very good for faster booting and and overall performance, Intel HD Graphics 520 good for light gaming/photo editing, light weight at 3.31 lbs, very good battery life at 6-8 hours with light to medium usage, great build quality with metal chassis, it also comes with USB type C and 1 - HDMI port with HDCP support, very good battery life, fits well inside small budgets and a backlit keyboard.

Looks like its the same price new on amazon

https://smile.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6?sa-no-redirect=1

What about an XPS 13 or T460s?

Or if you prefer to spend less, you can go with this.

Something like this Asus Zenbook UX305UA-AS51 would be perfect for you. You really won't miss your mac... And Windows is really easy to learn how to use..

How about taking a look at the light weight Asus Zenbook UX305UA-AS51. First it matches your screen size of 13.3inchs and it is 2.9lbs which is perfect for you to carry around in a bag pack since your going to school. In addition to its sleek built it packs a lot of power, the lastest powerful 6th generation Intel Core i5 6200U with 8GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD and is the best option right now over a hdd. It also comes with windows 10 which i believe is more user friendly then window 8. A good 10-Hours Battery Life a wonderful designed ultra-slim all aluminum body

The ASUS Zenbook UX305UA is better as it has a 50% more powerful processor.

if you're just playing Civ, you should be able to get by on integrated graphics, so long as you aren't playing huge maps.

You could get this Asus K401LB which is 3.6 lbs and has Nvidia GT 940M graphics. It does, however, lack display quality, which is going to be more important for you if you're working with Photoshop and Lightroom.

I would suggest the Asus Zenbook UX305UA, especially while it's on sale for $699.

It's extremely lightweight, has a high quality 13.3" 1920x1080 IPS display, an i5-6200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, great battery life, etc. Keeping graphics on medium in Civ V and you should have no problem playing it with the integrated graphics. I'd turn off unit animations, though. Though, honestly I turn those off on my desktop too. I hate waiting for them and quick battles always.

The display on MBAs is terrible, they really shouldn't be charging that kind of money for a non-FHD TN display in 2016.

You can get an i5, 8 GB, 256 SSD ASUS UX305UA for 749 on Amazon. It's got an IPS FHD display panel.

this Asus Zenbook UX305UA is a bit outside your budget however it is a really decent option for your requirements. it has a powerful 6th-generation Intel Core i5 cpu, 256 GB SSD Solid State Drive, 8gb ram, a decent gpu and an amazing battery life of up to 10 hours.

Several reviewers since July/August seem to report that it has been resolved:

https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B01BMERZJ6/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_paging_btm_next_2?pageNumber=2&filterByKeyword=sleep

When you say Macbook Air clone, do you mean something that looks good and stylish, or an actual macbook air clone?

I think the Acer Swift 3 is an excellent option for $650. It'll have pretty good power with a skylake i5 processor, 8gb of ram and 256gb ssd. It also has a full 1080p IPS display, a backlit keyboard, and a long battery life.

You could also look into the Acer V13 if you would like a touchscreen.

If you want something that looks exactly like a Macbook Air, you could look into the Asus Zenbook for $750. I have one and I've used it around friends for weeks before they realized it isn't a Macbook air. The pictuers make it look like it's gold, but in real life it's very silver and has an identical color to the macbook air.

Not OP but also highly interested in a laptop like this as well. Personally, I'm looking for a smaller screen (around 13in, 1080p), Type-C a bonus, no 2-1//folding. I've seen this on Amazon, but I would like a back-lit keyboard.

I've also found this just now so I think I managed to answer my own question. Ha. If only it were black.

With that budget it's a bit impossible. $200 is just a 500GB SSD. You would need around $900-$1000 for the specs you requested.
The cheapest is the ZenBook UX305UA

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493203223&sr=1-2-fkmr0&keywords=Asus+UX305UA+512GB


https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX303UB-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Discrete/dp/B014VHVZFQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493203223&sr=1-3-fkmr2&keywords=Asus+UX305UA+512GB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BMERZJ6

> Also the problem with the one you suggest is that it has the touchscreen and turns into a tablet which he doesn't really want at all ...

He doesn't have to flip around the display and use it as tablet. You can also disable the touchscreen in Windows.

Otherwise I would still get something else.

Asus Zenbook UX305UA or the Lenovo ThinkPad T460s (would be my choice). If you go for the base model and upgrade it with 8 GB of RAM, the backlit keyboard and the 256 GB SSD, it would cost you $930 through the corporate perks offer program (passcode is NJ*CORP).

Holla!

I am looking for a gift for my girlfriend. She is just starting out and her biggest bottle neck is a crappy laptop. She has a canon rebel t5 I think so that should be plenty. Her complaint lately is how her edited images colors are way off when she looks on her phone or a print when using her laptop. With this, I see there is monitor color calibrators so I was looking at this: X-Rite CMUNDIS

She is planning on getting a new laptop with her own money and I think the calibrator would be useful for any screen. I also thought about getting a external monitor. Once again she is not professional so I thought something IPS maybe ultrawide? LG UM57 25UM57

And also for a laptop she was asking what she should get so I looked for something portable/sleek, 1080p, ssd, and i5 + and came up with Zenbook-UX305UA

Basically are these good options for someone starting out doing as a side job?

Thanks!

Dell XPS 13 is a great choice, as others have noted. If you want to keep budget lower, you might also look at the Asus Zenbooks, namely the following models:

UX305UA - Core i5-6200U, no touchscreen though. Should handle Overwatch on low settings OK. On Amazon right now for $750 if you like the color (I can't find the other colors anywhere).

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX305UA-AS51-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6

UX305CA - Core m3 6Y30 processor. QHD model has touchscreen. Core m processor allows it to be fanless. Should be great for school and work purposes. By accounts I have read, it will play Overwatch on low settings, but with poor framerates (mid-teens) when screen gets very busy. Arguably playable. Would handle older titles like Starcraft 2, LoL on low settings. QHD/touch model on Amazon right now for $700.

https://www.amazon.com/UX305-13-Inch-Laptop-PREVIOUS-MODEL/dp/B014VHWFKA

UX360CA - Also Core m3 6Y30 processor like the model above, with touchscreen, FHD, and flip hinges. This is a new model that was just released. 512 GB SSD model on Amazon right now for $799. Microsoft Store has 256 GB model for $749.

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX360CA-13-3-inch-Touchscreen-Windows/dp/B01GHQOD8U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1468029537&sr=1-1&keywords=ux360ca

https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/ASUS-ZenBook-Flip-UX360CA-UBM1T-Signature-Edition-2-in-1-PC/productID.3389258300

Main caveat is that none of these have backlit keyboards, and are slightly larger than Dell XPS 13. They are much better-priced though, IMO.

Good luck!

I wouldnt get a Macbook Air. They're horribly underpowered, throttle a ton, screen is crap, and not worth the money.


This is a much better alterative.

This is stupid. Any half respected engineering program will have school computer lab facilities to use and remote into when in person access isn't possible. This is speaking from experience. Ask about that before you buy a machine.

Being said, I have no idea why they suggested the recommendations they did - they're pretty standard specs for laptops now, but you they look stupid af considering they aren't tailored to running simulations or CAD programs well. Anything else, like writing lab reports or papers can be done on something weak af, like a tablet.


Definitely contact the people at your school. If they're set on a laptop that meets requirements, consider an ultrabook like the Asus Zenbook UX305UA, or something like the Dell Inspiron i7559, which packs a punch for a fairly low price point.

If you care about gaming, the Dell Inspirion 15 inch gaming laptop would be a good match. Downside is it's on the heavier side at 5.6 pounds.

If you want something lighter, easier to carry around, and with a more sleek look, the [Asus Zenbook 305UA](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMERZJ6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01BMERZJ6&linkCode=as2&tag=recom01-20&linkId=2484f37461127ac065efeb24a1af4468
) would be perfect. It has a smaller screen at only 13.3 inches, but it's a great all-around college laptop with a very long battery life, good trackpad, fair keyboard, and a good screen, all wrapped up in a laptop with good build quality.

You would still be able to play light and moderate games on the Zenbook 305UA, but expect to keep graphics on low. It could handle things like CSGO or League of Legends just fine, but don't expect heavy games like GTA V. I would greatly recommend the Zenbook.

I like this for 800:

• 3.3 lbs
  
• 7 hour battery life
  
• 256gb ssd
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX305UA-AS51-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6?ie=UTF8&keywords=zenbook%20ux303&qid=1465492066&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

I recently purchased an ASUS Zenbook UX305CA (Full-HD version) and run Ubuntu MATE on it. Ubuntu runs well and the battery life is excellent (estimated 10 hours, but haven't clocked it). The trackpad didn't work during installation, but worked fine when I rebooted after installation. It's not a particularly powerful machine, but I don't require much power from my laptop. I browse the web, edit documents, watch videos, or ssh into remote machines.

It meets all of your listed requirement, but as I don't know your workflow I have no way of knowing if it's powerful enough for you. There's another version with an i5. It's more powerful, but isn't passively cooled and I don't know how much less battery life it has.

I would say something like a Asus UX305 would work well:
https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_1/167-5742196-5543305?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1474650036&sr=1-1&keywords=ux305

I purchased this laptop for my girlfriend 4 months ago and have been impressed by it so far.

What screen size are you looking for in a laptop?

I had a 13" macbook pro for college. I know it's not the screen size you asked for, but I think it was the best balance between size, weight and power. I've since gotten a Asus Zenbook and would highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BMERZJ6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472965692&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=asus+zenbook&dpPl=1&dpID=41vZl7Pe2HL&ref=plSrch


Having said that, I also purchased a 24" wide-screen monitor for working with at home.

Thanks for the info. So do you think it would be worth it to buy a used one from Amazon for ~$80 cheaper? The description says there is a little bit of cosmetic damage ("less than 5%") on the top but that's all. Does Amazon usually have a good reputation for used items like this being just as reliable as a new one?

I've looked at the XPS 13 and ruled it by price for the specs, the surface is intriguing but I'm not sure I can get by with just 4gb of RAM. I know from past experience running giant excel files and putting together presentations at the same time is really taxing on the machine and performance lags.

Would those be a better option than this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMERZJ6/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Yeah, have been looking at that list all night and still cant choose anything definitively :( Do those acers have good/decent screens? i wonder maybe i could compromise on screen size and go with this? im so fucking confused https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMERZJ6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This is the updated version of the laptop that was linked in the post you just replied too, it is only about 10$ more.
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMERZJ6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER)

You could go for something like the ASUS ZenBook UX305UA or if it remains on sale by the time you see this, the
Dell XPS 13 is pretty good (this one has less storage).

Shit, on that budget you can pretty much get whatever you want. The 13" Zenbook is your best bang for the buck. This is $750 currently. It's thin, well built, and weighs less than 3lbs. The 13" xps is a little sleeker, but you pay more for less power(mainly ram and ssd size).

Those are the two I'd still recommend in that range, but the most important thing is to go feel them. Find a store that has an equivalent laptop in stock and go play with it. Look at the screen, type on it, pick it up, check the ports, etc. You'd be amazed at what little things might be deal breakers for you.

If the Blade has an i7 and the XPS an i5 the Blade will feel a bit snappier.

Kind of, there are cheaper ultrabooks, but the build quality is hard to beat on both.

Something like this is technically better value: https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1478192813&sr=1-3&keywords=asus+ultrabook

I bought myself Asus Zenbook - very light and powerful enough. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6
There are different models, so you need to do a little search.

Thanks! How would you compare this against the Asus Zenbook UX305UA? The specs are the same, but is the Asus battery life or build quality better?

This is the laptop, I believe.

I bought this ASUS Zenbook a few years ago (it's basically a slightly smaller, less updated version of the 14, but with a matte screen instead of a backlit keyboard) and it still runs extremely well- I'm typing on it right now- so my opinion towards ASUS is positive. I've also had HP laptops in the past (worked well, but would slow down bc of all the tabs I had open), but those were gifts so I didn't pay attention the specs nearly as much as I did with my Zenbook (which I bought myself). I'm debating whether or not I even need to buy a new laptop, and both of those laptops are in the running as an eventual replacement.

Im sorry to say that I can't personally contribute to the discussion regarding which would be better for your photo editing, but I can say that there's a good chance you won't regret buying the ASUS in the long run. That being said, when it comes to such close choices, it all comes down to the small details:

• Which do you think looks better (aesthetically)?
  
• Go to your nearest electronics store and see if they have a version of these available for you to mess around with. Check out the screen- which display looks better to you?
  
• Which has better battery (generally speaking- it's rare for anyone to spend all their time on their laptop just doing one thing, so be wary of what the description say about battery life)? One site reviewed versions of both laptops (both i7, 8gb ram, but varying memory), and the Zenbook beat the Envy by quite a bit.
  
• Are the ports important to you? The zenbook has an HDMI port, but the Envy doesn't. They both have usb c (and A) though. The Envy comes with a fingerprint reader while the Zenbook doesn't.
  
• Does temperature matter? The Zenbook can get a few degrees hotter than the Envy does.
  
• Do you notice when your laptop/computer starts making noise (fans)?
  
  ​
  
  I'd buy the Zenbook 14.
  
  Although I really like the look of both, the Envy wins aesthetically for me. That being said, that's not nearly as important to me as storage or battery life- especially as a student. Since the Zenbook beats the Envy in both categories (although not in graphics*- all according to these two reviews: Zenbook 14, Envy 13) I'd go with that.
  
  *Apparently there's a version of the Zenbook 14 that has the same GPU (nvidia mx150) as the Envy 13 you're looking at, and the Zenbook 14 (nvidia mx150) beat the Envy 13 (nvidia mx150) in the graphics category of the review, so I'd look into that Zenbook.

The Asus UX305UA would be my pick for something lightweight to take to class every day. i5 / 8GB / SSD for under $800, well under an inch thick, and under 3 lb total weight. The Intel HD 520 will run FIFA, just not a particularly high resolution/quality settings. If you intend to play higher demanding games, then you may want to look elsewhere, but that'll dramatically change the type of laptop, and increase the price.

Not true. The original 305 had an M. The 2016 refresh version has an i5 and was 700 on Amazon a few weeks back, and is currently 750.

ASUS ZenBook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10), Titanium Gold

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_NduNxbNVSAGRQ

There's also a ton more diff models of the Zenbook UX3 series that have i5 or i7 ranging from 700-1000. Some with 4k displays.

The [Asus ZenBook UX305UA] (https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469508568&sr=1-1&keywords=ux305ua) has Skylake Core i5 and Intel HD 520 graphics + 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD.

No problem! I actually found a version with a larger SSD and no touchscreen that is [$50 less](http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464738580&sr=1-5&keywords=zenbook+i5+6200u](http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464738580&sr=1-5&keywords=zenbook+i5+6200u).

http://www.amazon.com/LG-gram-14Z950-Laptop-Gold/dp/B0158XK3RI?ie=UTF8&keywords=lg%20gram%2014&qid=1462691109&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1


http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6?ie=UTF8&keywords=ASUS%20ZenBook%20UX303UA&qid=1462691092&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3


I've heard that the Zenbook hinge falls apart easily and that the Grams build construction is filmsy due to its light weight. Don't know which to choose haha.

Well you have a few choices, mainly due to your decent sized budget (I tried to stay under your budget)

Acer Aspire V 13 V3-372T-5051 Signature Edition Laptop

Good weight/size, decent specs for the money, and is well under your budget, you can get it cheaper if you have a student discount, and has a lack of bloatware

Cons are no backlit key board, white color

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Acer-Aspire-V-13-V3-372T-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.334961500


ASUS Zenbook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10)

This one will get recommended a lot. Very light and thin, great stats, and good customer support (from what I have heard)

Cons are more expensive than the Acer, slightly worse processor, can only find this Champagny color (I'm not a fan of the color)

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK 15.6" Full-HD Gaming Laptop

Has very good stats, most bang for your buck, very upgradable,

Cons are its 15.6 inch, slightly heavy, and has a number pad, battery (4 hours at normal use)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PYYDMQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B015PYYDMQ&linkCode=as2&tag=dav0d2-20&linkId=VWFOTQXQPI7ITMUM


Lenovo Ideapad Y700 14"

Very good stats, well below your price point, great storage

Cons are its slightly heavy (lighter than the Dell), Lenovo bloatware and security issues, batttery (6 hours reg use)

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/y700-14-inch/


My goal was to give you several ideas to chew on. I know that the gaming laptops weren't exactly what you were looking for, but they offer the best tech specs and will kick ass at doing whatever you throw at them. All of these are solid laptops and you almost can't go wrong. Good luck OP

I am considering the Asus ux305CA and the Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK. any suggestions between these two? Also, would i get better performance and build quality by spending a little more on a dell xps 13 or even the entry level dell xps 15?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2S61CYDA0GYGL&coliid=ID8JEUGPOFJ9T&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=zg_bs_565108_11

Right now, this Asus Zenbook costs 750 USD compared to the 800 USD one with the same specs.

Is the 750 USD one a better deal? Only difference I can find is the body is different.

How does the UX303UA-DH51T compare to this 305UA?
The naming of their zenbooks are confusing me. Is 305UA newer than 303UA?

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6
Here you go

Here is the Amazon link. I think I may have told you the wrong model perhaps but this one is definitely right. I own the Broadwell AKA fifth generation i5 model which is plenty fast (I can play rocket league and TF2 at full speed anyway). There is a Skylake (6th gen) i5 available but its more expensive and for my money the 5th gen (listed in the link) is the best deal.

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX305UA-AS51-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1468241840&sr=1-2&keywords=ASUS+Zenbook+UX305

The Dell XPS 13 is an insanely good choice for your requirements.

However, while the official reviews are good as they should be, keep in mind that most users on amazon have rated it below par(<4 stars) for driver issues.

So that leads my search to the latest model xps 13 9350 on amazon where users have not complained about driver issues or other such issues.

LINK: https://www.amazon.com/XPS-13-9350-13-3-Inch-Performance-Processor/dp/B01D1YFQM8/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469629724&sr=1-5&keywords=dell+xps13

The above model has an >4.5 star average rating/reviews. It has the latest skylake i5-6500U processor and 8gb ram.
However, it has 128gb ssd only. You can expand using the 3 way(sd/sdhc/sdxc) card slot by buying a good 128gb UHS/U3 sdxc card like the one linked below:

SDXC card link:
For 65$(Excellent card) -> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NP63Y4K/ref=twister_B009RVUYAY

Remember not to put your games/applications on the card as much as possible. However it can hold multimedia like songs/movies/files etc., and you'll get an incredible transfer rate(Approx 1/3 speed of an good SSD and twice the speed of HDD transfer)

If you want a reliable tried and tested choice, Asus laptops on amazon are good deals at their price points and perform well:

UX305UA with non-backlit keyboard :- https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469630444&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+ux

UX303UA with backlit keyboard :- https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX303UA-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Windows/dp/B014VHW24Y/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469630444&sr=1-3&keywords=asus+ux

What about this Zenbook? The only differences I can find are the color, lack of a touchscreen and, no backlighting (not worth $100 extra to me).

I think he meant a desktop in adition to a ultrabook. Razer stealth + core is $1400 for the cheapest option. This combination here costs the same and just as portable. But it's a faster pc, bigger ssd, has a hdd, decent size monitor for gaming, better keyboard and better sound quality.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Bf2gwV

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469178723&sr=1-3&keywords=ultrabook&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A3545275011%2Cp_n_feature_twelve_browse-bin%3A9521908011

How about a Zenbook? Small, fast, good specs. Im not sure of the min requirements for that program youre running, but if youre not gaming and you want a decent portable laptop, this seems like something you might like
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX305UA-AS51-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6?ie=UTF8&keywords=ASUS%20Zenbook&qid=1465416043&ref_=sr_1_2&s=pc&sr=1-2

Good point. Just realized there's this one which is i5 or i7, but there's also this one which does have an m3.

13 inch laptops i was comparing within the sub $1000 price point. and alienware site has 10% coupon right now (they almost always have some sort of discount around 10%)
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-13-r2/pd 960m 500gb $999
https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474433551&sr=1-1&keywords=zenbook integrated graphics 256gb $750
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474433904&sr=1-1&keywords=xps+13 128gb integrated graphics. $899


To get a 940m in either of those the price goes up to $1100. my 2009 alienware still runs LoL well enough that my sister doesn't complain. And their support is fantastic, they replaced most of the guts at the ass end of my warranty when I sent it in after unintentionally using it as an ash tray for 2 years while gaming.

I was just looking for a small laptop that can play some games with high settings, not my main gamer.
I'm wondering what specs you're talking about because their 15inch with a i7 quad core and 980m with a ssd + hdd and 8 gb ram is only ~$2100, that's like their most expensive one, even if you bump it up to 16gb thats $100 more... looking at amazon that too looks pretty competitive.
https://www.amazon.com/G752VY-i7-6700HQ-NVIDIA-Windows-Notebook/dp/B01CIK5PLI/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474435660&sr=1-4&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011
This one is ~500 less but its 6700 not 6820 & you lose 4gb vram on the video card compared to alienware, I don't know if that really matters though https://www.amazon.com/GL502VY-DS71-Gaming-Laptop-NVIDIA-GTX980M/dp/B01G1TURPG/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474435660&sr=1-11&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-P35Xv5-SL1-GeForce-i7-6700HQ-Notebook/dp/B01AAYC3IW/ref=sr_1_29?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474436071&sr=1-29&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011 again 6700 not 6820
Other brands with the same specs seem to be pretty close to me after looking at amazon & their 10 series are releasing on thursday i think? the 15 will have a 1070 available and the 17 will have 1080 available, I cant find the prices or specs for those yet and the 13 is coming in november with the 1060 available