Reddit mentions of Lenovo Ideapad 700 - 15.6" FHD Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i5 6300HQ, 12 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX950M, Windows 10) 80RU00FEUS

I just looked at the Lemur, and to me, it seems overpriced. A 500GB HDD, no SSD, a i7-7100U, and 4GB of RAM for 700 is crazy.

You could easily find a laptop that is much better for the price and just throw your favorite Linux distro on it. Lenovo makes good stuff with good Linux support.

Here is a good choice and one I am looking at buying, it has a less storage but it's all SSD which will make a massive difference, double the RAM, much better CPU, and bigger 1080p IPS display
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LNOEKUW/ref=mp_s_a_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1486523171&sr=8-23&refinements=p_89%3ALenovo&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=laptops

Here is a similar one with a GPU if you wanna play games https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01FJFN872/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1486523382&sr=8-12&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=lenovo+ideapad

Coming from MacOS, check out Elementary OS. It seems to be laid out fairly similarly and is based on Ubuntu.

On mobile, sorry formatting is garbage. If you have any specific questions at all, feel free to ask me. I like helping.

For a gaming laptop this wouldn't be a good choice for this budget, I would recommend this Lenovo Ideapad 700 because it comes with 950M GPU which is much more powerful than a R7 AMD, and should run your games on low settings (if you can push your budget to 800 that would be much more fitting for your games, so let me know if you can) and it comes with enough ram for smooth multi tasking (12GB), and quad core i5 which is one of the best CPUs available and should be more than enough for your usage, 1080P screen like the one you linked to, and slightly lighter at 5.08 lbs.

Be aware that the displays in these laptops are rather low quality. The poor contrast means they can't produce dark colors very well, and they have the "washed-out" look to them. These have much better displays (IPS) as well as a slightly better GPU, and a faster CPU (i5 quad)

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I7WYHJ2/ (1TB HDD)
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FJFN872/ (256GB SSD)

If you want something with a bit more power, maybe look into something like a Lenovo Ideapad 700 for $700. It's a 15.6'' with much more powerful specs that should work well for intense multi-tasking or moderate gaming. It has a quad core i5-6300HQ processor, 12gb of ram and 256gb ssd. It also has a GTX 950M graphics card which can play most moderate games very well, and a 1080p IPS display for watching videos.

If you want something smaller and more portable, my best recommendation would probably be the HP Envy 13 for $700. It has some very decent specs with a new kaby lake i5 processor, 8gb of ram, a 256gb SSD, and intel HD 620 graphics. Its intel HD grahpics aren't too powerful, but should still work fine for games like Civ or Sims. It also weighs in at 3.06 pounds, has an extremely long 16 hour advertised battery life, and a 1080p IPS display.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480011213&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_intended_use_browse-bin%3A9647497011

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872/ref=sr_1_30?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480011264&sr=1-30&refinements=p_n_intended_use_browse-bin%3A9647497011

If you really want to run GTA V on the settings you mentioned above, I would recommend you focus on a $700 laptop rather than a $500. Go for this Lenovo Ideapad 700 that comes with a powerful 6th generation quad core i5 processor, 12 GB RAM , a fast 256 GB SSD AND an nice GTX 950 dedicated graphic card. This laptop will give you the performance you are looking for and will do a far better job than any laptop you will get at $500.

For $70 more, (a good deal), OP can get 12GB RAM and a 256gb SSD. The extra RAM and SSD will make editing video much easier and smoother.

Alternatively, OP could buy the cheaper Ideapad that shopineer linked to and buy their own additional RAM and SSD, as budget allows. Online videos and tutorials will teach you how to upgrade the RAM and SSD. You can then take the 1TB HDD, place it in an external enclosure, then you will have plenty of storage space for all your video projects. Keep the current video project on your SSD and when finished, archive it to the HDD.

Everything with a Nvidia GTX 950M as GPU or above will run Dota 2 on high settings with 60 fps.

• Lenovo IdeaPad 700 <- 950M
  
• Dell Inspiron 15 7559 <- 960M
  
• Clevo N855HJ <- GTX 1050

Lenovo Ideapad 700

Acer Aspire 2016

But as the above mention - a desktop would be a better option in terms of performance and cost if you don't need a lot of mobility.

You're welcome, glad I could help.

There is also a few other options :

• https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872/
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-NVIDIA-Windows-V5-591G-55PV/dp/B01ER4AJPU/
  
  Both of them has GTX 950M, which is a bit weaker and will only run Skyrim on Medium/High, but they should be better on your pocket. The 960M will last quite a bit longer than 950M in the future though, so you might consider this aspect as well.
  
  Out of topic :
  
  Surabaya is HOT, hopefully your new homestay have an AC! I've been to Sumatera only once, visiting my wife's grandparents in July 2016. There's an american family that stays in Yogyakarta, you might want to check their youtube channel here : https://www.youtube.com/user/ridingjava/videos, might try contacting them as well in case you need some reference on tourist objects around Yogyakarta (do visit Borobudur Temple if you haven't) :D

Lenovo Ideapad 700 would be and awesome choice for you. The first thing that caught my attention was its improved build quality and its IPS panel with great contrast.The PCIe SSD offers greatly improved Read / Write speeds vs. traditional SSDs that is in this beauty. Powerful gaming which is illustrated in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX950M and multimedia laptop which weighs 5lbs,in addition the wonderful keyboard that it brings to the table to be honest the battery life on an average is up to 4hours but it varies based on what your doing on the computer in the time period.On to the processor an Intel Core i5 6300HQ processor with is great for you line of work your going to do with 256 GB SSD storage.

If you don't mind poor battery life than a laptop with an i5, 8GB RAM and maybe a GTX 950M or RX 560. On Amazon there is the Lenovo IdeaPad 700 for US $700

EDIT: Note the price is up to $700 now on Amazon. Still a good price but there are other competitive models like this from Lenovo. I still prefer the Inspiron at $700.

I spent about a month searching/waiting for a better deal and nothing came up. I would note that it is 5 or 6 lbs so not ideal for carrying around campus. Looking for something slimmer/lighter with these specs will drive the price way up. There's also a model here for $750 with touchscreen and a faster processor, but SSHD instead of SSD.

The processor is rated at 912 (passmark.net) It has the processing power of a computer from 2006.

My laptop's processor is around a 7459 score. It's from 2013. HP has decided not to support my machine for Windows 10. It may work, but not officially from HP.

If this is a machine that you use every day, I recommend getting a $700 laptop. If you're on a budget, a $500 laptop.



Brands and makes I recommend:

• Dell Latitude
  
• Lenovo Ideapad
  
• Lenovo Thinkpad
  
• HP Elitebook
  
• HP Pavilion
  
  Stay away from:
  
  
• Dell Inspiron
  
• Acer
  
• Sony
  
  Look for:
  
  
• 8 gig or more of ram.
  
• SSD
  
• An Intel i3, i5, or i7 chip in the 6000 series.

At $600

[Lenovo, 15.6' i5-6300hq, 1tb hdd, gtx 950m, 8gb ram, great value. You could opt for a model with a bit more ram if you want to open a lot of programs at once] (https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872)

At $800

Dell, i7-6700hq, gtx 960m, 1tb hdd + 8gb ssd, 8gb ram. Upgrade to this for more gaming performance.

At $1100

[MSI, i7-7700hq, gtx 1050, 1tb hdd + 128gb ssd, 16gb ram. If you really need more than this you should probably get a desktop]
(https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16834154494&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-Skimlinks-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3987228&SID=94719X1549180Xd2347a41a23f260d14f3e29351398a4f)

At $650 (flash sale)

[HP, i7-7500u, 8 gb ram, geforce 940mx, 1tb hdd. Less performance than the dell, but longer battery life.]
(https://flash.newegg.com/Product/9SIA65C50R8149?nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwordsNF-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwordsNF-Mobile-_-pla-_-Laptops+%2f+Notebooks-_-9SIA65C50R8149&gclid=CjwKEAiA79zDBRCgyf2FgeiY-CESJABzr0BMZqcU_eYjdXTi8f8dVwpYYtV1LEyh78PbEWDfPbJCZBoC0-3w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)

Of all these id expect the Dell and HP to fare the best long-term, personally I have an hp that died after 5.

I really like this suggestion, but where could I go to look for coupon codes?
Is this Lenovo! a better bet?
I seriously doubt I'll ever approach 200GB because I won't ever be downloading movies or more games or stuff like that. The lenovo is also a quadcore, but the one you present is a better processor, so I'm confused about whats better. The link you gave doesn't say whether its a dual or quadcore so im assuming its just a single.

Hm, I can only find reference to "2 cell/38Wh" for battery. Plus that is getting a little unwieldy in size. I think I can shell out a little more (about $80) and get the "gaming" version of the Lenovo with the SSD installed. I hate making these decisions because I always end up with buyer's remorse! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJFN872/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2NTFNB7ZEJQK8

this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJFN872/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1

You're paying a premium for the 2-in-1 form factor and touchscreen, and it lacks dedicated graphics(though they've gotten good enough you don't need them if you're not intending to play games with the laptop).

Assuming you don't need the touchscreen and form factor, this laptop goes for $680, has a quad-core processor (U-series processors are dual-core ones) and a 950M GPU.

this one is significantly cheaper by using a 7200U while retaining the 950M and SSD(but still ditching the form factor/touchscreen).

thanks
is this better than lenovo 700, at a slight lower price?
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872

Is there a reason why you prefer say the i7 + 1TB & 8GB SSD rather than the i5 + 256GB SSD?
Also, I saw you linked the Lenovo Ideapad 700 as well. It seems these two are almost identical, but I saw the Dell has a 6-cell battery where the Lenovo has a 3-cell battery, but the Dell has 4GB less RAM. Am I missing anything important?

(Sorry to OP for hijacking your post but I figured you have similar thoughts)

Ideapad with FHD IPS panel, 256GB ssd, 4 core cpu and gtx950

or cheaper version, with 1TB hdd, and you get to buy SSD for the price difference, and keep the HDD

Lenovo Ideapad 700 - https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1492521931&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A3012497011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580791011 refurbished is a big turn off for me so I always try to get a new laptop

Lenovo ideapad 700 - 17.3-Inch FHD Laptop https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1492521931&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A3012497011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580791011 better bang for your buck

You might want to check out this one, at $688 it seems like a nice choice. You get 12 gigs of ram and graphics by NVIDIA. You might want to get an external HDD but it does come with a 256GB SSD which is nice!.
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-15-6-Inch-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01FJFN872

Thanks, that's a great table!

What's the difference between that Lenovo and this one with the same CPU and RAM options, just the SSD?

Thanks for the reply with great advice! That laptop will run me about $640 with tax. I was curious if this laptop for only $20 more (because there's no tax) would be worth spending $20 extra dollars for. I'm actually very confused what the difference between these three are:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-1920x1080-Performance-Anti-Glare-WLED-Backlight/dp/B06X8ZMK5Z
   
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-Notebook-Computer-i5-6300HQ/dp/B01MRTG0JF/
   
   
   
3. https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-15-6-Inch-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872
   
   
   I'd be able to get #1 for $660 because there's no tax, but I was trying to find battery life reviews on it so I typed the name into amazon for more results and I couldn't decipher the results. Thank you I'll use your affiliate link btw! EDIT: Fixed the links!

If you don't do gaming, you don't need to pay extra for a nvidia graphics card. Something like this, with good CPU and RAM should do you good.
Lenovo ideapad 700
2.3 GHz Core i5 6300HQ
12 GB RAM
256 GB SSD

Lenovo Flex 4 Refurbished
Intel Dual-Core i7-6500U 2.5GHz
16GB RAM
256 SSD

HP ENVY 15 Touch
i7-6500U Dual Core 2.5GHz
12 GB RAM
256 GB SSD

If you don't care for SSD, let me know.

Hi,

Given your description, you don't really need a very powerful video card, I think any decent dedicated video card will be fine. You basically need a decent IPS screen, quad core and a SSD. There are laptops with those specs within your budget but not many of decent quality. The Acer VX and the Dell 7559 are ok, but if I were you I would try for a business grade machine with a 940MX video card, however those are a bit more expensive, closer to $1000.

From my search, all I could add to those already mentioned are these two laptops

I couldn't really find the P15F anywhere to buy, but the IdeaPad 700-15 is close to your budget and has a slightly better display: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1494926174&sr=1-1&keywords=Lenovo+IdeaPad+700-15+i5-6300HQ+12GB&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A2224371011

What do you think of this one? It's the i5 HQ vs the i7 HQ. It GPU appears to be a bit stronger and it's a few hundred cheaper than the Satellite. The build of the laptop from reviews doesn't seem to be anything special. So it might just be a bigger bang for my buck but poorer quality case.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-700-GeForce-80RU00FEUS/dp/B01FJFN872?th=1

That's definitely an improvement but you will probably want to save up and get one with an SSD drive. HDD's will tend to give you problems especially if you travel with it a lot. SSD will save you money in the long run.

Dell 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (6th Gen Intel Quad-Core i5-6300HQ Processor up to 3.2GHz, 8GB DDR3, 256GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M, Windows 10) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_eztYxb1CH6170

That dell has specs you would want to aim for, about $100 more. you get a bigger screen, beefier graphics and an SSD. Not sure how the i5 and i7 stack up but their performance is probably real similar. The dell CPU has a higher boost clock but the i7 has more cores.

Some people say 256gb is too small but I have no problem fitting all my games and work on mine at the same size.

If you video edit or something you'll need a bigger hard drive but snag an SSD and a 950m or higher for sure

Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6 Full HD, Intel Core i5, NVIDIA 940MX, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10, E5-575G-53VG https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2R4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xMtYxbVQWMXQM

Also this one is $100 cheaper but with an SSD

Oh and same price, but SSD + 950m

Lenovo Ideapad 700 - 15.6" FHD Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i5 6300HQ, 12 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX950M, Windows 10) 80RU00FEUS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FJFN872/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_-OtYxbKXFYKPB