Reddit mentions of Acer Swift 3, 14" Full HD, Intel Core i5-6200U, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10, SF314-51-52W2

What about a Thinkpad 13 Silver or this?

I wouldn't go with any of the I would go with 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.


Or if you want even more options you can check this list of best college laptops.

A lightweight laptop for $400 that is fast enough for video editing..well, pick two I'd say.


Cheap and "fast": https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-7100U-Windows-E5-575-33BM/dp/B01K1IO3QW/

Cheap and light: https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-E403SA-US21-Quad-Core-Processor-Metallic/dp/B01B9APNG0/

Fast and light: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t460p/


If you can stretch your budget, I'd recommend the Acer Swift 3 for $650: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2/

Otherwise, I'd say go with the Vivobook E403SA, but don't expect incredible rendering performance.

I would suggest looking into the HP 15 for $580. It has good specs that will work just fine for college with a skylake i7 processor, 8gb of ram and a 256gb ssd. It also has a pretty light weight for a 15.6'' at 4.75 pounds, has a decent battery (advertised up to 6 hours), and a full 1080p IPS display. It does not have a backlit keyboard though.

Maybe also look into the something like the Acer Swift 3 for $650. It is a 14'' with a skylake i5 processor, 8gb of ram and a 256gb ssd. It also comes with a full 1080p IPS display, a very long battery life, and a backlit keyboard.

I managed to get one of these brand new on Amazon for $499, the 8gb Core i5-6200u version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWZ7JB2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The build quality is actually really great, awesome trackpad, aluminum case, the only thing that sucks is the fingerprint reader but w/e I'm so used to typing a password into windows its not a big deal.
It did come with a ton of bloat but I was able to remove all of it fairly hassle-free.

Thank you.

Any idea what the spec difference between this Costco Acer offering and Amazon's one is?

If no diff other than cost, then I need to figure out if to pull the trigger on the Costco offering now, or wait on BF/CM for some better pricing.

Avoid the one on Amazon because it has a 15.6" 1366x768 display. 15.6" 1366x768 doesn't let you fit much onscreen, forces everything onscreen to be large, and makes the picture appear coarse. Most laptops in this price bracket are moving to 1920x1080 standard, many of them much better quality IPS displays too, but there are still a few oddballs you have to watch out for.

If either of those, go with the one at Microcenter. Pretty sure the display is one of the IPS 1920x1080 displays, but either way the resolution is much better

More options with 1920x1080 IPS displays:

• https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Touch-Windows-Convertible-SP315-51-53C7/dp/B01LD4ML26

All solid specs! I skimmed through and it looks like this recommendation from another commenter above, but with a longer battery life and bigger body. I'll take a more in-depth look after work. Thanks for the rec!

Specifically, I was looking at this one, a Acer Swift 3, 14" Full HD, Intel Core i5-6200U, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10, SF314-51-52W2 for $650.

It's decent, but is there anything with better specs or better price? Should I be waiting until Black Friday?

Based on your budget as well as your criteria and what you will be doing with this laptop, this Acer Swift 3 would be a decent pick for you. It has a nice 6th Generation Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB RAM which can be upgraded later on, a nice 1080 IPS display screen, fast 256 GB SSD and of course, it's 14 INCHES screen size will be just perfect for you ( not too big, not too small).. It also has a decent build quality , good battery life and it has all the ports you want - HDMI, USB, PLUS bluetooth etc.

Acer Swift 3. Fits the bill except for the 8GB RAM which you can upgrade to 16.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWZ7JB2

get this one https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494239619&sr=8-2&keywords=acer+swift+3
metal body
i5-6200u
8gb ddr4 ram
256gb ssd
fingerprint reader
14 inch Full HD display
Windows 10 Home OS

I recently picked up the Acer Aspire R 15 2017 for ~$495 after tax at Bestbuy off a slickdeal that was going on. Im kind of having buyers remorse as im seeing these quadcore i5 laptops some even with dedicated GPU's (which isn't by any means necessary) but would be nice to have and I figure I could pay $100 more for quad care and potentially get some gaming out of it too I would.

Size wise I like it, im a college student but I wouldn't mind a smaller 13" laptop but still want to keep the 2-1 and touchscreen aswell as the 1080p IPS and SUPERB aluminum build quality and feel. SSD isn't an issue for me since I plan to replace it with my 250GB samsung 840 evo anyway. I still got till next-next Wednesday to decide wether to return or not and to see what else comes up. Im scared this dual core i5u processor wont hold up for the next 2-3 years which is why im looking into the quadcore lineup. Lighter would be nicer too around 3-4lbs if possible and gaming definitely isn't needed since its for college and I already have a gaming pc at home.

So a 13", 2-1 1080p IPS, quadcore i5/i7 (maybe or dual core? IDK), 8GB ram, HDD or SSD is ok (since ill be upgrading), longer battery life and nice build quality is what im looking for . Something on the lighter side. At most looking to spend $600.
Sorry for the long writeup but i've never really shopped around for a laptops until now. Also im assuming used and refurbished laptops bought on amazon come with no warranty? Also something with a nice feeling trackpad with good scrolling. Is lenovo good for these?

Also how does the Intel Core m3-6Y30 Processor compare to the i5 7200u or the like i5's?

These for portability is what ive narrowed it down too:

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX360CA-UBM1T-13-3-inch-Touchscreen-Convertible/dp/B01HZT6AR0 ($450 used)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01GHQOD8U/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all ($530 used newer model)

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2 (better processor similar size $620)

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Touch-Windows-Convertible-SP513-51-55ZR/dp/B01M18YU9I (better processer $540 used)

Debating on these with GPU's:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRTG0JF (ddr4, worse gpu than dell but seems to be better quality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B015PYYDMQ (afraid of dell build quality)

Acer Swift 3 & Acer Aspire E5 seem like optimal options for your price range. Battery life on these according to Amazon should be 10 hours for AS3 and 12 for the AA E5.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2R4/ref=psdc_13896615011_t1_B012IBOCRU

Keep in mind the Swift is slimmer than the Aspire & has a more modern look if that matters.

Hi,

Based on your requirements, I would recommend Acer Swift 3.
The i5 Intel processor is powerful enough to go through most daily tasks, assisted by 8GB of RAM.
It comes with a decent 14" IPS display.
It's very well build, all metal, slim and light.
Its display is dim, but if you're not using it for photo editing should be fine.

For 50 usd extra, I would definitely recommend going for the extra,
40% better multi core cpu, newer 14nm mx150(vs 28nm on 940mx) ensures better standby power.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Swift-i5-6200U-Windows-SF314-51-52W2/dp/B01LWZ7JB2


https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i5-8250U-GeForce-A515-51G-515J/dp/B075KCJHMD

There's a lot of good builds in this thread but I'll throw out mine too. There's a lot of monitor choices too depending on what you want, like two smaller ones or one bigger one like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $328.99 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.99 @ Newegg Marketplace
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard | $134.99 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $88.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $124.99 @ Jet
Video Card | XFX Radeon RX 480 8GB GTR Video Card | $284.98 @ Newegg
Case | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case | $68.94 @ Jet
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $89.49 @ SuperBiiz
Monitor | LG 34UM88C-P 34.0" 3440x1440 60Hz Monitor | $697.40 @ PCM
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1853.76
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-04 01:21 EST-0500 |

And then for a laptop maybe something nice and portable like this or this. Also look into the Lenovo Thinkpads.

And like the guy above me said, an XPS or something connected to a couple monitors would be pretty nice too if you aren't planning on gaming. Or if you were planning on gaming and wanted portability.

There's a ton of options it's basically what would suite you the best.

I kind of need the backlit keyboard, and I was looking at these too
Lenovo Flex 4
and the Acer Swift 3
I'm still trying to decide if I want a 2 in 1 or not

Oh. Then buy this. It can play World of Warcraft at 786p low.

> This is pretty close to ideal... but again, I can't find it in Canada.

The Microsoft Store has two Acer laptops which you could take a look on:

Acer Spin 5 SP513-51-56YW for $765 with the student discount.

Acer Aspire S 13 S5-371T-56KX for $899 with the student discount.

You can also find the Acer Swift SF314-51-52W2 on Amazon.