Laptop for a student

[MasterChuck]

I need a laptop for the next couple of years. It'll be used predominately for school work, writing essays and stuff like that. It would be nice if it could play indie games and some older triple A titles on low but it's not a requirement. It needs to be able to last 6-7 hours of light use (word and internet use) or it have a second battery pack.

My budget is $500 to $1000, cheaper is better but I want a product capable of lasting for 3 years. I don't mind buying from anyone in the US as long as they are a reputable seller and post within the US. I don't have a brand preference but I would like an SSD, a HDD and 8GBs of RAM. I would like 1080p or IPS but 1080p is probably more important. I'll need it by February next year. Ideally it would come with Microsoft office but I can buy it separately.

Thanks in advance

 

[GoodEnough]

Just buy a used one for $200 ?
Or a brand new one for $350.
Add SSD for $50 and extra 4GB RAM for $40

 

[MasterChuck]

I would but I still don't know what used one to buy. With new laptops I ruled out the chromebooks because I want it to be compatible with my windows desktop. I don't really know what I'm looking for in an ultrabook or notebook.

 

[gmaster456]

Dell inspiron 15 series is a good value notebook with good battery life. Bought one and it easily gets 6 hours use on battery. Fine for school, movies etc. haven't tried any games but I'm sure older indie titles would be fine.

 

[fire400]

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review-2014/
(offers list of other laptops to consider)

there are some thinkpads that have battery drain issues, and i am not a big fan of it. owned a few, and by far, sometimes it's a hit and miss with almost any manufacturer as well.

i did however, have a lenovo thinkpad x200 which retained 5+ hours of battery life over the years (everyday use) on the same battery... which I was certainly amazed with. the luck of the straw drawing is seldom how we want to deal purchases, but be warned.

 

[MasterChuck]

I've decided to go for an ultrabook, any advice about which one to go for under $1000? So far I haven't really found anything to suit the bill per say. At around $1200 or so I've found the Aspire S7 which looks good but is sadly out of my budget range.

 

[Arachnotronic]

I've decided to go for an ultrabook, any advice about which one to go for under $1000? So far I haven't really found anything to suit the bill per say. At around $1200 or so I've found the Aspire S7 which looks good but is sadly out of my budget range.

http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX303L...=1418956020516

Core i5, 128GB of storage, 8GB DDR3L. If you need additional storage, buy an external HDD.

This should suit your needs.

 

[gmaster456]

Would you consider a surface pro 3?

 

[MasterChuck]

Thanks for all the responses! I'm not currently considering a tablet or transformer (unless it's bumblebee). The Zenbook looks very promising, it's reviewed well, good battery life and performance. It seems to hit all the right notes. I'm even tempted to buy the model up, second hand.