So, I want a new laptop. My sweet 5-year-old Dell Inspiron N5110 is getting a bit too old for me. I've upgraded it last year with an SSD and a new battery, but the screen is starting to flicker, it can't really perform well with tons of programs running, and I just feel like buying myself a new shiny toy.
However, I've been reading onto the latest trends and tests and such of the current laptop market and I'm just like... geez... nothing sounds good enough. Each laptop that is out there that I can afford has great specs and then I read into the detailed reviews and each of them has a big 'NOPE' factor.
So, I'm completely torn. I want something that will last me at least a few years, that can perform well under stress - while I do not play games, I need something that will survive heavy photo editing, as well as heavy programming/development.
I've been hovering around the following setups:
Dell Inspiron 7559 Intel Core i7-6700Q NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M SSD + HDD 16GB DDR3L 4K UHD IPS matte screen | | | | | | | | | ASUS ROG GL502VT Intel Core i7-6700Q NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M SSD + HDD 16GB DDR4 1920x1080 (Full HD) IPS matte screen
| | | | | | | | | ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW Intel Core i7-6700HQ NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M SSD + HDD 16GB DDR4 4K UHD IPS gloss screen
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PROs Cheapest. It's a Dell.
| | | | PROs Best setup and specs. Partially aluminium. Almost perfect colors. DDR4 | | | | PROs Great setup and specs. Fully aluminium. Almost perfect colors. DDR4.
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CONs DDR3L - while right now it's good, it doesn't have the future possibilities of the DDR4; Not so great trackpad and I use it 99% of the time. Poor match on the colors, which is bad for my photo editing. Fully plastic.
| | | | | | CONs Big Pulse Width Modulation. A lot of reported clouding of the screen (lightness around the edges).
| | | | | | CONs It's not only glossy, but it was quoted as the glossiest on the market screen. Most expensive.
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I've looked into cheaper options as well, but nothing really makes me stop and say 'this is it'. Other laptops I paused at were: ASUS N551JX, ASUS ROG G552VW, ASUS K550VX.
I am hovering between Dell and Asus simply because these are the two brands I'm familiar with and that are my preferences.
I did look briefly into Acer's matching offers as well as Lenovo and HP, but... I dunno... nothing made me stop there.
I'm really leaning towards the ROG 502 but the damn clouding problem that has been reported as well as the Pulse Width Modulation factor is making me go all... meh.
And then of course there is the money aspect. All of these are varying between 1000 and 1500 euros. And I'm wondering if I really am needing something that expensive and that powerful... and I don't know... A friend of mine told me 'buy something cheaper now and if necessary get a new one in a year or two' - and I'm like... hm... maybe... so... I'm really completely lost.
Help? What do you think? If you had to buy a laptop right now for photo editing and development (web mainly, though I'm wondering if I shouldn't try something new like Java, android, etc) what would you buy in the price range of 1000-1500 euros or less?