Hi y'all. Thanks in advance for reading and for your feedback. This is a very helpful subreddit!

My 7-year-old Dell Inspiron has been limping along; sadly, I'll have to put 'er down soon, I think. Now that Haswell machines are finally out on the market en masse, I'm ready to do some shopping. Mainly, I need a machine that will last me for 5 years - long enough to get me through grad school. That means I need something that is both relatively future-proof and durably built.

I have my eye on Lenovo. In particular, I like the style of the Yoga 2 Pro. It seems like it would be great for reading/annotating PDFs in tablet mode, and the specs are pretty swell for the price (with discounts, it looks like I can get i7 / 8 GB RAM / 256 SSD for ~$1200).

My concern, though, is longevity. If the Yoga's battery dies, will I be able to replace it? Is the build quality good enough to last for 4-5 years? (I'll be getting an extended warranty too, of course).

I'm also considering the Lenovo T440s, which definitely seems like it's built to last - the downside, though, is that it's much more expensive for a machine with similar specs, and it's non-convertible. I'm also open to a Macbook Air - the battery life is impressive - but I'm not a big Mac OS fan, the screen resolution seems pretty low, and there's no touchscreen. Longevity is also a consideration there, I suppose, since I imagine the battery is inaccessible...

I'm open to other suggestions as well. Here's the questionnaire:

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Country of purchase: USA

• Budget range: <$1500.

• Purpose (netbook, ultraportable, mainstream, gaming, desktop replacement, etc.): portable: mainly for grad school (typing papers, lots of browser windows open for research, some programming and statistical software (Python, R, Stata)); some light gaming (Left 4 Dead 2, Medieval: Total War II).

• Screen size preference: 14" would be ideal. Minimum 13", maximum 15.6".

• OS preference (Windows/ Mac/ Linux): Windows

• Gaming requirements (example games and desired fps/settings): Nothing too fancy: Left 4 Dead 2, Medieval: Total War II

• Performance requirements (video, CAD, etc.): gotta be able to sort through big data sets reasonably quickly.

• Method of computer support (office supplier, college bookstore, self support): doesn't matter

• Brand preferences and reasons (already owned accessories, familiarity, business compatibility): I've had good experiences with Dell (my current Inspiron has been running for 7 years).

• Any particular style that you like (examples are great): ultrabooks are nice; I'm intrigued by touchscreens / convertibles.

• Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one, the other, or balanced)

• Long battery life -vs- Low weight: both!!

• Build quality -vs- Low price: build quality, I guess - this machine has to last me for 5 years.

• Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: low noise/heat

Would you pay a premium for something that has:

• High resolution screen: yes

• A great keyboard: yes

• A great touchpad/mouse buttons: no

• Great audio: no

List any features that are critical: (e.g. Optical drive, USB 3.0, SD card slot, ethernet port, HDMI port, bluetooth, VGA port, removable battery, glossy screen, matte screen, etc.) n/a

Thanks again!!