Hi all,

Now that the semester has come to a close and I've come into some extra money I think now is the time to invest in a new laptop as my old one just can't keep up anymore. I'd love to hear your suggestions.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:

I'd be willing to spend anywhere from $700-1,000 USD and I live in the US

Are you open to refurbs/used?

No, I'd feel much better if it were new.

How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

While I'm open to 2-in-1's itd have to be really comfortable to use as the last 2 in 1 I had was just too big and not useful as a tablet. I think I'd much rather prefer a standard laptop, but I am open. I do enjoy laptops that are aesthetically pleasing if that makes sense though. Also because I'm in seminars for hours at a time having a good battery life is a huge plus. Also while I'm sure no one would recommend a slow laptop I appreciate it quick startup times and that it runs pretty fast .

How important is weight and thinness to you?

While I do appreciate a laptop thats sleek I don't want it to feel fragile at all. I know this isn't much to go off of but a good balance between it being light and durable would be preferred.

Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

N/A but nothing too big

Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.

I'm a poli-sci grad student so really the only must haves in terms of programs is R a statistical processing program and maybe python for some computer modeling classes I have to take but other than that I don't need any specialty programs.

Playing games would be a plus, but not a deal breaker. I mostly play overwatch.

If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?

-Overwatch, I dont mind if the resolution isnt like super HD but as long as the game doesn't lag if that makes sense?

Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

A good keyboard is a definitely a necessity as I'll be doing a lot of typing for my papers, so a backlit keyboard is definitely a feature Id appreciate but its not a dealbreaker. I really want a good build quality and something that isnt fragile as my last laptops screen cracked easily and very quickly.

Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

As you can imagine grad school students arent really rolling in dough. I really want this laptop to work reliably for the next 4 years. I want it to be my dedicated grad school laptop and for it not to slow down as the years go which happens to many of the cheap laptops I've bought in the past. Id also really appreciate suggestions that you personally have owned in the past the reason im.coming here is because I dont necessarily trust those top 10 laptops for grad students listicles everywhere.