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Hello,

I have been looking for a laptop. I can't seem to get the combination of features that I want. There are so many options and models available that I seem to run into a brick wall of conflicting specs.

Here is what I am looking for. Does anybody know where I can find a laptop with the following specs.

Budget I'd like to stay under $850 lower is better

13" to 16" screen. 14" is probably sweet spot. I'd like to keep the weight down.
1920x1080 or better resolution
I'd like to be able to drive an additional external monitor at 1920x1080 or better.
i5 processor preferred.
6GB ram 8GB preferred.

(+) Webcam a plus but not required
(+) Touch screen a plus but not required

(-) Optical Drive a minus but acceptable

Need to run Windows 8.1
Need to run Creative Suite
Need to Run Office

Thanks for any suggestions,
--Shoki

Look for a Clevo and get it built to spec.
All your requirements are available and there are multiple chassis that will accomodate your needs.

Sager, Eurocom, XMG - these are the sort of brand names that resell Clevo, but just Google "Clevo reseller" and see what comes up locally.

The only problem I see is finding an $850 laptop that does 1920 x 1080....in my (somewhat brief) searching I can only find those for ~$1000....

http://www.extremetech.com/deals/181676 ... 5m-for-774

Check this one.

The 128GB surface pro 2 is only 10.6" with 4GB of RAM, but they're going for about $860 shipped after tax right now if you have a .edu email and use coupon code GRADUATION. I got one and it's very nice. Much better than it's given credit for. Plus it comes with a very accurate wacom digitizer and stylus which is great for picture editing.
Else, you're probably looking at a lenovo yoga 2 or maybe a dell xps 13

Lenovo Yoga 2 Core i5-4200U, Full HD 1080p Touch, Hybrid 500GB HD + 16GB SSHD $749

EDIT: Never mind, the coupon doesn't work for the 8 GB SKU, and the memory on the Yoga 2 is non-user upgradeable. D'oh!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834313742

Here is a better one than other I put up.

mattshwink wrote:

The only problem I see is finding an $850 laptop that does 1920 x 1080....in my (somewhat brief) searching I can only find those for ~$1000....

I feel like once you get up in that price range a macbook air starts to look pretty nice. Maybe 1440 x 900 or 1366 x 768 is more realistic. It just seems strange that 5" smart phones are running 1080p screens and laptops aren't.

Thanks everybody for the ideas.

Voldenuit wrote:

Lenovo Yoga 2 Core i5-4200U, Full HD 1080p Touch, Hybrid 500GB HD + 16GB SSHD $749

EDIT: Never mind, the coupon doesn't work for the 8 GB SKU, and the memory on the Yoga 2 is non-user upgradeable. D'oh!

The Yoga 2 Pro is good, but it has to be on sale. When it first came out, they had sales on it that made it fit the OP's price point. I immediately thought of it when I read the OP.

The Yoga 2's drawbacks are its aging wireless card and its sub-par color rendition of its panel, but in the grand world of laptop compromises, those may not be so bad.

FireGryphon wrote:

sub-par color rendition of its panel

If you mean the yellow color problem, that was supposedly fixed via a BIOS update/new panels.

chµck wrote:

FireGryphon wrote:

sub-par color rendition of its panel

If you mean the yellow color problem, that was supposedly fixed via a BIOS update/new panels.

It was mitigated somewhat with a bIOS update, but the color is still wildly inaccurate (visibly so). The fix also lowers an already unimpressive battery life. If you don't care about color accuracy, it's livable, but if you do anything that requires accurate colors (like touching up photos, let's say) you need an external monitor.

What do you think about this deal? I would be using the machine for Web Development.

Refurb Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro i5 13" 3200x1800 Touch Laptop for $735 + $5 s&h
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834317214

It's 4GB but 4GB should be fine for Web development? Don't you think?

cyberpower http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X6-7400_Gaming_Notebook has Clevo to customize (starting at $930). No touchscreen, but an i7 with 8GB of ram.

I bought my daughter one of these for graduation. Seems like it might fit your bill.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-Laptop-500GB-V5-573P-6896/dp/B00GK6GHNM/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1401476315&sr=1-4&keywords=acer+laptop

Acer 15.6" Aspire Laptop 4GB 500GB | V5-573P-6896
•Screen Size: 15.6"
•Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
•Processor Type: Intel
•Processor Model: i5-4200U
•Processor Speed: 1.6GHz

Good luck, took me awhile to find that....

I ended up with an ASUS Flip.
Q502LA-BBI5T12

Best Buy Link