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Primarily I am going to be using VS 2015 (Visual Studio) and later editions, so we can safely assume there is a lot of memory-hogging and processor-crunching. I need a laptop which wouldn't cost me time in terms of compilation/execution Although I would prefer SSD, I am willing to look at other options like SSHD/HDD if they do fit the bill. Or a third option wherein I could buy HDD and then replace it with SSD bought separately.

  • Budget: $1000
  • Portability: I am going to be travelling a fair bit around the country, yes. But not frequently.
  • Battery backup: ~4-5 hours at least
  • Screen: 15" should be fine.
  • SSD : 256 ideally. but am willing to go a little lesser here.

Again, though I prefer SSD for performance reasons, I am willing to look at cheaper alternatives which might give comparable performance like the SSHD.

Location is India.

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  • I have decided finally on the following 2 configurations... LENOVO link MSI link Please note, i am well aware that the lenovo version seemingly has an upper hand considering that its got 256 GB SSD. But it seems that the msi is not very far behind considerint that its got hdd of 7200 rpm. Help me decide b/w these 2 beasts!
    – MR K
    Commented Jul 15, 2016 at 11:31

2 Answers 2

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I am basing this on your statement:

Primarily I am going to be using VS 2015 (Visual Studio) and later editions, so we can safely assume there is a lot of memory-hogging and processor-crunching.

Also...

Portability: I am going to be travelling a fair bit around the country, yes. But not frequently.

I would get a workstation class laptop like the Dell Precision line. Personally, I have bought refurbished laptops and had excellent results. I found this one on Amazon, the Precision M4600. All of them lasting well past 3 years and none dying on me. I just outgrew them.

enter image description here

  • Intel Quad Core i7 2860QM 2.50GHz Processor
  • 15.6" 1920x1080 Full HD Anti-Glare LED Display
  • nVidia Quadro Video Card with 2GB Dedicated RAM Memory
  • Windows 7 Professional 64-bit operating system

It has a 1TB HDD, but you can upgrade to an SSD quite inexpensively a 1TB Samsung EVO is under $300 and a 250GB is under $90

There are optical bay drive conversion kits available for you to change out the DVD drive for another HDD as well. This way you can get a smaller SSD for your OS and programs and a regular HDD for your "storage."

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  • Since am in India I browsed it in amazon.in , but unfortunately it isn't listed in it :(
    – MR K
    Commented Mar 27, 2016 at 16:31
  • Just search for Dell Precision Laptop...see what comes up.
    – Digital Boffin
    Commented Mar 29, 2016 at 1:22
  • Lots of stuff did come up , not a single laptop though :P
    – MR K
    Commented Mar 29, 2016 at 11:30
  • How much money does this cost? (in american dollars)
    – Rubydesic
    Commented Mar 29, 2016 at 11:40
  • @RubyJunk Between $750 and $900 USD depending on the options.
    – Digital Boffin
    Commented Mar 29, 2016 at 12:18
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Currently, Lenovo IdeaPad Y700 Gaming Laptop is going for $999 in Newegg. It has an i7 6700HQ, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, 1 TB HDD + 128 GB SSD, Full 15.6" IPS HD display and up to 5 hourse battery life.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834321438

Honestly, the configuration for this price is very good. Compared to some of the other laptops with similar price points, this one is much more powerful. It should be more than enough for programming. This laptop does not have an internal disk drive, however I don't believe that to be too much of a problem since external ones are available. The only con of this laptop that I think is worth considering (even though compared to all of the pros, I think is relatively insignificant) is that the hard drive is only 5400 rpm. The SSD will definitely speed things up, but you might want to consider this. All in all, I think it is a great laptop for the job.

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  • is the SSD external/secondary here? I mean the rest of it does look promising though
    – MR K
    Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 3:07
  • I don't believe it states in the description. However, I am heavily assuming that the SSD is what the operating system is installed on since I have never come across a laptop where the OS would be installed on the HDD instead of the SSD
    – TOPCOD3R
    Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 15:55
  • This is an excellent option, far more powerful and portable than the currently upvoted answer, from "Allan". The i7-6700HQ is newer and more powerful, and the same goes for the GTX 960M. Furthermore, it already comes with a dual-drive configuration, it's SSD already fulfilling OP's needs. It's screen is the same resolution and furthermore IPS. This is my recommendation!
    – Rubydesic
    Commented Apr 3, 2016 at 15:35

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