I'd like to get a new laptop, a bit better than the one I have

November 27, 2015 3:26 AM

I want a small laptop that I can use to watch netflix and videos, and play steam games on. I often hook it up to my projector, so it needs an HDMI output. I am also curious about possibly getting one with a touchscreen to I can draw and make art in bed. Lots more details inside.

I like my laptop, but it's a few years old and with all the work I'm doing lately I'd like to get something to have more fun on. Also one of the hinges is breaking, along with a few other things. This is the one I have, except mine has 8GB of ram.

current laptop specs:
Processor 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U
Memory 8GB,
Hard drive 450GB
Screen size (diagonal) 11.6 inches

I like how small it is, and it doesn't bother me that the battery isn't great.

My first interest would be to find something that would play games a bit better. For example, I have been playing The Talos Principle which is fun, but it plays a bit choppily. What particular specs should I be looking at to improve the game performance? I am a gaming lightweight so I don't play any fast paced games, mostly puzzles, and atmospheric arty stuff like Gone home, or Dear Esther.

Second interest is a touchscreen that I can use for drawing. I used to draw a lot, but since I have been doing most of my art and design work on a computer, a paper sketchbook's lack of undo has made that less fun. (yes I know erasers exist but try doing that in bed you will be sleeping with a bunch of little rubber greeblies). Are there particular touchscreen specs that I need to look out for?

It seems like a good time to buy with all the sales going on, I'd like to spend under $1000, but would there even be anything available with all those features at that price? I'd be willing to go higher if I found something cool.

I wouldn't be opposed to getting a tablet with a separate keyboard, if that's what would work best.

to sum up, I'm looking for:
- under 13.5" screen
- better gameplay than my current laptop (and suggestions about how to look for this)
- as good netflixing/film watching
- HDMI output
- bluetooth
- possible touchscreen

suggestions? opinions? information? I'm in Toronto, so I can get it anywhere downtown, or order it online. Mostly I'm looking for information on specs from you awesome people who know how computers work.
Thanks!!!

posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: HP Specter! Technically a 2-in-1 (but not separable) has a 13.3 2K IPS screen (excellent color reproduction and viewing angels, great for graphic work/games) a Skylake i5 with Iris 520 graphics (which will run most modern mainstream titles/MMOs at low level, and indie games at ~medium), a 256gb SSD, 8gbs of ram for multitasking and ~10 hours of battery life. Weighs only 3.2lbs and is about 1.5 cm thick when closed. You have to configure your laptop options yourself when ordering with HP; with everything I outlined, and the HP Black Friday Coupon (Jolly30) your model would clock in at $850USD.

Lenovo has a very similar model - the Yoga 700 - but without a 2k IPS screen and with the option of an upgraded processor (i5 to i7) and a dedicated graphics card (the Nvidia 940m - roughly twice the performance of the Iris 520). It's also 14in - slightly above your limit. It costs $899USD configured thus.
posted by givennamesurname at 7:10 AM on November 27, 2015

Best answer: For gaming, what you really want is a discrete GPU ("graphics chip"). Unfortunately, "cheap," "small/light," and "discrete GPU" is really a "pick 2/3" situation.

The Microsoft Surface Book is a little interesting to me, though it's on the pricey end ($1900 for the model with the nVidia 950m-ish discrete gpu, which is barely adequate for low-quality-settings modern gaming). The Surface Book does have the benefit of a stylus, though it's not the same tech that Wacom uses. I believe Lenovo licensed Wacom's stylus tech for some of their Yoga convertibles -- I can't tell if the model givennamesurname is recommending has one, but if it does, they're pretty good..

Asus has a 15" ultralight gaming laptop (x501) that's probably not ideal for you, but it has a 960m (slightly beefier GPU). I've been told that the industrial design's a bit wonky.
posted by Alterscape at 7:43 AM on November 27, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks so much for the help! I checked out all of those, and got myself a specter. Also thanks for the heads up about the coupon code that saved me a bunch of $
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:31 AM on November 28, 2015