Hello,

I've been scouring the internets all weekend, desperate to find a replacement for my partner and I. Her laptop recently broke and mines in need for an upgrade (it's a Dell Latitude D630)

General Questions

1) What is your budget? Hoping to stay below $1500 USD (not including potential upgrades, SSD's etc) Would like to stay around 800-1000 area, unless it's worth spending more.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
Buying from USA or Hong Kong, living in New Zealand.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Lenovo, Asus, MSI, Sony
b. Dislike: Dell, Alienware, HP, Acer(sometimes), Apple.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
preferably not.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Partner: Word documenting, gaming, web browsing, media (movies, music, anime, etc), photoshop
Myself: Word documenting, programing (Java, C(++), HTML), heavy gaming (modded stuff), video editing, photoshop, same as above.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
Both (we're travelling overseas as well, but we like to game on the go )
We may also need these for Uni, however, that is subjective and depends on how we're feeling.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Yes, hell yes.
Skyrim (heavily modded) would be the most intensive, otherwise I we both play almost anything. We're big lan gamers (co op, lan parties) if that matters.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
At the moment, I'm not thinking it matters, but I think we'd both like 3-5 hours running on battery (non gaming/heavy usage, power saving settings, 5 hours would be great)

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Would prefer to see it, but due to New Zealand being terrible when it comes to purchasing these things I'm happy with a well represented and argued laptop. We plan on holding onto these for years to come (I mean, I still use a Dell Latitude from 06')

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (Windows 7 / 8), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
We both use Windows 7. I will most likely dual boot ubuntu and win7 pro/ult, partner uses pro.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?
Minimum of 900p. Would prefer 1080p

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?
Matte.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Partner: extremely (she loves the MSI for the colorful keyboard and the general look of it)
Me: to some extent. I like something simple, but I also like something stylistic.

15) When are you buying this laptop?
ASAP, our laptops are either dead or dying.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
5 + years.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need? Do you want a SSD drive?
I'm thinking a 250gb SSD for primary, heavy programs and some games (Eg Skyrim), and a 750gb-1tb hybrid/hdd for storage. We have a desktop, so we're not fussed with too much space. We'd need between 500gb and 2tb MAX

SSD is essential, I'd like as much upgrade room for HDD as possible. Ram should be between 8gb and 16gb.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD Burner, Blu-ray Reader or Blu-Ray Burner?

Not essential, but yeah, would be useful. In the y510p case, a simple USB external is fine. Blu-Ray more important.

Some extras.
I'd like at least a GTX750m.

Skyrim is the most intensive game I play, but I enjoy modding that badboy, so I'd like a nice GPU.

We don't play the most intensive games, most of the games we play were able to max on my 6870. Exceptions would be Borderlands 2, Skyrim (especially modded), there's others, just can't think of any straight away...

CPU has to be an i7.

We both want the same/identical laptops (cause we're cute)

Wifi Card is important (I heard that Lenovo Y500 had terrible wifi capabilities)

We'd also like a good power saving mode (so, yes HD4600 and optimus would be wonderful)

I personally wouldn't mind a 120hz screen (not so much for 3D, but for the smooth, fluid like movement)

Must have at least 2 HDD slots (mSATA would be nice)

We'd like decent audio.

Need AT LEAST 3 USB ports on the laptop. 4 Is preferred, more is just amazing.

We'd also like a decent trackpad, my partner and I use them while browsing/doing casual. We'll get Roccat Kone XTD's for gaming

My partner likes flashy things, hence the colorful keyboard is her favorite thing on the GT70.

Will add more if I think of any. Need these asap.

Thank you

Just a side note:
I'm coming from a Dell Latitude D630
Partner had/has a Lenovo G460